Asia > West

[Drakmeire]

I just think japan is more accepting of weird stuff than we are. and due to that sub-cultures are less niche.
for example, a hologram singer is selling out shows in japan right now... That's right people, we live in Star Trek!
<youtube=DTXO7KGHtjI>

 

[zehydra]

I always assumed it was in order to avoid copyright infringement.

 

[Kortney]

This crossed my mind recently. Think about it. When you see a game console, or a PC, or a controller or whatever in a western show or a comic etc; the system is either totally wrong, the controllers are weird or nonexistant (no mouse while playing PC, controller doesn't match system) or the audio doesn't match the video.
And usually, if the show is set in a modern time, people can still be seen playing pong or some shit like that. Some may even go as far playstation....2.

Then again in Japanese shows (anime/manga)... Characters can be clearly seen using the right controllers and playing actual games, and there's not just random bleeps and bloops.

My guess? Licensing. To show an Xbox 360 in a television show with actual game I'd assume that you need to pay Microsoft and have an agreement. It's a lot of work for no real benefit.

 

[Altorin]

wow, THIS is where you draw your line in the sand?

 

[HK_01]

Yep, it's quite laughable how games are portrayed in the other forms of media, especially movies and shows. Simply ridiculous.

I'd imagine the reason is licensing. But if that, most likely miniscule, sum they'd have to pay is really an issue then just don't show games instead of having these completely inaccurate portrayals of games.

The funniest thing is probably how people "play" in shows. Seriously, it's so obvious that they're just mashing the buttons randomly...

 

[thiosk]

To the West, getting gaming accurate is unimportant.

/thread

[sub](always wanted to do that...)[/sub]

You did it wrong.

You see, when you slash a thread, someone made a witty comment that essentially makes further comment pointless. you then quote that post, all you say is "/thread"

After /thread has been declared, the thread is thus functionally over. It should be left to sputter and die, for it has been slashed.

/threading your own comments is tacky and bad. Especially when discussion continues after your ill-conceived self-thread slash.

 

[Canid117]

Its more about legal stuff than ignorance. The producers don't want to have to pay for the rights or worry about copyright or anything resembling it so they use generic arcade sounds or something along those lines while Japan has different copy right law and doesn't have to worry.

 

[MrJKapowey]

And usually, if the show is set in a modern time, people can still be seen playing pong or some shit like that. Some may even go as far playstation....2.


It's not a problem really, since I don't watch bullshit shows like CSI, but it's just embarrassing and pisses me off sometimes. But the question is why?

In a PRIMEVAL episode a main char was playing TES IV: Oblivion, and in one of those films with Bruce Willis in it (the one where cyber terrorists take over americas systems) a side char plays GoW 2 before being blown up.


BTW CSI isn't bullshit and is a really good show In MY opinion and so is NCIS and Mentalist. All channel 5 American crime is cood 'cept CSI Miami...Bleurgh

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

This crossed my mind recently. Think about it. When you see a game console, or a PC, or a controller or whatever in a western show or a comic etc; the system is either totally wrong, the controllers are weird or nonexistant (no mouse while playing PC, controller doesn't match system) or the audio doesn't match the video.
And usually, if the show is set in a modern time, people can still be seen playing pong or some shit like that. Some may even go as far playstation....2.

Then again in Japanese shows (anime/manga)... Characters can be clearly seen using the right controllers and playing actual games, and there's not just random bleeps and bloops.

Why are the Japanese so deep fried in gaming culture and we aren't? I don't know the history so well but I'm guessing that gaming originated from Japan and they did those things long before we did. That's the only reason why gaming as a hobby could have such a positive image there.

It's not a problem really, since I don't watch bullshit shows like CSI, but it's just embarrassing and pisses me off sometimes. But the question is why?

And don't get me wrong. I don't like Anime either, but this phenomenon still interests me.

Not to mention that western media portrays gamers as freaks obviously. But I'm kinda okay with that, sometimes you gotta be able to take some criticism too. And I guess they're mostly right, but hey, it's a stereotype.

Let us speculate...

Well in a game like megaman battle network 6 they have a Nintendo DS, same with pokemon. But that's just project placement.

