Fox News Brings Video Game Violence Debate To a New Low

Fox News took another shot at the video game violence debate earlier this week when they asked whether Bulletstorm, an upcoming M-rated shooter from Epic Games, is the worst game in the world. The article links violent games with an increase in rapes, and suggests there should be greater penalties for selling to minors. Gaming website Rock, Paper, Shotgun breaks down the problems with the article's sensationalist claims and highlights the disingenuous cherry-picking of quotes. "Scott Steinberg, CEO of TechSavvy Global, and all-round industry guru, got in touch with me to show me the answers he submitted to Fox when they approached him for comment. The full answers are reproduced below, because what results is a fantastic interview on the subject of adult game content and regulation. Fox chose to use none of Steinberg’s comments in their final piece, opting instead for the more sensational claims of those with no expertise in the subject (neither of whom have found time to reply to our emails). But seeing these answers also provides further insight into how the mainstream media coverage of gaming stories works. Far from being a reporter ignorant of the subject and twisted by naive contributors, Fox correspondent John Brandon was equipped with a wealth of factual information and informed opinion before composing his frantic article."

Comments

Gabrielle Giffords shooting equivalency

[osgeek]

This is pretty crappy reporting and it's a cheap shot to blame video games for the decisions made by criminals and generally insane people.

It reminds me, though, of all the cries of outrage I read against Sarah Palin after the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords. Palin was outright blamed for causing the shooting by a lot of media outlets and blasted in an extraordinarily cheap shot by Keith Olbermann. I hope everyone who was sympathetic with that outrage can recognize his own hypocrisy if he isn't sympathetic with Fox's take in this article.