At Lunabean.com we are adamantly against children getting their hands on violent video games. We are also very much against governmental regulation of artistic expression. We believe the best way to protect children and our constitutional rights is to support the ESRB and their efforts to educate parents about video game ratings.
Sadly, we now have politicians using the issue of governmental video game regulation as part of their political platform, and, in doing so, are undermining the ESRB and causing confusion amongst parents. They are perpetuating the problem, and we take that seriously.
We want politicians to know that, here at Lunabean.com, we play video games and we vote.
CNN's Glenn Beck is receiving quite a bit of negative feedback for his factually challenged report the other day on "Grand Theft Morality". Instead of taking the criticism seriously, he opted to personally attack those who dared challenge him:
I will tell you that all these video gamers… they’re bloggers, as well as video gamers - they’re writing all kinds of stuff about me [that] I’m the enemy now of video gamers. I could care less about video games. Video game bloggers? They’re losers…
On last night's Glenn Beck, Beck thoughtfully dissects the morality of "Grand Theft Auto". Oh wait. No he didn't.
Instead, Beck ran a clinic on how to be a misinformed idiot who pulled the good ol' "sex with prostitutes and then kill them with a baseball bat" line out of the GTA-bashing repository that, apparently, all TV pundits visit.
What always amazes me with these people is that the things that they say are in the game, are really things that they'd want to do in the game if they ever played it. You know that if Glenn Beck ever sat down with this game the first thing he'd do is find a prostitute and then murder her.
-Jeremy
Well, this should be entertaining. Jack Thompson, the self-proclaimed crusader against video game violence, will be appearing on "The Glenn Beck Show" this evening. Glenn Beck, of course, is the self-proclaimed crusader against Katrina victims, 9-11 families, and, well, thinking human beings.
Do you enjoy getting killed while playing FPS's? Well, if you do, apparently you're not alone. According to an article found at GameCritics, participants in a study enjoyed getting killed more than killing.
While this is a good thing, it leaves one to ponder, why? For one, the study had gamers play James Bond 007: Nightfire, not exactly the most realistic or serious game. Second, the gamers were playing against the computer, not online vs each other. I wonder how that would affect the results.
I think that it's that, "oh, you got me! feeling," like when you were a kid playing cops and robbers.
"I play video games and I vote!" So reads the t-shirt that I've been wanting to get printed for over a year now.
Those of you lucky enough to be in a state that holds a meaningful primary (Oregon sure does get the shaft!) need to know all of the facts, particularly when it comes to your favorite pastime, video games!
Today, Yahoo! Games has a breakdown of where each candidate stands on the issue.
If you're not registered to vote, then, by all means, register now! It's easy and it's the only way you'll have a say in our democracy, and how that democracy treats video games.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the Industry's public affairs group, has formed a political action committee (PAC) to lobby lawmakers who champion the cause of video games.
Seeing as video games are currently the go-to "society is crumbling" example, I think it'll be hard to find politicians to take the money. Wait, hard to find politicians to take money? Hah! I laugh at the notion.
Well, it will be interesting to see who will end up receiving the money. Anybody want long odds on Leland Yee or Hillary Clinton?
More than the trite politicians and money jokes to which I just digressed, what this does say is that video games are continuing to become more mainstream and gamers are gaining an ever more vocal say in politics.
The authors conclude that the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) provides the most comprehensive and useful ratings of any major media ratings system. While I agree with this, I have to wonder if it's a predetermined conclusion based upon the fact that the ESRB is the least regulated ratings system.
The CEI, afterall, "is a non-profit public policy organization dedicated to advancing the principles of free enterprise and limited government."
To further this suspicion of mine, the CEI sets up a supposed "apples to apples" comparison between the ESRB and radio saying:
On the other hand, in the radio market, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) imposes vague but sweeping content guidelines over almost all broadcasts. The threat of FCC-imposed fines has done nothing to give parents greater control over their children’s radio listening habits—they have virtually no way to protect their children from adult material like explicitly sexual “shock jocks” and violent hip-hop lyrics. Heavy regulation and the absence of a private ratings system have made radio worse for parenting.
It reminds me of the time a friend of mine, who is a very active mommy, sent me an "action alert" about the video game 25 to Life. The media got itself into a tizzy about the title, as it allowed thugs to kill cops, but sold about two copies to actual gamers.
