More Mass Effect Mess
Fox News recently ran a story where they had so called 'experts' on to debate the illicit scenes portrayed in the popular game Mass Effect. Here's a YouTube video of that news story:
The problems I have with this story are almost too many to list. Fox News didn't do any research on the game. In the middle of the story, even their experts state that they've never even picked up the game. If the media is going to report video games in this manner, how can parents really use it as a legitimate source of information regarding them? For one, I know parents, based off this and other previous Fox News reports, should disregard almost anything Fox says about the video game industry. If parents want a clear understanding of a game's content before purchasing it for their children, my advice is simply go into a video game store (not a Wal-Mart) and ask someone who has actually played the game. Most parents don't realize this, but the average age of video game players in America is somewhere near 30 years old. In other words, most games they're considering for their children, have already been played by adults. Try asking one of these adults for advice. Most gamers who play these 'M for Mature' rated games will freely tell you what content is in the game and then let you decide whether or not it's appropriate for your children. There's no need to go to tabloid journalism like Fox News for your information.
Due to the misinformed bashing of Mass Effect on Fox News, author Cooper Lawrence recently felt a mighty backlash against her from the gaming community. Many gamers went onto Amazon.com and freely reviewed her new book without ever reading it, dropping its rating into the cellar. Cooper Lawrence, I guess, came to realize her mistake in appearing on Fox News and saying what she did, and has come out and apologized for her remarks, even recanting her statement in light of now having seen the content in Mass Effect.
The problems I have with this story are almost too many to list. Fox News didn't do any research on the game. In the middle of the story, even their experts state that they've never even picked up the game. If the media is going to report video games in this manner, how can parents really use it as a legitimate source of information regarding them? For one, I know parents, based off this and other previous Fox News reports, should disregard almost anything Fox says about the video game industry. If parents want a clear understanding of a game's content before purchasing it for their children, my advice is simply go into a video game store (not a Wal-Mart) and ask someone who has actually played the game. Most parents don't realize this, but the average age of video game players in America is somewhere near 30 years old. In other words, most games they're considering for their children, have already been played by adults. Try asking one of these adults for advice. Most gamers who play these 'M for Mature' rated games will freely tell you what content is in the game and then let you decide whether or not it's appropriate for your children. There's no need to go to tabloid journalism like Fox News for your information.
Due to the misinformed bashing of Mass Effect on Fox News, author Cooper Lawrence recently felt a mighty backlash against her from the gaming community. Many gamers went onto Amazon.com and freely reviewed her new book without ever reading it, dropping its rating into the cellar. Cooper Lawrence, I guess, came to realize her mistake in appearing on Fox News and saying what she did, and has come out and apologized for her remarks, even recanting her statement in light of now having seen the content in Mass Effect.
~CodeMonkey at
1/26/2008 11:58:00 AM
1 Comments:
After this report people went to Amazon's website and left very bad comments on Cooper Lawrence's self help book. They did so without ever reading the book and giving her the treatment she gave to Mass Effect. She was the "expert" yet she had never played the game. A little after the report aired she sat with someone who played it for about two and a half hours and realized she was completely wrong.
EA has not yet received an apology only an invite to come on Fox News and this seems like the typical crap they would pull. Instead of saying they screwed up and dropping it they want to bring EA on, no doubt to flame them further.
Makes me sad its the most watched cable news network.
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