homophobia
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Annual reminder: Xbox Live trash talk is vile
We're pretty sure most Xbox Live users doing online matches are a bunch of freakin' time travelers. How do we know this? Because by listening to an average Xbox Live Halo 3 match we're magically transported back in time and listening to the vocabulary used at a 1950's locker room in an all-white boys school. The above video is a typical FOX news piece employing all the standard scare tactics on parents, but it does give a nice overview of multiplayer trash talk on Xbox Live.After the break we have a video from GayGamer.net where one of their readers created a gamertag of "Gay Boy," went into Halo 3 online, and recorded the effect. The video is not safe for work because unlike the FOX news piece, there isn't a censor. And just to be clear, Xbox Live is a great service, but boy are there a lot of people using the anonymity of the internet and children without parents on there. Don't be surprised when the Halo 3 "mute button" is named the invention of the year in our '07 wrap-up posts.Update: Xbox's Major Nelson (Larry Hryb) made a statement on the GayGamer video.
Homophobic homebrew on the DS
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Presenting_the_first_piece_of_homophobic_homebrew_for_the_Nintendo_DS'; In our coverage of adult homebrew titles several months ago, we lamented the lack of projects that target or make an effort to include gay and lesbian gamers. Though there are a few releases that don't necessarily limit the player's gender or sexual orientation, they don't ever imply anything outside of a heterosexual hook-up. We've kept a close watch on the niche scene since, hoping to one day catch a hint of same-sex experimentation on the DS.Instead, we've come across what we believe to be the first Nintendo DS game to openly embrace bigotry. Huntercool's RanAway 1.0 immediately states its agenda with its intro message: "Avoid the gay people! Hit stylus to continue ..." It's a simple avoidance game, no doubt one whose mechanics you're already familiar with through dozens of equally flat Flash diversions, so RanAway doesn't delay too long before yelling out, "Ready, Steady, Go!!!!" and dropping you into its first level.
GayGamer.net offline following hate attack
After a series of hate speech incidents and forum postings to GayGamer.net, the site was taken offline by a set of denial of service attacks. Flynn DeMarco, the site's owner, said things started going wrong toward the end of last week until the site's host, GoDaddy.com, finally took the site offline until the attacks could be stopped. They are currently attempting to get back online and hope to be finished by Monday.A couple minutes in an Xbox Live Halo multiplayer session should give anyone an idea of why safe havens like GayGamer.net exist (along with Gaymer.org and Gamers.Experimentations.org), but for someone to go out of their way to attack the site is extreme. In the year since its existence, the news site and forum has given voice to issues that were previously rarely discussed. We share in Kotaku's sentiment, where DeMarco is weekend editor, that "it's sad to see that even in the virtual worlds of gaming and game coverage people decide that the only way they can express themselves is by attacking others." GayGamer has sought to bring demographic inclusion into the industry and we hope to hear their voice back in the cacophony of these internets soon.GayGamer.net's statement can be found after the break.Update: The site is back online.
