
Fox News has noticed Epic's upcoming shooter Bulletstorm, and thinks the game might be the "Worst videogame in the world." By now you should know the media firestorm drill. It goes like this: Fox News contends Bulletstorm is unacceptable because it features:
- profanity
- violence
- gore
Then, Fox News contacts some "experts" who say really dumb things (in my opinion) and wring their hands over the effect this all might have on our children. Then Fox News wonders whether the government will step in and punish retailers for selling the games to kids. Then, they post an article and I link to it.
Perhaps I should ignore these stories, because they are so ridiculous, but I can't help myself. I actually like it when Fox News and other members of the old school media wring their hands about video games being too violent or too sexual or whatever. It's intellectually comforting because Fox's arguments are so easy to refute. Here, watch:
Argument: Fox News' Carol Lieberman, a "psychologist and book author" says “The increase in rapes can be attributed in large part to the playing out of [sexual] scenes in video games."
Refutation: According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, the per-capita victimization rate of rape has declined from about 2.4 per 1000 people (age 12 and above) in 1980 to about 0.4 per 1000 people, a decline of about 85%. Where video game playing has increased a billion-trillion percent in the same period. I can only conclude that psychologist and book author Carol Lieberman is either amazingly ignorant, or simply not telling the truth.
Besides, Bulletstorm, while certainly violent, isn't sexual. Rape hasn't been featured in a "mainstream," commercially released video game since...ever, as far as I know.
Another:
Arguments: “If a younger kid experiences Bulletstorm's explicit language and violence, the damage could be significant,” According to Dr. Jerry Weichman, a clinical psychologist at the Hoag Neurosciences Institute in Southern California.
Refutation: Clinical studies on the effects of video games on kids have been inconclusive. Besides, until you define the word "damage," there isn't an argument here at all. Our entertainment may be very violent, but actual rates of violent crime in the United States have been dropping for more than 20 years, and yet violence in games has been becoming more and more prevalent and more and more graphic, so you have to conclude that if video games affect kids' behavior, it's only to make them less violent, not more so. (That's a specious argument too, of course because correlation doesn't equal causation.)
Another:
Argument: “The marketing is clearly aimed at children and young adolescents,” Melanie Killen, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Maryland said. “Politicians were organizing efforts to address violent video games prior to the presidential election but got distracted by the election. It is time for senators and representatives to come back to the issue.”
Refutation: According to the ESA, the average age of gamers is 34, and they have strict rules about how M-rated games are marketed, rules that EA has stuck by. Violent video games are clearly marked by the ESRB with an easily understood rating system that has been shown to be effective for parents who take five seconds to look at it. As for the second part of Killen's argument, politicians haven't really been focusing on this issue because the underlying legal issue of whether retailers can be punished for selling games to children is going to be settled by the Supreme Court in the coming months, so what would they really do?
Conclusion: Video games are just pretend, so let's not get all in a twist about it, shall we?
Source: Fox News




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Displaying 61–80 of 135
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harukar
its fox news, who cares?
mark82234
movies are way more realistic than games they should rate them ooops they do.....who do you blame when your kid is a brat?????? the mother and the father......
stormregime
well well well look at fox noise trying to battle the video game industry. I guess all the Obama lies that they tell are all done with. Fox noise always has a opinion on something even if it is untrue. Wow will you dummies at fox stick to the fake A$$ stories that u tell and leave the video games to us the GAMERS!!!!!!!!
B-minus
i dont even know where to begin..... Fox news and everyone that thinks the same way they do will be the ones who lead us to our doom. They all blindly follow whatever is said by them when theres no facts, no reasons, no sence, and no understanding about what they're talking about. They have absolutely no idea whats really needed in this country let alone the rest of the world. They say they want smaller government which means less government regulations on the people, yet they are the ones trying to get every law passed that restricts people from being who they are. Except Gun control for some retarded reason(i'm pretty sure thats something that actually causes harm to people everyday), not to mention that your allowed to conseal and carry a gun which allows you to walk the streets of a crouded city with a death machine in your pocket.(just what the F... right there) They're completely racist and intallerant of people of different race and religion. they think because they are christian that everyone else is wrong in what they believe and do, they argued that fact that muslims want to build mosqe in america and not just the one near ground zero but all of them across the US. They critisize people for just being who they are just because they're not like them. They don't interview people they bring on their shows they yell at them saying you're wrong and and don't listen to a word they say, and when someone actually starts using real facts they laugh like it was a joke and act like they didn't just get proved wrong. They will get angry and go on a rant on every show if someone makes a statement about them(like comparing the people at fox to nazi's) and say how terrible of a thing that is to do and that no one should be compared to nazi's unless they are infact nazi's, when the people at fox news have compared a lot of people to nazi's themselves, and when called out about this Bill O'Riley said "I didn't say they were nazi's, I said they were acting like nazi's." it's the same f.n thing you compared someone to nazi's. Finally to the games part of this who are you to decide whats right and wrong for kids, people, or anything for that matter. The only person who should truelly be responsible for what an individual does is that individual, and that individual should be responsible for what their kids do until their kids are old enough to make the dicision for themselves, It doesn't matter how old they are what matters is that that individual is ready to take full responsibility for their actions. All people in this world should be completely equal regardless of race, religion, job, wealth, living situation, country they live in, male, female, sexual preference, age, ancestry, handycap, thoughts, beliefs, the choice to do drugs or drink alcohol, or anything thing about who an individual is or what they do. Everyone should be able to make a coice to do what ever they want as long as it's what they want to do. The only thing you can't do is cause physical harm to any other person. because that person has as much right to live as long as they can without outside harm from anyone else as much as you do, and everyone has the right to live until it is naturally their time to die. so fox news and everyone who thinks like them stop trying to control people and stop influencing others to think as you do. i'm not saying that everything you believe is wrong but don't you dare try to force a law on something you don't even understand and never even atempted to try to understand it before you made your judgement. I'm 20 years old (which by your standards isn't old enough to have a valid opinion on anything) and I have always looked at both sides of every arguement and tryed to understand where each side is coming from then made a logical decision on whats right. I will debate with anyone and completely respect their point of view and try to best explain my point of view to them so we can meat a mutual understanding on the subject. i wont belittle them and or completely disregard what they have to say. I show respect for everyone else no matter who it is because thats who they are. Who am I and everyone else to judge someone for who they are. and i'm not judging anyone by the statments i made above i'm just saying what i have seen while watching fox news and what i hear from people who think like them. Your completely entitled to think what ever you want but please don't assume that everyone should think like you and that everything in the world should be the way you want it to be. The only ways this world should be is how i have described it because that will ensure that everyone will be able to be as happy as they want to be and that we all are respectful and considerate of each other. The Way of Peace and Freedom is the way we should all strive for. But no matter what i think regradless of how true it is others will think differently and i respect you for your opinion. I have meant no anger or insult by what i said. PEACE!
