Kotaku: Mainstream Media

Here's the First Dumbass Thing the Mainstream Media Said About Grand Theft Auto III

Owen Good — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 19:00:00 EDT

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Ten years ago today, Grand Theft Auto III released for the PlayStation 2. It became, in the words of Time "a national obsession." In the mainstream media, it has since served as the No. 1 scapegoat for the corruption of youth through violent video games. More »

Man Jailed For Life Over Murder Of Xbox-Interrupting Child

Mike Fahey — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:20:00 EST

Gary Alcock was playing video games in his girlfriend's flat in Oldham, England in January when the woman's 15-month-old daughter interrupted him with her crying. His reaction was swift, brutal, and ultimately deadly. More »

NBC Proves Once More How Out of Touch They Are, With Women Gaming Piece

Brian Crecente — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EDT

Have you heard? Video games aren't just for 13-year-old boys anymore! More »

Here We Go Again: 7-Year-Old Drives Car; GTA Blamed

Owen Good — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EDT

In Utah last Sunday, young Preston Scarborough took the family sedan for a spin. Instant media sensation, of course. A Fox News anchor was bold enough to ask did teh Grand Theft Auto do it? More »

Criminal Lies About GTA; D.C. Radio Station Spreads It

Owen Good — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:20:00 EDT

You know how in Grand Theft Auto you can drive around swatting pedestrians with an open car door? Yes? No? Doesn't matter, a teen headed to jail for doing that blamed it on the game. More »

Philly Inquirer: MW2's Night Vision an "Invitation to Mischief"?

Owen Good — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:40:00 EDT

The Inky's video games blogger professes his love of "fake realism" but thinks the NVGs being offered with Modern Warfare 2's "Prestige Edition" are akin to "giving away a free race car with Gran Turismo." More »

Wrestling Video Game Blamed For Child's Parachuting Death

Mike Fahey — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:40:00 EDT

Friends of 9-year-old Damori Miles of Brooklyn, New York, claim the boy was imitating moves from WWE SmackDown vs Raw when he jumped off of his apartment rooftop to his death wearing a makeshift parachute. More »

Mainstream Media: Animal Crossing Mayor Could Be A Sexual Predator

Mike Fahey — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:00:00 EDT

The Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force is warning parents that Animal Crossing could be a haven for sexual predators, with ABC 17 News warning that Mayor Tortimer may want to see your child naked. More »

Chicago Trib Asks "Is GTA This Century's Best Writing?"

Owen Good — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST

The profile of Rockstar and the Housers doesn't really answer that (beyond mentioning the Goatie we gave it for writing). But the writer talks to critics and eggheads who say it's a legitimate question. More »

AJ on X-Play - Yes, I'm a Girl, You Can Stop Speculating

AJ Glasser — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:20:00 EST

A couple of weeks back, I climbed on a soapbox about the media frenzy surrounding video games in connection with real life violence or tragedy. More »

And The GTA Chinatown Wars Outrage Begins

Mike Fahey — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:40:00 EDT

It was only a matter of time before Rockstar's Nintendo DS offering Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars fell under the scrutiny of international anti-everything groups, and what better place to start than with the "ever reputable" UK news stable, The Sun, where the news of GTA DS's drug selling mini-game isn't going over so well. More »

Spore Penis Monsters Impress Will Wright

Mike Fahey — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:40:00 EDT

So how does a legendary game designer react when his creation is used to manufacturer forms of life that resemble sexual organs and even dual-bodied creatures forever locked in the act of mating? Outrage? Horror? Not Will Wright. Color him impressed.

"When you give players creative control, you have to expect they're going to do the unexpected," the prolific video game designer said. "Some of it's really good for what they were shooting for. It's amazingly explicit, especially when those creations are animated. We just have to make sure those people aren't messing up the experience for others."

