The videogame industry will never stop pushing boundaries. It can't - gamers have an insatiable demand for more visceral experiences and will continue to flock to games that provide them. The problem, however, is the potentially heavy cost of taking risks on a global scale. The companies that have been most fearless about creating controversial games are the ones with the money to fight those battles, backed by publishers like EA who assume some of the risk. Smaller teams may find ways of breaking the boundaries in other content-neutral ways, like Jonathan Blow's Braid, which approaches storytelling through creative game mechanics. But the uncertainty that shrouds the ratings processes all over the world is a giant red flag for all but the most courageous game companies.

Of course, this ignores many of the good points of a more international scene, and I can't imagine there's a good way to get around this (short of trying to create an isolationist industry, which is unreasonable from several fronts). But it's certainly an interesting problem to ponder.

Crossing Boundaries [The Escapist]

That's right. We don't know whether the USK had a say in this, or whether Valve/EA just felt like playing it safe, either way, that's a different box. While every other region's cover art shows a left hand with the thumb bitten off - zombies feast on the flesh of the living, you see, it's a joke - on the German version, the thumb's simply tucked in behind the hand there. No gore. How humourless.

The announcement, made to Edge, says only "We can confirm that Gears of War 2 will not be available in Germany or Japan indefinitely". Note there's no mention of a ban, just that the game won't be made available. So, again, if Gears 1 did relatively well in Japan, why not release Gears 2?

Here's an idea: maybe it's because "Not for Germany/Japan/Australia" is the hottest new marketing tool for 2008, as nothing gives a violent game more sizzle in countries it's not being banned in than word it's being banned (or, in this case, "not released") somewhere else.

Confirmed: No Gears of War 2 for Japan [Edge]

M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D, director of the AIFD, said that, “Muslims cannot benefit from freedom of expression and religion and then turn around and ask that anytime their sensibilities are offended that the freedom of others be restricted."

Jasser added that the Prophet, "defended the rights of his enemies to critique him in any way even if it was offensive to his own Islamic sensibilities or respect for Koranic scripture.”

Not that he is calling Sony an enemy of Islam or anything but.. well, you get his point.

Muslim Group Condemns LBP “Censorship”

"We won't be able to make the same game for all territories," Goichi Suda told Eurogamer, "For Europe, we're going to release two versions. One extreme version, and one with less violence."

This could be a smart move - Germany in particular would welcome a less bloody version of the game and just the publicity value of being seen to need a watered-down edition of the Wii title might be worth the effort. Be interesting to see the comparative sales figures, though.

No More Heroes 2 to get two versions

What if the experience that games have become can be better equated to the feeling of being at the dance performance. It is the act of being somewhere, of being involved, of feeling. Does your son, your brother, your husband, enjoy shooting people in Counter-Strike? Do they enjoy running over pedestrians in Grand Theft Auto? Of course not. What they are enjoying is the feeling of the act, of the responses they get, the feedback. They enjoy exploring the idea and the act. When you shoot a man in a videogame you are not the shooter in the videogame, you are yourself pretending to be the shooter. You are playing cops and robbers.

The main argument for videogames not being seen as art is that they do not inherently communicate a meaning. The sole reason for this is because that is what entertainment does; it is the dance performance in front of you that you can choose to interpret however you want. But videogames are not entertainment, not by this standard. They are something more innate, more primal and deep. We need to have that escape, that outlet — ‘play’ is our safe place to experiment. The player can take as much as they would like out of the experience, dig as deep as they want, but there isn’t always an inherent message.

"Is it healthy for any culture to ban something that would explore their taboos in a safe environment?" the article asks. Well, no, but there's a very long history of it — I can't imagine that banning potentially unsavory materials will ever go away. Still, this exploration of how people can and do relate to their gaming experiences is an interesting essay and worth a read.

Banning Videogames — How We Misinterpret The Experience [Vancouver Game Design via GameSetWatch]

While it doesn't get into specifics, the report does contain the following three statements:

- The drug references within the revised version are justified by context and lend a strong playing impact to the game.

