Why does the media target certain game series for violent and sexual themes

[SmokeyBacon]

And why are they allowed to outright lie in certain cases

You see this with both TV news shows (like CNN and Fox) and newspapers (British tabloids like the Sun and Daily mirrior) where series like Manhunt, Mortal Kombat, Call Of Duty, GTA, Halo... always shit on by the media, blamed for psychologically affecting children and training them for terrorist acts. And when a real life murder is carried out by a teenager, its almost gareenteed that someone will link it to games, but why does it always have to be halo or GTA, is it because they are popular? Do they run these stories because the unwitting masses might of heard of Call of Duty over games like inFAMOUS or Prototype, when they are equally, or sometime much more violent and sexual?

I would really like to hear some views and opinions on why the media acts this way towards games, when they usually don't towards movies and tv shows, is it the interactablity? Or do they ignorantly think that games are toys that people with no social skills play in their basements by themselves, and that gaming hasn't evolved past tetris and pong?

 

[Appleshampoo]

Because games are easy targets for the idiot writers at the Sun and Daily mirror. When you're as stupid as they are, you pretty much need your news handed to you on a plate.

Also, the Sun makes me giggle when it bitches about nude stuff in games yet on page 3 there's a pair of tits. Hypocrits.

 

[Ordinaryundone]

Because games are still, mostly, targeted towards children. And any media that is targeted towards children will be under higher scrutiny from moral guardians.

*cue horde of people telling me I'm wrong*

 

[Crimson Butterfly]

There must be a cause for everything that happens and no one likes to think a human would commit appauling acts of violence without some motivation or suggestion.

Games are the scapegoat of the moment. Before games it was films and before that literature. Leaving people with no explanation of what has happened makes people feel powerless, confused and to a degree frightened. Our psyche makes us want to know why things have happened and games are convenient to put in as a foundation to base theories on.

It's simply not enough to say a muderer did it because he "just wanted to" and the moral breakdown of a society could never "just happen".

Something else will eventually come along to over-shadow the demonic allure of games and be the next public enemy.

 

[kyogen]

I would really like to hear some views and opinions on why the media acts this way towards games, when they usually don't towards movies and tv shows, is it the interactablity?

With TV and film, been there done that. Books too, and comics. Games are the next big medium to get popular, so they are the popular target for the pro and semi-pro "moral outrage" crowd.

 

[Braedan]

Because games are still, mostly, targeted towards children. And any media that is targeted towards children will be under higher scrutiny from moral guardians.

*cue horde of people telling me I'm wrong*

If you know you're wrong then why post it?

OT: video games are just the current target. Most media has gone through this stage with people blaming it for the world's woes. Rock and or Roll, violent television.
If moral guardians didn't have anything they could blame then they would be out of a job.

 

[Ordinaryundone]

Because games are still, mostly, targeted towards children. And any media that is targeted towards children will be under higher scrutiny from moral guardians.

*cue horde of people telling me I'm wrong*

If you know you're wrong then why post it?

OT: video games are just the current target. Most media has gone through this stage with people blaming it for the world's woes. Rock and or Roll, violent television.
If moral guardians didn't have anything they could blame then they would be out of a job.

Because I'm not. Also, I know this forum's...disposition.

 

[Smeggs]

Hell, back in the 1500's plays were seen as a vile, sinful act of Satan that corrupted the minds of people. It's just another one of those mediums that people like to blame their problems on so they don't have to take responsibility. And the mass-media just wants attention. Gotta get viewers somehow, and if nobody is watching out of interest, they'll come if you insult something they enjoy, along with all of the idiots who have no idea about gaming and think it's all just little kid stuff or violent bloodshed. Those would be the people who go "Yeah, dat dere nooze-castur knows what he's talkin 'bout dere."

Also, didn't the Supreme Court rule that games were protected under the constitution? So even the newscasters can't touch it now, no worries. They can gripe and moan all they want to get the attention off the real issues, but it won't accomplish anything.

 

[cthulhuspawn82]

It's also because the people reporting on games don't actually know whats in them, they just hear a rumor and run with it. Like the issue where FOX was accusing Mass Effect of having full frontal nudity, or when Glenn Beck said you can kill cops with chainsaws in GTA4.

