The assault on video games

[JackFetch]

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=112608

A bipartisan bill that would require retailers to check identification for all customers who purchase video games with a "Mature" or "Adult Only" rating is receiving praise from a pro-family organization.

Congressmen Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and Lee Terry (R-Nebraska) have unveiled the "Video Game Ratings Enforcement Act." The legislation comes on the heels of the recent release of the violent and sexually explicit video game, Grand Theft Auto IV (rated "M"), which has been roundly criticized for its content. Retailers have also been ripped for allowing sales of similarly rated games to younger children.

Dan Isett of the Parents Television Council (PTC) believes the legislation is needed. He says retailers have done a poor job when it comes to insuring that children cannot access "Mature" rated video games."[A] 2005 Federal Trade Commission study found that 42 percent of the time, a child was able to go into the store and come out with a 'Mature' rated game," Isett details.

**Sigh**

How "sexually explicit" is GTA IV?

I've got a sneaking suspicion that "sexually explicit" isn't an accurate label, but before I break out the L-Word I need more info.

I got a hand job from a hooker in the game so yeah, it's sexually explicit.

This bill will go the same way as all the rest, and die.

[Dan]

Elsewhere, grant dollars were spent proving that the sky is blue, nickels are not, in fact, made out of nickel, and Anita Blake causes scabies in laboratory custodians...

Video games turn kids into killers? Not so, says new book

Just because you play as a criminal doesn't mean you'll become one.

By Ben Silverman

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While their digital pastime is often credited with eroding the state of contemporary literature, gamers have found an unlikely ally within the pages of a new book.

Penned by Harvard Med School researchers Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olsen, "Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do" refutes common conceptions about the causal relationship between violent video games and violent behavior.

In other words, playing a few hours of GTA IV will not result in your kid stealing a car, careening through traffic and gunning down civilians.

"What I hope people realize is that there is no data to support the simple-minded concerns that video games cause violence," Kutner told Reuters News Service in an interview.

Their findings are a result of a two-year study of over 1,200 middle-school students. Unlike most studies set in sterile lab environments using psychological triggers, much of their data was collected by -- brace yourself -- actually talking to their young subjects.

The researchers did note a link between mature-rated titles and aggressive behavior, as a significant number of both boys and girls who played M-rated titles reported getting into more fights over the past year than kids who didn't play M-rated games.

However, Kutner and Olson point out that this simply demonstrates a correlation between violent games and aggression, not that one causes the other, suggesting the possibility that the kids attracted to mature-rated games were naturally aggressive to begin with.

Ultimately, "Grand Theft Childhood" advises parents concerned about their child's behavior to consider a wider range of factors than just their interest in violent games, including bad grades, too much fighting and, of course, obsessive gaming, so you might want to start trimming down those marathon sessions of Halo 3 when mom's around (or better yet, get her to play along with you).

[S-T]

OK. I'm glad I didn't break out the L-Word, then. It would not have been fair.

Of course, the L-Word does apply in so many cases where video games are being criticized, so you'll have to pardon me if there's a trust issue here. For example, Jack Thompson is a documented liar.

[Dan]

Heh heh heh...

According to a report from GamePolitics, the judge who presided over Miami lawyer Jack Thompson's Bar trial has recommended to the Florida Supreme Court that he be found guilty on 27 of 31 charges of professional misconduct. Of the 27 recommendations of guilt, twenty-one are from a suit related to Grand Theft Auto and four are from an attempt by Thompson to have Rockstar's Bully declared a public nuisance.

The Bar trial judge, Dava Tunis, found the violent video game activist guilty of misconduct such as "Engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." The state Supreme Court will have to make a ruling based on those recommendations, with a disciplinary hearing planned for the first week of June.

Jack Thompson Guilty on 27 of 31 Misconduct Charges, Says Bar Trial Judge... FL Supreme Court Must Now Rule [GamePolitics]

[Aaron Robinson]

Honestly, Thompson was never much of a threat. Reading through some of his most recent court proceedings (which can be read here) the man seems to have lost his sanity a while ago. It’s as depressing as it is funny.

[S-T]

This isn't about video games, but raises an important point...

Mr. Lieberman recently demanded that YouTube take down hundreds of videos produced by Islamist terrorist organizations or their supporters. YouTube reviewed the videos to determine whether they violated its guidelines, which prohibit hate speech and graphic or gratuitous violence. It took down 80 videos, but left others up. Mr. Lieberman said that was “not enough,” and demanded that more come down.

