"We don't know if movies like Hostel or the other hardcore horror movies have been banned in the UK, but if they haven't, that feels like a double standard."
Yeah, and it would take so much trouble to actually do some research instead of inflaming the situation.
Whether you agree with the BBFC's decision or not, shouldn't the gaming media at least to try to behave sensibly over this and not do an inverse-Thompson.
Hostel was rated 18 in the UK
The BBFC have played Manhunt 2 and I doubt anyone posting in any of these threads has.
The BBFC are not a bunch of US-politicos or puppets of UK government. In fact they've regularly come out in support of the games industry. They're not even scare-mongering over Manhunt, just doing the job they've been doing for nearly a century. And treating games in the same way as they treat films.
The point is this isn't the US. Ratings work differently over this side of the pond and the approach much of the US media is taking towards this just doesn't seem to understand that. Additionally these are not 'unsupported assertions' made by the BBFC. A judgement has been made after actually looking at the material, that's how it works. This wasn't a decision plucked out of mid-air or one in response to political or media pressure, which is how the ratings game seems to work in some countries.
The BBFC has and no doubt will in the future not give a rating to a film or game. Guess what, they're treating both mediums the same! In other countries in Europe you get the same situation of games not being given ratings.
What the head of ELSPA is doing is trying to prove to the watching world that the ratings system those who attack the games industry say is ineffective is actually working. In doing this he is protecting the interests of the groups members. Whether you agree with the BBFC's decision or not, the system that is in place IS working within it's own sets of goals. And with people calling for more regulation of games, proving that they are already regulated is a good thing for the industry.
Also, lets not forget that the BBFC has supported the games industry, supported games when they've been unjustly attacked, published research dismissing the accusations that games cause violence and stated that negative publicity can help sales of a game.
While people may not agree with the decision, it's sad to see so many (particularly US) 'journalists' come out with blanket and uninformed pieces slating the BBFC.
Okay, the Church of England is being OTT on this one. But there was one good point made by Fony.. erm Tony Blair. If Sony's properties were used without permission they'd go ballistic. And here, Sony made a very detailed and accurate replica of a distinctive CoE owned building without permission.
Unfortunately we have people on both sides of this escalating the original issue (which was one of seeking permission) way out of control. This does neither side any good. Shouldn't we, as supporters of the games industry, try to rise above the petty squabbling to disprove people's views of gamers?
EA and Take 2 shovelled a lot of poor ports of their franchises out on the GC which understandably didn't do as well as some of the offerings from the likes of THQ and Activision. This performance metric won't I believe help predict anything much about the current generation though. EA have been coming out in support of the Wii having realised they backed the wrong horse in the DS/PSP battle. The likes of EA probably have the most to gain, but not due to Mr Khan's reasoning, rather EA go where the numbers are. Currently this is the mix of PS2 and 360, but things are spreading with string Wii numbers. Whichever platform sells well, EA will be there, and Nintendo software isn't discounted as deeply as other platforms.
A great move from EMI and Apple. It seems Jobs wasn't just blowing hot air when he publicly criticised DRM, more likely he was trying to prove a point and close a deal.
It will be interesting to see (although I doubt we will) what the deal is that Apple have made as EMI were previously talking up up-front payments for DRM-free music.
The key is though that Apple see this as a good thing for their business (publicity, advertising revenue, power over the gateway, hardware sales) and they are bringing others round to their view. Which hopefully will continue to be a good thing for the consumer.
Yeh it doesn't seem to be a very carefully implemented hack. The phone isn't really integrated into the controller, more shoved, in it's entirety, into the controller shell. But yeh, a cool idea.... albeit from June last year.
I thought the best part of the interview was when he explained why sales of the PS3 in the US have been low:
"The truth of the matter is that we've stopped the supply to the US because we're making PS3s for our launch. The reason sales are low is because I've just put in loads of product to the UK in order to have the largest launch of a console in UK history."
Or of course, it wasn't your bank phoning but someone pretending to be them to extract personal information from you ;)
Social Engineering is commonplace and it's the biggest organisations that are the most vulnerable. To be honest it's good to see Microsoft (or at least parts of it) be open and honest about this, it shows they're likely to actually do something about it.
