http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png http://kotaku.com/tag/controversy http://kotaku.com/tag/controversy

The Stop Online Piracy Act, currently a bill before the Congress, is utterly detested by the Internet, in case you don't read the Internet. Gamers don't think much of it either, as it would have some rather stupid ramifications for how they enjoy that lifestyle and consume its products. So it's of note that Nintendo, Sony and Electronic Arts have taken their names off the latest list of supporters of the bill. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5872230&view=rss&microfeed=true

If someone was going to sue over an iPhone app called "Jew or Not Jew," I would have expected it to be an infringement claim coming from Saturday Night Live, or Al Franken, the Minnesota senator who wrote a sketch by that name which aired in 1988 here in the U.S. Instead, it was an action brought under France's anti-racism codes by groups offended by the quiz game, regardless of the fact a Jewish man coded it. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5862676&view=rss&microfeed=true

Depictions of terrorist attacks on London's Tube are just one of the ways military shooter Call of Duty courts controversy in this year's blockbuster Modern Warfare 3 game. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5857514&view=rss&microfeed=true

The trailer for "Slavery: The Game," suspected to be a fake, is in fact so. Dutch broadcaster NTR made it as part of a viral campaign for a documentary series about the nation's history in the slave trade. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5838068&view=rss&microfeed=true

Hoping to assuage customers angry over having their games opened and rifled through prior to purchase, GameStop is offering everyone that purchased the regular edition of Deus Ex: Human Revolution for the PC a $50 gift card and a Buy Two, Get One Free used game purchase, according to a leaked memo. All better now? More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5834879&view=rss&microfeed=true

After getting into hot water earlier today for opening new PC copies of Square Enix's Deus Ex: Human Revolution and removing codes for a free OnLive version of the game prior to sale, video game retailer GameStop has pulled the games from its shelves pending recall. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5834169&view=rss&microfeed=true

While I don't read any statements or endorsements of historical viewpoints behind this, Microsoft had to figure someone would notice that it's now selling a Confederate Army uniform for your Xbox Live avatar's virtual dress-up and call it out as a borderline offensive gesture. One of our readers saw it, and did. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5817807&view=rss&microfeed=true

With juggernauts like the Call of Duty franchise set to make their annual sales record breaking splashes this fall, we don't have to look far to be reminded that video games make heaps of money. However, SuperFLI wonders if this causes more harm than good to the industry as a whole. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5816623&view=rss&microfeed=true

This week was the first time we heard of publisher 505 Games' Blackwater, an FPS that would cast you in the role of Blackwater Worldwide mercenaries. The topic seemed thorny—the mercenary company, now renamed Xe Services LLC., has been at the center of a multiple of controversies and the subject of highly critical Congressional hearings. Blackwater has been linked to the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians, and the alcohol-fueled fatal shooting of a security guard in the employ of the country's vice president. According to 505, the game was designed in consultation with former mercenary agents, and with Erik Prince, the founder and former head of the hot-button security contractor. Some gamers have been piqued; a NeoGaf thread devoted to the topic of the game was titled "Somewhat murderous scumbag PMC Blackwater gets an FPS." Is 505 Games trying to court controversy? More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5810096&view=rss&microfeed=true

Developer High Voltage Software is currently embroiled in some controversy over their reaction to Joystiq's Conduit 2 review. How could a game that ends this brilliantly get such a low score? In case the title didn't tip you off, spoilers. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5804126&view=rss&microfeed=true

The attempt to include overt references to Judeo-Christian figures in the classic role-playing game Xenogears caused a few translators to quit — they feared a violent backlash — and prompted a change in the name of the game's final boss, according to one of the people who brought the game to America. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5794922&view=rss&microfeed=true

The intentionally, unabashedly offensive School Shooter: North American Tour 2012, designed to be "the most realistic student slaughtering modification ever made," has lost support from its former host. ModDB, original host of the Half-Life 2 mod—and hundreds of other mods—has pulled School Shooter from its site. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5785053&view=rss&microfeed=true

A glowing fan review for Dragon Age II on Metacritic discovered to have been written by a member of the game's development team sparked outrage among the gaming community yesterday. EA's response? That's how it works. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5782097&view=rss&microfeed=true

If turning the plight of illegal immigrants risking their lives to sneak into the U.S. into a goofy iPhone racing game didn't amuse critics of Smuggle Truck: Operation Immigration, maybe the game's legal immigration mode will. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5781516&view=rss&microfeed=true

Even though the game ratings authority in the U.K. says "the average 16-year-old would think everything in We Dare was beneath them," politicians, parents and media there are apoplectic that Ubisoft's ridiculous swinger-party game was rated a 12 - meaning suitable for kids. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5771208&view=rss&microfeed=true

One of the two experts quoted in Fox News' notorious hit-piece on Bulletstorm has clarified his remarks, and while he stands by them, says their presentation lacks context - and that he enjoys playing Mature-rated shooters in his free time as well. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5768767&view=rss&microfeed=true

The phone has been ringing repeatedly today at New York's Chinatown Fair, a beloved arcade in downtown New York, thanks to word on Facebook that the place was shutting down. Not true, not really, well ... probably not really. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5766183&view=rss&microfeed=true

