Game Biz Guru Talks GTA IV & the Politics of Violent Games

Game Biz Guru Talks GTA IV & the Politics of Violent Games

April 25, 2008
Deadline Hollywood Daily has posted detailed comments about GTA IV from video game IP expert Keith Boesky, who sees the game as a cultural milestone:
GTA is violent, but like the movies, the violence is a reflection of our time... The game is a fantasy, it is ok to pretend...

Games are constantly being attacked for sex and violence - even though we have none of the first, and strictly control the second. Politicians, media, parents and crazy lawyers all attack the industry with a broad brush, sweeping kids together with adults... The industry is diverse enough to accommodate Mario and [Metal Gear Solid's] Snake Plisken but the media and politicians still portray our market as one for children...  

I am not delusional. I know there are ultra violent games out there. I played the snuff film called Manhunt and saw the... scene from Postal where the player lights someone on fire and pees on them, but these games just don't sell in volume... Like any other media, violence alone will not sell games. The game must be good...
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Comments

Submitted by GRIZZAM 512 - April 25, 2008 at 2:27 pm -0500
Snake used Snake Plisken as a codename in Metal Gear Solid 2. The Snake character was already based off Snake Plisken from Escape from New York (Hideo Kojima said it himself). This was mostly just an added reference. As for what the guy said, I agree.
Submitted by kurisu7885 - April 25, 2008 at 7:28 am -0500
Ok, Ignoring the, heinous mistake [we never learn Snake's real name and the Snake he mentioned is in Escape from LA] I agree wholeheartedly.
Submitted by Dick Ward - April 25, 2008 at 7:28 am -0500
"Like any other media, violence alone will not sell games. The game must be good…"

Well put.
Submitted by Dick Ward - April 25, 2008 at 7:30 am -0500
@ kurisu7885

Yeah, but admit it, Snake Pliskin is cooler. Even when he successfully escapes from both New York and LA and pilots boats under the assumed name Captain Ron he's sweet.
Submitted by DavCube - April 25, 2008 at 7:32 am -0500
Ahh, common sense... smells like... research. Oh how good research can be.
Submitted by kurisu7885 - April 25, 2008 at 7:35 am -0500
@Dick Ward

Agreed, he was still damned cool.
Submitted by WarOtter - April 25, 2008 at 7:38 am -0500
I'll take Snake Pliskin over MGS Snake any day. The movie producers haven't been dumb enough yet to show a geriatric Snake Pliskin killing people with old person smell.
Submitted by ArchRanger - April 25, 2008 at 7:38 am -0500
...And now I have to watch Escape from LA again. Way to go, Keith.
Submitted by jesse - April 25, 2008 at 7:42 am -0500
I agree with kurisu7885 the writer really does not know that there is no real last name for Snake. I ignore the fact because in MGS2 he said during his first meeting with Raiden that is name was Plisken. And I agree with the writer, you can have the worst of the worst you can rape people and kill cops for points (see what I did there?) but if the game is crap no one is going to play them. For example Manhunt 2. When that game came out it was targeted by smart people acting dumb and when the reviews came in it was crap. One month later no one cared. Not even the Smart people acting dumb. The reason why people get all up in arms in GTA because they are great games. I can see that this game is going to be blame for something stupid in the next three to six months.
Submitted by kurisu7885 - April 25, 2008 at 7:46 am -0500
@jesse

They didn't even mention 25 to Life[does anyone even remember it now?], all that kept it out of the bargain bin was the controversy.
Submitted by Trevor McGee - April 25, 2008 at 7:50 am -0500
Well, Kojima actually based Solid Snake on Snake Plisken from the "Escape From" movies, so I guess it's not too big of a mistake. Especially since, as was mentioned, as a joke Kojima wrote to have Snake tell Raiden in MGS2 to call him Plisken before Raiden figured out he was Snake.
Submitted by IP Expert Talks GTA IV & the Politics of Violent Games - April 25, 2008 at 7:51 am -0500
[...] wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptDeadline Hollywood Daily has detailed comments about GTA IV from video game IP expert Keith Boesky, who sees the game as a cultural milestone: GTA is violent, but like the movies, the violence is a reflection of our time… The game is a fantasy, it is ok to pretend… [...]
Submitted by kurisu7885 - April 25, 2008 at 7:56 am -0500
Ok ok, I get it. Damn, I guess I made it obvious, I never got to play the second one >.
Submitted by Black Manta - April 25, 2008 at 7:59 am -0500
Ok, I'm sorry but I can't help but be a geek here and point out the proper spelling of the character's name is "Snake Plissken" just so you know. Escape from New York is one of my favorite movies too and I can't help but be irked seeing the character's name mangled.
Submitted by Sean - April 25, 2008 at 8:08 am -0500
Kids make about 10% of video game players, M Rated games make up 14% of games sold. Does that even make a lick of sense that they would target their smallest demographic with their lowest selling product?
Submitted by Game Biz Guru Talks GTA IV & the Politics of Violent Gam - April 25, 2008 at 8:09 am -0500
[...] GamePolitics wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptDeadline Hollywood Daily has detailed comments about GTA IV from video game IP expert Keith Boesky, who sees the game as a cultural milestone: GTA is violent, but like the movies, the violence is a reflection of our time… The game is a fantasy, it is ok to pretend… [...]
Submitted by Jonathan, aka Soul - April 25, 2008 at 8:38 am -0500
Well put Mr. Boesky, well put :) .
Submitted by Michael Anderson - April 25, 2008 at 8:39 am -0500
Yes, I think everyone caught the EFNY Snake-mistake ... but also, in Postal 2, you don't light someone on fire then pee on them - first run through you just pee on them and they run away. After beating the game you pee napalm. Fun stuff.

But that aside, I agree with the basic premise - the industry is big enough for my kids to have played Jump Start games years ago and Super Smash Bros and Metroid Prime now, while I play stuff ranging from Chessmaster to Postal 2 to Blade of Darkness and more.
Submitted by jesse - April 25, 2008 at 9:04 am -0500
@ kurisu7885

Man the only thing I remember from that game is the amount of bad scores it got. Now that I think about it that was a pretty terrible looking game.
Submitted by kurisu7885 - April 25, 2008 at 9:21 am -0500
@jesse

Precisely my point, it would have just gone away had the alarmists just shut up about it.
Submitted by TheEdge - April 25, 2008 at 1:49 pm -0500
Someone......talking sense!?
Cue R.E.M.'s"It's The End of The World As We Know It".
Submitted by Jack Thompson is a douchbag - April 25, 2008 at 3:18 pm -0500
I hate it when people treat Grand theft auto 4 like hostel the videogame.
Submitted by DarknessDeku - April 26, 2008 at 1:10 am -0500
@ Jack Thompson is a douchbag

They are making a Saw video game. I wonder if it will get any attention?
Submitted by Greggae - April 27, 2008 at 3:04 pm -0500
Snake used the codename "Iroquois Pliskin" in MGS2, before Raiden found out he was Snake. Pliskin is an obvious reference to Snake Plissken, who Snake is partly based on. Iroquois was some tribal thing that related to snakes, can't remember how.
Snake's real name is David, same as his voice actor.
Submitted by Keith Boesky - April 29, 2008 at 12:17 am -0500
Thank you for the corrections. I was sloppy. I should have said Solid Snake, but as some of you pointed out, MGS is largely "inspired" by Escape from New York. I must also admit, I did not make it all the way through MGS3. I stopped in the forest because I did not pick up the infra red goggles and my opponent kept going invisible. I did play all the way through 1 and 2, hence my confusion by the Plisken reference.

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