quote:

Originally posted by Slylee but i mean, that just gives the video game industry a free ticket to keep creating these really disturbing, weird, violent games for teens to play?

goodie!

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**Update**

Nintendo and Sony have both publicly stated they won't allow an "Adults Only" title on their consoles, thus Rockstar is now forced to either cancel the game or recut it and hope for an M rating.

It's a sad fucking day for free speech. First emc^2, now this.

The horror.




















Seriously, this one does actually suck though. It's not just entertaining.

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last minute disco dot net

ugh, won't it be ported to PC? W/ full graphical horror too?

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Originally posted by Sunsnail ugh, won't it be ported to PC? W/ full graphical horror too?

Yeah - this is really ridiculous. I don't know if it will get a full PC port, or if it does whether that will even be any good.

It will be interesting to see how Rock* responds to this....

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last minute disco dot net

quote:

Originally posted by RJT **Update** Nintendo and Sony have both publicly stated they won't allow an "Adults Only" title on their consoles, thus Rockstar is now forced to either cancel the game or recut it and hope for an M rating. It's a sad fucking day for free speech. First emc^2, now this. The horror.

I am a little surprised that Sony have decided to disband this title from their platform.

I wasn't as shocked to see Nintendo do the same, as the majority of their games have always been geared towards pre-teens, early teen gamers.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ_Eternal I am a little surprised that Sony have decided to disband this title from their platform. I wasn't as shocked to see Nintendo do the same, as the majority of their games have always been geared towards pre-teens, early teen gamers.

Agreed, but in general I did get the sense Nintendo was trying to break that image with this console.

Interesting too that Sony and Nintendo would present such a unified front.

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last minute disco dot net

from the wiki:

quote:

Criticism and controversy [edit] Violence and the AO rating The ESRB has often been accused of not rating games harshly enough for violence and other related themes. Games such as Harvester, Soldier of Fortune and Manhunt have shown gruesome violence, yet only got the M rating, which is supposed to be the entertainment software equivalent of the R rating. Many critics have claimed that these games deserve the AO rating[3] and were given the M for commercial reasons.[4] The ESRB has only given out the AO rating once for violence for The Punisher.[5] However, The Punisher was edited before release in order to qualify for the M category. Another game, Thrill Kill received an AO rating with content descriptors for Animated Violence and Animated Blood and Gore however, it was never released after the original publisher, Virgin Entertainment, was purchased by Electronic Arts who was more concerned about the adult content.[6] The violence in Thrill Kill was a concern to the ESRB as it was sexualized, with sadomasochistic activities. Critics have claimed that the ESRB will only rate games AO if they have sexual content in them, regardless of how much violence is present. Twenty three products have been given the AO rating. One was given it for unsimulated online gambling. The rest were given it for sexual content and/or nudity. One of the games with "Strong Sexual Content" as a content descriptor also had "Realistic Blood & Gore", Riana Rouge, and another one had "Violence", Critical Point. Critical Point is an eroge, and Riana Rouge has Playboy Playmates in softcore sex scenes which leads some critics to believe that these games were rated AO because of sex, not violence. Also, Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Director's Cut received the AO rating. While the game contains content identical to the original North American version titled Indigo Prophecy ("Blood", "Strong Language", "Use of Drugs and Alcohol" and "Violence"), the only content which was added in the director's cut version was sex scenes with nudity, one of which was interactive. Lula 3D also contains descriptors for "Blood", "Strong Language" and "Violence" however, it also contains sexually explicit material. Much like Fahrenheit, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas received an AO rating because interactive sex scenes were found within the game. Some critics believed that the ESRB in-house personnel may have overreacted to the attention the game received from the federal government and that the mini-game (which contained no nudity) was not explicit enough to have been re-rated. It should be noted that many adult oriented products, including erotica have actually received M ratings.[7] However, these products are not carried by major retailers (and many are usually grouped with adult products anyway) because of the sexual content.

da artist formerly known as mr. shady

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nd all of this controversy circles me and it seems like the media immediately points a finger at me (finger at me).. So I point one back at 'em, but not the index or pinkie or the ring or the thumb, it's the one you put up when you don't give a fuck, when you won't just put up with the bullshit they pull, cause they full of shit too When a dude's gettin bullied and shoots up his school and they blame it on Marilyn

John Stewart reviewing "The Irrational Blame Game", the media spin off from MTV's hit series





i've spent a couple of minutes looking for the congress hearing on video games, it seems they've all been taking down :/
but my caption for that would be "The government taking sides, but don't ask them too much in detail about their side"

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Everything is beautiful. Let the music carry you. Baby I will follow you forever. Nowhere else I'd rather be when you're lying next to me. Let the music carry us together.
anti-JennyPie Alliance
SuspicionVandit: Are you God?
Paul Van Dyk 09-24-2009: No, but I can sign your sleeve under that name if you let me!

Interestingly, it looks like some avid gamers agree with the decision to ban this game. I read some comments in the British papers and here are some quotes from TimesOnline.co.uk:

"I am an avid gamer and have no arguments with this game being banned. Rockstar games have constantly pushed to see how much they can get away with, now they know where the line is. I think game developers will potentially find this becoming more common with the greater graphics abilities of the newer consoles."

or this one:

"I have to say that I think the BBFC have got it right this time. I enjoy playing games and have done for many years. In the case of Manhunt, I think that Rockstar have overstepped the mark.

It is not just the killing, it is the way that killing is praised in the game and the more brutal the execution, the greater the kudos it would seem. A game on which this premise and this premise only is founded, seems a disturbing one. "


So... it's not as clearcut as you make it out to be.

Imagine a game which portrays child abuse or trafficking. In many Western countries, even watching an underage porn video (as opposed to participating in the abuse) is a serious crime. If someone gets caught watching a video like that, they won't be able to defend themselves with "This isn't real life, I wasn't doing anything in real life!"

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"The favorite American pastime is not baseball, it's moral crusades."

Why should their game tastes affect my ability to buy and play what I want

I say any kid that wants to play this game, give him a real gun and send him to Iraq. Let them play to their heart's content.

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quote:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

--Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

for the record - I hate this Dogzilla song. with passion.

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quote:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

--Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)