Is it me or is controversy in gaming getting more and more absurd?

[Erttheking]

I get mad when people say that video games make you kill people or turn you into a nymphomaniac, but I've been noticing that the attacks made on games are just silly. We started off with the GTA controversy which had you running over people and shooting people in the face for no reason, definatly dark and I can see where they were coming from but I still disagree with them. Then we had no Russian which was basically two minutes of GTA spliced into a COD game. Again the controversy alarms went off but this just wasn't as strong. Mass Effect had it's turn with the infamous sex scene scandle, which was reported as being interactive even though it was a cut scene 20 hours in that showed us a butt and a side boob. Even Jack Thomson, famous crusader against GTA, said that there was nothing wrong with Mass Effect. Then there was that absurd article about Bulletstorm when they said that the game made you want to rape people, they're reasoning? When two people shoot a guy at the same time, the get the "gang bang" bonus...that's it. Apparently seeing the words "gang bang" turn innocent nine year olds into serial rapists. And finally, we have the Portal 2 controversy, and to be blunt I actually hope people are scratching their heads right now saying "wait what's wrong with portal 2?" There was a controversy about it...because Wheatly made fun of adopted people...I wish that I was making this up. Seriously I'm not joking, this actually happened, google it if you don't beleive me.

I know that this is old news but I want to talk about it, what do you think about all this stupid nonsense?

 

[shadow.humper]

Controversy isn't just now going down the absurd hill, it hit the bottom of the hill years ago clocking in at 200mph, and now it's streaking up the hill of insanity at 250mph with no sign of stopping.
We are castrating ourselves with new excuses to complain and get our way, instead of being opened-minded and exercising mental fortitude to stuff that makes us uncomfortable.
e.g. Why disciplined and train your kids when you can blame the world or your family genes for making them stupid?

 

[Lilani]

It's funny, the same types of arguments that are plaguing video games now were thrown at film when it began to take its place as a form of expression. "The images are too real and too shocking" "People don't have the ability to know the difference" "It's so vulgar" "It rots the mind." And the same types of things were said of metal, rock and roll, abstraction, cubism, fauvism, dada, and every other new and emerging artistic movement or medium.

Ultimately, what is happening has absolutely nothing to do with any of things they are arguing about. It's not that it's harmful or could be the downfall of society. It's that it's something new that's been brought on by the newer generation, something the older generation has never seen before and has very little understanding of. It is so radically different from anything the older generation and conservatives, and it's so passionately adopted by those who enjoy it most that the only way they can see to combat it is to shut it down. They don't really know what it is, but they do know it's a threat to the status quo and challenges the way they think about and see the world, so they want it gone. And they especially don't want the children to get ahold of it. Because children have an uncanny ability to accept something as normal if it's around them long enough. This happens to adults too, but with children it's much quicker and it becomes much more cemented in their mind. Ever notice how you understand and love the cartoons you grew up with, but your parents just don't get it? And then they try to show you their cartoons and you just don't get it either? That's what I'm talking about.

So they want to keep it away from the children so it doesn't get any more allies. But ultimately, either people do get used to it, or the older generation holds it off just long enough to keep it obscure until they die off and the newer generation takes prominence, revealing or rediscovering it if necessary. And then at that point everybody is wondering what the hell everybody was so excited about.

Video games are our generation's rock and roll. They're new, they're different, and they can make you think about things differently. Older people don't get them, social conservatives can't stand them, and everybody else who hasn't already chosen a side is pretty indifferent about them.

I wouldn't worry, though. Video games are a multi-billion dollar industry, and it's already been accepted by the US Supreme Court and the US National Endowment of the Arts as a legitimate form of art. The absurd arguments are likely a sign of desperation, because for years these people have been trying to find foolproof evidence that video games are harmful to people and children, but they've never been able to find any. So now at this point they're just trying to put a bunch of scary words together to appeal to people's emotions and base fears. But again, don't worry about it. The video game generation is growing up and taking its place in the world, and before you know it we'll be the ones sitting in our rockers raving on about how our children and grandchildren are being corrupted by the latest trend or advancement.

 

[DioWallachia]

Look, i will go paranoid a bit just to give you an example of what i think its happening.

I believe that this "controversy" is a way to eliminate the game industry as a threat to the other pre-established industries like the cinema because they just ran out of ideas of what to remake-reimagine-reinvent-rebullshit in 4D. And mostly because people are lazy and just want to get their paychecks at the end of the month and dont want to think anything for too long, so they go for the easy road of not taking any risk at all. For example, in a debate with 2 candidates to politician, if one accuses the other of being a rapist who eats babies the people will believe it because, after all, what if it happens to be true?? do i take the risk and endanger everyone's life?? i must take the safe route and chose the other person instead.

Now paranoia aside, i think the real question here is: if there is people like you and a bunch of others on this very site that CAN take their time to actually think what they are doing, then how is that just recently people like you exist?? I mean, to think that only recently there are people who arent easily mislead into lazy solutions is absurd. There MUST be people trough history that have tried to state the obvious of "not let yourself be manipulated that easy by taking things out of context" .........and yet, people like that father of the adopted girl still exist that just talks bullshit without thinking.

