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Violence for all: 'Postal' goes open source
Behind the ongoing public debate on violent video games, a few key titles always stand out -- but before the public was freaking out about Grand Theft Auto, it was reeling in shock from Postal. This ridiculous satirical smorgasbord of violence earned the accolade of "digital poison" from Senator Joe Lieberman at launch, but still gathered a cult following. Earlier this year, the game saw a high definition remaster -- but the original game isn't dead yet. Developer Running With Scissors just announced that its making the 1997 original open source -- publishing the code on Bitbucket under the GPL2 license.
Clinton and other senators ask ESRB for review over Manhunt 2
Get the shovel kids, the horse we buried needs some kicking. According to various reports Sens. Hillary Clinton (D), Joe Lieberman (I), Sam Brownback (R) and Evan Bayh (D and who?) have sent a letter to the ESRB asking for a "thorough review" following the whole Manhunt 2 kerfuffle saga. Not only did we think that this whole Manhunt 2 thing was behind us, but we also thought presidential candidate Clinton et. al. had better things to focus on currently -- no need to get into the laundry list, but the least controversial might be fixing the failing dollar.The letter went over the differences between the ESRB and the British Board of Film Classification, which banned the game. The letter was also concerned over the Wii motion controls being used in a game like Manhunt and asked the ESRB to take controls "into consideration" for future ratings. It all boils down to the senators asking for a review and saying, "In sum, we ask your consideration of whether it is time to review the robustness, reliability and repeatability of your ratings process, particularly for this genre of 'ultra-violent' videogames and advances in game controllers." What happened to all that bridge building we saw just last year? The ESRB has yet to respond.
Clinton and Lieberman make nice with ESRB ... why?
GamePolitics reports that Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) in a press conference today at 3PM will announce, with ESA President Doug Lowenstein and ESRB president Patricia Vance, a national campaign to raise awareness about video game ratings. Clinton and Lieberman have both been outspoken critics of the game industry and this certainly shows that a change is in the air.Now is certainly a convenient time for Clinton and Lieberman to bury the hatchet with the gaming industry. Nobody can deny that the political winds in the United States have shifted since the last election and these two have grander ambitions. Lieberman, who originally lost his party nomination in Connecticut, rallied during the election as an Independent to get his seat back -- although he's still a pseudo Democrat at heart. With the House and Senate under Democratic control perhaps he feels he can actually focus on issues that matter, rather than trying to pander to some bizarre wing of his constituency that believes the best way to protect America's youth is by going after the gaming industry. Sen. Hillary Clinton ... well, for you non-Americans out there, she is gearing up to run for President of the United States. However you may feel about this, the point is, the last thing Senator Clinton needs is the youth of America telling their parents that the crazy lady hates video games and not to vote for her. Also, with the average gamer being 30 years-old according to the ESA, there are a lot of gamers out there with the right to vote. People have voted for and against candidates for stupider things and the Democrats want the White House, so it's time to make friends, build bridges in the 21st century and start using the village to raise the children -- that sounds oddly familiar. We'll get more answers about what's going on today at 3PM Eastern.
What the 2006 midterm means for gamers
The US midterm elections have come and gone, and while most to all voters don't consider gaming their primary concern (as if foreign policy or the economy are really more important), how interactive entertainment will be regulated has an enormous impact on who retained, gained, or lost a seat in Congress.Wired's Chris Kohler outlines some of the major elections, in terms of video game censorship and regulation, and analyzes the long-term impact. Those with even a slight concern with politics should check out the article for at least a refresher course on what Congress representative Y has the games industry in his or her crosshairs.
U.S. government to fund studies on video game's effects
On Friday, The Children and Media Research and Advancement Act (CAMRA) was passed by the U.S. Senate. The bi-partisan act introduced, in part, by Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and First Amendment hater Joseph Lieberman (D, sometimes R, but currently I -CT), is designed to research the effects of media on children.The research will be headed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and, if the study finds that video games do in-fact harm the children, the government will be free to impose its will on the industry.One of the major roadblocks to imposing legislation on the video games industry is that every superior court judge that's dealt with the issue has stated that games are protected under the First Amendment and, furthermore, that there is no scientific proof video games are harmful. By proving the latter, these pols hope to overcome the former.(Queue up Night on Bald Mountain from Disney's Fantasia)[Via Next-Gen.biz]
Did video games lose it for Lieberman?
Was support for video game regulation a significant factor in Joe Lieberman's primary loss to Ned Lamont in yesterday's Democratic Connecticut Senate primary? That's the theory put forth by one blogger, who says that the young children who remember Lieberman from the 1994 video game hearings are now of voting age and out for revenge!We're not buying it, though. For one thing, 18- to 24-year-olds are a historically unimportant voting bloc -- only 36 percent of them voted in the 2000 presidential election (though this group is growing: 47 percent voted in 2004). For another, exit polls (.pdf) show that issues like the war in Iraq and Lieberman's close relationship with Bush were foremost on voters' minds -- video game issues don't even make a blip.Despite the loss, Lieberman has announced he will still be running as an Independent, which means his vociferous calls for game regulation might yet continue to ring through the Senate. Even if he does lose in November, other Senators like Hillary Clinton have shown they are more than willing to take up the cause.
