What's Wrong With Video Games That You Can Finish In Three Hours?

from the that's-not-how-it's-done! dept

Clive Thompson tries to bust apart the commonly held wisdom that it should take 40 hours to complete a video game. He points to a recently well-received game that many reviewers dinged for the fact that it could be completed in three hours. They seemed to like pretty much everything about the game… other than that it was “too short.” The standard, apparently (I had no idea) is that a video game should take approximately 40 hours to finish. But Thompson points out how silly that is. For many games, they just start to feel repetitive or stretched out. If you can do everything that needs to be done in just three hours — why not do it. My guess is that many of the complaints just come from what people think they’re “buying” with the game, and that includes “time spent on the game.” So a game that seems short feels like “less value” even if that’s not necessarily the case. Still, as Thompson points out, the game he’s talking about, The Maw is much cheaper than the average 40-hour game anyway, so he’s not clear why people are complaining. To be honest, I was unaware of the 40-hour standard, and am a bit surprised that it’s apparently so standardized. I’d always just assumed that different games had different time-lengths (if they were “finishable” at all).

Filed Under: time, video games

Mostly Toothless Video Game Bill Passes the Utah Legislature

from the where-are-the-regulations-against-silly-regulations? dept

The Utah legislature has seemed strangely obsessed with technology issues this session. Perhaps spurred on by a questionable BYU study on the problems created by video games, the Utah legislature has passed a bill promoted by disgraced lawyer and anti-videogame activist Jack Thompson to regulate the sale of video games to minors. The good news, as Ars Technica reports, is that the law was largely defanged during the legislative process. Under the final version of the bill, retailers would not be liable for selling M-rated video games to minors if they’d put their employees through a training program. They’d also not be liable if the children had gotten the games by lying about their age. With that said, there’s still plenty to object to here. For starters, the legislation punishes retailers for failing to follow their published policy on video game sales. That means that a retailer that has a strong policy against selling to minors will face more liability if it breaks that policy than a retailer that doesn’t have such a policy. This could have the perverse effect of discouraging retailers from adopting strong policies against selling violent video games to children. It will also force a lot of retailers to put their employees through “training” programs that may be completely unnecessary. But probably the most serious problem with this legislation is that it may be an opening wedge for future regulation of video game sales. Expect the same interest groups that pushed this legislation through to come back in future years with bills that would close the “loopholes” in this year’s legislation.

Filed Under: legislation, utah, video games

School Shooting In Germany Immediately Leads To Calls To Ban Violent Video Games

from the you-knew-it-would-happen dept

A few people submitted stories about a German school shooting this week, noting that the AP report on the shooting spoke to a friend of the killer, talking about how they used to play video games together, and that some of them were violent. I decided not to post it initially, because it was a small part of the story, and there was nothing saying anyone was actually responding to that aspect, yet. But… of course… it didn’t take long at all. Politicians are leaping on the bandwagon and already some are calling for a total ban on violent video games, despite no actual evidence that violent video games had anything, whatsoever, to do with the killings.

Filed Under: germany, shooting, video games

American Library Association Pushes For More Video Games In Libraries

from the someone-alert-Nebraska dept

Just last week, we wrote about how officials in Nebraska were coming down hard on a library for buying a PS2 and the game Rock Band as an educational tool and a way to bring more kids to the library. The officials there (and many in our comments) seemed to think that there was no redeeming value for the library to do so. Yet, as reader Tyler Hipwell points out, the American Library Association is now pushing new gaming in libraries initiatives, including an online toolkit for building up gaming resources at the library. Someone should alert officials in Nebraska.

Filed Under: libraries, video games
Companies: american library association

Sony Considers Lawsuit Over Its Controller Being Used In Anti-Video Game Ad

from the probably-not-the-best-idea dept

Steve points us to a story in the UK about how Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is considering taking legal action against the folks behind an anti-video game advertisement because a photo in the ad includes a boy holding what appears to be a Playstation controller. The whole thing seems pretty silly. The anti-video game ad is pretty ridiculous itself, but Sony overreacting to it seems even worse. First of all, other than hardcore gamers, who’s even going to notice that it’s a PlayStation controller? Instead of suing and drawing more attention, Sony might want to just focus on reasons why the ad is misleading and that video gaming doesn’t lead to “cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.” Suing over the use of the controller just makes it look like they have something to hide.