These scenarios always make me wonder who it is that is uncomfortably fascinated by violence. Is it the gamers, or is it the media in its never-ending quest for ratings?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote up a story based on a report by the New Hampshire Union Leader of Air Force recruiters using Halo 3 to find new recruits. Today we received a response from an Air Force recruiter who knows the recruiter who was at the event in question:
First let me start by saying I am an Air Force recruiter and I know the
recruiter who was at this game stop. The news media was present and
twisted everything out of proportion after acting like they were going to
present a positive story on the military. Unfortunately in this day and
age NO ONE presents a positive presentation of the military, especially
recruiters.
The recruiter was not trying to brainwash anyone into joining,
he was just going to a location where he knew prospective applicants would
be, like any other professional recruiter would do. The type of game has
nothing to do with it, you said yourself that earlier 2 recruits joined
during a Madden tournament and last I checked we don't sign people up to
play football.
By the way, those 2 recruits were not brainwashed or LURED
into anything either, there is a long process when it comes to joining the
Air Force and our members are volunteers who join of their own free will.
Please don't make it sound like 2 people joining our military is a bad
thing please.
I joined myself as a young man and have now served nearly 16
years and have a wife and three beautiful children that I can take care of
because of what the Air Force has given me. I have a college degree, lived
in England for four years, access to free medical care AND have a house and
two vehicles because of the Air Force.
So if a young recruiter trying to
find young men to serve their country shows up where those young men hang
out gives you the "heebeejeebees", you seriously need to check your
perspectives and try to look at things from a different point of view.
Give me a break.
First and foremost, thank you for your service. Second, I have the utmost respect for those who choose to serve in our nation's military. The amount of self-sacrifice it takes to serve and fight for this country is, honestly, something I can't begin to understand, but I do honor.
I am sorry if my story was offensive to you, and I am sorry that you feel there is no positive presentation of the military in the media today. I think the media actually treats the military in quite a respectable manner. I'm a news junkie and I never hear anyone putting down the military. Yes, the administration and their use of the military is often put in a negative light, but that is not an attack on the men and women who serve this country.
Regarding my interpretation of what happened at that GameStop on the Halo 3 launch night (which was solely based on the aforementioned article), the reason I felt the kids were lured to the recruitment area, why it gave me the heebeejeebees, and why this was a story at all, is because it seems the recruiters got the attention of the kids by offering them something taboo, and by having lower standards than GameStop.
These kids were rejected from GameStop's Halo 2 tournament because the store policy does not allow those who are under 17 to play M-rated games. When those rejected kids trickled out to the parking lot, there were the recruiters offering them the chance to play that same M-rated game in the back of a "pimped out military SUV". The article mentions in it a 13-year-old playing the game in the recruitment SUV.
Now, truth be told, I think there are many 13-year-olds who can handle Halo 3. My problem is that I believe that is a decision for parents to make, not one for military recruiters to make. This is why the story reads that these kids were lured. The recruiters offered the kids something made for adults (which they could not have elsewhere), for the purpose of talking to these kids about very adult decisions.
Thank you for your comments. Again, I apologize if you were (are) offended in any way.
The lefties over at DailyKos are today reporting on Troy Lyndon, CEO of Left Behind Games, Inc., and the fact that his attorney is sending bloggers threatening letters to remove "false and misleading" information in posts and comments regarding the company's game Left Behind: Eternal Forces (known to the gaming community as Convert or Die).
If bloggers (DailyKos included) do not comply with the request, LBG "will be forced to pursue additional legal action which will include claims for damages, costs of suit and attorney’s fees".
LBG is expected to release an expansion pack for the Left Behind game this month. Since the original title was not warmly embraced by the gaming community, one is led to wonder if this threat tactic is part of an effort to scrub the internet of all negative Left Behind: Eternal Forces press before the release of the expansion. After all, at the time of the November 2006 Left Behind: Eternal Forces release, LBG stock was riding a $7.44 high. Recently it's traded as low as 14 cents. Desperate times do call for desperate measures.
Still, threatening bloggers and their commenters isn't the smartest thing a company can do. With public relations practices such as these, it's no wonder the stock is nearly worthless.
More details: Daily Kos - Great post, includes the threatening letter. GamePolitics - Great summary, including comments form those who have been threatened.
According to New Hampshire Union Leader, a GameStop in Manchester put on a little Halo 3 launch party which involved a pre-launch Halo 2 tournament. When GameStop managers announced no one under 18 was allowed to play in the tournament (as Halo 2 is a M-rated game), several teens left the store, where they found the event's co-sponsor, local US Air Force recruiters.
