“You might think games are only played in dark basements by computer addicted geeks but it’s a very big business,” drawls the presenter, repeating a paraphrased opening gambit that’s been rehashed since 1994, with very little change.
I was even involved in one myself.
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Have you heard? Video games aren’t just for 13-year-old boys anymore!
In Utah last Sunday, young Preston Scarborough took the family sedan for a spin. Instant media sensation, of course. A Fox News anchor was bold enough to ask did teh Grand Theft Auto do it?
You know how in Grand Theft Auto you can drive around swatting pedestrians with an open car door? Yes? No? Doesn’t matter, a teen headed to jail for doing that blamed it on the game.
Friends of 9-year-old Damori Miles of Brooklyn, New York, claim the boy was imitating moves from WWE SmackDown vs Raw when he jumped off of his apartment rooftop to his death wearing a makeshift parachute.
The profile of Rockstar and the Housers doesn’t really answer that (beyond mentioning the Goatie we gave it for writing). But the writer talks to critics and eggheads who say it’s a legitimate question.
A couple of weeks back, I climbed on a soapbox about the media frenzy surrounding video games in connection with real life violence or tragedy.
So how does a legendary game designer react when his creation is used to manufacturer forms of life that resemble sexual organs and even dual-bodied creatures forever locked in the act of mating? Outrage? Horror? Not Will Wright. Colour him impressed. “When you give players creative control, you have to expect they’re going to do the unexpected”, the prolific video game designer said. “Some of it’s really good for what they were shooting for. It’s amazingly explicit, especially when those creations are animated. We just have to make sure those people aren’t messing up the experience for others”.
This is from a post on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer website, which aims to educate readers about the game, but not before touching on simulated genitalia first. See? The mainstream press isn’t all that different from video game bloggers after all!
‘Spore’ designer spills on explicit creatures [SeattlePI.com]
Oh my god. This is not something anyone should have to wake up to. The hosts of NBC’s Today, Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Al Roker, and Natalie Morales take on Bon Jovi’s “Living On A Prayer” in front of a live crowd on the streets of New York City and somehow survive. While Roker is just a C away from rocking out on the drums, becoming Al Rocker, Meredith is definitely the ironic weakest link in this all-star rock band. Thanks to Dan for sending us the link.