A group of parents, church and women’s groups released a list of the 10 most violent video games for 2004-05, thereby ensuring that all 10 titles will be instant classics and on every 13 year old’s wish list this Christmas season. If this many groups are outraged, you know the games have to be good.
The list was released on Tuesday, coinciding with the blizzard of holiday shopping that accompanies Thanksgiving weekend. The main agents behind the list are the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, Mothers Against Violence in America, and the National Council of Women’s Organizations, as well as various others. The outrage is palpable.
The list isn’t numbered in order, suggesting that all games are equally violent, but spokespersons did specifically mention Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (www.rockstargames.com) as a standout offender.
Other games on the list include Activision’s Doom 3 (www.activision.com), Gunslinger Girls, Vol. 2 (www.mediaworks.co.jp — Japanese site), Halo 2 (www.microsoft.com/games/), Half-Life 2 (www.sierra.com), Hitman: Blood Money (www.eidosinteractive.com), Manhunt (www.rockstargames.com), Mortal Kombat: Deception (www.midway.com), Postal 2 (www.whiptailinteractive.com) and Shadow Hearts (www.midway.com).
The announcement came one day after the 41 st anniversary of the JFK assassination – which also happens to be the day after a Scottish video game company called Traffic Management Limited released a new game called JFK Reloaded (www.jfkreloaded.com). The game allows players to snipe the former president from Lee Harvey Oswald’s perspective in the book depository.
Condemned as "despicable" by family members and politicians, Traffic claims that the game will help clear up the controversy over whether the president was assassinated by a lone gunman or by multiple shooters. In other words, players have to shoot the president three times in a moving vehicle in a matter of seconds, duplicating the trajectory of those shots as closely as possible.
Conspiracy theorists say the lone gunman theory is impossible. Lone gunman believers think the conspiracy theorists are cracked. Now both sides have a chance to prove it, and earn a prize of up to $100,000 US for coming closest to replicating that fateful event. Enjoy!
The release of the top-10 most violent games also coincided with the release of another list, the ninth annual Video Game Report Card from the ultra-conservative National Institute on Media and the Family (www.mediafamily.org). They have a wider scope to their reviews than violence, rating games that have sex, foul language and other offensive themes.
In their preamble they slam the video game industry for recommending that parents use the video game rating system to purchase games while the industry simultaneously denies that violent video games influence children.
"That is a big problem for parents when you consider this year’s crop of games, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Leisure Suit Larry, are games that children have access to, and that drastically push the envelope on sex and violence," said David Walsh, founder of NIMF (an unfortunate acronym for a company that’s trying to reduce the prevalence of sex in the media).
In other words, Walsh doesn’t believe that the rating system actually prevents children from wanting to play certain games, so it is probably better for everyone if they weren’t available at all.
NIMF’s list of 10 games to avoid is similar to the other list, with Doom 3, GTA: San Andreas, Half-Life 2, Halo 2 and Mortal Kombat: Deception. Also on the list were The Guy Game (www.theguygame.com), Resident Evil: Outbreak (www.capcom.com/outbreak), Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude (www.sierra.com) and Rumble Roses (www.konami.com/rumbleroses/).
NIMF also came up with a list of recommended games, which includes ESP NFL 2K5, Pikmin 2, Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves, Karaoke Revolution Vol. 3, Madden NFL 2005, Jak 3, Prince of Persia, Myst IV: Revelation, RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, SimCity 4.
It’s ironic, but evidently the NIMF don’t consider football violent or John Madden, a man who once used his light pen to circle the crotch sweat stains on Junior Seau’s pants, to be indecent. Jak 3 is also pretty violent, if you happen to be a robot with feelings.
The debate on video game sex, violence and profanity and their impacts on youth won’t be resolved this Christmas, or by Christmas of 2059, but parents should probably heed the video game rating system created by the Entertainment Software Rating Board – ‘eE’ is for Early Childhood; ‘E’ is Everyone (generally 6 and older); ‘T’ is for Teens (13 and older); ‘M’ is for Mature (17 and older); and AO for Adults Only (no one under the age of 18).
Rockstar Games never intended 10 year olds to play the game, just as you’ll never find copies of Playboy in the kids’ section at the library, or a ‘G’ rated Jackass movie. Kids will always try get their hands on this material anyway, and many will succeed thanks to indulgent parents, incompetent store clerks, and older brothers and sisters who don’t see what the big deal is.
But the argument that video games are inherently intended for kids and therefore manufacturers have a responsibility to create content suitable for young people no longer holds water – more than half of video game players these days are now over the age of 18.
The first video game generation has grown up, and is still into video games. Is it any wonder that the content would grow up too?
