PAX 2008: Sex and Violence in Videogames Panel
by Xav de Matos 
{ Sep 2nd 2008 at 3:30AM }
Beginning the process with a firm kick in the butt, Croal asked the panelists to introduce themselves and answer whether or not they felt it was perception or reality that videogames cannot deal with violence and sex in a meaningful and artistic way. "They can portray violence great," Davison said. "I don't think they've dealt with sex at all, well." While unintentionally hilarious Davison's point was that videogames are still viewed as toys by the mainstream public and "no one wants sex in their toys."
Always a hot button issue when discussing sex and violence in gaming, Grand Theft Auto IV was used as the primary example of a recent release that delved into both pools at full force, but in surveying parents regarding the content WhatTheyPlay.com was surprised at the title's reactions. "Overwhelmingly a lot of people were like, 'Really? That's it?' ... In their head they had this view of terrible, interactive pornography," Davison revealed.
While discussing the influence of legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto, Croal raised an interesting question to the panelists. "For a young medium, what does it say that the person that's responsible for inspiring so much and, you know, sort of the 'leading genius' is basically saying, 'This entire range of subject matter is off limits to me,' does that set the tone for what a lot of other people will do in the field?" Kaplin quickly pointed out that, while Miyamoto is extremely respected, every artist in the field has a different kind of art which may include darker subjects.
The filled crowd exploded into cheers when Kaplin restated her opinion that parents who use videogames as a babysitter should not be allowed to have sex to begin with. In the end the panel agreed that the videogame industry, while booming, is still culturally under the radar and because it is mainstream media still portrays the hobby as a childish form of entertainment.
For more on the Sex and Violence discussion check out the BigCast PAX Special Episode featuring WhatTheyPlay.com's president, John Davison.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SHAZAM! @ Sep 2nd 2008 3:45AM
Interesting, and probably the correct conclusion to draw on at the moment.
GoldenS1104 @ Sep 2nd 2008 3:51AM
Based on what I read just now, it seems like everyone on the panel knew what they were talking about. If only everybody could be this reasonable and well-informed...
Tiptup300 @ Sep 2nd 2008 9:26AM
Which is why it wasn't interesting. Everyone's like "I Agree!......so what do we do now that we got that out of the way.....i dunno, you guys wanna get some food?"
In normal debates it's usually the informed and the uninformed, so this wasn't as interesting.
The Choir @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:53AM
Ooh, what kind of food?
Tiptup300 @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:40PM
See, that was the highlight of the debate, what were they going to eat. They just couldn't decide.
Tyrannius @ Sep 2nd 2008 3:55AM
So, what? Olson didn't contribute anything to the discussion or were you simply enamored by Davison's and Kaplin's "hilarious" comments?
Draken Stark @ Sep 2nd 2008 4:00AM
"no one wants sex in their toys."
*gathers all his sex toys and cries in a corner*
Draken Stark @ Sep 2nd 2008 4:12AM
Um... V for Victory was my babysitter when I was 5. I still remember my first computer.
I still miss you my old black and white Macintosh! ("Macintosh Classic" acording to wikipedia.) Bolo was an awesome game back then. I'm really glad that someone ported it to windows.
Ian M @ Sep 2nd 2008 5:08AM
I wonder if N'gai Croal uses names like 'Bob Smith' for game handles. People with awesome names should make up dull names as their counterstrike moniker.
Au @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:26AM
Most one sided panel evar.
Metal_Gear @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:09AM
I think it is pretty fair, on the news they never get anyone from the game industry to defend gameing when there is news on it, they just get loads of idiots who have done no research.
'GTA, you shoot people, you play that and you will commit genocide, just look at my child, he was sweet and innocent and this game corrupted his mind'
Phinehas @ Sep 2nd 2008 2:48PM
Hmmm...this guy seems to know a bit about research.
http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html
Not that he (or anyone, for that matter) would support your hyperbolic re-framing of the issue.
Yes @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:40AM
I think I see 2 women there and 1 black man. So yes there is both sex and violence in that panel.
SkreeHunter @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:12AM
Oh!
WRE @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:17AM
Oh snap!
Metal_Gear @ Sep 2nd 2008 6:46AM
If I played Mario then didn't go out and eat mushrooms and kill little critters that were just walking around hurting no one, then i wasn't going to play GTA then go out, shoot some people and sleep with a prostitute (or hack my best friends to death with a claw hammer after playing Manhunt).