- The drugs depicted are fictional; drugs are depicted as stylised icons on a menu with the drug use itself not depicted. Whilst navigating a post-apocalyptic futuristic landscape, players can invoke the use of a variety of "chems" listed by fictious names which include "Buff", "Rad-X", "Psycho" and "Ultrajet".

- The Board noted that the "Guidelines for the Classification of Films and Computer Games 2005" states that "as a general rule ... material that contains drug use ... related to incentives or rewards is Refused Classification" and found that relationship [sic] between drug use and the incentives and rewards is not such that it promotes or encourages the use of proscribed drugs. Therefore the game does not warrant to be Refused Classification and can be accommodated at MA15+ with a consumer advisory of "strong drug references".

So it's OK if the drugs are contextual within a fictional universe. It's OK if they're fictional drugs. It's OK if the game doesn't promote the use of proscribed (or, real) drugs.

Sounds like the game's use of morphine was the sticking point. By referencing only fictional drugs in this report, and reminding us that the encouragement of the use of "proscribed" drugs is a no-no, it looks likely that all that's been removed from the Australian version of the game is the morphine. Or, more realistically, that morphine has been given a fictional rebranding.

Course that's just speculation on our part, as with Bethesda refusing to comment on the matter until the game's out we're unable to confirm it, but that's certainly what it looks like.

The Classification Board's Report On Australia's Edited Fallout 3 [Kotaku AU]

Fallout 3 [OFLC]
Fallout 3 [EB Games Australia]

UPDATE - We contacted Bethesda to ask what had been edited/cut and - just like Rockstar with GTAIV - they could/would not comment on the changes.

The op-ed, written for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Web site, isn't shilling for Fallout 3 per se, but does a good job of pointing up how ineffective Australia's code is when it stops at MA15+.

Australia's absence of an R18+ category, and the financial imperative of getting a game onto store shelves in a timely manner, means that many games intended for adult audiences (and rated 18+ in other countries) are inappropriately shoehorned into the existing MA15+ category in Australia. Far from protecting minors from adult content, our uniquely incomplete classification system has allowed them, in many cases, to legally purchase and access such content. A consistent classification system would better serve to protect the rights of children, as well as ensuring those of adults are not infringed.

Crago also argues that piracy is a side effect of effectively banning games such as Fallout 3, as the Australian market is not big enough to warrant the kind of content changes necessary to get classification.

For us, Crago might be preaching to the choir. But it's an eloquent defense of the legitimacy and artistic merit of mature-rated titles, and shows how government's continued assumption that video games remain kids stuff serves neither adults nor children.

Banned: The Absurdity of Australia's Game Ratings Regime [abc.net.au]

Corresponding with the list of various "chems" are small visual representation of the drugs, these include syringes, tablets, pill bottles, a crack-type pipe and blister packs. In the Board's view these realistic visual representations of drugs and their delivery method bring the "science-fiction" drugs in line with "real-world" drugs.

Our advice, Bethesda: add some antenna and tesla coils to those crack pipes.

OFLC Report: Why Fallout 3 Was Banned In Australia [Kotaku AU]

It's Official: Fallout 3 Refused Classification In Australia [Kotaku AU]

BUSTED! "Boobalicious" Banned! [GamesRadar]

We twice rejected Manhunt 2, and then pursued a judicial review challenge, because we considered, after exceptionally thorough examination, that it posed a real potential harm risk. However, the Video Appeals Committee has again exercised its independent scrutiny. It is now clear, in the light of this decision, and our legal advice, that we have no alternative but to issue an '18' certificate to the game."

VAC Allows Appeal On Manhunt 2 The Video Appeals Committee today announced that the result of their reconsideration of the Manhunt 2 appeal remains that the appeal against the rejection of the work by the BBFC is upheld.

The Board's decision to refuse a certificate to Manhunt 2 was successfully challenged on appeal to the Video Appeals Committee. The Board challenged the VAC's decision by way of Judicial Review before the High Court, which quashed the decision on grounds of errors of law. The VAC has now reconsidered the appeal in the light of the High Court's directions on the law but has decided, again by a majority of four to three, to allow the appeal on the basis that Manhunt 2 should be given an '18' certificate.