LJB6192
well i was on the fence about getting it but fox has basically put my preorder in for me
BoomKingChris
And of course, Fox News coincidentally forgot to mention that Bulletstorm has settings where you can take out the blood/gore effects, as well as the profanity.
I'm sure that one just happened to skim right over their head...
TheFeedMack
fox is just pleasing there 70 year old extremely conservative audience like my grand father who reclines in his chair 10 feet away and wathces until he gets bored of tv
eaglefan129
Why is it that us gamers seem to always be from the abuse of the older media? what about movies? there are cases where more violence occurs in movies then in games look at the saw movies or paranomal actitivy films. the difference is that its more photo real then games are. Plus movies they don't have a big white tag on a game i believe they have it on the back of the movie when you buy it at the store. (At first I thought fox news was going to give a reason why its bad story etc not this)
Hydrafiend
Ok before everyone goes and gets all hot and bothered with righteous indignation, this article is simply raising the issue of the appropriateness of violent video games when it comes to young children-a wholly legitimate public policy issue. Does the ESRB ratings system work or not? Maybe the system of private regulation needs to be strengthened, maybe it represents the the correct balance of policy interests, or maybe it does not? Maybe there are constitutional restraints on the public policy remedies that need to be considered here. Its perfectly legitimate to discuss these issues folks.
I'm also going to take a guess here: the person who wrote this article for G4 is probably politically liberal and does not like Fox News anyway-god forbid there be a conservative leaning news outlet lol-If I'm wrong on this little assumption Stephen, please let me know.
prboi64
The people at Fox News are all a bunch of DICKTITS!
kksilence
Maybe some developers will create a new IP for the politicians that will show those greedy S.O.B's the proper way to budget our country so the children they're supposed to be "protecting" can actually have a future to look forward to. Video games were not the cause of the numerous profiteering/ sex scandals of our great politicians. I prefer to teach my children right from wrong myself.
GamebustaZX
first of all this is fox news we are talking about here these people are idiots that lie and put up anything as a real issue. Not to mention they are totally paid off to slander anything.
slimmer
In the movie Freakenomics they contribute abortion being legalized in 1974 to the decline of violence in the past 20 or so years (not as many unwanted births)
Kidmafia
Fox News is just bluntly retarded to start off, and in terms of their arguments on video games. They're clueless. WHEN WILL THEY REALIZE THAT MATURE GAMES 90% OF THE TIME IS NOT BEING SOLD TO UNDERAGE KIDS, ITS BEING SOLD TO PARENTS (In most cases with the employee saying "are you aware of the mature content in this game") WHO THEN HAND IT OFF TO THEIR KID. But its nothing to get worked up over, when Fox News is one of the most ignorant news stations around its bound to happen sometimes.
bipolar93
Didn't Silent Hill have a rape scene?
callofdutycrewmember
Great Job FOX call everyone but the actual videogame experts and instead call all the people who are biased against videogames because they cant play them for SHt (I mean c'mon we all know secretly on the outside-"This game is an atrocity!!" inside-" Holy S this game looks SWEEEEEET but I suc at it so I'll just rag it into oblivion" I mean SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY!!!!
callofdutycrewmember
Great Job FOX call everyone but the actual videogame experts and instead call all the people who are biased against videogames because they cant play them for SHt (I mean c'mon we all know secretly on the outside-"This game is an atrocity!!" inside-" Holy S this game looks SWEEEEEET but I stink at it so I'll just rag it into oblivion" I mean SERIOUSLY SERIOUSLY!!!!
SonicATL
Who cares? I don't let the news or blogs tell me what sucks and what should be sold. Screw 'em all!
dbeam308
Dear Stephen,
Let me treat you to a Snickers Ice Cream Bar at PAX in a few weeks.
One-armed Dude hugs and fist-to-chest bumps,
The D
demonlord2007
Why Can't fox just stay out of this debate. I have played video games since I was 5 and am not a person who is going to do something dumb.
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