 

[manaman]

I remember an episode of Smallville about a year ago (as in, long before Kinect was out) where they played that. That amused me, was never really sure why it was in though. I always thought it was deliberate advertising.

It is. Bing has been showing up in quite a few shows as well. Samllville has also shown off the new windows phone 7. Seem Microsoft is going all out to advertise in shows lately. Personally it annoys the crap out of me, it's always so obviously focused on the product it breaks you away from what is happening in the show.

We live in a world where a concerned mother sues a gaming magazine for putting Alice The Madness returns on a cover (since she expected Alice to be friend with all the singing flowers and rainbows). That's the average Joe, who calls all consoles Sega Mega, doesn't know how to
instal those Internets" etc etc.

You realize that's as bad of a stereotype as anything behind the label gamer, right? I mean you had to have thought about that right?

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I think a lot of it is all the damned lawyers we have in the state-side. If Disney made an animated short that featured a game console that looked a little too much like a PS3 or, PS3 controller or, recognizable game they could risk a suit from anyone involved in the creation of the original product. Either that or they think they do.

I dunno...Gaming seems more socially accepted in Japan and Korea (where Starcraft is a 6-figure career). I don't see why the U.S. is so ashamed of it's many game-playing citizens (didn't say the G word!)

Also: it could just be a pain in the ass getting permission, drawing everything up, using in-game soundbites...all for the purpose of people pointing fingers and claiming 'sell-out' or, 'subliminal advertisement'.

 

[3LANCER]

You realize that's as bad of a stereotype as anything behind the label gamer, right? I mean you had to have thought about that right?

Well that actually happened few days ago in my city.
I can give you link to the story if you wish but Google cannot completely translate it and it's a bit of a mess to read.

Anyway, I remember I saw Xbox and Guitar Hero in some shows on FOX Life. And one old episode of Friends was about Chandler who bought a laptop and played Doom on it (in later episodes,Ross played Battlefield or something similar on his laptop)

 

[Iwata]

Oh, GOD! Another one of these weeboo threads...

You realize they hate us, right?

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

HIM AND ED ARE PLAYING TIME SPLITTERS.

I WIN. Ahem. Sorry, something caught in my throat there.

In Spaced, the sit-com where Simon Pegg first became well known and Nick Frost started his acting career, Simon Pegg would genuinely be playing the game while they were filming scenes in order to get the right effect.

I WIN.

Also, Pac Man Fever. There goes all your free time.

EDIT:

BTW CSI isn't bullshit and is a really good show In MY opinion and so is NCIS and Mentalist. All channel 5 American crime is cood 'cept CSI Miami...Bleurgh

I prefer NCIS to CSI because NCIS has the decency not to take itself seriously.

 

[Hollock]

Japan has looses copywrite laws, it's easier.

 

[joemegson94]

I saw an advert about a year ago where a kid was playing an original playstation. wtf?

Anyway, it's a small price to pay to have decent comics where the characters' eyes are smaller than their heads.

A bit off-topic, but true nonetheless.

 

[Layzor]

I think calling this a "phenomenon" may be a little generous.

 

[Squidden]

I love seeing someone on an ISP commercial that says something like "GREAT FOR GAMING!" and shows some guy sitting on a couch with a laptop on his lap, comically large 80's joystick in hand while the computer spits out happy 8 bit soundtrack.

 

[Stormz]

I've been watching The Big Bang Theory. They have done both, they get it right and they get it wrong.

They've showed the guys Wii bowling and it showed the screen and it was Wii Sports bowling.

But, they have also talked a lot in the show about have Halo night.
Though anytime they show them playing it, they don't show the screen and the sounds are all wrong. The explosions sound weird. In one instance, they invited the girl across the hall, Penny, to join them, and she turned out to be really good at it. They showed sounds of instances where she kept shooting her competition in the head (obviously meaning the sniper rifle), and the sound for the sniper rifle was not a Halo sniper rifle sound.

I'm betting it is the answer already given that the show producers don't want to pay for the rights to show the games on their shows.

Another instance from the same show is when they played Age of Conan. When you see the screen they're playing a game that looks like it should of been on the play station 1.

 

[Super Toast]

SNIP

No... Just... NO.