Will Obama's Video Game Ads Be Mentioned in Debate?
Will Obama's Video Game Ads Be Mentioned in Debate?
October 15, 2008
Last week GamePolitics broke the news that campaign ads for Barack Obama were showing up in EA's Burnout: Paradise on Xbox Live.
Since that time the story has gone national, with coverage by among others, the Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. ABC News and CBS News have mentioned the Obama ads on their websites, although not on the air - so far.
With tonight's final Presidential Debate taking place at Hofstra Unoversity in New York, will the XBL ads come in for a mention? If they do, it will almost certainly come from McCain. There is speculation that McCain's debate strategy this evening will seek to raise questions about Obama's readiness for the White House.
Could McCain use the XBL ads in an effort to paint Obama as geeky or frivolous? If he does, will such charges resonate with voters? Or will McCain come off as out of touch and, well, old?
It's all speculative, of course. We'll find out tonight.
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Posted 07/04/09 at 06:33pm
Alyric: Of course, Mark falls into the common trap about Columbine, which had nothing to do with bullying, etc. See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/?GT1=3256 for a more thorough explanation.
Alyric: Of course, Mark falls into the common trap about Columbine, which had nothing to do with bullying, etc. See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/?GT1=3256 for a more thorough explanation.
Posted 07/04/09 at 06:32pm
PHX Corp: Read this http://www.destructoid.com/sgc-09-liveblogging-the-jack-thompson-debate-138502.phtml#ext
PHX Corp: Read this http://www.destructoid.com/sgc-09-liveblogging-the-jack-thompson-debate-138502.phtml#ext
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:54pm
PHX Corp: JT is afraid of such ban then advocates it That's what i call a total Hypocrite
PHX Corp: JT is afraid of such ban then advocates it That's what i call a total Hypocrite
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:50pm
PHX Corp: AE: JT is a -Bleeping- Jackass
PHX Corp: AE: JT is a -Bleeping- Jackass
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:07pm
Andrew Eisen: JT "knew it would be a good audience." Not what he said on Tuesday.
Andrew Eisen: JT "knew it would be a good audience." Not what he said on Tuesday.
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:01pm
Andrew Eisen: VG cause violent behavior. VG companies influence behavior to get sales. Yeah, that makes sense. (To be fair, the Twitter feed makes deciphering JT's point pretty tough.)
Andrew Eisen: VG cause violent behavior. VG companies influence behavior to get sales. Yeah, that makes sense. (To be fair, the Twitter feed makes deciphering JT's point pretty tough.)
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:52pm
Andrew Eisen: Yes, it's been proposed but as far as I know it has not been passed. Big difference.
Andrew Eisen: Yes, it's been proposed but as far as I know it has not been passed. Big difference.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:50pm
Cheater87: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm
Cheater87: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:49pm
Andrew Eisen: Far as I know, Germany has not banned all violent video games.
Andrew Eisen: Far as I know, Germany has not banned all violent video games.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:44pm
Cheater87: Jack wants the US to follow Germany's total video game ban.
Cheater87: Jack wants the US to follow Germany's total video game ban.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:42pm
Andrew Eisen: Note to JT, it is not illegal to sell kids a ticket to R-rated movies.
Andrew Eisen: Note to JT, it is not illegal to sell kids a ticket to R-rated movies.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:39pm
Cheater87: Jack said we would be better with no rating sytem.
Cheater87: Jack said we would be better with no rating sytem.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:35pm
Alareth: So what was the introduction used for Jack?
Alareth: So what was the introduction used for Jack?
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:31pm
JDKJ: Heard one, you've heard 'em all. He repeats the same act, with the same half-truths, over and over.
JDKJ: Heard one, you've heard 'em all. He repeats the same act, with the same half-truths, over and over.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:31pm
Andrew Eisen: Using a credit card as age verification is not illegal. Hope Mark called him on that and his made up statistics.
Andrew Eisen: Using a credit card as age verification is not illegal. Hope Mark called him on that and his made up statistics.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:30pm
Alareth: Jack is special, his mommy always told him so.
Alareth: Jack is special, his mommy always told him so.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:29pm
Andrew Eisen: JT lied about that APA causation thing again. Wonder if Mark called him on it.
Andrew Eisen: JT lied about that APA causation thing again. Wonder if Mark called him on it.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:04pm
Andrew Eisen: Follow the JT/Methenitis debate on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jtdebate
Andrew Eisen: Follow the JT/Methenitis debate on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jtdebate
Posted 07/04/09 at 01:18pm
Andrew Eisen: Rodrigo - A fun idea but you might want to fix the typos.
