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- junner518, on 10/12/2007, -0/+67I think senators think al qaeda made GTA
- Adune0Warrior, on 10/12/2007, -1/+47Dr.Kim is just angry because she vaguely resembles a man. ;)
- bluephoenix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+37"For an example of how this woman's mind works, she has stated before that the gameplay of Pac-Man is "64% violent" and at this very hearing tried to denounce the ESRB's ratings by saying that "60% of games rated E (age six and up) by the ESRB reward players for 'injuring other characters." Yes, this includes Mario, for he jumps on turtles which apparently incites youngsters into fits of carnal rage." This article's a great read
- EvanGH, on 10/12/2007, -2/+37Very solid editorial. Everyone compares games to the film industry, but books...it seems a fair comparison as well. The quotes from the congresspeople do not bode well.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+32This is news? The US Senate doesn't know what the Senate is, and the less they do up there the better for everyone. Just turn on C-SPAN and listen to them bloviate, they're clueless on most any topic out there.
- theblooms, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21You have a chance to every 6 years in the Senate, every 4 for the President, and every other in Congress.
Unfortunately, most sheeple are extremely stupid, and keep voting the bastards back in. Even if you can't read, you can still vote. You just go up there and press some random buttons, or pull random levers and your vote counts. - Celeron, on 10/12/2007, -4/+23We need to overthrow our current "leaders" and replace them with open-minded, sensible people who can actually relate to our current situation.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19Majority of young adult Americans can't even be bothered to vote let alone run for office. And when they do they vote for whoever some rap star tells them to vote for.
- LiterateWolf, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21Time to vote out the old folks and get young Americans in Congress. At least we'd research something first.
- LiterateWolf, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18Techno clubs?
- macrat, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19Unfortunately, we don't actually get to pick our leaders.
We get an option of corporate appointed candidate A or B. - schwnj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Wow. I should tell them about MS flight simulator--you can fly planes into buildings all day long.
- 022A, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Here are a few facts of life that will be true long after all of us are dead...
-Game publishers/developers employ violence, gore and sex as gimmicks to boost sales.
-***** parents want the government to raise their children for them.
-Stupid people, adults and children alike are influenced by and often mimic what they watch, play and listen to.
-***** parents find all the time in the world to write letters, call congressman, complain at church and generally do anything but pay attention to what their stupid kids watch, play and listen to.
-Congressmen and other public figures want attention, airtime and the support of their most vocal constituents. They are as, if not more vulnerable than anyone to the country's current mindset of "With us or against us". - winampman2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14They're a bunch of old men...
- culbeda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13I STILL run from ghosts unless they're blue.
- fakeXsound, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13This whole gaming / feds thing is starting to scare me. It's definitely up there with the Net nutrality worries.
- TrikkyMakk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13The MAIN point that the author seemed to completely miss however is not that congress has no clue about video games. The main point should have been that congress is wasting tax payer dollars investigating this and have no constitiutional authority to investigate or regulate this sort of thing in the first place. Articel 1, Section 8
- Elephant789, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18Computer games don't affect kids. If Pacman would have affected us as children, we would now run around in darkened rooms, munching pills and listening to repetetive music.
- SniperGX1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Politicians are stupid? enlightening...
- chicken101, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12The government always does this: making convoluted claims in order to achieve political goals. Just take the events leading up to the Iraq war, our secretary of state told congress that Saddam had anthrax (and then held up a small vile of faux-anthrax) and exclaimed that it could kill thousands of troops. They lied and over exaggerated in two ways here: for one, the anthrax Saddam had looked like diet soda (black sludge), and had a known shelf-life of four months. The last time Saddam had made any was like 1992. The same thing is happening with this, they will bend, truncate, and just plain Bull ***** the facts to prove their "moral" point-of-view.
It makes me ill.... - sshack, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12It isn't that congress doesn't have a clue. It's that politicians don't get reelected for (wisely) doing nothing. They have to be proactive. and proactive means going after any percieved boogeyman. Whether they're real or not doesn't matter.
Soccer moms all over the country will vote them out of the office if they're not thinking about the poor kids. - redeyesofnight, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Its amazing the balls some of these people have to levy accusations like this, it's just so ridiculous
- mygaffy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11when did they start worrying about "constitutional authority"?
- nosebleed, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10"Solid editorial? I'm not for the recent legislature, but this article was pretty biased."
I thought editorials were SUPPOSED to be biased. - shoguning, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I laughed, I cried, thouroughly excellent.
