Don't know if anyone posted about this yet. Saw this on Good Morning America. Once again, the entire game industry gets blamed for the work of a few misguided nincompoops:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=270778

This post is not about the game per se, which seems to have about as much thematic credibility as 'Postal'. Rather, I have never seen a more unabashedly biased delivery of a story than I did when Charles Gibson started in on it. It wasn't so much a news report as a subdued rant. Gibson said in his introduction, "[A new video game is causing an uproar] -- and they just get worse and worse --..." So, instantly there's your editorial content. That set the tone for the next five minutes of stuff, which featured an ABC correspondent at his laptop playing the game. And all they were doing was showing how despicable they though it was.

Now, I don't have a problem with anyone condemning the game, it's pretty heartless as a concept. But to have people who I assumed would be presenting a more factual story providing what is essentially a game review, that's just not good journalism. Big surprise, right?

The game just went on sale online, so it's probably a little early for interviews. But somewhere along the line it would be nice to see someone like Sid Meier saying "This is gross, not the kind of thing the game industry as a whole is interested in." However, that would be less biased, and I don't think ABC news is necessarily interested in such needless circumspection.

What gets me riled up the most is the outright condemnation of the video game industry as a collective crowd of like-minded perverts and senseless pornographers, all with the same agenda to offend everyone and corrupt YOUR children. As if being an X-rated movie producer means a generalized level of corruption in the movie industry. I don't expect much more from mainstream news, and I'm not surprised that GMA producers and writers stoop to this lack of sophistication, but to see it demonstrated to such a profound level just made my stomach upset.

The video game industry hasn't been around long enough to escape this kind of misinterpretation, but come on, people... [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

/jzero

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Shooting the image of Kennedy in the right spots in the right sequence adds to the score, while "errors" like shooting first lady Jacqueline Kennedy lead to deductions.

Each shot can be replayed in slow motion, and the bullets can be tracked as they travel and pass through Kennedy's digitally recreated body. Players can choose to see blood by pressing a "blood effects" option.


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It only takes one developer with a stupid and disgusting idea for a game to bring the media against the whole industry. The industry itself should speak out against these perverts. Who would waste their time creating a "game" that's so retarded and sell if for $10. It's filth. This is an example of technology in the wrong hands. I hope their children develop brain tumors.

The Kennedy's are cursed...that's all there is to it.

Damn Texans and their guns.

1. We have plenty of historical recreation games (WW2, Vietnam)
2. There are plenty of sniper games
3. There are combinations of both, so what is the point?

It is not like a game where you can kill the present president, and are encuraged to do so. (although I bet it would sell pretty well [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] ).

I agree on the media thing though, but come on guys, that are old news. I don't even really notice it anylonger, just like I try to ignore other idiots.

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It only takes one developer with a stupid and disgusting idea for a game to bring the media against the whole industry. The industry itself should speak out against these perverts. Who would waste their time creating a "game" that's so retarded and sell if for $10. It's filth. This is an example of technology in the wrong hands. I hope their children develop brain tumors.

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Hmmm, as opposed to the devs who make Osama games or including them?
This story was sent round work today as mildly amusing for a monday morning, lame as the game maybe. But, really get some perspective on this, it`s not that bad. And JFK assassination has made for good humour for quite some time now.

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It only takes one developer with a stupid and disgusting idea for a game to bring the media against the whole industry. The industry itself should speak out against these perverts.

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Well I sure don't want you representing the industry to the media. How about a little solidarity? The last thing we need are chinks in our defense. Killing in games is either thematically appropriate or it isn't. You can't pick and choose.

Well I see everyone's post here and the only thing that disturbs me is that it perpetuates the idea it is o.k. to shot or fire upon the highest held office in the U.S. Now if you hate the current ruler, Bush, you may not mind, but it is the idea that disturbs me. imho.

But then again like Mal said, what separates that from any other game that snipers kill in? Shrugs shoulders.....

You guys all have valid opinions, but you're way OT! I wanted to talk about the levels of hatemongering and sensationalism perpetrated by the mainstream media.

DON'T BE A GAMER HATER!

But to the point that's been raised about how 'it's just another sniper game', yeah, it is, BUT. It's not. It's a game that re-creates the historical murder of an actual person. There are people still alive today who witnessed this event, and to create a game based on it is presumptive to the extreme. It's different from D-Day, it really is.

I get the feeling that the developers of this game, being English, have a certain disconnect from the Kenneddy assassination that they wouldn't have, were they US citizens. Perhaps in the same way that Germans wouldn't like playing RTCW?

As another example, there was a mod pimped at PC in the last last year or so where you played a wildlife poacher. Yes, it was just about killing animals, like Deer Hunter, right? No. It was about killing exotic, endangered animals that most sensible people wouldn't want killed. That's objectionable.

Hey, I play GTA3 and I regularly beat innocent pedestrians to death for quick cash. It's mindless fun. But there are limits of good taste, and they are often not at the furthest extremes of behavior, but located here and there among the extremes of behavior, among the different little gray areas. I'm just sayin'.

/jzero

Ugh, the stupid demo wont even let you fire. it's like the full game, only the gun is jammed and there's nothing you can do about it except pay 10 dollars.

those developers will probably sell hundreds of thousands of copys simply because of the controversy

Mishra: I think that's an accurate simulation of the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle that Oswald used, the 'Peace Rifle', so-called because it was so freaking bad it was said it would end conflicts by rendering its users weaponless. Or so I'm told. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Vermeulen: Ya think? No doubt whatsoever there.

