game-politics
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64K signature petition delays German govt's game-banning bill
There has been a string of unrest in Germany over violence in video games as of late, which is why the government there is working on a bill to ban violent games from the country. While the man in the Bundestag has plans of censorship, German gamers are fighting back with a petition. And not just any old petition, mind you; the one already submitted contains 64,824 signatures, which means there's enough cause (by German law) for the government to open a public hearing. In specifics, the government is looking to ban any software "where the main part is to realistically play the killing of people or other cruel or un-human acts of violence against humans or manlike characters." Basically, kiss all those lovely shooters goodbye -- that is, if the delay spurred by the petition won't change the government's mind. Considering Germany is a place that enjoys the sound of the banhammer falling (examples: coked up Red Bull, genetically modified corn products and even 26 years of its own history have all been outlawed), there's no guarantee the bill will be deterred. In fact, the source Gamezine notes Germany passed the internet censorship bill (which was a similar case that had double the petitioners) earlier this year. [Via Game Politics]
Lost & the Damned DLC OK'd for Singapore despite male nudity
Digital dong appreciators in Singapore rejoiced today as government officials have OK'd the digital distribution of the Grand Theft Auto IV 360-exclusive expansion, "The Lost & Damned." Regardless of the "controversy" surrounding the expansion's full-frontal male nudity, Ernest Khoo, Singapore's head of video games and media content at the Singapore Media Development Authority, has deemed the DLC safe enough for consumption in the country.Approaching the nudity issue head on, Mr. Khoo says, "[the scene is] non-sexual and can hence fall within the M18 rating." Expanding on the M18 rating, he explained, "only those 18-years-old and above will be buying the game and its expansion pack." Hopefully, the army of Media Development Authority workers manning individual Xbox 360s in Singapore will be checking IDs. [Via GamePolitics]
NY strikes again with another video game bill
New York is quite notorious for its hard-line stance on the war against video games. In this latest episode of 'New York State versus gaming,' Assemblyman Steven Englebright (D) wants to pass a bill which requires retailers to place epilepsy and game-induced seizure warnings "on every video game." Englebright has been trying to push this bill through for the past eight years, according to GamePolitics; which is quite funny, considering that all retail game boxes already contain those very same warnings Mr. Englebright is fighting for. Thanks, New York, for working on yet another redundant law.But wait, hold the phone. Mr. Englebright's work wasn't all done in vain. There's still the business of games not sold at retail. Expect another eight years and more taxpayer money to go down the drain.[Via GamePolitics]
ESA calls out GamePolitics for unfair coverage [update]
Apparently, this morning's story by GamePolitics about the ESA's E3 keynote speaker was the straw that broke the camel's back. The ESA didn't take too kindly to the way GP framed the story, using a "Non-Christians will burn in hell" quote in the headline when Texas governor Rick Perry seemingly made no such statement.The Senior Director of Communications for the ESA, Dan Hewitt, sent a letter to Joystiq stating, "If the ESA posted a blog and called it a news site, journalists would rightfully balk and it wouldn't pass a smell test. Remarkably, GamePolitics doesn't face the same scrutiny even though it's funded by the ECA and tainted with anti-ESA vitriol. At the end of the day, calling GamePolitics a news site is as laughable as saying there's a Cuban free press."Hewitt points to GP's recent coverage of the ESA saying that the site isn't a news site, but a membership recruitment tool for the site's parent company, the Entertainment Consumers Association. We've contacted both GamePolitics and the ECA for a comment regarding the ESA's statement. It seems the ESA just isn't catching a break lately.Update: Two separate statements from GP and the ECA can be found after the break. GP has also amended its headline.
Harvard looks to MMOs for online leadership styles
While much has been said in recent weeks about raid leaders and whether the job necessitates being a jerk, nobody seems to dispute that the position engenders players with valuable leadership skills. In fact, according to a recent report by the Harvard Business Review, big companies may have a lot to learn from MMOs in terms of fostering leadership roles in a business world that is every bit as geographically decentralized as the roster from your typical raiding guild.But before you go and put your guild leadership experience on your resume, you might want to read the report in full. While they say that there are parallels between leadership in-game and leadership in a board room, the report focuses more on how the games themselves engender these leadership qualities, by creating an environment that fosters honesty, duplicity of leadership, non-monetary incentives, and transparency. It's interesting to think that games might actually change the way business works in the future, but we guess only time will tell if that proves prescient or not.[Via GamePolitics]
Is WoW a hotbed of political activity?