I have always said, if you are going to do this after playing a game, you were crazy before picking up any controller. There was that guy who was a huge fan of the Matrix movies, and then he blew his parents away with a shot gun then said Morpheus told him to... right...
As this article says, Video Games are still considered a kids hobby (thanks Nintendo ¬_¬ ) and people use the kids as a scapegoat while the 'adult' movie hobby gets away scot free.
Haggard @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:44AM
Yeah but think of all the people who played Pac-Man in the eighties and now spend all night in darkened rooms, listening to repetetive music and munching as many pills as possible.
Suichimo @ Sep 2nd 2008 11:25AM
Yes, because it is all Nintendo's fault. Surely stories of kids getting pissed at their parents for taking away their Xbox because they wouldn't do anything productive, such as homework, has nothing to do with it.
Sony and Microsoft have a lot to say in the issue as well...
Phinehas @ Sep 2nd 2008 2:53PM
1. Is the issue causation or influence?
2. Do video games have the ability to influence (or are they decidedly poorer than every other art form or media)?
3. If games have the ability to influence, is it reasonable to think they will only ever influence for good?
4. If games can influence in negative ways, should we care about it?
Jeff @ Sep 3rd 2008 1:32AM
haggard, that's a t-shirt already. still a good joke tho!
Psaakyrn @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:45AM
If it helps, it's hard to explain sex in an artistic manner, no matter what your medium.
(what I mean is that it's hard to render sex in a non-pornographic and/or non-shocking and/or non-"cold facts" manner)
Ken Shammy @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:45AM
Video games and movies are a lot alike in the way ~the West~ perceives them. Sheer, unadulterated amounts of violence (I'm grasping. Please play along) would be completely acceptable, whereas you just add a little lesbian alien love scene -- which is in no way meant to be pornographic -- and you've got a scandal on your hands.
It's not so much that video games can't handle sex or violence, just that its audience simply isn't ready for it yet.
Ken Shammy @ Sep 2nd 2008 7:49AM
By 'audience' I mean the mainstream. And I see I have a couple words missing in there. I just woke up, goddamnit. Joystiq needs and edit button D:
I was just trying to draw the distinction between Western and Eastern notion's of what's acceptable. I'm sure people here know about what I'm talking about.
killian @ Sep 2nd 2008 8:15AM
N'Gai Croal is an ass I disagree with a lot that he has to say and he thinks his shit don't stink...I know mine does world be better off if others realized that they don't always have the answer...
Farseer (GDI) @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:55AM
Dude, why is it that the only means of punctuation you use is an ellipsis? Who the hell teaches that?
http://www.joystiq.com/profile/2060186/
acme @ Sep 2nd 2008 8:40AM
The problem with mainstream and gaming is, their knowledge of the industry consists of the WII and its Peripherals. Hardly the serious gaming most of us do.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:50AM
That's actually not true. Alot of people outside of the hardcore community are fully aware of the ps3, and the 360. And they are aware of games such as God of War, Gears of War and Halo. Just because they don't read game magazines or go on Joystiq every 10 seconds doesn't mean they are completely oblivious to the gaming culture.
j.howlett @ Sep 2nd 2008 10:03AM
i've seen plenty of violence in games, but i sometimes wish, when it comes to sex more games would just take it there and have no need to dwell on it afterwards.
Joel @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:15PM
So was the panel about sex and violence in video games or about the perceptions of the game industry by the mainstream media and public?
As far as I'm concerned those are two separate topics. I am a little confused about why the "Sex and Violence in Video Games" panel decided to talk about how the gaming industry is misunderstood or incorrectly generalized.
As I understand it, the first question was whether or not it was a reality or a misconception that the gaming industry doesn't deal with sex and violence in a mature fashion. So when broken down there are three components to this question: the way violence and sex are dealt with in games, the media or general public's understanding of the way sex and violence are handling by the gaming industry and any incongruence that arises.
Why on earth did the panel spend so much time discussing the latter two? They barely touched their topic! What about discussing ways that the gaming industry could portray more mature sexual relationships or the powerful nature of true violence. What about discussing whether or not there is a place for outlandish and over-the-top violence? Has the gaming industry developed enough to allow for multiple understandings of violence and sex across multiple games? There are many rich and more interesting aspects to their topic that they eschewed in favor of repeating any of the classic teenage mantras. (Including but not limited to "You just don't get me, man," "Parents just don't understand," and "Why don't girls like me?")
Ridiculous!