SF SJ

Entry submitted.

"You just don't understand my genius."

Sorry, Denis, when you have to EXPLAIN your genius to me, it ceases to be genius.

Loved your previous work, but you may have jumped the shark.

I'm just saying.

Gnomer. Gnomer. And...Gnomer.

Yez plz.

Great Giveaways. Thx.

I used to work at the Big N back in the 80's, when Game Paks ruled the earth.

Bottom Line Up Front: Nintendo has NEVER sold any of their consoles at a loss. Not the NES or any of its heirs.

I don't know if this is a Japanese take on the business model or not, but I do know that it leads you to making copius amounts of small green pieces of paper.

For reference, the ESRB doesn't play the games before they are rated. Video of the gameplay is sent to ESRB for rating. This means that a publisher can effectively get the rating they *want* for a games. Want an M Rating? Just show nothing in the video except the one violent part of your game. Want an E? Just show the one non-violent moment of Murder Death Kill Part VIII... I think that's a pretty loose way to do "self-regulation," personally.

As to those who want proof of a causal link between video game violence and behavior, remember people, that this nearly impossible to prove scientifically, that is why it is so difficult for researchers like Dr. Thompson to construct either models or instruments (science-speak for experiments) to *prove* these links. While I don't think in-game violence causes violent behavior, I believe it is naive to think that that violence doesn't influence us, especially younger children who are in formational stages of development.

I'm missing the point of those who claim that there should be no restrictions on games related to maturity level. I remember attending a screening of "Hannibal" and seeing some people had brought their 6-year-old and thinking "What the...?" I, personally find that to be irresponsible parenting. At a pragmatic level, as a parent I would want to sleep some time before my kid leaves the house at 18 and would find this to be counter-productive to that endstate. On the other hand, there are mature stories that can be told in different media for mature audiences. "The Godfather" is pure cinematic genius, but it's clearly not a story for kids. Neither is "Eternal Darkness" which is also a great story, but parts of it, I believe are too intense and horrifying for younger players. How then do we resolve this problem?

I, for one, vote for conversation. Not all who say that there needs to be some sort of regulation are bad. Dr. Thompson, I believe seems like a reasonable person who can be engaged in conversation, unlike You-Know-Who, her namesake. And not all who claim to have the interest of gamers at heart are good; You think the ESRB is interested in protecting kids? Please, this is a group whose paychecks come from the industry they are supposed to be policing...

There are no easy answers here, Only conversations that may yield that not everyone will be satisfied with the ultimate resolutions. That is what we call compromise and that is what The Big People known as adults do. It ain't easy, but it's mature.

LEEEEEEEROY JEEENKINS!!

I may not get the Sidekick, but at least I've got chicken...

Maybe this time?

Or, most people don't understand the intricacies of IP and patent law.

Don't get me wrong, NTP are a bunch of opportunists in my book. That's not the point of the law (and I don't know the point of law they are pursuing). I do know that patent law is so arcane and detailed that only the very foolhardy indulge in trying to figure it out without at least 3 good patent lawyers on retainer.