While GameStop managers refused to let the kids play Halo 2 inside the store, the recruiters offered these same kids, "...pizza, Mountain Dew and a chance to play Halo 2 on a split screen from the back of a pimped-out military SUV.
While we do not know if any gamers signed their lives over to the Air Force that night, we do know that a similar event for the launch of Madden '08 last month netted two new recruits.
Does this give anyone else the heebeejeebees? Ick.
Ah...what would we do without a weekly dose of crazy ol' Jack Thompson?
In today's adventure, the Miami attorney who is convinced video games and their makers are the root of all evil, has inserted photos of men having sex with each other into a motion he submitted to Judge Adalberto Jordan. Needless to say, Judge Jordan was not amused and may hold Thompson in contempt of court for his actions.
Now, why would Thompson insert such photos into his motion? I don't know if you can explain the crazy, but GamePolitics certainly gives it a detailed shot.
In summary, Thompson is accusing the Florida Bar (which is investigating Thompson for professional misconduct), of being in cahoots with Norm Kent, who is a criminal defense attorney. Kent and Thompson have butted heads over the years, so Thompson is doing his best to discredit Kent. Kent also happens to publish a Gay News website, hence, the photos. Oy.
Again, hop on over to GamePolitics for the details. There, you can read about my favorite part of the ordeal, where Thompson compares himself to American Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere. Too funny.
Many argue that parents who refuse to buy their kids violent video games doesn't solve the problem of kids playing violent video games, because those kids will go to a friend's house and play them. I say, so what if they do?
There are a lot of things that kids aren't allowed to do at home that they do with their friends. However, if you've told your kids that you don't want them to be playing these games, at least they'll understand that they're doing something you, as a parent, don't approve of.
Believe it or not, the fact that a child knows he or she is breaking the rules, does affect how they look at what they are playing. Dig?
And that was my violent video gaming thought for the day.
Yesterday, Allison showed me this column titled, "Video-game generation may be desensitized to NFL injuries."
I was too busy and frankly, too flabbergasted, to write anything about it. Today, I have some time and am now able to wrap my brain around Bob Molinaro's irresponsible and ludicrous claims that the "video game generation" is desensitized to violence in the NFL, specifically calling to light the spinal cord injury suffered by Buffalo Bills back-up tight end Kevin Everett.
For the record, I have been a Buffalo Bills fan for 30 years (I grew up in upstate NY) and I play video games for a living, so I feel uniquely qualified to deconstruct Mr. Molinaro's assertions.
You know that when a TV report begins with, "Critics are calling it the most violent video game ever for children," and that game is actually M-rated (for ages 17 and older), it's not going to be an unbiased piece of journalism. San Francisco's NBC-11 proves this point, with this craptacular report featuring California State Senator Leland Yee, and a 17 year old lover of violent video games.
Granted, I have no desire to play Manhunt 2. I think it's creepy, and gross, and not my bag of tea. However, I feel the same way about movies like Hostel 2 and Saw 3. Does this mean the MPAA should answer to Leland Yee about why these films were rated R? No. So why does the ESRB have to answer to the Senator as to why Manhunt 2 was rated M?
Again, the people who buy these games are adults. Either they play them themselves, or they buy them for their kids. If you want to make sure the adults know what they are buying for their kids, then support the ESRB and put forth a public campaign to educate parents about the rating system.
And, for the love of God, don't cite out of date federal studies on how easy it is for underage kids to get their hands on these games. The ESRB has cracked down over the past few years, and it's much, much harder for kids to buy M-rated games than it was when those studies were done. What's more, we know those federal studies weren't truly reflective of the problem as they used some sketchy techniques (older looking kids, adults who were around but not the ones who actually purchased).
Last April Take-Two Interactive and Jack Thompson settled Take-Two v. Jack Thompson with an agreement that states, more or less, that Thompson will forever leave Take-Two alone. In return Take-Two dropped all suits against Thompson.
GamePolitics.com has the latest e-mail exchange between Thompson and Gena Feist, Take-Two's VP and Associate General Counsel (although they come from Thompson and are a bit sketchy with the timestamps and possible missing e-mails), showing that the settlement has, indeed, fallen to pieces.
I'll start you off with the first e-mail, but go to GamePolitics for the ever-entertaining follow-ups.
