The Interview Controversy Sheds Troubling Light On Video Game Acceptance
On Steam, recent user reviews indicate an "overwhelmingly Negative" ranking for the game, as well as "mixed" reviews overall. Only 14 % of the 35,960 user reviews in the past 30 days have been posit
Speaking to Chicago's WGN radio station this week, iconic GTA presenter, publisher and all-round personality Lucien 'Lazlow' Jones, explained to listeners the extreme lengths the studio had gone to in order to secure authentic vocal talents. Recording in people's homes, on the streets and in-studio - alongside a plethora of real life gang members - Jones cites authenticity as being his number one g
Prepare to wave goodbye to your social life (and workplace attendance figures); **GTA V ** is very nearly upon us. The latest entry in the award-winning criminal sim franchise, the series' fifth core installment arrives later this month to cap off the 7th gen of consoles in st
The studio's reluctance to pursue big name actors likely has as much to do with outrageous wage demands and ego trips as it does with authenticity. Tommy Vercetti's Ray Liotta reportedly made life difficult during his tenure in the recording booth for GTA Vice City , veering between Goodfella s-like excellence and other less-than-stellar cond
In the hopes of delivering a message to Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive, fans of the OpenIV modding tool have amassed over 40 thousand signatures on their Change.org petition . The petition states that thousands of players have both lost the ability to mod their game and to pursue their passion for single-player modd
When both of these incidents took place, there was controversy. Debate ensued with two sides each offering up different points and demanding equal validity. But Sony has been met with almost universal admonishment after pulling The Interview. A quick search of The Interview mentions on Twitter reveals a starkly one-sided picture. A tweet by Judd Apatow (long-time associate of Rogen's) calling the move by Sony "disgraceful" was retweeted more than 5 thousand times in 11 hours.
"we go towards authenticity […] In the game there's these rival gangs. There's Black gangs, Latino gangs ... we recruited a guy who gets gang members, actual real gang members, like El Salvadoran gang dudes with amazing tattoos, one of which had literally gotten out of prison the day befo
Obviously, with the internet populated with rumors and big tips from supposed reliable insiders, some are understandably skeptical of the news. But given Vern's track record, others are pretty convinced. This is of course, on top of the logical fact that a partnership between Rockstar Games and Nintendo for Switch to house GTA5 is a win-win situation for both parties and an even bigger win for fans who are already thrilled at the thought of being able to play the title on-the-go. You can remember that back in January, Vern broke out the news that L.A. Noire is coming to the Nintendo console which eventually came to fruition. He also correctly predicted the recent Nintendo Direct Date, proving that he does have some pretty solid tipst
The content of these games shouldn't matter. The greater principle at stake here is the idea that people should be free to express their ideas, a value clearly held dearly by movie-goers but not so much by the gaming community. Society has spoken about movies: we want any film, regardless of how controversial the subject matter, to be available to the public in an exercise of our right to free speech and ideal of free expression. The question remains when, if ever, will society feel the same way about video games?
Tweets about Hatred are much more skewed, and conversation about GTA V, much discussed in the video game press, seems to paint a two-sided issues. Defense of Target's decision as not censorship and a positive step toward equality were just as rampant, if not more so, than concerns over the kind of precedent their move set. Consider this, if it's not censorship for Target to pull the game, what if all retailers pulled the game? It's well within their rights, but it would achieve the exact same effect as a blatant censorship did. Thus, a de facto censorship - a universal lack of availability that's not necessarily enforced by law.
Hatred saw the effects of this much more than GTA 5 missions|https://gta5play.com/ V. Being pulled from Steam Greenlight can be a death sentence to indie game developers, as Steam is essentially the only game in town for newcomers. Fortunately for them, Gabe Newell decided that this wasn't a good decision . Without extrapolating his reasoning, it's nice to see someone in the gaming industry care about whether a developer has an honest shot and releasing their creation, regardless of how tasteless the content may be.
The video game industry has been embroiled in this sort of controversy for the past few weeks leading up to the news about The Interview. In two separate events, the gaming community (and even some outside the gaming community) have shown a willingness to accept and often times support acts comparable to Sony's just as often as it condemns them. The first happened when Target and Kmart stores in Australia decided they would not carry Grand Theft Auto V due to its depictions of violence against women . Then days ago, Hatred, the game that may yet actually morph into a scolding-hot button, was pulled from Steam Greenlight .