Kotaku
The time-honored tradition of stodgy men arguing over things they know nothing about continued in England during last Friday's game censorship debate in the House of Commons, with MP Keith Vaz showing us how it's done while speaking in defense of Julian Brazier's bill to add a censorship level above the British Board of Film Classification. In comparing the interactivity of video games to movies, Vaz unleashed this little gem:
However, someone sitting at a computer playing a video game, or someone with one of those small devices that young people have these days, the name of which I forget— [Interruption.] PlayStations or PSPs, something of that kind."Well, whatever they are called, when people play these things, they can interact. They can shoot people; they can kill people. As the honourable Gentleman said, they can rape women."
The gentleman he is referring to is the bill's author Julian Brazier, though being completely off-base when quoting someone else doesn't excuse you from being off-base in the first place. The man can barely remember what these horribly offensive rape-machines are. When you have to struggle to remember what you were talking about in the first place it's probably a good indicator that you should sit down and shut up.
Luckily for British gamers, the House isn't completely full of uninformed idiots. Conservative MP Edward Vaizey actually took the time to check this claim out with the BBFC.
"Is the honourable Gentleman aware of any video game that has as its intention the carrying out of rape or that allows the game player to carry out such an act? The BBFC and I are unaware of any such game."Look? Sense! What could the bill's author counter sense with, but more nonsense?
"I cannot comment on the rape in games issue, but I can tell the House what Stefan Pakeerah's father said after Warren Leblanc had murdered his son. He said that "Manhunt" is a game using weapons like hammers and knives...The object of Manhunt is not just to go out and kill people. It's a point-scoring game where you increase your score depending on how violent the killing is. That explains why Stefan's murder was as horrific as it was."Aha! While I cannot comment on games that allow you to rape women as I know of none, look at this puppet on my other hand! It is a murderous puppet, with a hammer in hand! A video game puppet! Take that!
Taken, and rebutted by Minister of State Margaret Hodge, who explained that not only was the game found to have played no part in the murder, it was the victim who owned the game and not the attacker.
Perhaps the real story here isn't that Mr. Vaz decided to claim erroneously that video games let you rape women, but rather the fact the the House of Commons debates had people present with enough sense to challenge the claim. Good show!
Pro Censorship MP Claims Games Glorify Nazis and Rape [SPOnG]
Comments
Wow.
a good rape face
Can the DS rape two women at once?
I always pay them then run them over, apparently have been paying to much.
Wow. These politicians play way sicker games than I've ever seen or heard of.
Still, like any politician he's trying to sound like he's a great font of knowledge holding forth on a subject he really knows nothing about.
Someone vacationed in Japan lately.
Not for sale in the UK but how about [en.wikipedia.org]
Where can I buy the games these guys seem to be playing?
Don't you love it when uninformed people made statements like these?
Rape women!?!? Hmmmm....haven't seen that one yet....maybe (by the looks of him) that feature would get him into gaming?
I can also rape a woman whilst cooking a meat pie.
I want to move to England just so to see if anyone would ever refer to me as "the honourable Gentleman".
Ignorance is bliss huh?.....my goodness people are horrifically stupid.
Yet another reason why I despise living in the UK somedays.... not only do we get shafted by release dates, are behind on PSN / Live content, get left out on offers and sweepstakes, bent-over and played with by the BBFC and PEGI ratings / censorship but now our dumb-witted MP's are doing us proud in the House of Commons.
At least as the post says there was a modicum of sense today. Shame its not always like that :(
I'm going to gather a shitload of fire for the upcoming game burning bonfire. TAKE THAT RAPE SIMULATORS!
I want to rape in games! Why hasn't anyone told me about these games? OUTRAGE!!!
Doesn't get more ignorant than this, folks. The man has absolutely no clue what he's talking about.
@relax_guy: lmao
Whoever said "ignorance is bliss" was wrong......ignorance seems to be the order of the day when it comes to "gaming paranoia" by pubic officials in all nations, at all levels.
@shadow300z: I meant firewood, goddamn games making me stupid.
@codegrrl
Thanks?? At least now I know where this guy shops.....
Time to burn our video games, I mean rape simulators.
I know some people tend to rape characters with their eyes... But that has less to do with the developers and more to do with the person at hand.
Custer's Revenge is ruining today's youth!