In the light of legal advice the Board does not believe the VAC's judgement provides a realistic basis for a further challenge to its decision and has accordingly issued an '18' certificate.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:
"As I have said previously, we never take rejection decisions lightly, and they always involve a complex balance of considerations. We twice rejected Manhunt 2, and then pursued a judicial review challenge, because we considered, after exceptionally thorough examination, that it posed a real potential harm risk. However, the Video Appeals Committee has again exercised its independent scrutiny. It is now clear, in the light of this decision, and our legal advice, that we have no alternative but to issue an '18' certificate to the game."

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."

"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."

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]

Want to see what Wii owners in Europe and Japan are missing out on, in terms of flowing rivers of blood, decapitations and amputations? Then watch xserothx's No More Heroes Death Scene Comparison clips for a study in regional censorship. This is grisly stuff, folks, and not for the faint of heart of virtual murder. Anyone wary of spoilers should skip 'em, as they're essentially every boss fight in the game.

No More Heroes Death Scene Comparisons [YouTube - thanks, Sidepocket!]

According to the AFP report on the matter, the prohibition on selling CS and EQ was actually passed in October of 2007, but was only recently enforced by PROCON, the national consumer protection agency. Good work, Brazil. Glad all of your problems are sorted out now that the video game police are tackling the tough issues!

Members of the Kotaku Brazilian Connection wrote in to let us know about the ban. Their letters are after the jump and provide some insight into the local video game market.

From Pinguin:

Since 01/17, Counter Strike and Everquest are banned in Brazil. The decision came from a federal judge, based in the Consumer Rights, saying that it puts in danger the life of buyers. You can see the full decision in this site. (in Brazilian portuguese)

The counter strike was banned because, in experts opinion, teachs war strategies.
Everquest was banned because of their quests. The Brazilian judge, claims that, some quests ask for the user do good things and bad things, leading the user to pscicological problems.

In Brazil, those games were rated to 18+, by the Justice. In the past, before those rates exist, games like Carmagedon, Grand Theft Auto and Postal were banned too.

But, we still can play Postal 2, Manhunt (the complete version) and all the other games. Everquest isn't even [sold] in Brazil!

From Romulo:

Since 17/01/2008 the games "Counter-Strike" and "EverQuest" are been confiscated in the Brazilian state of Goiás by the PROCON, an organism created to defend consumer rights. The decision is extended trough all brazilian territory, the games were considered "[improper] for consume" and "nocive to the consumer health" offending some articles of the brazilian "consumer defense and protection code", a law that is usually used to protection the consumer against big companies.

Here in Brazil a single judge can make a decision that is valid in the whole country, this is the case, but other states are not confiscating the game as they think there may be something wrong with such a decision. The judge also classify CounterStrike and Everquest as being "nefast".

Acording to procon and the judge, Counter-Strike is described as "a game where drug deales sequestram and take to a morro thre UN representatives. Police invades the place and is received with bullets", the text also affirms, without showing names ou researches, that "in the vision of specialists that game teaches war techniches". Thats not counter strike´s but user generated content, CS_rio is a very popular map and played a lot in Brazil.

The reason to justify the ban, "violent games ou that bring violece are capable of forming agressive individuals, its evident is strong power of influence, reforcing agressive atitude on some individuals and social groups.", they go even farther when justifying everquest ban, [everquest] "takes the player to total nonsense and heavy psicologycal conflicts, because the quests he receives may be good or bad."

EA Brazil released a note claiming the content cited is not from counter strike but user generated, and say it´s waiting for a judicial notification to take legal action.

