Also via The Hill, something we can thank Hillary for:
Two weeks after Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) called for enhanced government oversight of video games, House Republicans passed a bill aimed at scrutinizing the $11 billion industry.
The 355-21 vote on Rep. Fred Upton’s (R-Mich.) bill, which calls for a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation on a controversial video game called Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, suggests that both political parties are jockeying for position on the issue.
On July 22, Upton became the first congressional Republican to introduce legislation on video games. The measure passed Monday.
After Janet Jackson’s breast was exposed during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, Republicans said there is a need to reduce sex and violence on television. But until recently Democrats have taken the lead on cleaning up explicit video games.
I hope we make sure Toommy Chong isn’t selling anymore bongs, too.
Brad R.
A friend of mine was paid to research the link between video games and violent behavior. Surprisingly, she found that Grand Theft Auto doesn’t turn children into serial killers.
Nathan Lanier
I’ve banged so many hookers because of GTA. I cherish its existence.
neil
Good. An investigation is one of the few legitimate things that the government can do about violent video games. Now let’s hope that it satisfies the rubes.
albedo
Even though I agree that this is not a very important issue, I do think some of these games should be regulated. That is to say, you should have to be 18 to rent or buy the Grand Theft Auto games or ones like them.
I’m a not very easily shocked youngish guy – probably exactly in the demographic they’re trying to appeal to, and I was really taken aback by this game when I tried it a friend’s house. I mean, shooting cops and old ladies in the head? Jesus.
There’ve been a lot of recent studies that suggest that adolescent brains are crucially different from adult brains in terms of impulse control and cognitive development, i.e. the ability to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Spending 8 hours at a time shooting people and stealing their cars cannot be good for kids.
But again, yes, not the most important issue on the table.
ppGaz
I’ve avoided video games for years.
Okay, one more thing I might do differently if I had it all to do over again ……..
Nathan Lanier
If you’re interested, here is the blog of the author of “everything is bad is good for you” – he’s addressed the issue as of late.
stevenberlinjohnson.com/
Anderson
Wow, and I was really looking forward to the videogame of Anal Adventures VIII. Curse those meddling senators!
Nathan Lanier
A distant friend of mine is actually a developer for Cyberlore, creator of Playboy: The mansion. My brother went to the release party, hosted by none other than a former playmate.
Vladi G
Weak. It’s not really all that fun unless you get ’em with the chainsaw or the flamethrower.
Don’t worry, video games made based on movies usually really suck (no pun intended).
Stormy70
I think one of the problems with the game of GTA was a secret portion of the game that was X rated could be unlocked with the right program. The makers did not tell the sellers that a rated X portion was hidden in the game and they sold the nice version to minors. Then like all teens, they found the program and unlocked the rated X portion of the game. My husband told me this, so this is second-hand. Sounds like GTA got busted.
I worked as a game room manager in my early twenties at a pizza joint (best.job.ever.) and we had to turn our Mortal Combat game on the clean version. There was no ripping out of spines or blood spilled on our monitors, thank you very much. I switched it over to the bloody killing mode when noone was looking because it was Mortal Combat, and I liked to see my opponents get their spines ripped out. Me, twisted? Why do you ask?
Steve
I propose a new rule: one must do something to investigate the missing $8.8 billion in Iraq, the missing money 99% of Americans have never heard of, before complaining about the likes of $4 million being spent to study cow flatulence.
BinkyBoy
I heard the Pentagon wants in on the next installment of GTA, they want to add the special torture portion. They are tired of all the desesitisation to sex and death, they want to desensitize the new recruits to human suffering, next.
KC
There’s nothing these people won’t investigate. On the other hand, I think it’s funny that the House took up Senator Clinton’s cause. If she was just pushing it for some red state political votes, they sure put one over on her.
Anderson
Don’t worry, video games made based on movies usually really suck (no pun intended).
See, that’s EXACTLY what I’m afraid of. If I wanted *sucking*, I’d be watching a different movie.
;)
BoZ the Rider
Well, technically the game companies do this independently of Federal regulations with the ESRB. It’s up to the shops to decide if they’re going to limit what games get sold to minors. Most places do, but the problem here isn’t the kids or the shops, it’s the parents.
I work at a school, and one day I was talking with a parent who’s son just had a birthday. He went to the store and picked up Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (another game in the GTA series). They got home, and within 15 minutes she was driving back to the game store to complain that they sold her son that game. The guy at the counter responded with “No, I sold the game to you, it’s on YOUR credit card.” She was pissed off at first, but figured out it was her fault for not paying attention to the ESRB Rating on the box.