After officials in El Paso, Texas, made their discomfort over Call of Juarez: The Cartel last week, the Mexican state of Chihuahua is asking Federal authorities for an outright ban on the video game that hits too close to home. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5766280&view=rss&microfeed=true

Long story short, this modder built a controller that, when plugged into a Nintendo Entertainment System, auto speedruns Super Mario Bros. in just a shade under 5 minutes. Naturally, commenters have shouted it down as a fake, but the Tool-Assisted Speedrun community is unanimous in calling the mod real. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5765663&view=rss&microfeed=true

"Call of Juarez" wasn't a provocative title, when it referred to the Mexican border town during the Old West. As the modern-day scene of more than 3,000 murders in the past year, it's a touchier subject. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5763719&view=rss&microfeed=true

A couple of days ago, psychiatrist Carole Lieberman gave a quote to Fox News about the violent upcoming game Bulletstorm. Dr. Lieberman isn't a fan of such games. She thinks the worst of them cause people to do bad things. Two days later, she's been through a storm. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5757307&view=rss&microfeed=true

Capcom has responded to allegations its mobile game, MaXplosion, is a naked ripoff of the downloadable hit 'Splosion Man, developed after the original game's creator approached Capcom's console division about publishing it. Capcom says it is "saddened" by the situation. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5733120&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that Australia's Labor government will support the creation of an adults-only classification for video games there. A decision on backing a new rating, called R18+, is expected Friday at a meeting of Australia's attorneys general. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5706544&view=rss&microfeed=true

Click to viewHey there! Are you a busy person on-the-go and don't have time to get stupider? ESPN has a six-minute solution: Gasbag Skip Bayless, opining that Kobe Bryant should be disciplined for appearing in that Call of Duty: Black Ops ad. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5692826&view=rss&microfeed=true

Yesterday GameSpot set off a minibomb with an anecdote about Kinect not recognizing two dark-skinned users while lighter-skinned gamers had no problems. Consumer Reports has weighed in, saying this sounds like a claim about laptops from last year. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5682058&view=rss&microfeed=true

Stars and Stripes, the foremost independent publication covering the United States military, examined the Army and Air Force's recent decision to forbid Medal of Honor from being sold in their exchanges. One enlisted man blasted the decision as shortsighted. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5659552&view=rss&microfeed=true

Officials of Siena, the historic walled city in Tuscany, Italy, are unhappy that their Piazza del Campo is a race course in Gran Turismo 5's new kart mode, and will demand that Sony remove it from the game. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5619024&view=rss&microfeed=true

How tempting it was to write "Fox wants Medal of Honor banned." For while the U.K.'s defense (sigh, defence) secretary is named Liam Fox, he's not the fearmongering U.S. network. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5618956&view=rss&microfeed=true

I must be inside the bubble, because the idea of playing as the Taliban in Medal of Honor multiplayer didn't hit me as particularly controversial. Fox News noticed. Though it did treat the subject reasonably, the woman they interviewed doesn't. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5613348&view=rss&microfeed=true

Following an overwhelmingly negative response from fans, Blizzard has decided not to implement the planned forum changes that would require players to post using their real names. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5583405&view=rss&microfeed=true

Blizzard's decision to use players' real first and last names in the StarCraft II and World of Warcraft forums draws strong negative reactions from fans. Why are they so upset? Let's take a look. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5581209&view=rss&microfeed=true

Outrage over Arizona's controversial immigration-enforcement law figures to have a comprehensive effect on all business there, video games included. One indie developer says he must move operations to California because the actors he needs won't travel to the state. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5532995&view=rss&microfeed=true

Do not mess with the rules of Scrabble. That was the lesson of yesterday, the day many people thought the rules would soon be changing. Blasphemy by the Scrabble-makers? Snobbery by the fans? The heated reactions seemed familiar. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5511611&view=rss&microfeed=true

When Battlefield: Bad Company 2 riffed on rival Modern Warfare 2's "Mapathy" promo last week, it could be seen as a playful poke. This, however - a comprehensive parody of October's infamous "F.A.G.S." video - is a straight-up nutshot. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5495016&view=rss&microfeed=true

Rebellion's David Brickley, director of the upcoming Aliens vs. Predator, said there is "absolutely no justification" for downloadable content that essentially makes gamers pay to unlock code already on the disc. "Players are entirely right," he says. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5459184&view=rss&microfeed=true

Looking back on 2009's many kerfuffles and foofaraws, it may not have been the most contentious year the gaming industry has ever seen. But it certainly was among the most entertaining. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5431573&view=rss&microfeed=true

The U.K. clergy members quoted as criticizing Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles for glamorizing violence and promoting the occult say their remarks have been misrepresented by the source originally reporting them. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5413079&view=rss&microfeed=true

As seen on GameSpy. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5410256&view=rss&microfeed=true

You might recall last month that David Brickley, a Rebellion senior producer, was asked directly, three times, to confirm dedicated server support in Alien vs. Predator, and wouldn't say yes or no. The studio's chief now officially confirms its presence. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5410035&view=rss&microfeed=true

The CEO of Artificial Mind & Movement - the studio behind WET and the PSP build of Danté's Inferno - said at a development conference that the ESRB is easily manipulated and that publishers take advantage of it. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5407930&view=rss&microfeed=true