From Hank:

This is kotaku user HANK-SP, from Brazil, reporting that the brazilian state of Goias has banned the games Counter-Strike and the RPG EverQuest. The decision, taken by a court in Goias, is extented to all Brazil. The federal police IS already taking away copies from these games, altough EverQuest is not officially released in Brazil. Procon, brazilian governmental foundation for consumer defense, argued, on its website, that Counter-Strike is a game where "Rio de Janeiro drug dealers kidnapp and take to a slum three UN representants. The police invades the place and is welcomed with bullets. (...) In the vision of experts the game teaches war techniques". As for EverQuest, Procon states that it "takes the gamer to complete moral conflict and 'heavy' psychological conflicts; for the tasks that are given to them could be bad or good. (...) Violent videogames that use violence are capable of forming agressive individuals, making it evident that is strong its influence on psyquism, reinforcing aggressive attitude against certain individuals and social groups". The web site also states that anyone who sees these games being sold, that they should contact Procon for the arrest of the games. All this information has come from UOL, Brazil's biggest web portal, owned by Brazil's biggest newspaper "Folha de Sao Paulo". http://jogos.uol.com.br/pc/ultnot/2008/01/18/ult182u7954.jhtm In another news, UOL reports that EA has already answered that Counter-Strike doesn't have any Rio de Janeiro, any slums, any funk soundtrack, neither UN comissioners. http://jogos.uol.com.br/pc/ultnot/2008/01/18/ult182u7956.jhtm

Thanks for taking the time to write in, guys. Keep us informed of any developments, if you have the time.

Brazil bans popular video games seen to incite violence [AFP/Google]

First, let me say how honoured I am that everyone in Europe is expecting No More Heroes....The sales point of this game is action. Both I and Wada san have concentrated on making the best possible action game for the Nintendo Wii. We have chosen to release in Europe the same version as has shipped in Japan considering the broadly growing Wii market.

Studio boss chose to censor Euro No More Heroes [cvg]

Recently Common Sense Media, a non-partisan organization "dedicated to improving the media lives of children and families", sent out a questionnaire about kids and the media to the current roster of presidential candidates.

In it they only ask one specific question about video games, the candidates take on legislating violent video games sales. Only Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, Senator Barack Obama, Former Governor Mitt Romney and Governor Bill Richardson answered the questions in time for the deadline. The answers, I believe, give readers a sense on the candidate's take on video games and the first amendment.

In his answer Edwards points to the ESRB as a good example of industry responsibility. Barack seems to be calling for the feds to get involved, if only to once more study the impact of video games on "children's cognitive development." Richardson calls for the parents to be educated about the inappropriate content of "many video games." Citing the need to protect children from a "societal cesspool of filth, pornography, violence, sex and perversion", Romney says that the government needs to "get serious" against retailers that sell adult games to children.

Both Edwards and Barack also sort of talk a bit about gaming when answering a question about managing their childrens' media use. Hit the jump to read their answers to that question and all four candidates full take on video game censorship.

Question: How Do You Manage Your Kids' Media Use?

Senator John Edwards of North Carolina
My wife Elizabeth and I spend as much time with our children - Jack, who's 7; Emma Claire, who's 9; and Cate, who's 25 — as possible, on and off the campaign trail. We try to limit the time our younger children spend watching TV and playing video games by providing them with a lot of other activities. Our youngest children both play community sports, and Elizabeth especially does a lot of arts-and-crafts projects with them. Beyond UNC games, watching television isn't a favorite pastime in our home.

Elizabeth likes to say that we've had children in the '70s, the '80s, the '90s and our youngest just in 2000, so we've faced a wide range of parenting challenges and joys, including changes in media and popular culture. We've always encouraged our kids to think critically about the things they see on television and in movies in light of the values we've tried to instill in them.

Senator Barack Obama
As a general matter, we try to limit the amount of television our children watch. Children watch an average of three hours a day of TV — for African American children, it's four. It's too much, and all parents should turn off the TV and read to their children more often. But when our children do watch television, we try to watch it with them. This means finding programming that we can watch as a family and being there to answer any questions it may raise with our kids.

Obviously, this gets harder when I am on the campaign trail. But Michelle and I make every effort to read with our kids as much as possible. Rather than just sitting them in front of the television, we try to get them to read the latest Harry Potter.

Question: To date, nearly 10 states have considered legislation to keep violent video games out of kids' hands. Would you support this type of legislation at the federal level? What other strategies would you support to keep the video game industry and other media companies from marketing and selling inappropriate content to children?