Filed Under: lawsuits, streisand effect, trademark, video games, violent video games
Companies: sony

Nebraska Officials Upset That Librarian Used Funds To Make The Library Cool For Kids

from the how-dare-they! dept

GamePolitics alerts us to the rather ridiculous situation in Nebraska, where state officials were investigating some librarians for buying a PlayStation 2 and Rock Band set for use in the library. Considering all of the questions over the past few years about keeping libraries relevant in an age of computers and the internet, attracting kids with a fun game seems like a pretty good idea… but not to Nebaska’s state auditor. In fact, the very point that it was fun for kids was seen as a bad thing:

The purchase of gaming equipment is a questionable use of public funds. It is common knowledge that children enjoy games and toys, so there appears to have been little need to purchase the games.

Instead, public funds should apparently only be used on things that kids hate and that won’t get them interested in coming to the library at all!

Filed Under: library, nebraska, rock band, video games

The Big Question: Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Kids For The Apocalypse?

from the things-we-need-to-know dept

With all of the stories over the past few years concerning the supposed “risks” of kids playing violent video games — often argued over soundbites on cable news networks, The Onion comes to the rescue with the perfect antidote, wondering Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?

I wonder if Jack Thompson would like to weigh in on the debate… My favorite line: “The games all make it seem deceptively simple. I mean, in the future, a kid’s not going to be able to kill a six-foot irradiated beetle just by pressing a few buttons. He’s going to have to get down there with an axe, and hack and hack and hack.” Indeed. Violent video games need to be even more real. Otherwise, we’re all doomed.

Filed Under: apocalypse, video games, violence
Companies: the onion

When They Said Video Games Were Unhealthy, They Probably Weren't Thinking Of This

from the meat-hooks dept

The competition in the video-game market is intense, even when it comes to console-induced injuries. You’ve got Wiinjuries, Guitar Hero arm strains, and now, “PlayStation palmar hidradenitis.” That’s the name given to some intense sores a 12-year-old Swiss girl developed on the palms of her hands after playing her Playstation for several hours a day. Ironically, hidradenitis is more commonly found on the soles of kids’ feet who take part in heavy physical activity, like running. While doctors and Sony both say this is the first case of its kind they’ve seen, don’t be surprised if politicians start railing against sore palms as another danger video games pose to kids.

Filed Under: injuries, palmar hidradenitis, sores, video games

MTV Supposedly Boycotting Warner Music Artists In Rock Band

from the nice-work,-Warner! dept

A bunch of folks have sent in an article from the latest issue of Wired Magazine about Warner Music’s fight with the publishers of music video games, Rock Band and Guitar Hero. To be honest, the article doesn’t cover much more ground than stories from last year, when Warner Music’s Edgar Bronfman Jr. first demanded more money from the game publishers. But, it does include one juicy tidbit. After reposting Bronfman’s silly quote demanding more money:

“In response, Rock Band publisher MTV Games is now boycotting Warner artists, according to a source close to the negotiations.”

This is yet another example (in an increasingly long line) of how Warner Music’s recent actions have done plenty to harm its artists. You may recall that a similarly ridiculous whine from Warner Music execs that YouTube wasn’t paying enough money resulted in YouTube pulling all Warner Music videos from the site, pissing off many Warner Music artists. Other reports have noted that if musicians were blocked from getting their music in these video games, they might look to move to other labels as well.

And, of course, Warner Music’s fight with the video game publishers is doubly stupid. Reports have shown that having your music in one of those games greatly increases sales of the music itself. So… the end result? Pissed off musicians who get less people hearing and interacting with and buying the music. It’s amazing that Warner stays in business at all, with management foresight like that.

Filed Under: boycott, guitar hero, music, rock band, video games
Companies: warner music

NY Politician Demands Ban Of Video Game… Not Available In The US

from the moral-panic dept

There was a flutter of controversy last week, when someone realized that a rather despicable video game, where the goal of gameplay is apparently to rape someone, was available for sale via Amazon’s marketplace (where 3rd party sellers offer items, rather than Amazon itself). Amazon was quick to block the sale of the game, but that hasn’t stopped a politician in NY from using the story as an opportunity to grandstand. New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is demanding US publishers boycott distributing the game, which seems pretty silly since no US publishers are distributing the game (it’s only been released in Japan), and there’s no indication anyone wants to distribute the game in the US. But why should that stop a good opportunity to create some moral panic?

Filed Under: ban, christine quinn, moral panic, politics, video games