Earlier this week, USA Today published a lifestyle article that made the claim that the population of World of Warcraft has gotten swept up in the political fervor of the day. According to one frequent WoW-player quoted prominently in the article, the buzz over the race between Hillary and Obama has reached such an ever-present crescendo that it's bled into our most prominent avenue for fantasy and escapism.While it is particularly interesting the way that the political dialog has overcome more tradition fare in /general and guild chats (and by traditional fare we mean Chuck Norris jokes), we'd hesitate to call this phenomenon an exclusive product of this election cycle. The fact of the matter is, this is really the first presidential election cycle that has taken place during World of Warcraft's life, so there's no way to tell whether this amount of election buzz is peculiar in any way. Are marches through the streets of Iron Forge in support of marginal Republican candidates par for the course? We honestly haven't a clue. Ask us in four years![Via GamePolitics]
VTech report doesn't mention video games; PAC cries cover up
A federal government report released earlier this month about the issues surrounding the Virginia Tech shooting made no mention video games whatsoever, a point that Game Politics notes is substantial since contributor Michael Leavitt (pictured) had previously mentioned being aware of a potential video game connection.Members of activist Lyndon LaRouche's political action committee (PAC) have denounced the report as a cover-up, and quotes game news sites as evidence, citing this statement from Games Industry and "Gammer Life" [sic]: "According to GamePolitics, the video game issue was brought up at the V-Tech Review Panel hearings no less than three times by supporters of Lyndon LaRouche PAC."The 26-page report can be downloaded here (PDF file); a state-level review panel continues to study the event and will issue their own report later.
Remembering Thrill Kill, the 'other' violent AO-rated game
Searching the Entertainment Software Rating Board website by the Adults Only rating yields only two games without strong sexual content or mature sexual themes: Peak Entertainment Casinos for featuring "gambling" and Thrill Kill for Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence.Game Revolution has found a video of the PlayStation One title which never saw the light of day -- not a good sign for the recently AO-ed Manhunt 2. More information can be found on the Wikipedia entry; video (NSFW) embedded after the break.[Via Game Politics]
NY game bill awaits passage in July
Though two pieces of video game legislation passed in New York -- one in the Senate and one in the Assembly -- a compromise was not reached in time for a vote before the current session ended yesterday, reports Game Politics. The compromise was reached, however, and a unified bill is expected to pass when the legislature reconvenes in July.According to Lower Hudson Online, the agreement still makes it a felony to sell "violent and obscene video games to minors." The bill would also have manufacturers equip game consoles with parental control settings (already available in the newest consoles) and retailers would have to label violent and obscene games (already done with the ESRB, though this bill reportedly requires another sticker).If the bill, which Vicarious Visions called troubling in an Albany Times-Union op-ed, passes in July, expect the Entertainment Software Association to go after the bill with the First Amendment. And so far they have a pretty good track record.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Manhunt 2 gets AO rating from ESRB
After being rejected by the BBFC in the UK, Rockstar's Manhunt 2 is seemingly getting banned in America as well. According to Game Politics, the "murder simulator" is getting an AO (Adults Only) rating, which effectively bans it from all major video game retailers.Take Two games will certainly fight this decision as fiercely as possible in the coming days. Remember, the game's release is supposed to be only a few weeks away ...[Via Joystiq]
NY game retail bills pass; retailers could face felony charges
Two bills from the New York state legislature -- one backed by Republicans in the Senate and one by Democrats in the Assembly -- have been passed. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R) and Governor Eliot Spitzer have both made comments leaning toward an agreement being made between the two houses, but no further details are known.The Assembly measure, A08696, has some strong words for game retailers who sell games with "depraved violence and indecent images," defined as "rape, dismemberment, physical torture, mutilation or evisceration of a human being." Those caught selling such games to minors will be charged with a class E felony and could be sentenced for up to four years in prison. GamePolitics reports that "it is believed this is the bill favored by [Spitzer]." The Entertainment Merchants Association have already condemned the Assembly bill, and we expect the industry-led lawsuit against the legislation be inevitable. The current session ends June 21, so both houses will have to act pretty quickly to reach a compromise.[Via Law of the Game]
How did various media outlets report the FTC gaming report?