Answers:
John Edwards, D-NC: While parents must ultimately decide what video games their children play, a lot of the responsibility for restricting marketing should be placed on software manufacturers. The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a good example of industry responsibility, and I support its ratings program, guidelines for responsible advertising practices, and outreach to game manufacturers and retailers. I also support leading video console manufacturers' use of parental controls.

But we have more work to do. An investigation by the Federal Trade Commission found that, since 2000, the likelihood of a child under age 17 being able to purchase an M-rated game (intended for people 17 or older) has been cut in half, falling from 85 percent to 42 percent. That number is much too high, and the FTC has also reported continued problems with the marketing of these games, especially on the Internet. If the industry does not continue to make progress in keeping video games with intense violence and adult content away from children, we will need to consider further steps to ensure that parents' decisions about their children's exposure to these games are not being undermined by retailers, advertisers and manufacturers.

Barack Obama, D-IL: We need to give parents the tools and information they need to make choices about what programs their children are watching or what video games they are playing. As we move towards a digital environment, there is a golden opportunity for the industry to do this on their own—to use the latest in technology to give parents more information and more choice. For example, this technology could make it possible for parents to create their own family tier just by programming their television to block certain channels, block certain genres of programming like dramas, or block television at certain times of the day. The same can be said of video games, especially as we're moving into an era when they can be downloaded as easily as today's movies and television shows.

I would call upon the video game industry to give parents better information about programs and video games by improving the voluntary rating system we currently have. Broadcasters and video game producers should take it upon themselves to improve this system to include easier to find and easier to understand descriptions of exactly what kind of content is included. But if the industry fails to act, then my administration would.

And even if the industry does do some responsible self-policing, there's still a role for the federal government to play. We need to understand the impact of these new media better. That's why I supported federal funding to study the impact of video games on children's cognitive development.

Bill Richardson, D-NM: I would consider this legislation, but I truly believe that we should make sure parents are educated about the inappropriate content of many video games. We have to get parents — all parents — more involved in the education of our nation's students. Legislation and teachers cannot do it alone, no matter how good they are. Parental involvement is more important to a child's success than any test or book.

As president, I will issue an executive order that provides all federal employees with eight hours per year of paid, one-to-one time with their children. And I will encourage businesses and the rest of the public sector to do the same.

Mitt Romney, R-MA: I want to restore values so children are protected from a societal cesspool of filth, pornography, violence, sex, and perversion. I've proposed that we enforce our obscenity laws again and that we get serious against those retailers that sell adult video games that are filled with violence and that we go after those retailers.

Presidential Questions [Common Sense Media]

In Resistance one could uncensor the game simply by downloading a Us save file. This does not work for Uncharted however as the save files are not compatible. You will be able to copy the Us save file to your system but the game will not even acknowledge it as it is in a different folder. Simply overwriting the files into a Jp save file results in corrupted data. I am unaware of any way to convert the save data and even then I'm not sure it would add the blood back.

Original
Smith: Why do pricks go in cunts? It's the natural order of things. Humans have always disliked dwarves and elves. Not for me to know why.
Edited Version
Smith: Humans have always hated dwarves and elves.

Eds Note: Sande Chen writes: "CDProjekt has already gone on the record stating that the script was edited down due to production constraints. It has nothing to do with censorship. And considering a lot of reviews has already quoted the mature language in the English script and forum posts have noted the use of "Cock" and "Cunt" in the script, strong language was not censored at all.

Moreover, if you look at the original source you quoted — the Witcher forum — and ShackNews — and Writers Cabal Blog, we state that we handed in a script based on the translation of the Polish script and as free-lance writers, we accept that once we hand in a script, there's the possibility it will get changed.

Additionally, as contract writers, we do not make the decisions as to what happens to the script."

"Target strives to provide merchandise that will appeal to a wide variety of guests. We also want guests to be comfortable with the purchasing decisions they make at Target. All video games and computer software sold at Target currently carry ratings by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)—from early childhood through mature audiences. While Manhunt 2 was given a Mature rating by the ERSB, we received additional information that players can potentially view previously filtered content by altering the game code. As a result, we have decided not to carry the game."

