The Interview Controversy Sheds Troubling Light On Video Game Acceptance

Michael is a former bank robber who is retired. Now in his early 40s, Michael is currently in the witness protection program thanks to a deal with the FIB. He owns an expensive property complete with a private tennis court and pool but shares the house with a wife who seems to do nothing but fritter his money away; his plummeting bank balance is a major influence in his decision to return to a life of crime. He also has two teenage children named Tracy and Jimmy.

The big movie news cannot be ignored: Sony decided it will not go forward with it's plans to release The Interview, a Seth Rogen film about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Sony was hacked and received threats, while the number of respectable movie chains who would take the film was dwindling. All at once, the internet (save for a few rogue supporters) cried out about free speech, bowing to terrorist demands and all-around support for Rogen and his now-canceled film. The equally troubling news is that no one cares when this happens to a video game.


Luke enjoyed the relationship he had between the other two actors and Ogg actually brought up an interesting point: the motion capture staff team were, according to him, "these genius kids" that came up with unique and creative ways to represent certain objects in the game, such as using apple crates to represent trailer st


Spotted by forum member 'Metalmarc' over on NeoGAF , a listing for the game — as taken from Czech retail website SuperGamer.cz reveals a GTA 5 title available for PC, PS4 and Xbox One formats. Also included in the product's description is the tentative release date of June 13, 2

All three of GTA 5 weapons|https://Gta5play.com/ V's protagonists will also be able engage in several side activities. However, Rockstar wanted to give Michael, Trevor and Franklin certain unique hobbies, exclusive to them. What those specific hobbies are remains a mystery but Rockstar did mention that activities such as yoga, Jet Skiing, tennis, triathlons, base-jumping and golf will feature in the game. Rockstar also said that the core gameplay mechanics found in GTA V , such as driving, shooting and melee combat have largely been rebuilt from the ground up.

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.

While some forum users have objected to SuperGamer's listing on the grounds that it displays the unofficially defunct 'Games For Windows Live' tag, it's important to remember that many retailers employ mock-ups when advertising similar pre-ord

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 .

Grand Theft Auto V set the world ablaze when it appeared, roaring onto the scene with the biggest open-world ever seen in the series. Rockstar soared back to the forefront of gaming, shouting from atop the skyscrapers and taking off into the stratosphere. In this current gaming climate of endless re-releases and remasters, it was only a matter of time that Rockstar would cave. Grand Theft Auto V was confirmed for release on Playstation 4 and Xbox One, with 1080p/30fps graphics and numerous tweaks to gameplay. But one new feature stood out: a first-person mode . For a series that’s always been a third-person endeavor, the FPS-style setup caught many gamers’ eyes, some even claiming it to make this GTA V "the definitive version." GTA V on PS4 and Xbox One is likely to be the definitive version of the game, but this first-person mode is a disposable and pointless inclusion, a shameless stand-in for true expansion on the already enormous open-world game.

Moving on to GTA V's setting - it's big. Actually, big is a completely insufficient word to describe Rockstar's new and improved Los Santos. Art Director, Aaron Garbut, explains that "When you include interior and exterior spaces together, Los Santos is bigger than the worlds of Red Dead Redemption , San Andreas and GTA IV combined, with room to spare." That statement boggles the mind. However impressive that fact may be, we can only hope that Rockstar isn't merely aiming for quantity, with GTA V .