/jzero

i agree with your sentiment jzero, it's a good example of a bad habit of the media, offering no such balanced perspective as they continue to claim they offer.

what's curious is that that ABC news report is probably the best press that game can offer yet. googling JFK reloaded either gets matrix hits, JFK assassination conspiracy hits, or amusingly, one site that refers to Kerry as 'JFK reloaded.' This game needed a better name. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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"It is despicable," said David Smith, a spokesman for Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the late president's brother.

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I totally pictured Daffy Duck when I read that.

I am not attempting to inflame you jzero, just open discussion here. But, the same template your putting on that the news is using, we hate gamer's is the same thing Mal is referring to in let us link together out armour. The hunting game you spoke of, I think was pimped by PeterK or aka Spartan, was so beaten up in pimping it was left bloody. Yet you yourself admit to beating a citizen to death for cash in GTA, if I had kids, I never will, but if I did I'd prefer they'd the hunter game where they’d kill animals, endangered or not than actual humans. I routinely kill monsters, fellow human bots and scantilly clad girls in UT2003, you have to load some spicey skins, hehe. I actually enjoy the gore and that was what I liked about Kill Bill I is it offered no apologies for the gore, but enbraced, but the whole movie lacked plot and dialog.

Now on the I support all gamers issues, YES! Gamers rock because we play simulations of murder, and death and killing. What was the stats a bit back, the average 10 year old watches 100 k muders off tv by age 10? I wonder at times if children would be better off gaming the hours away than watching tv.

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Perhaps in the same way that Germans wouldn't like playing RTCW?

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All WW2 FPS are played extensivly over here, there are even some crazy neo nazis exclusivly playing them in multiplayer as ZE GERMANS [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]
But most Germans don't have any more problems with WW2 FPS than any other FPS.

And I really can't see how this is any worse, just because he was famous & president. You could even argue that it was just one man, not millions like in WW2.

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"It is despicable," said David Smith, a spokesman for Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the late president's brother.

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I totally pictured Daffy Duck when I read that.

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with the spittle sound effects and everything lol

Someone please mod it so you can shoot George W instead of Kennedy. The game data's in a .wad file and the models seem to be .mdl format.
I'd do it myself but I'm lazy.

Frosty - about your GTA thing. You dont HAVE to kill pedestrians - you just can kill them, however with a hunting game you SOLE AIM is to Kill the animals.

I wouldn't let my children play GTA, if I had any, but thats because it is NOT FOR CHILDREN. Children should not be playing it. I certainly wouldn't let them play a game where the sole aim was to hunt tigers for fun.

But even worse is this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4022147.stm

A webcam with a rifle so that you can shoot animals over the net. Yes, thats right, you can now press a button and kill an animal! What fun children!

I saw this on the news a couple of hours ago, and I posted about it on another forum. It's blatantly obvious that their only purpose for creating this game is to gain publicity (and sales) by generating controversy.

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But even worse is this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4022147.stm


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Hmmm... that's a bit disturbing. I could understand doing the same thing with target shooting (which they apparently already do), but even that would be stupid, because target shooting by way of webcam would be like playing the world's most boring FPS.

I prefer playing MoH:AA as a german soldier! xD
But I'm from Denmark... o_O;

Sorry Rick, I did not mean to offend you and all the hard work you guys put into the game. I see your point. I seem to have a real knack this year for pissing people off. Maybe it is an American regional thing that killing animals is o.k. in an imaginary enviroment because so many real animals are killed around me here. Rabbits, prairie dogs, coyotes, antelope,& deer. Sorry again. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Rick There's nothing wrong with killing Animals. Especially if they taste good.

As to the game, I personally don't have any objections to it, other than it's in really bad taste. But so are a lot of other games. Hell it would be easy to make the same scenario for UUT2K4 as an Assault map. 1 or two snipers, a map of Dealy Plaza 1963, a couple of custom vehicles, and matinee models that go to "kharma" when shot. as a UT Mod i would consider it humorous, as a whole game i would think it limited and not worth 10 bucks.

I have no confidence in the mainstream media either. Games Companies are classes the same as Republicans anyway.

Scott

"Rick There's nothing wrong with killing Animals. Especially if they taste good."

Yes there is.

I eat meat. I dont agree with people killing animals for fun. "Hey, I'm bored! Lets go kill us some animals"

Not killing because you need to eat, but ending the life of something to amuse yourself.

And that idea lets you remote control a rifle via the net to kill animals. They gonna email that meat to you?

Frosty, you don't need to apologise - I wasn't defending GTA becuase I had a small part in the last one, I was pointing out (to jzero as well) that you can't compare the killing of pedestrians in GTA to killing endangered species (or any species) in a hunting game, because the CORE, the GOAL of the hunting game is to kill the animal, whereas that is not the case with GTA - you could (if careful) play GTA without killing a pedestrian. You didn't mention if you would let your (theoretical) child play Unreal, where the goal *is* to kill other onscreen people.

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Rick There's nothing wrong with killing Animals.

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People are Animals. We're more deserving of the capitalization, even [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

The remote web-cam-kill-gun thing is reprehensible because it is the senseless, mindless ending of a life for sheer entertainment value. Especially those who claim to "value life" or whatever, it's beyond hipocrisy.

[edit] Hah!! Rick beat me to it [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] [/edit]

I am forced to agree with the liberals. I am all for hunting, I do it myself, but that web-cam shit makes us look bad [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

also Shado, you edited Scott's post and left the, "especially if they taste good" part off of it. I'm sure it was not intetionally done, but it comes of very Michael Moore-ish [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]