Target pulls Manhunt 2 from shelves? [GameSpot]

We had to make some minor changes to the game to get an age rating at all. [...] The biggest change is that you can't shoot already dead people (and they won't explode into thousand parts) and that ragdoll is disabled for dead people as well.

UT3 German Edition Lacks Ragdolls, Gibs [Planet Unreal]

Though the rule is often ignored, Chinese gamers who want to play video games at Internet cafes are expected to register using their state-issued identity cards. These and other restrictions over the years have been part of what critics describe as a larger plan to censor the dissemination of materials deemed too racy or controversial by the government.

The larger etchings of this supposed campaign were further revealed just last week when an article in the government-owned Shanghai Daily reported on the blocking of more than 18,400 "pornographic and indecent" Web sites. Although sites were closed ostensibly to prevent pornographic material from being viewed by minors, angry reports soon began to circulate in the blogosphere that many personal blogs had also been blocked in the roundup.

Censorship in China is a touchy issue, but the wider ramifications of government control of the gaming industry is an interesting question - will the central government ramp up controls since it appears the ones introduced this summer aren't working so well? In the world of MMORPGs, what's next after insisting skeletons be clothed in flesh? What's the landscape going to look like this time next year?

Chinese Crackdown on Gaming or Censorship? [NBC News World Blog]

I worked on [Indigo Prophecy]and had to cut the sex scenes out of the game for the US...It sucked because I don't believe in that, right. But you've got to do what you've got to do. We're working closely with the ESRB to make sure everything goes through okay but there's stuff we've cut already. There were things we were doing that even I couldn't believe we were going to those places....An example of what we cut would be putting someone's head in a vice. That was too much, you know.

Hu Jintao, Chinese president, has called for action to 'purify' the internet of anything that might affect 'national cultural information security' or undermine his attempt to promote a 'harmonious society'.

I'm not sure what in the hell bare-boned skeletons have to do with 'national cultural information security' and/or promoting a 'harmonious society,' but what Beijing wants, Beijing gets. Chinese WoW players are angry about the change, and no one's really sure why skeletons in WoW have gotten facelifts while nothing has been done in any other game operating in China.

Censorship reaches internet skeletons [Gulfnews via QJ.net]

Other changes to the German 360 version include removal of four of the Darkling kill methods, and the ripping out heart animation being replaced with sucking out souls via a green mist. Weak. German players could always trade or import the uncut version the rest of Europe is getting, but I wouldn't recommend it, since possessing a copy of it in Germany can carry a sentence of up to three years in jail. The Darkness expurgated version should hit Germany as soon as changes are completed.

The Darkness: Uncut-Version in Deutschland verboten [AreaGames.de - Thanks Platinum!]

TriMet said it does not accept ads that promote or encourage illegal activity. After a review, the transit agency decided to pull the ads, saying the national agency who purchased the ad space didn't alert them to the game's nature.

I actually saw one of these ads myself on the Washington D.C. Light Rail this past week. I wonder if those will get pulled as well? Flynn De Marco

TriMet Pulls Grand Theft Auto Ads [KPTV News]
[via: Game Politics]

The most idiotic thing about the furor over Rockstar's upcoming school-based game Bully is that it's fueled by one of the scantiest PR campaigns I've ever seen. A single trailer (or two?), some fantastic concept art, and a few sentences make up the entirety of the information released by Rockstar proper.

It may be that the company is so adept at handling controversy by now that they know the crowing of the Insane Jackasses will save them tens of thousands in advertising expense. The antigamers only need to be fed a single pallid shaving with the Rockstar logo attached and they're off and running, foaming at the mouth with ignorant distemper. Whatever it is, they're against it.

We even got a comment from the head of an anti-bullying advocacy group a few weeks ago, condemning us for mentioning the game and calling us to arms against it. The email was tl;dr, going on and on about the hideous content and horrible demon influence it would have on innocent human-larva. I wrote back: "Ma'am, have you actually played the game? Because we sure as hell haven't." I got no reply.