Seriously, good show. That's not a figure of speech, it's actually a good show. Catch it on CSPAN sometime, it's surprisingly funny and entertaining.
@CodeGrrl:
OMG LIess.. you know those japanese women enjoy it!!!
joke aside, it's pretty funny. let's ban books and movies with violences in it as well while we on the topic of banning violent games.
I said we need to start by banning harry potter, He murder people with a wand, omg can you imagine the damage he could do if he shove that wand up someone's ass and cast a fireball!!!!
There are rape games... theres a whole franchise of them called "battle raper" in japan. It's a terrible PC version of the tekken 3 engine where you battle 2 scantily clad women (who lose their cloths as they get injured) and have rape based mini games whenever you grapple.
I just have a feeling these aren't the games he's talking about.
With video games becoming more and more mainstream, you'd think stupid, obviously ill-informed comments like these would stop. Fear of the unknown...
I hear if you play a real life simulator called "The Military", you could rape some women too.
You need a code, though.
i wonder if he has any books on Amazon we can all "review"?
Don't you rape a native american girl in custer's last stand for the atari? I think that might be the only game with rape in it.
Someone should put together a little clip show of what everyone said about Rock and Roll back in the 40's/50's and send it to all these people so they can see how stupid they now look when talking about video games.
I've long since heard about a game that in fact lets you do this. I believe CodeGrrl has the correct link for info. Never tried it myself actually but who knows what curiosity might lead to.
@idrisz:
Apparently from some of the 'dating sim' games i've played they do like it... go figure.
Perhaps if parents didn't buy 18+ rated games for their little monsters we could all just enjoy our games in peace.
I read it as the video games shooting, and killing people. I imagined cartridges running around with bandanas tied around their heads and carrying machine guns...
When I read "raping women" I knew something was wrong.
@Spaz569: Custer's revenge
@Spaz569:
I thought in custer's revenge, you save the native girl by dodge cannon balls and she have sex with you afterwards??
Fat disgusting politicians talking non-sense about stuff they know nothing about.
@idrisz: LOLOL I like that scenario better.
not just rape. Orgasmic rape.
The Japanese let you molest girls and boys in search of witches, so that, you know... you can burn their bush or something... It's all very Catholic.
At least some people have enough intelligence in order to understand that this guy is completely uninformed.
Keith Vaz is, and has been for years, a pillock. I voted against him when I lived in Leicester.
Unfortunately, the rest of Leicester are also pillocks, so I was outvoted.
Vaz isn't not even the Jack Thompson of England, he lacks the charm, wit, or social grace for such a comparison.
"The time-honored tradition of stodgy men arguing over things they know nothing about..."
Post of the week!
Keith Vaz is full of shit.
[www.theyworkforyou.com]
Just read his appearances in parliament. 90% of them are just video game bashing. He pretty much does it so he can get his name mentioned and to pander to the moral panic.
He's pretty much the UK's Jack Thompson.
This man is my local MP.
And if this was all he did wrong, I'd be damned glad of it.
As it is... I never feel more disheartened with the state of modern British politics than when I examine Mr. Vaz's escapades.
That picture is AWESOME.
Ah, the good ol' Joseph McCarthy routine.
Another Japanese game would be the Biko series. In these games you assume the role of a stalker and must follow certain ladies around undetected through several outside areas. Eventually you are able to sneak up behind them and "claim your prize" in the form of some poorly done 3D rape scenes.
Of course if these claims are just being launched towards Playstation and PSP, they are false.
And then you've got hentai games...
In fact, with the wiimote you could probably develope a pretty realistic rape game. Shake the wiimote to slap the bitch and aim precisely to take her clothes off. Then, use the wiimote as your penis and simulate thrust moves. However, I believe Nintendo wouldn't approve of it. No seal of quality. Sight.
Time to kill myself.
I just can not bring myself to live in a world where Tory politicians actually start making sense.
What version of Manhunt had a point-scoring system? Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I don't seem to remember that feature.
Also, Iit's not just rape, it's "virtual orgasmic rape"! Hasn't he played Mass Effect?
Geez...
As the honorable Gentleman said, I hope that someone rapes him for being such a dickhead. :/
That first quote just screams "stereotypical old dude who doesn't understand those crazy youngsters these days, with their rock 'n roll and stuff."