Yesterday, July 21st was the 50th anniversary of the Lady Chatterley's Lover case, which is essentially the basis all media censorship cases are based on today. In case you're unfamiliar with the subject, check out the Wikipedia article about it.
Now that you've done your homework, sit down with The Sess and listen to this week's Soapbox. Adam uses this date as a springboard to discuss how video games appear to have dodged the censorship bullet, if only temporarily. Is this the time to celebrate a small victory? Or is this just another calm before the inevitable storm? You decide.
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SDwiz
Their was violence,sex,drugs way before video games ever existed.The reason some parents have a problem with it because it's a game and kids can get their hands on it.Well kids were getting their hands on cd's with cursing,movies that had nudity long before games.I really don't see why parents have such a big issue over the violence,sex,drugs in games.ESRB rates games and tells you on the box what games are ok for kids,and teens, and what's not.Parents should have more of an interest in what their kids watch,listen,and play that's the whole point of being a parent.Be more involved in your kids life.Bring certain things to their attention about the movies,books,music and games.I say whatever is good for movies and music is good for video games,and give that game a hard M.
fenrir_tenhoor
Really this is de facto censorship by the game industry to try to keep a lid on the protesting mothers of the world. There are reasons for not allowing minors to buy the M rated games, but people, please read the pull out you get when you buy a new game system. The ESRB (or any other rating system, I live in the U.S. and am most familar with the ESRB) explains that it should be used as a GUIDE to help parents decide what is right for their kids. The reason that minors are being blocked from buying Mature games on their own is to A.) make sure the minor is not undermining the parent, and in doing so B.) gain the parents trust. Video games as an industry have grown to a point that we are a very real part of our communities and as an industry we need to accept some responsiblity, and this is the industry's way to do that.
Bloodstainedinfinity
Keeping Mature games away from minors is a war that is impossible to win because of bad parents will buy their children the games anyways. Even if the good parents don't who is to stop the children who do get the games from sharing with their friends who can't get the games?
GozerTC
I agree that most of the attempts by the government to censor games is complete hogwash. I don't mind COMPANY policy to limit sales of M rated games to people over 18 that's a local decision and just fine. In fact I wish you could smack parents in the face with the rating saying "READ IT!" So many times I've helped customers who have no clue what they're buying.
Once you describe the game to them OMG! They are shocked and I swear one person even said "they should put warnings on these things!" I nearly punched that idiot. :
As for the brown people comment I basically just have to echo everyone else. It was a dumb distraction that detracted from the rest of your rant. I figured you were on that side of the spectrum and that's fine, but seriously I didn't need it cofirmed that strongly. If you have a blog or something where you talk all sorts of politics I'd gladly go over to debate you, but on G4 I come for Games and such, which is an ESCAPE from politics.
Oh and I work for NASA so yeah the brush off of the Moon landing was a bit annoying. Then again I wasn't alive then so eh. :)
C4ptainAw3some
lol... damn this is why George (or Jorge as the people from the south would call him) Washington was just about the smartest man who ever lived. He gave a warning about having a party system and by looking at the comments he was right.
Anyway, I gotta disagree with Adam on the part about laws being passed to not allow minors to buy "M" rated games because there are some kids out there who are already mentally sick and playing certain video games might make them think that killing people is okay. Why not just make it to where their parents have to buy the game for them? If it stops one crazy kid from getting ideas, wouldn't it be worth it? And anyway, isn't it company policy for most places that sell video games not to sell "M" rated games to minors? Sorry Adam, i usually agree with you, but this time i gotta disagree.
PSfanboy
Seriously gotta lay off fox news, understand you have some conservative/republican fans too, and you're basically segregating your fans with different political views than yourself, which is never a good thing, I am not so judgmental that I'd make that a reason to stop watching your webisodes, but the political knocks just pop out and take attention away from the focus of what your shows are supposed to be about. It is somewhat twisting the truth to say people of conservative beliefs don't want black people in the supreme court, its a well known fact that the majority of black people tend to lean a little further to the left. It is much like saying people that didn't vote for Obama are racist, if it was Colon Powell running for first black president, everyone would have been saying he's a white black man, No denying it, everyone did it with Condalisa Rice.
As far as the Fox news being "filtered" media, that is so untrue it isn't funny. The only reason fox news has such an overwhelming amount of conservative/republican fans, is because every other station is filtered to the point where they never will hear anything they agree with. The Liberal/Democratics watch so much "filtered" media that they haven't a clue what unfiltered media sounds like, they hear one negative comment about a democratic candidate that they jump out of their skin.