Here's some light weekend reading about politics, the media and gaming. Earlier this week the U.S. Federal Trade Commission released a report about the gaming industry. The real fun for industry folk was seeing how all the various media outlets would report the news and what their headlines would be. Below is the list, shamelessly ripped-off from Dennis McCauley over at GamePolitics, of various media outlets and their take on the report: FTC says content curbs fall short - L.A. Times Report says the young buy violent games and movies - NY Times FTC: self-regulation of violent content working - Beta News Children still see ads for violent content - Advertising Age FTC scolds marketers about violent content - AdWeek FTC: violence still marketed to youths - Hollywood Reporter Report: Violence still aimed at kids - Variety FTC violence marketing report show general compliance - Broadcasting & Cable FTC Report: Violence Still a Problem in Marketing - TV Week FTC: game industry self-policing improving - GameSpot FTC: M-rated games still marketed to minors - Next Generation FTC: games are better regulated than music, movies - Ars Technica FTC report: mixed reviews on industry's ability to self-regulate - Joystiq FTC: game industry stricter than movies, music - Kotaku FTC report praises, spanks video game industry - GamePolitics As McCauley asks in his headline accompanying the list above, "Were these media outlets reading the same report?" The various headlines make us think of the classic question: If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to see it, does it make a sound? Some say yes, some say no, some say it explodes into various pieces, some say the Earth Mother picked it back up, some say there is no tree. The various headlines and the stores with them is a good read on the diversity of voice in the media -- especially when it comes to gaming.
FTC report: mixed reviews on industry's ability to self-regulate
The Federal Trade Commission in the U.S. has released a new report praising the games industry for making "significant progress" in decreasing both the sale of mature-rated games to minors and the advertising of mature titles alongside teen-marketed television shows, while criticizing them for failing to maintain similar marketing standards with internet advertising.Other interesting statistics and observations: In the five years between 2001 and 2006, sales of M-rated titles to minors have dropped 36% (from 78% to 42%). No other industry was reported to have such a significant decline and only the sale of R-rated movie ticket to minors is lower (39% in 2006, an increase of 3% over 2003). Of the parents surveyed, 87% are aware of the ESRB, 70% utilize it and 75% of those familiar with the content descriptors use them. Current ESRB regulations do not allow game publishers to advertise M-rated games on sites where 45% or more of the audience is under 17. The FTC report said that they are "not adequately enforcing even this limited standard." Our query, which is not adequately explained in the report's press release, is how the FTC is able to discern the demographic of a website (other than maybe content and grammar usage), and which is it following? Only MySpace and YouTube are specifically cited here. And, to be quite honest, if the FTC were able to effectively discern the demographics found on a site like YouTube, they could sell that data-mining algorithm and make quadrillions in profit. The FTC report also chastises the ESRB for failing to put content descriptors on the front of the box. Said FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras overall, "Self-regulation, long a critical underpinning of U.S. advertising, is weakened if industry markets products in ways inconsistent with their ratings and parental advisories ... This latest FTC report shows improvement, but also indicates that the entertainment industry has more work to do."[Via Game Politics]
Activist lawyer drops RICO charges against Take Two, others
Phew, that was close. And to think, he almost discovered our master plans ...Infamous Miami lawyer Jack Thompson has thoroughly revised his complaint and counterclaim against Take Two. Concerning his counterclaim, Thompson shortened it from nearly 20 pages to a single paragraph that makes no mention of previous racketeering charges that listed Penny Arcade, the ESA, Joystiq, Kotaku and others as collaborators and conspirators.Of course, Joystiq was left unaware what racketeering really was, having ignored Denis McCauley's thorough explanation for enlightenment via Tycho and Gabe's funny pictures.In light of this pseudo-victory, Joystiq is celebrating with cake, ice cream and engaging in illegal business activities usually associated with organized crime.
Take Two shareholders oust CEO
Did you catch the Take Two shareholders meeting yesterday? Don't worry if you missed it, the event turned out to be much less dramatic than we had hoped. However, it was not without some ruffled feathers, as now-former CEO Paul Eibeler was shown the door. Taking his place is Ben Feder, a former executive at News Corp, as acting CEO. Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities expresses disappointment that the new management is giving themselves a three- to six-month window. Also, Pachter said of Feder, "he appears to have no meaningful experience managing a large organization, nor does his resume suggest that he has any practical experience in the video game industry."Game Politics has a roundup of more opinions regarding this executive shuffle. Our take, however limited in scope, is that Eibeler was a beacon for bad news. His ousting can only spell an upward trend.
Public transportation and GTA: Vice City Stories
GamePolitics has a roundup of the Portland, Oregon public transportation system removing GTA: Vice City Stories advertisements. They've also linked to The Oregonian's columnist Jerry Boone's editorial about how GTA might cause a small percentage of gamers to go on "stealing, killing and raping binges." At the end Boone says the transit system lost $71,250 removing the ads, but the value of a cop's life is "priceless." Boone is right, a small percentage of gamers might kill cops, because it never happens the other way around. Wonder how much the life of a dead unarmed kid and his bullet filled dog are worth? On the other coast, the head of Boston's public transportation system told the politicians to go take a long walk off a short Boston pier. The GTA ads are staying up. The outrage in Boston was pretty faux and created by the local tabloid paper The Boston Herald. Maybe The Oregonian made the whole crisis up to sell papers like The Boston Herald did. Sadly, the Portland public transportation directors have no spines and blew over like a house of cards to "media issue of the week" pressure.Meanwhile, in England ... GTA: Vice City Stories is advertised on a double-decker bus.
