In light of Professor Geoffrey Rockwell's blog post on the 2007 Video Game Report Card, I had to touch on this subject. I have been working for a company promoting and demonstrating Nintendo Wii and the console's newest games for the past 2 weeks. I can tell you we have had our share of problems concerning the appropriateness of games.
The Wii Interactive set-up displays 6 TV screens in total with 6 different games - 3 with teen rated games and 3 with more child-friendly games (facing away from each other). "Rayman: Raving Rabbids" - a quirky/funny/grotesque game aimed at teens is displayed, yep, you guessed it, on the teen rated side. Even still, we have had a number of parents complain about this game. The majority of comments typically had something to do with the burping contest mini-game players can take part in. I realize that burping is not necessarily an example of good etiquette, but it's fairly innocent when timing is taken into consideration - after all, this is just a game we are talking about. Rayman also features a number of other mini-games that are not in any way harmful. For example, in one you can find yourself competing in a clothes washing competition. So what.
The irony is that this game Interactive is situated next to "Link's Crossbow Training"; a far more violent game in which players use the Wii Zapper controller (shaped like a gun) in gameplay. A player literally shoots Zombies and other monsters until they explode. Guess how many complaints I heard about this game? Zero - explain that one to me.
3 comments:
I find it scary how we tolerate violence and then blow a gasket on things like burping. Why is this? Have we become immune to the violence? Is the violence seen as character forming?
I don't know if we've necessarily become immune to it... I went through a horrible episode at work a couple weeks ago where some of our event participants got into a heated fist fight....... and it was still pretty scary.....
Maybe it's just more accepted as an act? Violence is going to happen... people are going to beat up each other if they get angry... countries will go bomb other countries if they don't agree with the way things are run etc.
I'm not saying it's right, but I think many have come to believe that violence might be inevitable.... burping on the other hand........ holding that bad boy in takes a lot less effort and thought than defending what you believe, fighting to save your reputation... or whatever else people think are good reasons to fight about.
Maybe it's more accepted because it seems more noble?
I'm definitely not making excuses for it, a lot of people have their priorities mixed up.
I don't know if we've necessarily become immune to it... I went through a horrible episode at work a couple weeks ago where some of our event participants got into a heated fist fight....... and it was still pretty scary.....
Maybe it's just more accepted as an act? Violence is going to happen... people are going to beat up each other if they get angry... countries will go bomb other countries if they don't agree with the way things are run etc.
I'm not saying it's right, but I think many have come to believe that violence might be inevitable.... burping on the other hand........ holding that bad boy in takes a lot less effort and thought than defending what you believe, fighting to save your reputation... or whatever else people think are good reasons to fight about.
Maybe it's more accepted because it seems more noble?
I'm definitely not making excuses for it, a lot of people have their priorities mixed up.
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