This is from a post on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer website, which aims to educate readers about the game, but not before touching on simulated genitalia first. See? The mainstream press isn't all that different from video game bloggers after all! 'Spore' designer spills on explicit creatures [SeattlePI.com] More »

Can Guitar Hero Make Children Smarter?

Mike Fahey — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:40:00 EDT

Can video games make children smarter? This is the question the American Library Association is looking into, conducting tests in various library systems throughout the country to see if getting children into the library helps promote literacy or just results in having a bunch of kids in the library playing video games. Tucson's News-4 posted a special report today on how the project is going at the Pima County Quincy Douglas branch, where children can come and somehow gain literacy by playing Guitar Hero and "Karaoke". More »

Today Hosts Play Rock Band, Hilarity Ensues

Mike Fahey — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:40:00 EDT

Click to view Oh my god. This is not something anyone should have to wake up to. The hosts of NBC's Today, Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, Al Roker, and Natalie Morales take on Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer" in front of a live crowd on the streets of New York City and somehow survive. While Roker is just a C away from rocking out on the drums, becoming Al Rocker, Meredith is definitely the ironic weakest link in this all-star rock band. Thanks to Dan for sending us the link. More »

CNBC's Jane Wells - Sony Is Winning, My Son Says So

Mike Fahey — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:20:00 EDT

I have to get me one of these "children" I keep hearing so much about. They seem terribly handy. Jack Thompson uses his to help expose the chinks in video game retail, our own Brian Crecente does some of his best work when dealing with the tiny person he helped manufacture - even CNBC reporter Jane Wells is getting in on the act, using her son to illustrate while Sony is going to win the console battle via humorous anecdote. Her 16-year-old son remained an Xbox 360 fan throughout the Microsoft E3 presser, but then Sony went and changed his mind. More »

Are Video Game Predators After Your Children?

Mike Fahey — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:20:00 EDT

Here I am trying to get my girlfriend to let me play Halo 3 online with her 8-year-old son and USA Today has to go and release another sexual predators using video game consoles to get to your children story. The story, titled "Predators use gaming consoles to 'get foot in the door'", details several cases in which child predators used games like World of Warcraft and Halo to gain access to children, and the efforts of law enforcement officials who are now forced to play video games undercover to try and catch criminals. More »

EW Writer Displays Epic Prince Of Persia Ignorance

Mike Fahey — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:30:00 EDT

I cannot imagine that someone who makes at least a part of their living on the internet could possibly be as out of touch as Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson, who posted an article discussing the upcoming movie based on "classic computer game Prince of Persia." Especially considering that simply typing the name of the movie - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - into your browser brings up the video game immediately. More »

GTA IV Causes "Reprehensible" Behavior (Also, Has Rape!)

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:40:47 EDT

Glenn Beck, star of the previously posted "Stupidest Anti-GTA Vid You'll See Today", recently had Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson on his CNN show to bemoan the disintegration of the institution of the family. The family, Dobson and Beck agree, is under attack from every direction, from politicians, from MTV and, of course, from Grand Theft Auto IV. More »

Don't Blame Sonic For Hedgehog Violence

Mike Fahey — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:20:00 EDT

We have to nip this story in the bud before the mainstream media get a hold of it, though it may already be too late! There is absolutely no connection between Sonic the Hedgehog and the New Zealand man who allegedly assaulted a 15-year-old boy with a flying erinaceus europaeus.

"It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks," said Senior Sgt Bruce Jenkins, in the North Island town of Whakatane.