FTA: "Blaming the gaming industry for Hot Coffee is akin to blaming a book publisher if someone draws a penis on a page from a book with a magic marker." Brilliant.
While Congress may... er... MAY have a clue about some things, they clearly have an ocean to learn about gaming. All things considered though, this is not a big deal. They're talking about reforming the ESRB. Who cares? - doomgoat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8my favorite saying on the whole hot coffee mod
"I want to shoot people in the face, bang prostitutes, traffic drugs, steal cars, and terrorize police officers without this filthy smut in my game. Frankly, I'm appalled that Rockstar would allow such wholesale corruption of our youth."
- SakisRakis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8"the new generation of kids have no idea what politics is or what it's about "
That statement is completely ignorant. - JalenJade, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8yeah well, I think the geek population who wants to overthrow the government and actually you know, try to well make it work.. like its supposed to.. *Waits for NSA agents to bust down his door...* is the majority..
- Ayavaron, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11It was a good article and it was enlightening to see just how badly the U.S. Congress got things wrong. However, in article that denounces others for not getting the facts right, it is especially important that the facts are correct. Unfortunately, he gets them a little bit wrong in his description of the Hot Coffee thing. It's a real shame about that as it really dimnishes the article's effectiveness.
- aximbigfan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9they, chose their posion, not us. and yes, all politicions are idiots.
- bongo, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11From the article: "A player could go through any Grant Theft Auto game and never harm any person who did not attack him first"
Look, I'm a huge GTA fan, but this statement is ludicrous. Has anyone actually made it through GTA without killing an innocent civilian? Why would you want to, that's part of the FUN of it. A better argument would not have referred to the silly computer characters as "persons", and instead discussed why reasonable people could get enjoyment out of killing said computer characters for no good reason. - Scottish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Would you care to elaborate on the article's inaccuracies, Ayavaron? It seemed like a good account of the Hot Coffee situation to me.
- aximbigfan, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10..on crack..
- MrObjectional, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Nothing shocking, but a solid editorial.
He skirted around a great point in one of his bullets- for all of his metaphors, GAMES ARE NOT MOVIES. They are not books. They are not music. You can choose to fly a virtual plane into a building, but it is not forced or encouraged. You can choose to re-enact crimes, but it is YOUR choice.
At the same time, I know these games need ratings and it's probably a good idea to base ratings on the safe side (as in the most objectionable). But the policymakers are just ignorant, and are not helping anybody with their lack of knowledge. I encourage everyone who took the time to read and comment on this story to consider contacting their Senator if this outrages them. - Alchemist5, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Senator Hawkins: Mr. Zappa, you say you have four children?
FZ: Yes, four children.
Hawkins: Have you ever purchased toys for those children?
FZ: No; my wife does.
Hawkins: Well, I might tell you that if you were to go in a toy store, which is very educational for fathers, by the way; it is not a maternal responsibility to buy toys for children - that you may look on the box and the box says, this is suitable for 5 to 7 years of age, or 8 to 15, or 15 and above, to give you some guidance for a toy for a child.
Do you object to that?
FZ: In a way I do, because that means that somebody in an office someplace is making a decision about how smart my child is.
Looks like CBS of all people beat me to this months ago
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/06/tech/gamecore/main924513.shtml - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5This is why big government is inherently evil. Times change to fast for some legislative body of career politicians to keep up with everything. But politicians love to have power over everybody, the government hates to give up power and is always greedy for more power.That is why we see these omens of a socialist nanny state in Congress today.
Let a free people vote with their dollars. In a free market if citizens think violent video games are bad they would simply not buy those games and the violent video game companies would go out of business. If Wal-mart sold violent video games and people didn't like it they'd go to a store that didn't sell violent video games so Wal-mart would also get the message. - positron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5You've obviously never heard of the Interstate Commece clause. It is a clause in The Constitution which allows congress to regulate all interstate commerce. Unfortunately, the definition of interstate commerce is so vague and sweeping that they've been able to use this clause to justify just about anything they want to do.
The logic goes like this: Video games are distributed for sale. Since it is a product for sale and crosses state lines during distribution it can be classified as interstate commerce. Since congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce they then have the power to regulate video games.
The government has used this same tactic to shove its nose into every nook and cranny it isn't needed nor wanted in. And, if for some reason the Insterstate Commerce clause does not apply, there is always the Public Good clause. - Alchemist5, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePZXjrs4fvY
Frank Zappa already took care of this. - ripcord, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11Solid editorial? I'm not for the recent legislature, but this article was pretty biased. Trying to say that sniping and headshots aren't "encouraged" in GTA is a lie and they know it (er, why have the sniper rifle and sniper missions if...ah, nevermind). The article sounded like they were stretching too hard to find faults...Seems like there's much better things they could have been attacking.
