Acid for Blood

I picked up a copy of The Economist (January 20th - 26th, 2007) whilst I was at the airport. I haven’t read it lately, but I was feeling a bit cut off from world events and this bothered me a bit. I guess travel does that to you. Usually when I buy a copy of […]

This month’s IGDA Culture Clash article calls for a reform of the ESRB rating system. Amongst Sakey’s reccommendations are:

Don’t hold publishers responsible for the actions of modders
Don’t re-rate games so quickly
Content descriptors should be more prominent than the ratings
Don’t separate sex and violence
Enforce the ratings
Enforce policy wisely

In other words, “demonstrate that the industry can police […]

In this month’s Culture Clash, Matthew Sakey writes a thank you letter to Jack Thompson:
If you weren’t the spearhead of the anti-video game movement, someone else would have to be. And that someone else might be charismatic, rational, well-spoken and deft with the press. Instead we got you, and you’ve done more for us than […]

It’s about time a group like this was formed:
The Video Game Voters Network is a place for American gamers to organize and defend against threats to video games. This medium is fully protected speech under the Constitution, and receives the same First Amendment protection as books, movies, music, and cable television programs. The Network […]

Three enlightening pieces that I have read recently:
Jim Rossignol visits Korea and writes about their games culture: “Sex, Fame and PC Baangs: How the Orient plays host to PC gaming’s strangest culture”.
Nick Yee from The Daedalus Project draws parallels between entrenched American prejudice against Chinese labourers in late-1800s San Francisco and in-game anti-Chinese comments and […]

The Family Media Guide has released a list of games that parents should not buy for their children for Christmas. Parents should take the extra step of consulting the Family Media Guide, because the ESRB ratings, conveniently placed right on the fucking game box, are not sufficient for parents to make an educated choice.
All […]

Politicians are insane. They get in an uproar over non-pornographic depictions of consentual sex between adults, and yet they don’t react with as much fervour to depictions of violent crime in all sorts of media.
Game Girl Advance puts the Hot Coffee scandal (and now the brewing Sims hoopla — no pun intended!) into perspective (N.B. […]

Christian evangelical types are making video games to spread their message, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before white supremacist groups decided to make games as well. National Alliance’s Resistance Records produces the game, entitled Ethnic Cleansing.
From the Review section on their site, comes this gem:
“…I believe this game is going […]

Right. GTA: San Andreas. Hot Coffee. Rockstar. The ESA. The ESRB. Senator Clinton. Jack Thompson.
Not going to comment.

This is hitting close to home. According to Game Politics, the Washingon, DC City Council held a hearing on a video game bill today. From the bill (full text):
“The ultra-violent and sexually explicit content of video and computer games rated M and AO violate contemporary community standards, and, taken as a whole, appeal to prurient […]