I can name several Fox News pundants and anchors that are left leaning Juan Williams,
Gretta Van Sustern, Chris Wallace, and Alan Colmes. There are more but those are the most well known. Anyways I'll bet noone can identify one conservative/republican anchor or pundant on any other network, I challenge anyone to name just one on any other network. Then maybe I'll start to give merit to the claims that Fox News is the "filtered" media.
I apologize for the rant but as soon as I hear a knock to my views that are unrelated to the episodes focal point, it is almost like I stop listening out of utter exasperation. That is no way to maximize a fan base, unless you are so hateful you don't even want to be watched by people with differing political views than yourself.
Like it or not I'm a fan, Adam Sessler.
flaminghobo
Everyone watch the penn and teller bs episode about video games, its all about a bunch of dumb people who think that mature video games are turning kids into monsters and that they should be taken off store shelves and at the end they get proven wrong, if you ever need something to prove to someone that video games arent bad for you then this is what you need.
b10laine2290
Hey cjbos81 i dont know if you watch Glen Beck but if you do i would not call Adam the "Glen Beck of G4" because in real life Glenn beck would probly call adam a young democrat who is a one minded person who probly thinks that the news programs give both sides of the story. And also Glen Beck is a conservative.
b10laine2290
Adam When you said that Fox is to worried about brown people being in the courts that just pist me off. Because its another person thinking ooh the evil republican party is so racist. Adam your a smart person. But maybe you should know your political history before he starts calling the right racist. It was a republican president G.Bush that made The first black women, sorry "Brown person"(condoleezza rice) to be United States Secretary of State and also she was his Natonal security advisor for him, also it was the same president to put colin powell as the united states secretary of state before condoleezza rice. And he was also a "Brown person". And what Hydrafiend said in his comment that the Democrats in Congress actually filibustered one of Bush's hispanic nominees. Are you starting to get the pitcher. Just because the republicans dont want ONE hispanic in the courts dont make Fox racist or the republicans ok. Yes they can be retarded like the Mass Effect problem i will say that, but come on.
TheExplodingZac
Great Soapbox.
I remember Adam talking about this before, and talking about how now matter how many laws are in place, kids will still find some way to play adult oriented games. He even compared the situation to pornography and how kids can access it very easily, even though legislation is in place. It all comes down to parenting.
P.S. - if anyone else remembers that clip I mentioned, send me the name of it, I want to watch it again.
Tygraph
This was a very good Soapbox. Sessler always has very solid opinions with the references to match. I hate how the media and minor groups try to get into the politics and turn everyone away from videogames by calling them mindless and influencially murderous. I can't wait until Fox News finds out about Dante's Inferno! :)
ugotownd
Good show Sessler (Y)
Mr_Eko_73
I think we do a fine job at censoring ourselves. "Six Days in Fallujah" a FPS war game set in the modern middle east may have been the best game or the worst game in the world but, we'll never know. Just the "idea" of the game sparked anger from gamers and media outlets. This force CAPCOM to scrap the game entirely. (I think if the company would have been VALVE instead of CAPCOM i think there would have been less outrage- but thats just me.) The government can't do what we willingly do to ourselves.
gpshaw
A good soapbox. But the comment about "brown people" on the Supreme Court wasn't necessary. Low blows like that are beneath you sir. This isn't a political site so I won't say anymore on the SCOTUS nomination..
Most of what I have to say has already been said in the discussion area but I'll say it again. The right is a favored target of the anti-censorship crowd, and it's deserved it status as a target. (I used to be one of those guys before I became a libertarian) But the primary censorship threat today is from the left.
While the right used the guise of protecting morals and the children (won't someone please think of the children) the left uses the guise of no offending people to censor speech they don't like. This is popping up on college campuses across the nation where conservative and libertarian speakers are shouted down and students are disciplined for voicing unpopular views. The controversy over REV is a perfect example, it didn't have anything to do with the violence, but the fact that the violence was against black people who were being displayed in an admittedly un PC way. I won't comment on whether or not the game was offensive since I haven't played it yet, I'm just saying that this is the tactic used to attack them game.
Both sides censor, or at least they try to, the only difference is the excuse they use to censor. What makes them so dangerous is that they both seem to have good intentions, don't we want to shield our children from anything unpleasant (despite the fact that they'll get their hands on it anyway.) Don't we want to avoid offending people? It's a classic bait and switch tactic, and If we truly value liberty over security we need to reject censorship from both sides.