The suspect has been charged with assault with a weapon (the hedgehog) and faces trial on April 17th. Police cannot tell if the hedgehog, found on the ground dead after the assault, was alive pre-flight. The gaming community needs to distance ourselves from this incident quickly, before another gaming icon comes under fire from major media outlets. Gamers don't mildly injure people. Crazy men flinging small pointy mammals mildly injure people. More »

Gamer Risks Death To Save Nephew

Mike Fahey — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:40:09 EST

On September 4th of last year, firefighter Jeff Diederich came home from work to discover his year-old son Aiden lying strangely still in his crib, grey and yellowed from Jaundice. He and his wife Heather rushed to the hospital only to discover that Aiden needed a liver transplant, and was no way the always crowded National Donor List route would save him in time. Their only option was a living transplant, where a portion of a living donor's liver is transplanted into the recipient. The father offered to undergo the procedure, but his family changed his mind. The 40% risk of donor death meant that Heather would be left alone with two children, so they had to look elsewhere. Enter Aiden's Uncle, Jeff Shoemaker. More »

Fox News Headline - Video Gamers Leave Baby To Die

Mike Fahey — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:00:05 EST

While the headline for the actual story reads "Parents of Baby Left Alone in Car Seat for 8 Days Face Murder Charges", Fox News decided to go with the much classier "Video Gamers Leave Baby To Die" on the front page of their website today to direct eyes towards the story of a Peoria Illinois couple who left their 5-month-old baby strapped to a carseat in a crib for 8 days while they were home "playing video games, watching TV, feeding and caring for themselves." A truly horrible crime, but why the video gamer hate? As tipster Orrin points out, why not "TV Watchers Leave Baby To Die?" Simple. Because irresponsible video gamers are big news. More »

Child's Play Makes A Difference In Atlanta

Mike Fahey — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:30:48 EST

Our local CBS affiliate here in Atlanta just aired a special report on the impact Penny-Arcade's annual Child's Play charity drive has had on Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, one of the leading pediatric hospitals in the country. The story looks at the effects of the effort through the eyes of DeAngelis Davis, an Atlanta teen in the hospital for heart problems, who passes the time playing Dragon Ball Z on his PS2 with his mom. Sure hospital rep Steven Wagner is a little mixed up about the origins of Child's Play, and the video does contain an unfortunately funny cut to the EKG monitor after the line, "he'll challenge his mom Angela to a game," but it's nice to see the mainstream media in a tiny town like Atlanta pick up on the gist of what Child's Play is all about. More »

CNN Enters Second Life

Mike Fahey — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:00:23 EST

Eventually there will more companies in Second Life than their are in real life. Now CNN is setting up an I-Report hub in the virtual world, in a double-effort to learn about life in a computer-created environment while discovering what constitutes news in such a foreign environment.

"The thing we most hope to gain by having a CNN presence in Second Life is to learn about virtual worlds and understand what news is most interesting and valuable to their residents," said Susan Grant, executive vice president of CNN News Services.

See? Exactly what I said. The I-Report hub will allow Second Life users to submit their own news stories and includes both a news desk and an amphitheater for bigger events, such as appearances by RL CNN anchors. They're holding a training session tomorrow at 5 eastern for budding VR reporters. If you're interested, be prepared to see things you can't unsee. More »

Manhunt 2 On CBS News Tonight

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:20:27 EDT

East coasters may have already watched CBS News' report on the release of Manhunt 2, but those stuck in other time zones still have time to fiddle with their DVR plans to see how the Katie Couric hosted news program handles the topic. A preview of the coverage from CBS newsman Daniel Sieberg provides an early look at the flavor of the piece, as does a brief commentary from Couric. More »

The Morning Show's Other Gaming Expert

Mike Fahey — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 10:20:31 EDT

Leave it to Jack to steal the anti-Halo 3 spotlight from someone even more deserving of our scrutiny. During JT's appearance on The Morning Show that Crecente picked over last week, Dr. Susan Bartel also appeared on the show to condemn violent games using the amazingly technical explanation that "When kids play violent video games, we can see that their brains are different than when they play non-violent games," going on to say that "We can see a very big difference in their brains which tells us how dangerous these games can be." Right, because brain activity is bad of course. When co-host Juliet asks how the increased brain activity is dangerous, Dr. Bartel leaps into a rant on how a child gets into the role and could kill people if bumped into in the street, completely dodging the question. More »

