Geez!

[dudelovenext]

So Colin made a post about the "Hot Coffee" mod that everyone's been talking about.

Well, now Sims 2 is under attack.

I'm sorry, this Jack Thompson guy is a jackass. No politician will ever point the finger at bad parenting, so of course a scapegoat has to be found...these days, video games.

I guess it's just really frustrating because there's a definite possibility that things could go downhill from here. Pretty much no mainstream company is going to release an AO rated game (honestly, the only ones I can think of that are rated AO are hentai games). I can see companies censoring a lot of content to keep things within an "M" rating...when they might need to be.

True, there are a lot of other things more important in the world than the rating of said video games. But being that I've been playing video games since I was a little kid and that I work in the industry...yeah, just worries me a bit.

Comments

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

I effin' hate Jack Thompson. He has been after our industry for years. In the case of The Sims 2 his argument is completely invalid. When developing the game it is often necessary for the developers to disable certain features to make sure that everything else is working, hence they had a code to remove the blur. It is for this reason why there are cheat codes in any game, because they are necessary for debugging. Granted, the GTA:SA content had no relation to necessary debugging, so I can at least see his point in that, but his most recent argument is ridiculous.

[thestupidguy.livejournal.com]

"his most recent argument is ridiculous."

Almost all of his arguments are ridiculous. (Unfortunately, so are most of the reburttals to his arguments.)

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

But this one more so than usual. With some of his arguments, he at least has a point, albeit a weak and biased one. This one is completely baseless.

[dudelovenext.livejournal.com]

Agreed!

From the article, it just seems like JT is making a giant assumption and hasn't actually seen the Sims 2 models with his own eyes; EA claiming that they're Ken and Barbie.

[luce.livejournal.com]

..

[elsmd.livejournal.com]

GTA has been under fire ever since it came out. This hasn't been a sudden change of heart against the game.

Re: ..

[dudelovenext.livejournal.com]

True, but this is just one argument (albeit a rather far-fetched one) that they can use for their side.

.

[elsmd.livejournal.com]

Ehh, I'm not so heartbroken over GTA getting the AO rating it's been given. It doesn't affect my ability to buy the game in any way, and it's definately not a game that I'd feel comfortable watching a little kid play... sex scene or not.

Re: .

[dudelovenext.livejournal.com]

True, I can buy it anyway...but I enjoy the GTA games a lot. I guess once they re-ship it with the Hot Coffee scene removed it won't be too big of a deal...I just don't want to see companies give up on games like this because they're afraid of backlash.

...

[elsmd.livejournal.com]

Considering the serious cash money they bring in for the companies, I doubt pesky parent groups are going to have an effect on product development.

I mean, does anyone know of any other games Rockstar makes, besides GTA?

Re: ...

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

Manhunt, though I heard that one was crappy. Also the Midnight Club series, the latest installment of which got away with an "E" rating (or "E 10+" to be specific.)

Re: ...

[dudelovenext.livejournal.com]

Space Station Silicon Valley...but I only know that because I'm a gamer nerd. :)

Re: .

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

It affects my ability to buy it in-so-far as I can no longer get an employee discount.

Re: .

[elsmd.livejournal.com]

How much is the employee discount, out of curiosity?

Re: .

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

Ten percent off on a new copy, twenty percent off on a used copy.

[dudelovenext.livejournal.com]

Like elsmd said, it has been under attack for a number of years...but the fact that they using something that is pretty hard to access...I just think it's a pretty thin argument.

[lagoonbug.livejournal.com]

It's worth noting that Jack Thompson is helping bring attention to the "Hot Coffee" mod and now The Sims 2. Instant sales for Rockstar Games and EA.

[dudelovenext.livejournal.com]

I guess that is one bright side that the game companies are liking. :)

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

As they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity.

[kapslocked.livejournal.com]

Wow... just... wow. Jack Thompson needs to get laid.

[dudelovenext.livejournal.com]

*LOL* I agree! A chill pill or something...

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

Apparently he already did since he has kids. Though how he got a willing mother is beyond me...

[lagoonbug.livejournal.com]

I bet there was censorship pixelation around his and his wife's privates when they were 'doing it'.

[humu-ted.livejournal.com]

While I agree with people who think that there should be either stricter ratings or at least more clearly explained game content that decided the rating, Jack Thompson is an idiot. :| His whole claim about The Sims is old news frankly. When the first Sims game came out people with way too much time on their hands made skins for the game to make the sims naked (if I'm remembering correctly). It didn't have anything to do with the actual content of the game but what outside sources did to manipulate it. I would guess that IF The Sims 2 had such explicit nudity it's from skins of other peoples' creation.

And even if I'm wrong about the skins thing, EA would NOT risk making their models anatomically accurate because they know that people have way too much time on their hands and are willing to spend months of their life doing stupid things like removing all the pixels from the blurs.

[dudelovenext.livejournal.com]

Well, there's no reason for EA to make them anatomically correct. Gah...Thompson, go find something better to do...

[relucesco.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I bet he's a Republican.


(Okay, so maybe that was uncalled for. XD)

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

Actually, he is.

Or at least he was complaining in a magazine interview that federal judges are far too "left of center" for his liking.

However I feel that this is not something that can be neatly divided up along party lines. Keep in mind that Tipper Gore was/is a crusader against indecent content in video games. I think that people on both ends of the spectrum can work this issue in either direction.

[relucesco.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that is true. I was making a rude generalization not to be taken seriously. XD

I kind of seriously want to kill this guy. A lot. I wonder what he'd say if he got his hands on a copy of Biko 3.

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

I would be temped to kill him too, but I hesitate because he would probably use his dying breath to claim that I just validated his views.

[relucesco.livejournal.com]

You, sir, have made me laugh. Good job.

[fearless-son.livejournal.com]

Thank you, happy to do so.

[dudelovenext.livejournal.com]

He deserves a serious beating if nothing else.

[dudelovenext.livejournal.com]

Heh, maybe not. `^_^