EA.com Editor-in-Chief Jeff Green took to his corporate blog to write about why gamers should care about Schwarzenegger v. EMA.
Agreeing with EA CEO John Riccitiello, who said that a Supreme Court decision upholding the California law would “screw us up in a real way,” Green argued:
… it could have a chilling effect on the gaming industry as a whole--both the makers and sellers of the games, who will have to seriously think twice about the kind of product they can and want to sell, out of fear of ending up in jail. And therein lies the bigger question at hand. Because if you substitute books or movies or music in the previous couple sentences, you can see just how wrong this is.
Echoing sentiment from a previous post today on GP, Green takes issues with Governor Schwarzenegger’s upcoming movie The Expendables, noting that the MPAA movie ratings are voluntary, just like the ESRB Ratings for videogames. Green wrote, “As bloody as this movie may be, it's not actually illegal for a theater to sell a minor a ticket to this movie, nor is it illegal for a parent to let his or her kid in with them.”
Green continued:
If Schwarzenegger really believed in the underlying message of the law with his name on it---that it should be illegal to sell or rent material deemed excessively violent for kids---then he should take the first step and make it illegal for kids to see "The Expendables." Until then, this is all nothing but hypocrisy of the highest order.
Green urged those who care about the issue to sign the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) petition page dedicated to the issue.
Disclosure: GamePolitics is a publication of the ECA
Comments
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
In both cases, a chemical reaction is triggered in the brain - thus, they are both 'interactive'.
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
The movie is exactly the same whether you're sitting there or not. The game requires user input. It's not rocket science; how is it we're even having this argument?
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
What? Movies and video games?
No. The chemical reaction in your brain does not influence the film. I'll grant you that film is interactive to the point that you can shut it off (or fast-forward, pause, slow-mo, etc.) but in the context of influencing content, pacing, and the like, it is not interactive.
Also, if you're responding to a particular post, please use the "reply" button.
Andrew Eisen
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
That being said, The Expendables looks absolutely awesome! :D
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
First off California's brief on the merits Shows Bizarro Style Tatics, Saying the first amendant allows them to regulate under FCC v Turner Broadcasting system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Broadcasting_v._Federal_Communicatio...
Watching JT on GP is just like watching an episode of Jerry springer only as funny as the fights
America has just became its own version of the Jerry Springer Show after a bizarre moment in Florida involving a carnival worker.
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
Dear Electronic Arts, move out of California. There are cheaper places to live and work, and there are governors far less likely to bite the hand that's trying to keep their state from going bankrupt.
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
Maybe after the SCOTUS kills this law, Arnold will have enough room for the ESA's fist because they should ram it into his stomach and break his goddamn spine.
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
Hes singling out one violent medium and not any others.
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
Yes. That´s why this law is so fucked up.
------------------------------------------------------------ My DeviantArt Page (aka DeviantCensorship): http://www.darkknightstrikes.deviantart.com
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
Indeed it is, I find many problem with this type of logic. They're not going after movie with violent content.
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
He's not a hypocrite as long as he insists that violent video games (unlike movies) harm children due to their interactive nature.
Andrew Eisen
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
Someone should bring up those "choose your own" ending movies.
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
Or if he criticizes the ESRB rating system. And he hasn't done that and has only mentioned interactivity rather than violence. So, as you say, he doesn't appear to be a hypocrite.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstein
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstein
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
Is a movie where the viewer sympathizes with the criminal protagonist and roots for him to kill the cop antagonist really that less interactive than a game where you push a button to make the criminal protagonist kill the cop antagonist?
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
A movie might not be interactive, but sympathizing with a criminal protagonist and believing in the value of the described action can be argued to be more impactful than triggering a gameplay event. Video games are definitely interactive. In most games though, players are likely to be far less emotionally invested in the characters/dolls and the consequences of their actions.
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
An excellent point, and I happen to agree that the "it's interactive therefore it's more insidious" argument is a poor one. But Andrew's right -- if Arnold's claiming there's a qualitative difference in the dangers between violent games and violent movies, he's not a hypocrite; he's just wrong.
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
immersive =/= interactive
Though i would imagine that something that's more immersive would have more of an effect on the mind. I mean, when a animated movie about a bunch of toys loosing their owner can leave a grown man blubbering in a mess of tears, there has got to be something going on XD
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
Only if you know what "interactive" means.
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
Yes.
Andrew Eisen
Re: EA’s Green: Schwarzenegger a Hypocrite
*Claps* Well said EA.