In this Crecente piece over on ScrippsNews, we finally hear from the intelligentsia, and they tell us what we already know: only non-gamers fear games, and this is simply a continuation of our proud cultural traditions of marginalizing and demonizing our children.

Clive Thompson, video game critic for Wired News and contributing writer for The New York Times, calls video games this generation's rock 'n' roll.

"Video games are as divisive as rock 'n' roll was and they have created an experiential generation gap."

It's that gap, Thompson thinks, that is sparking much of the outcry against video games:

"There are a number of reasons why games are more disturbing to people than movies or music. It is demographics; the people who are worried about them, don't play them and don't understand them. It's a perfect storm of misunderstanding."

What's most vexing about this war is that many of our opponents are of an age that they should remember the hate and fear from their own parents towards long hair, free love, and rock n' roll. It's saddening that revolution is so quickly forgotten, but I suppose when you got your wild oats sewn so widely in your youth, you're content to become a hateful old bastard in your dotage. Eliza Gauger

More here [ScrippsNews, via GamePolitics]

I was lucky enough to get a chance to sit down with some of the Rockstar guys last month in their SoHo offices and look at and talk about Bully for a package of stories I was working on for the Rocky Mountain News.

Earlier this week I had a news story up about the game, today I have a story up about Bully that looks at censorship and the medium of gaming coming into its own as a social commentary. The story includes interviews with the executive directior of the National Coalition Against Censorship, Clive Thompson, the Miami-Dade school board member who banned the game, Rockstar founder Terry Donovan and our very own Alice Taylor, of the BBC.

It's a controversy launched by a sentence.

The video game Bully, from the makers of Grand Theft Auto, has been called a Columbine simulator and an impetus for teen violence. The House of Commons condemned it, the Miami-Dade School District banned it, and anti-violence activists have protested it.

Until this week, the only thing these vocal critics knew about Rockstar's upcoming game came from a single sentence released in 2005:

"As a troublesome schoolboy, you'll laugh and cringe as you stand up to bullies, get picked on by teachers, play pranks on malicious kids, win or lose the girl, and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the fictitious reform school, Bullworth Academy."

But with this week's announcement of the game's October release, more details have emerged — as have advocates for the game. Where some people see controversy, others now see a cause. Months before its release Bully may be evolving into a benchmark game for issues ranging from censorship to the stature of video games as relevant social commentary.

Make sure you check out the full story. I think it touches on some interesting ideas about gaming and its place in popular culture. Brian Crecente

Evolution or Explotation [Rocky Mountain News]

Bullying Online, one of the UK's lead anti-bullying charities, has renewed their opposition to Rockstar's game Bully.

The group says they had hoped their initial protests would have killed the game.

"We'd hoped that Rockstar had ditched this game following our complaints about it a year ago," said Bullying Online director Liz Carnell. "We don't think this game is likely to leave players with a warm and fuzzy feeling."

"Bullying is not fun and it's not a suitable topic for a game. This charity is contacted by thousands of parents and children a year for whom school bullying makes their lives a total misery. Up to four of the children who contact us every day are suicidal."

Carnell likens her fears for the game's effects on children to the effect some say television has on children.

"Youngsters copy what they see on TV and in games, when wrestling was popular on TV we had numerous complaints about young children hurting others by copying the behaviour they had seen on the
screen," she said. "We're very concerned that even if this game were to get an adult rating in the UK there would be nothing to stop younger members of the family playing it."

It sounds like Carnell's real concerns are with her country's rating system and the enforcement of it there. Maybe she should lay off Rockstar and start working with groups to make sure the ratings are followed. Brian Crecente

While the Japanese original is universally lauded by anime fans for being a good flick, the American version of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie gets boos for being sanitized. Out went excess violence and Chun Li's dirty pillows, in went good ol' American censorship and the film was edited down to PG-13. (Because, cartoons are for kids, right?) Anime distributor Manga Video is bringing the full, uncut version to DVD on July 18th. For impatient folks, the infamous NSFW Chun Li shower scene after the jump. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Analog Medium]