What do you think of all the Black Ops Controversy?

[RheynbowDash]

Ok, number one. I'm a 25 year old black american male. Right in the Black Ops demographic.
I'm all for free speech and everything, expressing your opinion and all that, but this is getting out of hand. I was watching ESPN the other day and 2 of their panelists were talking about the Blops ad with Kobe Bryant.

A link to the ad in question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pblj3JHF-Jo

A link to the ESPN video:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5817181

Now me personally I cant stand Kobe Bryant, but I think they took it too far with the badmouthing. Its a fucking video game. If it was just some random guy firing a 203 round, would this even be an issue? At the end of the day, the people that seem to be so "offended" by this ad are doing nothing but providing free advertising for Activision. So escapists, I ask you, whats your take on this?

EDIT: Added a link to the ad to cut down on Googling.

 

[Gindil]

Ok, so Kobe likes playing video games. He wasn't the only celebrity in the game. People just need to stop focusing on other people's lives and live their own.

 

[Captain Pirate]

There was controversy?

Oh yeah, that.
No, I don't care.
It's a fucking TV ad...
For a game...
You know, that you play..
For fun.

Chill out, ESPN.
No, it's not implying everyone has a hidden murderer in them that wants to shoot people, it's implying that everyone can be a fictional soldier in the game, which is also fictional.

 

[Irridium]

Why aren't people coming down on Jimmy Kimmel and his RPG?
At least I think that was Jimmy Kimmel. Looked like him.

Anyway, its stupid. Its just an ad, and these people like to play games. Yes it depicts war, as crude fun, but so do plenty of movies and books. Go yell at those for a while.

 

[Wintermoot]

in the imortal words of Bill from L4D: Horse Shit people are firing guns since they where invented so what,s the big deal with a celebrity firing a gun?

 

[Spaec]

Well, controversy seems to ship with CoD games by default nowadays. Maybe people contrived a debate around something just because a new one was coming out?

Also, it really bothered me how Kobe barely got to finish a sentence for a large portion of the interview.

 

[Meggiepants]

Seriously?

You know, I'm sure ESPN covers boxing, one of the most brutal sports in modern history. And they are offended that Kobe Bryant is shooting a gun? In an ad for a video game? Where no one actually gets hurt?

Seriously?

So it's okay to glorify this:

Spoiler: Those who are faint of heart do not click. Graphic image of a Boxer's face inside

But not this?

Spoiler: Black Ops screenshot

I don't get people.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Meh, I don't care. I don't even like Call or Duty.
I do have to wonder what the *genius* who thought up that ad was thinking though, it seems to me that it's not the kind of thing the games industry needs right now. I mean people are already waving the torches and pitchforks against video games, I really don't think that ad is going to help matters any.

 

[The Arbiter of Cool]

Ok, number one. I'm a 25 year old black american male.

What exactly does that have to do with anything? How does your gender and/or race correlate to the perceived Black Ops controversey? Sorry that just struck me as odd.

OT: I couldn't care less.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

I love the guy who says the commissioner of the NBA will smack down Kobe and continues on with this hilarious, "This qualifies as the all time what were you thinking?!"

The only thing the commissioner is doing is back flipping at the gargantuan amount of free publicity and expose the NBA is receiving because from what has been reported. The NBA has not been doing well in this regard for years.

 

[Ch@Z]

Seriously?

You know, I'm sure ESPN covers boxing, one of the most brutal sports in modern history. And they are offended that Kobe Bryant is shooting a gun? In an ad for a video game? Where no one actually gets hurt?

Seriously?

So it's okay to glorify this:

Spoiler: Those who are faint of heart do not click. Graphic image of a Boxer's face inside

But not this?

Spoiler: Black Ops screenshot

I don't get people.

I agree. No one points out the fact that boxing is a sport where rich white men with cigars enjoy poor young black guys fight against each other and have a chance of DYING!
But everyone likes to bash video games because.......what was it again? Oh right. Video games don't hurt people or kill people!!

 

[Something Amyss]

Meh, I don't care. I don't even like Call or Duty.
I do have to wonder what the *genius* who thought up that ad was thinking though, it seems to me that it's not the kind of thing the games industry needs right now. I mean people are already waving the torches and pitchforks against video games, I really don't think that ad is going to help matters any.

It shouldn't have hurt, though. It's hard to predict the things that will set people off, and this really does look like a harmless ad.

 

[Estocavio]

Its just advertising, like with MW2's mission. Ignore it

 

[MarcFirewing]

Pardon me. But who the fuck do we Americans have for reporters?! First off there's a bunch of problems about the multiplayer with the enemy's name being the Taliban? Now it's about some form of a person enjoying a video game? Where in the hell is there any common logic between these subjects?

It's a freaking video game. They're reading too much into it and it's ridiculous because it starts affecting us the actual video gamers. That's always fun. Always.

 

[Tarkand]

I guess the easily offended crew is out in force on this one.

Since I have a pvr, I never actually watch commercials, so I just now looked up on you tube. I think it's brilliant.

And the fact that some idiots are giving it free publicity with their outrage makes it a very successful add.

 

[elbowlick]

What's the controversy? A celebrity shot a gun? Have these people even seen a movie in their life time?

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

A) Who the fuck is Kobe Bryant?
B) Why the fuck does anyone care?
C) Why the fuck do people care about this but not films?

 

[flaming_squirrel]

The only controversy around the game I was aware of was how shit the single player campaign was, how shit the graphics were and why the hell performance is so poor.

Other then that it's all fine and good.