November 1, 2007
He doesn't want kids to play Manhunt 2, but Andrew Bub - you may know him as GamerDad - doesn't want to see it banned, either.
Bub made an apperance on Milwaukee's WISN-2 last night to discuss the controversial game and offers his impressions of the experience on his Gaming with Children website.
Bub made an apperance on Milwaukee's WISN-2 last night to discuss the controversial game and offers his impressions of the experience on his Gaming with Children website.
Comments
I finally got to watch the video and I must say, they really did cut you short. Most of your statements were spot on, but you can tell there was some follow up that was not aired.
I really wish these news outlets would give more airtime to people actually involved in the game industry (reporters, developers, publishers etc.) but I guess we must take what we can get.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
I've still yet to see one of these lame-ass news reports actually mention parental control features on consoles.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
I too would love a synopsis of the vid, since I can't watch it at work either =\
but its good to see someone who knows what they're talking about, talking about what they know.
GamerDad,
How much of your interview was cut? I was curious if you explained to them the problem with the AO rating while thinking that some games should receive such a rating.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
1. No, kids should NOT play this game.
2. There is an audience for these types of games (and movies like Saw and Hostel).
3. Games are protected by the First Amendment.
He did mention the AO factor, which I think most people agree with, but making the Big 3 license those games is always the issue.
Nice to see someone stick up for the game on TV.
That one was pretty good. No fear mongering. No flawed "studies". No psycho-babble. Just emphasized that it is for adults, and that it's violent. Oh and that it's on the same level as Saw.
There's a violent video game called Manhunt 2.
Banned in Britain. Various news stories shown on Google News.
Goal: kill people to escape from an insane asylum.
Introduction to GamerDad and his website.
Quote from GD: "Do not let your kids play it."
M2 is the most recent game to be targeted for its level of violence. Reporter doesn't mention anything other than "shoot, stab, and blow people up."
GD wants games released under AO rating. Video games are protected speech. The games are made because people like violent content (see movies).
M2's M rating, explanation of what that means.
Don't know how well it will sell, but publicity will help.
Commentary: Violent video games make the news every so often, this is just the latest one.
This is by far the least sensationalist news story so far. There's no mention of the Wii controls, nothing about the previous AO rating, and no one screaming "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!"
I wouldn't expect anything less from Gamer Dad. Thanks for the summary.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
On the AO rating front, why doesn't the ESRB just bump the M rating to 18+ instead of 17+ and do away with the AO rating? There's a gray line whether a 17 years old is an adult or not. Adults Only designation has a sinister, implied meaning similar to what you find in porn. That's what scares the console makers. AO is useless, get rid of it. ESRB can always refuse to rate a game, much like BBFC, if it's too over the top. ESRB can shut up all the critics because they won't have much to stand on if M rating means those 18 or older.
I would prefer if the ESRB would refrain from refusing ratings. That is the one thing that sets it apart from censorship. If they would refuse a rating, then that would be the downfall of it.
There is a slight problem with just changing the M to 18+ and dropping the AO. What is to stop the console manufacturers from not liscensing M18+ games? See, we will be back to square one.
What really needs to be done is to convince console manufacturers and retailers that it would not be the end of the world to allow AO games to be marketed.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
They seemed to do a good job here, though it seems Gamerdad was cut short a few times, but the was well balanced I thought.
Clearly it speaks volume (in my opinion) about the state of the ESRB.
Not that I would expect any less from him. Considering the format where his views were shown (and apparently cut short) they proved to be concise, honest and fair.
Would seem we have a voice to speak for us that cannot be so easily ignored.
Ow, my eyes hurt.
Nov 1 2007 6:00AM EDT
Shocker: Blog's Fans Eschew Dead-Tree Tie-In
Before Gawker Media gets carried away with dominating the world, maybe it should try to master the book industry? As of yesterday, The Gawker Guide to Conquering All Media had sold a scant 242 copies since it went on sale Oct. 2, according to Nielsen BookScan.
Of course, the tracking service only accounts for about 75 percent of book sales, by its own admission, so you can add another 81 units to that total. Still, it's probably somewhat fewer copies than Simon & Schuster's Atria division was hoping to sell when it acquired the total in what I'm told was a $250,000 deal. Especially when you consider all the free promotion the book got on Gawker.com, to what was presumably its target audience.
An Atria spokeswoman declined to comment on either the sales figures or the size of the deal; Gawker owner Nick Denton pleaded ignorance, and Gaby Darbyshire, who handled the book on the Gawker end, is out of the country.
but i guess its hard to not use the word for it, while its sad to use word games it helps removes the fodder used by the other side.
if its not a young adult (16+) or older I would not want them playing the game either.
He wasn't played M2. He was playing RE4 and MP3.
Has the ECA done anything to get on the air over Manhunt 2?
http://shacknews.com/onearticle.x/49727
Apparently the PSP version of the game can be hacked back to the AO version of the game.
Jack, Gamerdad was on TV, by your own rules that makes his statements infallible, so shut it!
@GameClucks: The first one on CBS News with Katie actually showed HOW to set the parental controls on the Wii.
By my count, your son stands to learn more shitty, nasty behaviour from the example you set as a human being than he ever does from any game.
Well they did not really show how to set them, but showed that they were available. Still, that is better than not mentioning it.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
From what I understand, the more extreme executions are the reward in and of themselves, although the amount performed may influence the ending.
Andrew Eisen
True, true. They at least SHOWED the screen, which is more than a lot of the alarmists did on their newscasts
@everyone else:
Don't feed the troll. Just ignore that off-topic post.
You just unintentionally stated that his book sold 81 copies. Oops.
@ bakaohki
If that really was the troll. It's posting on that book thing made so little sense as to not be worth replying to. Trying to conserve grey-matter.
Before Gawker Media gets carried away with dominating the world, maybe it should try to master the book industry?
Wow, who cares? Way to be off-topic. But I guess that's normal for you when you don't have anything concrete to talk about.
Idiots are they? Maybe. But what does that say about you that you couldn't bring a successful case against the idiots?