Is the industry betraying its games?

if we as the gamer knew what we could do, i'm sure many people would come together. but from the standpoint of people "in the industry" we as gamers don't always know the ins and outs of what goes into game development, including censorship (although some pretend like they know everything and really don't). just like any "army" a "chain of command" would help to let us gamers know what we can do. short of boycotting certain games/devs/publishers where the devs and/or publisher just cut and run, what can we as gamers do?

Maybe it takes a gamer to say it, but I have serious doubts that games will have the kind of defenders that other media have attracted. Video games are necessarily separate because it takes some effort (and dare I say, some talent) to enjoy them. On the other hand, anybody can sit down and and enjoy a book, a movie or a TV show. A medium that is interactive will have a smaller audience and less mainstream acceptance, and will also therefore have fewer advocates.

Also, apropos of nothing it's not really freedom that's the issue. Money will be the issue. When games get vigorous legal defense, it will be because the media companies selling them stand to lose sales, and not because there's the principle is at stake. It's hard to separate freedom of expression from the freedom to profit from it.

Note: This is James's 3000 post on Joystiq, making him arguably one of the most prolific game bloggers on the interent. Congrats, Ransom-Wiley!

he makes a good point. we should not stand to watch great games get censored and torn into an ultimately lesser version of the original. nor should we stand to watch devs and publishers take the easy way out.

it could almost be a civil rights issue. other idustries enjot many luxuries that the gaming industry does not.

he mentioned the metaphorical "army" and that we gamers could do more for this. i would very much like some details as to how myself as a gamer could contribute to end game censorship. how does one join this "army"?

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but Ross Miller posted this nearly 3 weeks ago on this same exact site.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/02/08/lowentstein-chastises-cut-and-run-developers/

Anyways, I agree with Lowenstein. For all that the heat that the ESA and ESRB took from the Government and Press for the whole "Hot Coffee" situation, I never heard a single employee of Take-Two or Rockstar stand up to defend their game. It almost seemed as if they just let them take the heat for it. Sure, they lost quite a bit in sales, but they could have shown some backbone and joined in the fight against Jack Thompson and the rest of em'. Ugh...the thought of Hilary Clinton becoming president makes me sick.

The big problem with the Video Games Voter Network is that it requires us to be voters. Not sure about people elsewhere but I have never seen a local or national candidate I would be willing to vote for. Electing officials seems to be more about choosing the lesser of two evil than choosing who would represent me the best. As someone who lives in one of the red states my choices are usually limited to greedy old rich white men or crazy religious old rich white ladies. I have zero faith in our political system and so I choose not to participate in it.

Game developers talk out of both sides of the mouth. They market games to appeal to snot nosed thugs and 18+ adults alike and then say they did their part by puting a MA rating on the game. No one is censoring anyone by making laws prohibiting the sale of these games to minors. If I buy porn for a 10 year old, I'm in serious trouble, no ifs or buts. If I buy a kid material with heavy sexual,drug, and violent influences, and the authorities catch me..im up shit creek. To place these games in a separate section clearly designated for adults is NOT censorship.

Non participation? Isn't that like ignoring the problem to make it go away? I joined the Video Game Voters network recently, and they sent me an email recently warning of a local representative proposing anti game legislation. I used the link in the email to write a letter to the editor that got published in the paper. By being vocal and alerting fellow gamers of voting age of our fight we can vote against those who would seek to control our medium of entertainment. Lawmakers find it easy to target video games because they feel only kids play them and they don't have to worry about offending any constituency. We must show them this is wrong. All of my friends are old enough to vote. The problem is getting all of us to stand together.

Twist,

You are what's wrong with America. Grow up.

I have to disagree with the criticism of Twist. What is wrong with America is people who have No grasp of the issues whatsoever voting regardless. It is your right to abstain from voting, and if you don't know enough abut the issues, or if there isn't a candidate who you deem worthy, then why exactly would one vote?

Until game talks about serious subject with a message to convey, games won't be a mass media. Game can become a mass media but need to breaks the rules. Look at Comic book history in US. It has become a "fan" only media because of censorship. Look at Manga in Japan, it's a mass media because manga can talk about every subject, serious or funny... not just kid stuff. That's it, that's all. Unless game industry break the rules, game industry will stay a "fan" media. I guess that's why i like rockstar...

11,

That's a good point, video games are a very immature medium, they refuse to tackle any sort of serious intellectual issue - but I would hardly call rockstar a banner to rally under. But I would also point out that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did some incredible work under the Comics Code Authority although comics great works (Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, Sandman) all came after the Code era ended it was the work under the Code that paved the way.

to 7.

The game got rated MA. MA movies do not get put in a separate section so why should games?

You don't necessarilly need to be a member of the Videogame Voters network, but it is a popular way to get regular gamers involved. There are other ways that Lowenstein suggested, such as writing congressmen or senators with concerns.

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"It has become a "fan" only media because of censorship"

DC and Marvel have dropped the comics code in favor of their own rating systems. I'd like to believe that other companies in comics or any other entertainment medium might do the same.

Right now what's controlling the big companies' product output are the ones that get the most sales. They have more diverse offerings through imprints, limited series (like Marvel's MAX line), but comics are not controlled by 'The Code' or censored.

The comic book industry running on the talents of Lee, Kirby and the rest, matured DESPITE the Comics Code. It didn't help them yet they learned to make great stories anyways.

GTA did not suffer from being M-rated. That is a fallacy in logic, especially when you look at the III, VC, and SA humungous sales.

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@ 13

I'm guessing you mean MA movies like on TV? Parents can use the V-chip to block show/movies that they don't want their kids to see. With 360 and Wii (not sure about PS3), you can block M-rated games.

Simply rating something M, MA, Ao, already puts it in a division of categories. What point would these divisions have if not enforced in some manner?

The company has all rights to make whatever they want and get great sales and all that, but if they have trouble they have to be able to deal with it as well.

Video game designers just aren't broadly intelligent. We must accept that for now and protect the industry while holding it responsible for its actions.

Also, Twist, I highly doubt that you're the high-thinking politico who ponders the future of the recently shaken (again!) Italian government, so it's more likely that you're an undereducated complainer.

I'd be more in favor of the VGVN if they actually represented the voters rather than the industry. Why aren't they trying to make modding to import legal?