****SNIP****

Although the report by the homeland security committee stopped short of making recommendations for reining in online speech, it did ask “what, if any, new laws” were needed. The answer is that no new laws are needed — or justifiable — any more than it would be tolerable to enact laws restricting speech over the telephone, in a newspaper or a book, on a street corner, or in a church, mosque or synagogue.

While it is fortunate that Mr. Lieberman does not have the power to tell YouTube that it must remove videos, it is profoundly disturbing that an influential senator would even consider telling a media company to shut down constitutionally protected speech. The American Civil Liberties Union has warned that the “Homegrown Terrorism” bill and related efforts “could be a precursor to proposals to censor and regulate speech on the Internet.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/opinion/25sun1.html

Lieberman showed himself to be a dangerous supporter of censorship in the early 1990's with his jihad (pun intended) against video games like Mortal Kombat. If he was stopped then, he would not be leading the charge now.

[S-T]

Here we go again...

A teenager has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for her role in the death of her half-sister, who police say was beaten during a re-enactment of the "Mortal Kombat" video game.

****SNIP****

Trujillo and 17-year-old Lamar Roberts were baby-sitting Zoe last December. Authorities say Zoe died from head injuries after she was hit, kicked and slammed to the floor. The teens were reportedly re-enacting the video game.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MOR...&SECTION=US

[Dan]

Here we go again...

A teenager has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for her role in the death of her half-sister, who police say was beaten during a re-enactment of the "Mortal Kombat" video game.

****SNIP****

Trujillo and 17-year-old Lamar Roberts were baby-sitting Zoe last December. Authorities say Zoe died from head injuries after she was hit, kicked and slammed to the floor. The teens were reportedly re-enacting the video game.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MOR...&SECTION=US

I think I remember this. Didn't this happen MONTHS ago?

[S-T]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,397423,00.html

One of the largest video-game distributors in Asia has halted sales of "Grand Theft Auto IV" in Thailand after a teenager confessed to robbing and killing a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the game.

New Era Interactive said it had sent a note to all of its Thai stores telling them to pull the game off the shelves after a 19-year old high-school student confessed to killing a taxi driver with a knife he bought at a local store.

Police in Bangkok said that the youth "had wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game."

It gets better.

"We are urging all video-game arcades to pull the game from service."

Arcades?

[JackFetch]

A victory for video games:

Jack Thompson Disbarred

Is it finally game over for Florida lawyer and violent video game opponent Jack Thompson? Judgment has been entered in the case that started last year and came to a head when Judge Dava Tunis recommended permanent disbarment for the bombastic, showboating law man. The court has approved the report and has ordered that JT is official disbarred as of 30 days from today.

http://kotaku.com/5054772/jack-thompson-disbarred

[James D.]

If I weren't an atheist, this would be the part where I say, "There is a God". But the sentiment is all the same.

About damn time.

[Stavros]

He still has 30 days to sue somebody, lets not get cocky.

[Missy]

I don't mean to find the cloud in the silver lining, but this isn't the end for ol' Jack. He can still serve as a consultant to politicians, other lawyers and / or families.

[JackFetch]

Plus he is only disbarred in Florida. He can still go to another state and be a lawyer.

[JackFetch]

A California Congressman with a long history of targeting video games for legislation is at it again.

Last week Rep. Joe Baca (D) introduced H.R. 231, a bill which would require that warning labels be placed on any game rated T (13 and older) or higher by the ESRB. Baca's bill is titled "The Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009."

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) co-sponsored the measure which would apply to both packaged and digitally distributed games. The bill has been referred to the House Energy & Commerce Committee.

As reported by the San Bernardino Sun:

[The bill] creates a new rule within the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which forces games with a Teen rating or higher to be sold with a simple warning label, reading: "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior."

While Baca has proposed several video game-oriented bills in Congress over the years, none have passed. Lately, he seems to have focused his attention on the ESRB rating process.

In 2007 Baca introduced a bill which would have required the Federal Trade Commission to report on the ESRB's effectiveness.

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/01/12/new...els-video-games

When will these people give up? As long as the ESRB is around there will never be anything like these warnings on video games. Not to mention the fact that the warning they use is not based on any facts.

[Guest]

"WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior by congressmen, lawyers, and other people with agendas that don't give two shits about actual facts or research."

[JackFetch]

That Helghast head on the Killzone 2 boxart? Yeah, it's pretty menacing. So menacing, in fact, that the advertisements containing said terrifying head have been pulled from Toronto bus stops everywhere.