- SakisRakis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@Atomic1fire
When insulting someone's intelligence, try to use the proper form of you're. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I like how they basically said "you could just input the code "hot coffee" and it activates the sex minigame." Which is a total ***** lie.
This is the real quote though:
"In the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, you can enter in a secret code (most people believe that code to be "hot coffee") and you enter a secret level where you engage in scenes of sex and rape." - styromaniac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I LOVED this article even if it was a little off (which I can't say)! You know, if you look at it my way, playing a shooting game with no blood and gore is a bad thing. The "vulnerable children" won't learn consequence if they don't see a person they shot get severely harmed (ex.: bleed to death, have thier brains blown out, decay, etc.) and if the evidence being the body and the projectile disappear, they''ll think they can get away with it. I pitty parents that imply to their children things like dogs have rubber teeth.
Although, I don't really give a damn about what those politicians say. As long as there's no way in parents' full responsibility that a child can get access to porn, I'm OK. Paranoid parents and adults are like *****, crap comes out and gay things go in and/or they're just really anal. Internet porn can innocently and easily be viewed and parents (like the ones that I live with until I'm 18) are more concerned about Myspace.com. Hooray to blood and gore! Boo to dumb parents! - scarybunnyman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4What? The problem isn't that they're old, its as 022A pointed out in an earlier post. Politicians want attention, and the support of their "most vocal constituents" as well as those lobbyists that can afford to fill their pocketbooks. The problem isn't age, but rather their complacency with old and outdated mindsets.
To quote you: "The current congress needs to be flushed out and started again with younger, more technology aware candidates."
Just because you're younger doesn't mean you're more "up to date" with our current issues OR for that matter technology. There are so many other facets of the government that need fresh over site. Putting some "technology" minded young people in the government isn't going to help. I'm 17, but I still can recognize the power of experience in making decisions for our country. If you haven't experience something, you're not very apt in making decisions for other people who have.
I agree with you that being a senator/congressman SHOULD NOT be a life-long career. If it is, then we just end up with a crop of politicians with an extremely narrow field of knowledge and experience in making decisions for the country. They're good at playing the political games, not at making decisions based on what their represented people want. We rather need politicians from all varied backgrounds of experience, which is unfortunately fairly impossible b/c of the need for deep pockets to become a leader of our country. Our next best bet is to have an extremely short term limit to keep them cycling out and never getting complacent with their fat pockets. - SakisRakis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Please learn, to use, commas, in the right, places.
- ungamedplayer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Please invite me to your country,
A thinking government, imagine that.
I think Australia is a nation ripe for the overtaking. I for one is already tired of the "copy and paste" practice from the US lawbooks to the Australia legislation. - raccettura, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Isn't presenting mis-information to the senate illegal (even for a senator)?
Perhaps it's time to list corrections and send them over, with a request for a fraud investigation? - Quest4pi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@ freeter
"If a game developer/publisher deliberately misrepresents its product, consumers are guaranteed a refund. False advertising may even land the company in serious legal trouble. So why have ratings? Content descriptors are already widely available."
Consumers are not guaranteed a refund. Stores often have policies of no open box returns because of rampant pirate scene. Ratings give parents a relatively easy way to make sure the games are OK with out losing 50 bucks. What's important is letting the ESRB apply these ratings as an unbiased third party instead of the very biased Government. - SakisRakis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@nerdofnerds
No need to be defensive, he is just pointing out the variety of ways crappy parents find to bitch about their own problems (their children's development) - tobsterius, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This editoral sums up everything that is wrong with Congress today: They are too old. They aren't up to date on techonology so they can't legislate it correctly. They aren't gamers so they can't legislate it correctly. Many have been serving as their states senator/congressmen for WAY too long and have bank accounts filled with campagin donations and lobby money that goes well into the millions. They aren't working for the people; they are working for the corporations and public interest groups that can afford a say.
The current congress needs to be flushed out and started again with younger, more technology aware candiates. Term limits should be set. Being a senator/congressmen SHOULD NOT be a life time career.
Stand up to these bastards, the current crop of sentators/congressmen will RUIN THIS COUNTRY. - spectre_25gt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3For your statement is witty and oddly true
I give a great big thumbs up for you -
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