If Candidates Were Consoles...
If Candidates Were Consoles...
January 11, 2008
Game scribe Wagner James Au considers the top tier of Democratic presidential candidates and finds them rather like video game consoles:Barack Obama, Au writes, is the Wii:
[Obama] was first dismissed by Washington insiders for not having enough power or third-party backers — but has gone on to draw immense popularity... Instantly appealing like the Wii, Obama is popular not because of his library of policies, but because he is changing the way the game is played.
Hillary Clinton? She's the Xbox 360:
Backed by the most money, seen as a reliable and established brand, Hillary appeals most to the Democractic base, much the same way the 360 is most popular with hardcore gamers. Transitioning from her husband’s Xbox era, she offers not revolutionary change but steady, reliable content.
John Edwards represents the PlayStation 3:
Formerly the Democratic frontrunner of the previous generation, Edwards now offers a greatly enhanced library of positions with far more ideological power — which few except Edwards’ die-hard fanboys seem to be buying.
GP: The Edwards-PS3 comparison has a special irony, given the 2006 mini-scandal surrounding an Edwards staffer's efforts to obtain a Launch Day PlayStation 3 for the candidate's family.
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Posted 07/04/09 at 12:57pm
GRIZZAM PRIME: Happy 4th of July!
GRIZZAM PRIME: Happy 4th of July!
Posted 07/04/09 at 12:44pm
Yuuri: Happy Blow Crap Up Day!
Yuuri: Happy Blow Crap Up Day!
Posted 07/04/09 at 11:09am
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: I designed this shirt for Jack debate today: http://i44.tinypic.com/2552t89.jpg
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: I designed this shirt for Jack debate today: http://i44.tinypic.com/2552t89.jpg
Posted 07/04/09 at 11:06am
BearDogg-X: There's a one minute and a half preview of the video game episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! up at http://www.sho.com/site/ptbs/home.do
BearDogg-X: There's a one minute and a half preview of the video game episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! up at http://www.sho.com/site/ptbs/home.do
Posted 07/04/09 at 10:08am
Arcanagos: Happy 4th all
Arcanagos: Happy 4th all
Posted 07/04/09 at 09:32am
Firebird: Greetings GP community, and HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!
Firebird: Greetings GP community, and HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!
Posted 07/04/09 at 03:48am
Michael Chandra: I missed out on Jack? =(
Michael Chandra: I missed out on Jack? =(
Posted 07/04/09 at 01:52am
Escanor94: hmm, looks like when someone gets banned all their comments are automaticly deleted
Escanor94: hmm, looks like when someone gets banned all their comments are automaticly deleted
Posted 07/03/09 at 11:46pm
Arcanagos: aww, did i miss the JT party? :(
Arcanagos: aww, did i miss the JT party? :(
Posted 07/03/09 at 11:00pm
Leet Gamer Jargon: Where's the recent JT bullcrap? Which comments section has he vomited on? EDIT: Nevermind; it's in the "Radio" thread.
Leet Gamer Jargon: Where's the recent JT bullcrap? Which comments section has he vomited on? EDIT: Nevermind; it's in the "Radio" thread.
Posted 07/03/09 at 09:17pm
BearDogg-X: I wonder what the Metropolitian Moron of Miami said in response to my comment saying that he got a dose of his medicine on the SGC09 Debate thread?
BearDogg-X: I wonder what the Metropolitian Moron of Miami said in response to my comment saying that he got a dose of his medicine on the SGC09 Debate thread?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:51pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He gets offended with a bunch of flowers.
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He gets offended with a bunch of flowers.
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:49pm
GoodRobotUs: LOL He takes offence at the fact he might have *chosen* to be crazy?
GoodRobotUs: LOL He takes offence at the fact he might have *chosen* to be crazy?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:47pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He warned me to get a lawyer after I called him "crazy by his own choice"... that´s libel for him
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He warned me to get a lawyer after I called him "crazy by his own choice"... that´s libel for him
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:45pm
HilaryDuffGta: "libel" what did he threaten now?
HilaryDuffGta: "libel" what did he threaten now?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:44pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Was fun to be threatened for "libel" again.
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Was fun to be threatened for "libel" again.
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:26pm
HilaryDuffGta: hey so what did i miss??? the usual spam of "crap"
HilaryDuffGta: hey so what did i miss??? the usual spam of "crap"
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:15pm
FlakAttack: Jack ruined his chance to have civil debates with us here. Glad you banned him (again).
FlakAttack: Jack ruined his chance to have civil debates with us here. Glad you banned him (again).
Posted 07/03/09 at 04:04pm
Krono: Unexpected is probably the best word to describe it. Particularly as no decent reason is given.
Krono: Unexpected is probably the best word to describe it. Particularly as no decent reason is given.
Posted 07/03/09 at 03:59pm
GoodRobotUs: Just heard about that myself... kinda unexpected
GoodRobotUs: Just heard about that myself... kinda unexpected
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
EDWARDS HAS NO GAMES
BARACK IS GIMMICKY
HILLARY HAS RED RING OF DEATH
and what does George Bush equate to, a Mac?
"and what does George Bush equate to, a Mac?"
Ha.. ha ha. No. George is Vista. Everyone's sick of the stupidity, bugginess, etc and would rather dump it and go back to the previous version. ;)
But much I think the 360's 3RLOD mirrors her campaign trail so well...XD
Mitt Romney is the N-Gage. A fad that never took on.
I would say that John McCain is the PC. Reliable and ever present if not the most popular.
Any ideas for Huckabee, Thompson, and Guiliani?
