Video Game Violence: Going Overboard?

Here is an editorial on video game violence, by Paul Ramos, who is a staff writer and photojournalist at Phoenix Genesis. Mr. Ramos has covered several past E3 Expo events for our media outlet.

-- Des Manttari,
Editor-in-Chief,
Phoenix Genesis

(c) 2006: Phoenix Genesis/MBS LP

------------------------------PAUL RAMOS ARTICLE-------------------------

Is It Logical?



Video Game Content – Going overboard?
By: Paul Ramos
Photojournalist, Phoenix Genesis
April 2, 2006

Depending on which one of my friends you ask today, I’m twenty-five years old. I grew up in the era of MTV, Run DMC, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and of course, Sega & Nintendo. And popular culture is something that I still make an effort to pay attention to. It’s quite obvious that since that particular point in the 1980’s, things have changed drastically. Music and movies are much more visual, more graphic, and on demand (whether legal or illegal). But does that mean our video games should be like that?

One could think of this state of the video game industry very similar to the state of the music industry with rap music in the late 80’s and early 90’s with groups such as N.W.A. and of course the ever controversial, 2 Live Crew. At that point in time, there weren’t any stickers on album covers stating that the content packaged within wasn’t for the faint of heart. So, with their roots linking to Miami, Florida, their album “As Nasty As They Want To Be” was heavily protested as being legally obscene in that particular state. By whom? Lawyer and religious activist, Jack Thompson. What eventually evolved from that entire mess is that lovely Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics you see on just about every rap album known to man.

Time passes and we come to 1992. I’m about 12 years old and Street Fighter II is all the rage. That is, until a game called Mortal Kombat came in and broke all the rules of the trade. The game feature just about everything. Street Fighter II didn’t and went overboard on top of that. Of course, the complaints of many activists and parents of the game’s content brought about the evolution of the ESRB: Entertainment Software Rating Board. It was then decided that it was their job to point out to the consumer what’s inside each and every video game released from then on.

Fast forward a few years. Sony’s PlayStation & PS2, Sega’s Saturn & Dreamcast, and newcomer Microsoft with their Xbox step into the industry, adding life like graphics, real-time animation, and even surround sound with excellent musical soundtracks. Naturally, video games join the circle of the entertainment industry. What’s even better is that gaming is even more portable that ever before. So, no matter where someone is, they can enjoy a quick game with friends and family!

But does that really happen? No. The video game console, in general, has become the best baby sitter. It helps the parent(s) keep their children out of sight and busy enough so that, say, after a hard day’s work, they aren’t burdened with their kid’s boredom. And I can actually say that because, after all, my video game consoles kept me distracted and out of my parent’s hair. But that was before all the bells and whistles were added to today’s games. Bionic Commando on the NES is always one of my favorites and there was shooting enemies, but no blood or corpse after I did kill one. The funniest thing of all, when the game was originally released in Japan as Hitler no Fukkatsu: Top Secret; it actually did have Nazi symbols and the main boss was Adolf Hitler awakened from the dead! Of course, that wasn’t in the American version and the names and some graphics were changed but the boss’ face still looked like Hitler.

The point that I’m trying to make is that many parents, with their busy schedules, will blindly and unconsciously by their children whatever games are popular at the moment, which could mean that young kids can be playing anything from Sly Cooper and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater to Max Payne and, the ever controversial, Grand Theft Auto series. Now I can’t just generalize the fact that parents are the one’s buying these games. As a former employee of a major game store chain, I can actually say that there’s always ways of buying inappropriate games.

During my employment at that store, we were always told not to sell “M Rated” games to minors; mainly to avoid phone calls from angry parents. So, we did what any theater would do to anyone wanting to see an “R” rated film: we checked ID’s. And if the customer wasn’t the appropriate age, he or she wasn’t sold the game. Most of the time, an argument and, yes, crying would ensue. We would then lose the young customer and in their rage, would proceed to walk out the door, seeing the wonderful blue doors of a Best Buy, which was located right next door who maybe 10% of the time, asked for I.D. (unless the computer asked them to, in which case, on a busy day, the prompt for a birth date was entered as 00-00-0000 or something to that effect.). Or, if the customer was smart, an older sibling or friend of appropriate age would buy the game for the younger kid, in which case, a phone call from a parent would be received.

With all that going on, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the latest installment of the popular series, is released in late October 2004 with the ever popular “M” rating. The same complaints that the Vice City installment received are issued just as loudly for San Andreas. And naturally, as the hype comes and goes for the game, the activists remain at bay. That is, until mid-June 2005 when the game was ported, or issued to, the PC.

As hackers will tend to do, they search through the code of a game, usually with hex editors. What they mainly look for is easter eggs and possibly code that was intended for use in the game, but taken out at the last moment (similar to what producers and directors will do in movies, later used as special edition fodder in an effort to squeeze every last dollar from the fan base). And what a few hackers found, later to be called the “hot coffee” scene, was very “Adult Only.” Rockstar, the authors of the game, stated that it was an add-on modification made by fans of the game and wasn’t in the game itself.

And in order to save their dignity, hackers then released instructions and codes to access these parts of the game, with the help of cheat devices, made to “help” players through tough aspects of games. Rockstar came back and stated that it was, indeed, inside the game, but the removal of the specific scene would have caused the game to function improperly. As an amateur programmer myself, I can state that removing sections of code is like trying to amputate a leg but still trying to keep a foot... not really possible without failure. So, once again, Jack Thompson steps in again. This time, he states that video games are now poisoning youth and training them to be violent.

There are a few problems with all the complaints that I see about gaming content these days. However, it is to my belief that the ESRB is doing a great job and that retailers are still willing to keep product in the hands of the consumer, whether or not the game is age appropriate. So, I would consider that one loophole. The second loophole would be the parents making sure their kids are playing the appropriate game. Most of the time, nowadays, parents don’t supervise gaming or don’t play themselves, mainly thinking that there’s not a genre for them. In reality, many “group games”, or games made mainly for group play, are simple enough to pick up in a few minutes and fair enough for every level of player.

Now, with that being said, do I approve of the content of video games? Well, when it’s within reason. I would think of the content in a game very similar to what I see in a movie. One wouldn’t go see a romantic genre and expect to see gangster activity. And if I play a game, the case of the Grand Theft Auto series, I would want to be in the shoes of the main character as closely as possible. Why? Because it’s only made to be an escape from reality, even for a few moments. Yes, it is extremely violent, but would I consider doing the real thing? Heck no! Because I could die and, even right now, I don’t have any more quarters in my pocket for a "continue."

What the lawyers and congressmen don’t see is that gamers, like myself, have grown up since the 1980’s and rather than have a rehash or a Mario or Sonic game, publishers have to appeal to an older audience and these games are intended for an older audience, much like an “R” rated movie. And if you’re a mature gamer like myself, or a retailer, make it a purpose to point out to parents who buy their kids the wrong game. I would certainly keep an eye on what my kids play, if and when I do have children. I mean, after all, I am the one paying for the game. Right?

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