Andrew Eisen: Rodrigo - A fun idea but you might want to fix the typos.
Posted 07/04/09 at 12:57pm
GRIZZAM PRIME: Happy 4th of July!
GRIZZAM PRIME: Happy 4th of July!
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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
Doubt it will even come up... We'll see... Everyone I know that has researched into politics alot this year has decided that the entire government needs to be gutted and restaffed because they are all greedy old men that are out of touch with society... I can not agree more with that statement...
why would it come up? what's the relevance? mccain doesn't even know what a video game is. why would mccain bring up anything technology related when he's admitted he doesn't know how to send email? chances of a mention approach zero.
The only approach I could see along these lines would be to address the potential contradiction in Obama's statements pertaining to telling parents to get their kids off the couch then advertising in the games their kids play.
Whether or not the connection is accurate is open to debate, I suppose, because you can bet that if we're aware of the way this story has spread, Obama is equally aware and has a response already prepped that would trounce McCain.
My guess is that McCain will avoid it and Obama won't see the need to bring it up, but who knows? Both parties have been bringing up irrelevent points in debates for decades. Don't see any reason they would stop now...
It actually did make it on the air this morning on CNN Headline news. Robin Mead covererd it about 7:50 eastern.
I think Fox had it on it's website.
It could come up. McCain's strategy is partially to paint Obama as being not ready for the Presidency.
"Can we really trust a man who spends is time advertising in a VIDEO GAME? Will a President Obama be too busy playing his Playstation 360 or WiiBox [you KNOW he'd say something like that] to deal with a national crisis. Can he be trusted to turn off the Halo Theft Auto [again you know he'd say it] when his country needs him."
That's an exaggeration of what I think McCain might say, but I can see it coming up. Though I think it work likely Palin would go this route, she's definitely the attack dog in this campaign.
He has to call them "videos".
E. Zachary Knight
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Hahahaha!!!
That reminds me of the 90's, when many people called cartridges "tapes".
--- Official Protector of Videoland!
Yeah... but that could backfire very easily. First of all, Obama's not the one playing the games - his voters are. Just as Obama gained a lot of ground-level support by targetting smaller states, so he could win a lot of voters by advertising on unusual media.
Then, there's the question of what the real difference is between advertising on video games now and, say, TV 60 years ago. Back then, TV was regarded as a niche pursuit, but those who were first to advertise there gained massive leads against those who didn't.
Finally, it's a risk to criticise people who play games. For every potential McCain voter who might be swayed by an attack on games, there's a gamer who might be persuaded to vote Democrat in retaliation...
I say it probably won't come up...
Here is the whole thing. Since only adults can vote, the ads in games are targeted towards adult gamers. Aknowledging that such a thing exists is a step in the right direction.
If they do try and bring it up in the debate, it might bite them back like that awesome projector. When the McCain group was trying to use it as an example of outrageous spending, most people saw it as providing for the community. This wasn't a home projector he was using to watch HD movies, this was an Astronomy projector for a planetarium. You know what, I support that.
At least this artical has a legitimate point, unlike the other coverage GP has been passing off as "news". I am quite dissapointed with GP's election coverage, and yes you do have a choice on what you want to report, and yes you are showing an extream bias in what you decided to report.
~Weatherlight~
Oh please... McCain probably doesn't even know about Obama ads in games... Muchless its neither a negative or positive for him covering all bases. After all the one game ad we know about is in Burnout... So what is McCain going to say? "Obama supports reckless driving!"
~The main problem isn't really video games but media. Movies show you how to do it, books go into details about doing it and video games have you simulate the experience... Spread the blame around rather than focusing on us
I think the biggest question is whether McCain even cares
Oddly enough, when speaking about education, he said "put down video games"...
I weep at my tool-ality as the clown for the carnival that was pseudo-conservative values. My other personality will probably come in and decry Obama's embrace of what he delusionally thinks is evil. but let me in on a secret.
My other personality used to have wet dreams about a frankensteinish fusion of Nancy Reagan and the princess from Dragon's Lair.
I weep at the repression this has caused. I wholehearetedly renounce the Republican party for aiding in my sickness and embrace Obama. Except when he's with Hillary. She was another enabler.
Hah, put down the video games.
I invited my friends to a game of Halo when I heard that.