I suspect one retailer got worried that they wouldn't be able to shift all their stock so decided to jump the gun. Once this occurs others simply have to follow or lose sales. This is the normal chain of events when retailers break software launch dates to maximise sales.
Sony will likely only stick with a 'disappointed' stance as they really cannot afford any more negative PR and frankly throughout most of Europe need the support of retailers more than the retailers need them.
No political influence in Manhunt decision says BBFC
Jun 19th 2007 7:52PM (Joystiq)Yeah, and it would take so much trouble to actually do some research instead of inflaming the situation.
Whether you agree with the BBFC's decision or not, shouldn't the gaming media at least to try to behave sensibly over this and not do an inverse-Thompson.
Hostel was rated 18 in the UK
The BBFC have played Manhunt 2 and I doubt anyone posting in any of these threads has.
The BBFC are not a bunch of US-politicos or puppets of UK government. In fact they've regularly come out in support of the games industry. They're not even scare-mongering over Manhunt, just doing the job they've been doing for nearly a century. And treating games in the same way as they treat films.
ELSPA: Manhunt ban is good. Us: WTF?
Jun 19th 2007 12:03PM (Joystiq)The BBFC has and no doubt will in the future not give a rating to a film or game. Guess what, they're treating both mediums the same! In other countries in Europe you get the same situation of games not being given ratings.
What the head of ELSPA is doing is trying to prove to the watching world that the ratings system those who attack the games industry say is ineffective is actually working. In doing this he is protecting the interests of the groups members. Whether you agree with the BBFC's decision or not, the system that is in place IS working within it's own sets of goals. And with people calling for more regulation of games, proving that they are already regulated is a good thing for the industry.
Also, lets not forget that the BBFC has supported the games industry, supported games when they've been unjustly attacked, published research dismissing the accusations that games cause violence and stated that negative publicity can help sales of a game.
While people may not agree with the decision, it's sad to see so many (particularly US) 'journalists' come out with blanket and uninformed pieces slating the BBFC.
Church of England asks Japanese to join campaign
Jun 14th 2007 9:47AM (Joystiq)Unfortunately we have people on both sides of this escalating the original issue (which was one of seeking permission) way out of control. This does neither side any good. Shouldn't we, as supporters of the games industry, try to rise above the petty squabbling to disprove people's views of gamers?
Analysis determines publisher strengths in console war
Apr 11th 2007 7:47PM (Joystiq)http://gamenian.blogspot.com/
EMI music on iTunes -- now DRM free and higher quality
Apr 2nd 2007 9:31AM (Engadget)It will be interesting to see (although I doubt we will) what the deal is that Apple have made as EMI were previously talking up up-front payments for DRM-free music.
The key is though that Apple see this as a good thing for their business (publicity, advertising revenue, power over the gateway, hardware sales) and they are bringing others round to their view. Which hopefully will continue to be a good thing for the consumer.
http://gamenian.blogspot.com/2007/04/apple-emi-embrace-drm-free-music.html
http://gamenian.blogspot.com/2007/02/apple-vs-drm-part-2.html
April Fool's Alert #5: WiiHelm and the WoW tinfoil cap
Apr 1st 2007 9:57AM (Joystiq)http://www.wowwiki.com/Main_Page
NES controller cell phone mod
Mar 29th 2007 2:45AM (Joystiq)Sony clarifies Americans aren't 'cheap,' but U.S. labor is
Mar 27th 2007 5:20AM (Joystiq)"The truth of the matter is that we've stopped the supply to the US because we're making PS3s for our launch. The reason sales are low is because I've just put in loads of product to the UK in order to have the largest launch of a console in UK history."
Another fine example of Sony's PR-savvy execs!
http://gamenian.blogspot.com/
Xbox Live security foiled by smooth talkers, not hackers
Mar 24th 2007 5:13PM (Joystiq)Social Engineering is commonplace and it's the biggest organisations that are the most vulnerable. To be honest it's good to see Microsoft (or at least parts of it) be open and honest about this, it shows they're likely to actually do something about it.
http://gamenian.blogspot.com/
Italy breaks Euro PS3 street date
Mar 21st 2007 12:08PM (Joystiq)Sony will likely only stick with a 'disappointed' stance as they really cannot afford any more negative PR and frankly throughout most of Europe need the support of retailers more than the retailers need them.