The media run with hearsay all the time. Remember when they reported on a quote from Rush Limbaugh supporting slavery, and how it turned out they pulled the quote from some guys book who himself pulled it from Wikipedia?

The media would benefit greatly from the internet adage "Photo or it didn't happen". But since there are tons of politically driven, Photoshopped pictures, I would say good video/audio evidence or it didn't happen.

 

[NotSoLoneWanderer]

It's also because the people reporting on games don't actually know whats in them, they just hear a rumor and run with it. Like the issue where FOX was accusing Mass Effect of having full frontal nudity, or when Glenn Beck said you can kill cops with chainsaws in GTA4.

The media run with hearsay all the time. Remember when they reported on a quote from Rush Limbaugh supporting slavery, and how it turned out they pulled the quote from some guys book who himself pulled it from Wikipedia?

The media would benefit greatly from the internet adage "Photo or it didn't happen". But since there are tons of politically driven, Photoshopped pictures, I would say good video/audio evidence or it didn't happen.

Stupid glenn beck. You could only do that in GTA 3 and San Andreas...unless you mod gta4...

 

[Smeggs]

Glenn Beck said you can kill cops with chainsaws in GTA4.

He was partially right. I sure slaughtered my fair share of badges with a chainsaw in San Andreas. Jesus, I only stole a bicycle, why the fuck are they shooting at me?

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

I believe they do it because it's so easy to get away with.

If they lie and say a new rap song is bad, ANYONE can find out for themselves in less than 10 minutes.

If they lied about a movie saying it had crazy incest bestiality, anyone can prove them wrong in just an hour and a half.

However, if they say that Mass Effect has a fully controllable sex scene, it would take a somewhat skilled gamer at least 10 to 20 hours to prove them wrong.

 

[FarleShadow]

Because if NOT IMMEDIATELY POLARISING YOUR AUDIENCE AND YELLING THEY MIGHT LOOK AWAY FROM THE TV FOR A MICROSECOND AND FORGET WHY THEY WEREN'T USELESS TWATS.

And that's why America sucks. Too many adver...what was I talking about?

 

[cthulhuspawn82]

Glenn Beck said you can kill cops with chainsaws in GTA4.

He was partially right. I sure slaughtered my fair share of badges with a chainsaw in San Andreas. Jesus, I only stole a bicycle, why the fuck are they shooting at me?

I thought of that too. There were chainsaws in previous games, and you could kill loads of cops in GTA4. But claiming there were chainsaws in GTA4 was just proof that he didn't actually play/see the game and was just going off of what he had heard.

 

[TheJesus89]

Because most of them actually DO have violent and sexual themes.

You have to be stupid not to think that any of the games you mention don't have those.

 

[Wherethefuckiswally]

It's not really 'certain' games, just the violent and sexy ones...

Just sayin...

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Oh, the poorly researched news program only references popular games it's audience would be aware of? Also, Infamous is T.

 

[The Man With the Soap]

And why are they allowed to outright lie in certain cases

You see this with both TV news shows (like CNN and Fox) and newspapers (British tabloids like the Sun and Daily mirrior) where series like Manhunt, Mortal Kombat, Call Of Duty, GTA, Halo... always shit on by the media, blamed for psychologically affecting children and training them for terrorist acts. And when a real life murder is carried out by a teenager, its almost gareenteed that someone will link it to games, but why does it always have to be halo or GTA, is it because they are popular? Do they run these stories because the unwitting masses might of heard of Call of Duty over games like inFAMOUS or Prototype, when they are equally, or sometime much more violent and sexual?

I would really like to hear some views and opinions on why the media acts this way towards games, when they usually don't towards movies and tv shows, is it the interactablity? Or do they ignorantly think that games are toys that people with no social skills play in their basements by themselves, and that gaming hasn't evolved past tetris and pong?

They did the same thing in Vietnam. Good reporting died a long time ago. It's all about sensationalism now.

 

[Scrustle]

is it because they are popular?

Hit the nail right on the head there. I for one prefer that they do it that way. Can you imagine how they would take it if someone showed them stuff like Dead Island or The Darkness II (you can rip someone's spine out of their arse in that game)? It would be a disaster. I would rather they just ignorantly yap on about crap that anyone with any intelligence can see is BS that if they got hold of something that could actually seem disturbing to most people.