Freedom tends to be messy people are going to get their feelings hurt. Kids are going to see alien sideboobs. Luckily feelings are easier to mend than lost freedom. It's easier to talk to your kids about what Commander Shepard did to that alien than to explain to him why he can't read that book in public. If I have a choice between censoring things I find objectionable and freedom I'll chose freedom every time.
gpshaw
I agree with you that censorship is wrong, but like others who have commented I think that your comment about "brown people" on the Supreme Court was kind of pointless. Come on man, low blows like that are beneath you. This isn't a political site so I'm not going to say anything else on the SCOTUS nomination.
However it's a big mistake to think that the primary censorship threat is from the right. I'm not going to say that there is no censorship threat from the right (hell I used to be one of those guys before I began listening to libertarians and got straightened out) but the threat from the right is becoming less and less immanent everyday. This has less to do with who's in control of the government and more to do with a general shift in societies attitude towards various issues. Aside from the occasional piece on the news (on any network) or an publicity stunt (IE MADD's anger at the drunk driving on GTA IV) games and movies are becoming less and less controversial. This is not to say that the right is completely toothless when it comes to censorship, both sides need to get off their horse in my opinion.
As has been said before the true threat of censorship comes from the left in the form of political correctness. Like the censorship from the right it comes wrapped in the sheep's clothing of good intentions. While the right screams about the children (oh won't someone please think of the children) the left screams about whatever interest group may be offended by it. Both plans of attack are used to censor forms of entertainment, and political speech, and both plans of attack need to be exposed and condemned by people who value liberty over security.
jargy1
The very idea of censorship is kind of outdated. What I mean is that while people will argue and bicker back and forth about what is and isn't protected speech, it's still out there. Besides, the government has been nothing but reactive about the issue. A new GTA comes out and they complain. A sex scene in Mass Effect and they complain. But it's after the games are released and that's the biggest protection they have right now. By the time another "edgy" game hits shelves, the clamor has died down considerably.
But back to my original point. Look at something like Left 4 Dead. Did it come with a nude Zoe mod (btw, I think that's about as lame as it gets, and just proves how much of a loser some people are)? No it didn't. And don't act like that's just for PC games either. Hot Coffee, which really kicked this debate into high gear, was only available on modded consoles. With the internet the way it currently is, it's nearly impossible to regulate ANY kind of censorship. Even if something is dropped from a game, it'll pop up on youtube. Look how much we've seen of Duke Nukem Forever since it was canned. More laws and rules aren't going to change a thing. Access to anything we want is so much more dominant and available than it ever has been that it's going to take an entirely new method of approach to even attempt to shut something down. Right now, in less than a minute, I can find a video of someone being murdered. I can find hardcore pornography. I can find a bootleg version of almost any film released in the last 70 years. Download any song that's ever played on any radio.
Let them fight it out. Because in the end it won't work. It may stop a handful of games from being made, but there are enough people who realize how silly the whole concept is that it will never stick.
FuzzofPekinopolis
I believe that some of you posters are trying to censor what the Sess has to say. Freedom of speech is also tied in with censorship. You may not like his political leanings but he has a right to free speech. If you don't like where he stands on certain things then ignore him.
It is illegal to sell M rated anything to anyone under the age of 18 or 17 in most states. I'm 99% sure this is what Sess meant.
(Government is wasting our time with seeking to create new laws. If someone sells your child a M rated game when they were supposed to be buying the newest Pokemon game that is illegal. Go back to the store said game was purchased and complain. That is a right you have now.)
If you don't want to watch what your children are doing well that's just pathetic. Government can only do so much, be responsible for yourself and your children. Do not try to pawn your failings onto another persons shoulders.
Combatlooter
The President of the United States can only hold office for 2 terms if re-elected by the people of our great country. For those who can't do the math, that's a total of eight years and then we must elect a new President. Supreme Court nominee's who get appointed by the sitting President, then voted through confirmation hearings held in the Senate, hold the job for life. Wake up Mr. Sessler, these confirmation hearings are held for every nominee, but I guess you overlooked the brutal confirmation hearings of one Clarence Thomas (An African-American male with great credentials at the time of his hearings, who was appointed by a Republican President). Please Mr. Sessler, stick to ranting about video games because that is why we tune in to G4, not for your political views.
ratshady
BORING!
cjbos81
Adam Sessler is the Glen Beck of G4!!!
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