In this case, certain individuals were smart enough to look around on the disks the game came on, and discovered a portion that is cut out of the main game. As in, you have to modify the game content to be able to see it. This will probably save Rockstar Games (the developer of GTA) from some legal trouble, but not all of it.
ppGaz
Sounds like the promoters got a lot of free publicity and a rush to the stores, if you ask me.
Clever. It’s the American way. See: Limbaugh, Moore, etc.
Outrage sells. Sex sells. Outrage and sex? To the moon, Alice!!
Stormy70
ppgaz – maybe you misunderstood my post. I was stating the problem with the game is the fact that they did not rate it as mature, but hid the content so it could be sold to minors.
I like violent movies and video games, hence the second part of my post where I enabled the spine ripping and decapitation portions of Mortal Combat, even though it was against the rules. This investigation is dumb and a waste of money, but polically astute, since soccer moms frown on their young sons being able to bang hookers vicariously through a video game they bought at Walmart. Walmart that does not sell rated R games. GTA snuck it by Walmart’s censors, and they got busted. I don’t feel sorry for them.
Mr.Ortiz
To the moon, Alice!!
Speaking of outrage, i saw a MadTV (i think) parody of the Honeymooners where, instead of “to the moon”, “bang, zoom” and “pow, right in the kisser”, Ralph would simply say to his wife, “I’m gonna punch you in the face!” and the audience would go wild just like on the original. Can you imagine the outcry if that show were on today, even with the euphemisms? For all the talk about cultural decay, it’s amazing how much more sensitive we are nowadays.
tBone
There is no “nice” version of GTA, unless of course you consider beating up hookers, shooting cops, etc. to be nice.
That being said, Rockstar wasn’t trying to get away with anything here, at least initially. The “Hot Coffee” content isn’t accessible if you’re just playing through the game normally – you have to use third-party mods or tools. It’s common for games to contain chunks of dead code like this, where the developers decided to leave something out or just didn’t have time to finish it. Rather than stripping out that code entirely, it’s often easier for them to just leave it hidden there, on the assumption that the user will never see it.
Where Rockstar did go wrong was in their initial denial that the code was actually in the game (they claimed it was content created by modders, and thus beyond their control). Either they were telling a stupid and easily disprovable lie, or they thought they were telling the truth but didn’t bother to make sure first. Either way, it makes them look bad.
And in the end, they’ll make millions of dollars, our fearless leaders will score some cheap political points, and clueless parents will continue to buy stuff that’s totally inappropriate for their kids.
Stormy70
Yup.
ppGaz
If you say so.
Jay C
John, is there any way to re-file your posts? This one certainly should go under “General Stupidity” alone: since that (IMNSHO) is all that these government “investigations” are good for. Some bureaucrats at the FTC will get a new project to spend the taxpayers’ money on; some Senators and Congressmen can snag some air time: Hillary Clinton gets free publicity, and (this is a safe bet!) – little or nothing will be done to significantly reduce the level of violence in videogames (and probably not much on the sex, either). Not with as big and popular a business as videogaming is.
Bob
I hear they get down and nasty in the Myst anniversary DVD, but I can’t seem to get off the damned island.
Dave in LA
So soccer moms and Walmart condone killing cops and other violent acts that are punishable by death in most states but doggie style is off limits?
The Disenfranchised Voter
They did rate it Mature. GTA is and always has been rated “Mature: 17+”
matt
This is stupid, but why blame Clinton? This is a Republican Congress and nothing gets passed unless they want it passed. She can come up with all the stupid ideas in the world, but unless Frist, Hastert, et al want it, the legislation will go nowhere.
BoZ the Rider
Mature: 17+ is different from AO: ADULT ONLY
17 is still too young to see porn in probably all 50 states.
Don
Personally I think Scott Kurtz got it right here.
“It’s okay if we shoot a hooker in the face but it’s not okay if we bang the chick?”
Defense Guy
This is a window dressing issue anyway. Hillary is just playing politics on an easy whipping boy. GTA is a great game, IMO, and has been since the start. However, I think RockStar made a big mistake in not ensuring the content had been scrubbed completely from the discs before shipping the game. Hiding porn in a video game is a bad idea and should bite them in the ass a bit.