There is also people who thinks that comics are for children and have stupid plots or that the recent comic book movies became "more than just comic book plots" And i would reply "Dear sir, last time i checked the comics have a long history of deconstruction and reconstruction of genres and tropes loooooooooong before the movies did it so shut your fucking trap"
And who could forget the people that think that all animation is for kids when the bloody Simpsons have clearly demonstrated that it could entertain adults.......And yet you see granfathers giving children a bunch of Anime that just happens to be hentai porn.

And this father bitching about the Portal 2 not being kid friendly let me ask him something, WHERE does it say that it for children?? Show me a commercial that shows a rating of E for Everyone or it was your fucking impression that games are children's toys too?? This reminds me of Six Days in Fallujah that was panned for being a video game about soldiers that fight in that place and feel terrible for what they have done. The developers asked the soldiers about their experience and feel touch by it, to the point that they wanted to make a video game for everyone to see and feel the guilt that the soldiers felt to the point that if they drop the controller and say "i dont believe that this is a just cause anymore" then the developers would have made their job perfectly. And it would have been amazing a game that doesnt glorify war as the other AAA titles of recent years (actually one anti war game exist and its "IJI" and its for free) but it had to be fucked up because people think that because its a video game, it has no right to "make fun of war" or "make killing fun" mostly associated with other games that apparently have been marketed for so long and so furiously that people think that those games are the only ones that exist.
But of course, judging a bunch of games to generalize ALL the games in existance is totally absurd. Is like just picking a bunch of games to see if they have artistic value and then not doing a proper research and calling it a day after saying that this prooves that games are not art. But that is just stup...............oh wait, they fucking did that.

WHAT.JUST.HAPPENED? is like people activated a reset bottom every 4 minutes in their heads to forget everything they have learned in the past 30 years. Where is the documentation that said "these genre doesnt suck" or "games are the new way for interactive media" WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE???? i just... i...........AAAAAAAAAAAAHAHA IT HURST@?@|¬@#~~#/$·/·"!%·!"($&"!%&!"YEG·%!ITHURST%!"·&%236$/$·GEE$%&"&"ITHURST
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I am The Milkman, my milk is delicious
Special delivery today, reinforced with nutrients that the world need.

 

[JesterRaiin]

I know that this is old news but I want to talk about it, what do you think about all this stupid nonsense?

People have too much free time and they waste it to think too hard about people they shouldn't.
Welcome to the XXI century. :|

 

[boag]

I get mad when people say that video games make you kill people or turn you into a nymphomaniac, but I've been noticing that the attacks made on games are just silly. We started off with the GTA controversy which had you running over people and shooting people in the face for no reason, definatly dark and I can see where they were coming from but I still disagree with them. Then we had no Russian which was basically two minutes of GTA spliced into a COD game. Again the controversy alarms went off but this just wasn't as strong. Mass Effect had it's turn with the infamous sex scene scandle, which was reported as being interactive even though it was a cut scene 20 hours in that showed us a butt and a side boob. Even Jack Thomson, famous crusader against GTA, said that there was nothing wrong with Mass Effect. Then there was that absurd article about Bulletstorm when they said that the game made you want to rape people, they're reasoning? When two people shoot a guy at the same time, the get the "gang bang" bonus...that's it. Apparently seeing the words "gang bang" turn innocent nine year olds into serial rapists. And finally, we have the Portal 2 controversy, and to be blunt I actually hope people are scratching their heads right now saying "wait what's wrong with portal 2?" There was a controversy about it...because Wheatly made fun of adopted people...I wish that I was making this up. Seriously I'm not joking, this actually happened, google it if you don't beleive me.

I know that this is old news but I want to talk about it, what do you think about all this stupid nonsense?

Dont worry so much about it, that generation has already entered its final stage of life and will be gone in 10 years, most of the people that grew up with Videogames are already in posistions of power.

 

[piplink]

And this father bitching about the Portal 2 not being kid friendly let me ask him something, WHERE does it say that it for children?? Show me a commercial that shows a rating of E for Everyone or it was your fucking impression that games are children's toys too??

sorry to burst your bubble, but portal 2 is E10+

OT: this kind of stuff is going to keep happening no matter what. people just cant get used to new tech so they try to have as much control over the situation.

 

[DustyDrB]

I don't see it much anymore, actually. More controversy is generated from within the gaming community than is created from outside of it. The last time I remember anyone from the media criticizing a game was...Bulletstorm. Before that....? I don't remember.

I think even the Portal 2 dad admitted he still liked the game and continued it to the end. That story was blown out of proportion. I don't even know how it became a story. It was some dad saying he was caught off-guard by the adopted kids joke.

We're going to see less and less criticism from the media. I mean...even FOX News is getting a 360 app [http://www.destructoid.com/irony-fox-news-coming-to-xbox-360-219400.phtml]. As gaming gets bigger, these media outlets are going to be more and more tied to the industry. And they'll probably even understand it better (if just a little).

The controversy nowadays deals more with business/political practices of gaming companies: Origin, SOPA, Region Locking/Operation Rainfall, DRM, in-game economy (think Diablo III's auction house). And I think every single one of the issues I just named are at the very least worthy of discussion, and at most worthy of taking a firm, proactive stance on.