I guess whoever wrote this didn't hear that PS3 sales are growing rapidly. I don't like the implications that comparison has on our country... since the PS3 (but not John Edwards) will become the new favorite before the end of '08.
Additionally, I find the Hillary-360 comparison blasphemous, especially considering the fact that she would attempt to ban herself in this strange paralleliverse.
Also, I would never let Hillary into my house.
sure you can reliably count on her to be full of shit, but that's about it.
Thompson=Dreamcast
He was popular in the beginning, coming from a long history in politics but his campain fizzled out and lost that popularity before the rest of the candidates' did.
He's not that bright (the first GBA had no backlight) and a lack of buttons limits his expressions (9/11)
damn I find that insulting slightly, the 360 should not ever be in the same sentence as hillary clinton!"
Glad I'm not the only one. I enjoy the 360, and i loathe Hillary Clinton.
If Hillary is any console, she is a bad, cheaply made imitation of a real console, sold to fools who don't know any better and want a cheap toy. Just like she is a bad, cheaply sold, self serving, imitation of a real candidate, sold to fools who don't know any better and want to help enact the end times.
I'm guessing Hillary is the Vii then ;) .
Hilary = wii overated, and gimmicky
john mccain = xbox 360 embarrasing failure but people buy/vote for him anyway
No! Hillary's a Vii!
John Edwards is the Wii because if you let go he'll fly into your TV set.
Fred Thompson is the PS3 because he can play Blu-Ray discs.
Barack Obama is the SNES because he had a mouse early in his life.
Mitt Romney is Sega Genesis because he can play Sonic the Hedgehog.
Hillary Clinton is NeoGeo because... Ah, screw it.
@ Jabrwock: loved the Vista joke :)
Ron Paul would be like the Dreamcast. It dropped out a long time ago in the console generation it was competing in because it wasn't popular enough, but it still has a very loyal fanbase who say was the last bastion of true gaming.
"If Hillary is any console, she is a bad, cheaply made imitation of a real console, sold to fools who don’t know any better and want a cheap toy. Just like she is a bad, cheaply sold, self serving, imitation of a real candidate, sold to fools who don’t know any better and want to help enact the end times."
...iPhone?
i have never had more than a minor malfunction on any of my systems.
i personally prefer games THAT ACUALLY WORK than the exploding ps3s.
so, Hilary would be a v-smile?
-I am just annoyed by her, so I felt like insulting her. She can keep the RROD though.
thank you for helping the world see that ps3 arnt crap and the sales and games are going up
back on topic if hillary is a 360 im never gonna buy one to save my life and if shes elected ill never get the chance nazi bitch
Ironically that almost perfectly defines the OTHER thompson we know and love.
Edwards and Obama suppoedly represent the candidate for change whilst Hillary represents the status quo.
The Xbox 360 had the least amount of new features vs. the last gen model.
1 wow im so proud for you, you must be the only one
2 sdid someone put tnt in a playatation or did you just make that up, oh yeah you made it up,
how droll
Nah, dude. If anything; he is the Phillips CD-i. He abuses his licenses to make confused ideologies of games.
If you need help on to figure out what goes on in his head, check out the enclosed instruction book.
Nope
The "Vii"
Look it up, im serious.
So yes, Pong is George Washington.
Agreed.
Heh, here's something:
Lincoln could be Colecovision,
Nixon could be the Atari 2600, since his actions almost caused the American goverment to collapse.
With that, Gerald Ford is the NES, since he got people to trust the United States goverment again... right?
Ronald Reagan is the NES. (Began the revolution.)
Bill Clinton is the Sony Playstation. (Popular but with little worthwhile content in retrospect.)
Ross Perot is the Saturn.
Bob Dole was the N64.
George W. Bush is the Gamecube. (With Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, and Powell as its many peripheral devices.)
Howard Dean was the Dreamcast. (First out of the gate only to Crash and Burn)
John Kerry was the original X-Box.
Okay, I'll stop now.
...
I'd agree with the Hilary/360 comparison: Clinton probably has a 33% or greater failure rate.
John Edwards being a PS3 works well enough. He has the most power (money) but can't seem to get anywhere with it.
Obama isn't white enough to be a Wii.
What? Somebody had to say it!!....
I'll shut up now.
hmm. either you are lying, neither of us know the truth or someone else is lying...
i just refuse to respect a company that at the last miniute attempted to copy the wii. ( the yaw-pich sencing in the controllers.) and even though its marketed like you need to do big movements to operate the wii, you dont. and im not saying that there arent any good games for ps3 ( im personally saddened that the next metal gear isn't coming out on a console i own.)
srry for double posting, but i acually did market recearch before i bought a new console. im not as concerned about graphics as gameplay, so the wii seemed a natural choice
the only thing that offended me about your post was compairing hilary to a wii
I stated earlier that hes the Phillips CD-i, since he uses his license to make these confused interpretations of video game series. And because of that, former allies have distanced themselves.
i dunno if you can say sony copied nintendo scince gyroscpes have been used to make plug and play sports games for over 10 years
the biggest reason i bought a ps3 is gta and that im a techno junkie and i just couldent turn down a blu-ray and cell processor
obvioussly im neither a wii fan or a hilary fan but i think everyone buy/vote for the console/candidate they think represents them (which in the end is really none of them but you choose anyway)
and that lawyer is those old tiger toys games there everywhere but there incomprehensible and painful
I'm not saying the PS3 won't develop a fan base or do well for itself, much as the Gamecube did last generation, but claiming that the PS3 will definitely be number one seems a little silly.
I look forward to Lovina's column each week. It is so nice of her to share her family with others. Lately I have been reading several of Wanda Brunstetter's books about the Amish and have enjoyed them so much.