Dear Mr. Zelnick and Mr. Feder:
Congratulations on receiving a “Mature” rating for Manhunt 2. You’ll live to regret it (trust me), so enjoy it while you can.
I want to bring to your attention the fact that at www.rockstargames.com anyone of any age can order Manhunt 2 and receive it, with no age verification whatsoever. Asking a 14-year-old if he’s 17 is not age verification, now is it?
You also know that the use of a bank card as an age verifier is a violation of all bank card agreements, right?
Hey, I know. Let's have an unbiased debate on keeping violent video games out of the hands of kids. But first, let's start it out with a guest who was in Columbine, faced death, and lost a sister and friends to the killers. That won't taint the debate at all (no offense to that poor kid).
Yes, the newly thin Star Jones (did she use DDR to lose that weight?) took on the violent video game debate pitting California state senator, Leland Yee vs. first ammendment and game industry lawyer, Katherine Fallow.
Ahhh, Boston. That town of universities. Where ideas float freely through the ether, colliding much like atoms in an MIT particle accelerator. Yes, this bastion of liberal thought seeks to venture above the simplified black vs. white moralities.
That's why it's upsetting to see this article from The Patriot Ledger which uses BioShock's "saving" or "harvesting" of Adam (a life serum) from Little Sisters (virus plagued small girls) to suggest a link between viiolent games and real-life violence.
The article seeks to add credence to Middlesex County prosecuters who claim that a stabbing at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School is directly tied to the alleged criminals play of Grand Theft Auto.
ABC News is reporting that the Defense Department has put the kibosh on a plan by the Operation Start Up (OSU) Tour, an evangelical Christian entertainment troupe, who planned to send copies of Left Behind: Eternal Forces to troops in care packages.
Why does the Defense Department hate our troops? Oh, wait. The game asks the player to convert "non-believers". The games were to be sent to Iraq. I'm starting to see the problem.
The (super awesome) Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) is asking for gamers to submit questions for the upcoming CNN-YouTube Republican Presidential debate. Those who submit game-oriented questions that follow the CNN-YouTube guidelines will receive a free ECA T-shirt. As Kicking Bird would say, "Good trade, John Dunbar".
GamePolitics.com points to this impressive video, submitted before the ECA even offered a shirt!
US Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's latest ad, entitled 'Ocean', explains to Americans that he is deeply troubled about the culture surrounding kids today. Because of this, he is going to work hard to make sure porn does not pop up on their computers AND he's going to clean up violence on television, movies and videogames.
I know this is just a feel good ad that doesn't mean much (at least not until we get a candidate who is pro-porn pop ups for kids), but it still drives me bonkers. First, regarding the porn aspect, with the exclusion e-mail spam, porn just doesn't pop up on computers. If your computer has never been directed to a pornographic web site, your computer isn't going to serve up porn. So, if parents are worried about this problem, they shouldn't visit pornographic web sites. Problem one, solved.
Regarding violence in TV, movies and videogames, explain to me why violence must be removed from media that I enjoy to protect children. I love kids and I don't want them exposed to violence, but what happened to parents being responsible for the movies, tv and videogames that kids get their hands on?
It seems to me that Romney is taking the position that parents are helpless in this world of technology, and if we don't take action to censor media intended for adults, we're soon going to be surrouded by Columbine killers. Eek.
A new study published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine concludes that while gamers tend to spend less time on their homework, they spend the same amount of time socializing as non-gamers.
This flies in the face of the conventional (and misguided) wisdom that assumes gamers to be part of the trench coat mafia, holed up in suburban bedrooms, listening to Marilyn Manson, gothing-out their faces with make-up and piercings, getting ready to commit the next school shooting because nobody likes them and their only friends are pedophiles who chat online (okay, maybe I laid it on a little thick there).
In fact, (and I know this is ground breaking), kids who play video games are, well, kids. And, going further, the report found that only 36% of tweens and teens play video games.
While that may sound odd, that was exactly my experience. Going to high school in the early '90s I was exposed to the SNES, Sega Genesis, and the Playstation. Despite the ubiquity of these devices amongst high schoolers at the time, we were all simply too busy to do anything other than have a quick go at Street Fighter II.
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Lunabean Video Game Politics News
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the Industry's public affairs group, has formed a political action committee (PAC) to lobby lawmakers who champion the cause of video games.
A new study published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine concludes that while gamers tend to spend less time on their homework, they spend the same amount of time socializing as non-gamers.