The BBC's Exclusive Halo 3 Footage

Mike Fahey — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:00:25 EDT

The BBC couldn't ignore one of the biggest entertainment launches of the year, and in demonstrating the gameplay of Halo 3 for the viewing public, they managed to slip in some top-secret footage of the game that is simply amazing to look at. I really think they should have gone with the graphics in the second part of the clip rather than what they ended up with. Take that, Killzone 2! Oh wait... More »

Sports Columnist Says Video Games Desensitize Us To Sports Violence

Mike Fahey — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 21:00:49 EDT

Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett suffered a spinal injury during a game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday that left him paralyzed. While the nation sympathizes with Everett's plight and wishes him well, one sports writer took the injury as an opportunity to take a swipe at video games. Bob Molinaro of the Virginian-Pilot had this to say:

This makes me wonder if the catastrophic injury to Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett will make any real impression on the desensitized adolescents and adults raised with the cartoon violence of "Madden '08" or "NFL Blitz," or the absurd blood-and-guts scenarios associated with other Xbox games.

The hell? Did this come completely out of left field or what? Just because we play sports video games we can't tell the difference between a virtual simulation and a real man's pain and suffering? Ug. What's next, a financial correspondent telling us we don't care about the the economy because we are desensitized by the cartoon economics of Sim City? Everybody pile on the gaming industry! More »

Killing Little Girls

Mike Fahey — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:00:29 EDT

I am often fascinated by what the non-gaming press picks up on. Being as immersed in gaming culture as I have to be to write for Kotaku, it sometimes takes an outside influence to get me to see the shock value in certain titles. Boston's Patriot Ledger explores one such game as they delve into BioShock's Little Sister monsters, and the choice they give the player. Kill them, or free them? The game seems to reward killing them over rescuing them, presenting an interesting ethical choice to players. More »

Mainstream News Tackles MMO Addiction

Mike Fahey — Thu, 24 May 2007 15:20:31 EDT

A local Philadelphia news station ran a story yesterday tackling the problem of internet gaming addiction. As you might know I am a big fan of the mainstream news media trying to report on video games they have no clue about. That being said, I'm pleasantly suprised at the way this piece turned out. The story focuses mainly on World of Warcraft and Everquest, focusing on a young boy who spends all his time playing instead of going out and getting teased about his hair, and Elizabeth Woolley, who believes Everquest cause her 21 year old son to commit suicide. More »

WA Teen Claims School Threats Were FPS Design

Mike Fahey — Wed, 09 May 2007 11:20:38 EDT

Last week 17-year-old Lance Timmering, a student at Northport High School in Washington State, was arrested after teachers' aides overheard him discussing plans to kill 20 to 30 fellow students. Apparently he was chatting with a fellow student and was quoted as saying, "If you chained two of the three exits you could shoot the students as they came out of the cafeteria." Abject stupidity aside, Lance claims that he was only coming up with ideas for a new online video game. More »

Can Online Games Attract Child Molestors?

Mike Fahey — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:20:03 EST

In sharp contrast to the overblown Pictochat story we I discussed a few weeks back, Seattle's ABC affiliate KOMOTV aired a story regarding the dangers of children playing online games via XBox Live. The report explores voice chat filters and ease of communications between children and adults, and the possibility of a predator forming an online relationship with an unsuspecting child. They give several examples of incidents that have occurred, and even went as far as to demonstrate using Phantasy Star Universe. They created a young girl character and were bombarded with offers of money for sex or pics. Many of them might have been idiots joking around, but how many weren't? More »

Counter-Strike: State Funded Terrorist Training Tool

Michael McWhertor — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 12:51:57 EDT

Reuters is reporting that an Iranian group, using state-sponsored development, has modded the fan favorite team based FPS Counter-Strike to allow players to virtually train for demolition runs against oil tankers. From the report: More »