O'Reilly's no video game spin zone
Political-types have a love-hate relationship with video games; they love to hate them. The person doing the hating doesn't always have to be in office (Republicans and Democrats equally hate video games, just to stop that argument short), he just has to have enough riding on the political game. Bill O'Reilly, hyper-conservative, is the newest member of the anti-video game crowd, and he has some spin for you. O'Reilly, best known for his No Spin Zone show on Fox News, has compared video games to hard drugs. O'Reilly was heard on Radio Factor saying that "what [we] have is a large portion of the population, mostly younger people under the age of 45, who don't deal with reality -- ever." We think we've heard that one before, with rock 'n' roll and even books (The Great Gatsby totally messed up society). Not even the most avid gamer can admit there aren't cases of video game addiction, but that is hardly a reason to rail on them. People are addicted to work; should we ban jobs? We can't be bothered to answer the question, we're too busy rolling up our PS3, 360 and Wii and smoking that wicked doobie. O'Reilly is making us dizzy; no spin zone our knee(s).
The Political Game: The blame game
Each week Dennis McCauley contributes The Political Game, a column on the collision of politics and video games:Wednesday's tragic shooting spree at Montreal's Dawson College has prompted yet another media feeding frenzy over violent video games. Word that 25-year-old shooter Kimveer Gill played Super Columbine RPG, a non-commercial game design, was enough to push the video game angle into lead paragraphs in newspapers from London to Washington, D.C. to China. Hell, it even made the Drudge Report.To be sure, the clearly unbalanced Gill was no stranger to games, especially first-person shooters. His blog on VampireFreaks.com names Half-Life 2, F.E.A.R. and Call of Duty 2 among his favorites. He also played some of the commonly-cited poster children for game violence, including Manhunt, Postal and the GTA series. Gill also played less controversial titles like Warcraft III, Need for Speed Underground and Command & Conquer Generals. But Super Columbine RPG is the sound bite here, and it's no surprise that the media has jumped on that angle with both feet. Think about it -- a game based upon a horrendous school massacre being played by a lunatic who then commits his own deadly school shooting. If you're writing headlines, it's practically irresistible.
Pols want "Truth in Video Game Rating Act"
The ever vigilant Game Politics brings word of yet another video game bill (YAVGB), this one brought to you by a bipartisan group of Congressman spearheaded by Florida Republican Cliff Stearns, seeking "truth in video game ratings." Of course, Stearns is also the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, the same Subcommittee that The Daily Show's Jon Stewart teased for being out-of-touch in June. So what are they seeking with bill HR 5912: "Rating games on only partial content: Unlike the present system, the ESRB would be forced to play games in their entirety." This will immediately become the dream job of gamers everywhere. "Withholding content: Publishers would be on the hook for failing to completely reveal content to the ESRB." Also known as Hot Coffee and Orc boobies are bad. "Gross mischaracterization of content: Although not specifically named, the ESRB would be barred from 'grossly mischaracterizing' (as defined by the FTC) game content." So wait, it wasn't coffee? Check out Game Politics for some more on the bill and their adroit analysis of these politician's motivations: all three sponsors are running for reelection this fall.
Entertainment Weekly honors Joystiq in top 25 list
While we're physically unable to pat ourselves on the back (freak DDR accident, y'know), we thought there might be some interest in seeing your favorite game blog (read: that's us, guys) in dead tree format. We've been selected by the good people at Entertainment Weekly as one of their "25 favorite online entertainment sites!" Part of the gig required us sending in a handful of our favorite online entertainment sites. We chose: the superlative Game Politics, the entertaining and promising GameVideos.com, and the more entertaining than it ought to be Wikipedia. Other notable sites we chose that didn't make the cut included The Escapist, Gamasutra, Gamerankings, and YTMND; some of our choices, namely Wonderland and Penny Arcade, were already chosen by other sites (thankfully); and still others, like Clive Thompson's excellent CollisionDetection.net, we mistakenly left off our list entirely. (Disclosure: Entertainment Weekly is published by Time which is owned by Time Warner who were purchased by AOL to create AOL Time Warner; of course, AOL owns Weblogs, Inc. who in turn own Joystiq, so if you really wanted to be cynical you could follow that corporate trail to a gray, lonely place we call Nepotism. Us, we're going to keep trying to be the best gaming blog on the internet regardless!)