According to the Toronto Star (via Kotaku), the ads were pulled after teacher Davis Mirza emailed Sony Canada to complain about the Killzone 2 ads in the bus shelter near his school. Mirza said that his kids "come from a lot of different countries, who have to experience violence" and that the ads are "stuff they don't need to see."

Mirza described the central image of the Helghast as "a menacing head with glowing eyes," and the background as a warzone "like Iraq."

"I don't think that when you're in Scarborough, where we're having to deal on a constant basis with violence, that does anything to help promote any kind of community renewal or even responsibility," he said.

Sony Canada responded by pulling the ads from the bus shelter, and more were pulled after similar complaints were received in a different area. Now it looks like Sony is just doing away with the bus shelter campaign altogether.

"They were coming down at the end of the week; we just asked them to speed up the process," said Sony Canada public relations specialist Kyle Moffatt.

I'm guessing these people will wet themselves when they see the posters for the new Terminator movie. Seriously, what a bunch of pussies.

[JackFetch]

PETA is pissed at the dog killing in Call of Duty: World at War:

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have thrown their support behind the Academy of Notre Dame student protest against dog killing in Call of Duty: World at War.

To show their support to the student group that organized a petition to voice their disgust over the shooting of killer guard dogs in Activision's latest Call of Duty game, Peta sent Activision a care package...the is, a package that tries to teach them how to care.

To help the folks at Activision Blizzard learn about the ethical treatment of animals (something we're sorta experts on) we're offering to let them take PETA's "Developing Empathy for Animals" seminar free of charge, and we're sending a package of dog-friendly Nintendogs games to their office.

With a little Nintendogs influence, perhaps the next Call of Duty game will have you unlock achievements for petting the dogs you encounter and going on walks or playing Frisbee with them.

http://kotaku.com/5180837/peta-fights-call...with-nintendogs

Lets forget the fact that the only reason you kill the dogs is because they are trying to kill you.

[Venneh]

This is PETA. When has anything they've ever done make sense?

[Stavros]

God, I hate Peta more than militant Christians. Freakin' nutjobs man.

[James D.]

THEY AREN'T REAL DOGS ANYWAY.

[Venneh]

But the kidlets might think that killing dogs is fun! [/PETA logic]

Ow. I think I just lost a few brain cells typing that one.

[Aaron Robinson]

I don't know about you guys, but I think PETA are awesome.

NSFW by the way.

[S-T]

THEY AREN'T REAL DOGS ANYWAY.

Right on. It's a freaking video game. You're supposed to be People for the Ethical treatment of ANIMALS, not People for the Ethical Treatment of PIXELS.

Get over it.

PETA = Westboro Baptist Church (the wackos behind godhatesfags.com)

Ingrid Newkirk = Fred Phelps.

PETA stopped having anything to do with animal rights years ago. These days, PETA is all about drawing attention to itsELF. Just like Fred Phelps and the WBC

Silly protests about killing virtual dogs and protesting in front of Kentucky Fried Chicken in bikinis won't distract from PETA's documented connections to ecoterrorists such as the Earth Liberation Front. (Hence the capitalization scheme in "drawing attention to itsELF" above.)

[S-T]

By the way, if PETA is concerned about sensitivity, they might want to purge the depraved anti-Semites who now infest the organization's leadership. flippantly dismissing the Holocaust is not cool.

Ingrid Newkirk, the alpha wolf over at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has just issued a classic non-apology "apology" for PETA's odious "Holocaust on Your Plate" Campaign, which explicitly compared eating meat to participating in the gassing of millions of Jews.

The purported equation between the Holocaust and normal practices of animal husbandry wasn't presented between the lines by PETA. Nor was it implied subtly in the hope that the viewer would infer a similarity. Rather, comparing Auschwitz to your corner butcher shop was the explicit and unequivocal theme of the entire international pro-vegan campaign.

First there were the photographs. PETA juxtaposed pictures of emaciated concentration-camp inmates in their tight-packed wooden bunks with chickens kept in cages. Worse, in a truly despicable comparison (on several levels), a picture of piled bodies of Jewish Holocaust victims was presented next to a photograph of stacked dead pigs.

http://www.nationalreview.com/smithw/smith200505060923.asp

Does PETA have ANY credibility to whine and cry about killing a virtual guard dog in a video game? Does PETA have any credibility on sensitivity?

Nope.