Sure, Let's Beat On Take Two Some More...

Because really, it's the kind of fun nobody can ever get enough of, right?

Mind you, I'm responding not to the actual op/ed by noted Take Two hater GamePolitics.com ... because right now I can't read it ... but rather Joystiq's read on the matter. Apparently even after the FTC has settled with Take Two ... Dennis McCauley wants them to be dragged in front of Congress.

First, Dennis, let's be honest. Congress is posing a straw man debate in the first place ... so why would you expect them to bring up anyone specifically related to the argument? It completely goes against the grain of the concept. Why worry about experts when you get some guy who lost his brother to a teenage shooter? Who needs facts or logic when the Jack Thompson approach is oh so much more interesting.

Second, the obvious answer to things like "Who created the animations?" must be "who the hell still cares?" Since the FTC has settled on the matter, why do we think a good old fasioned Congressional hearing on the matter would do anything at all? We've seen just how much it's cleaned up baseball.

Why can't anyone answer the prominent question of this issue: "Why should parents make the distinction between altered game code which uncovers assets and altered game code which adds assets?" I know, it's a lot dryer than asking something like "Why did they try to blame the mess on their biggest fans, the GTA mod community?" ... which isn't entirely accurate or fair. In fact, it desperately tries to ignore the actual issue at foot here ... how much can the game industry be expected to regulate the mod community?

We're talking about a ratings system to which the nuances between "Mature" and "Teen" is apparently lost on many parents, but we expect them to care whether some modders found a nipple hidden on a disc or figured out a way to add nipple later on? It's the first disconnect which is a problem for the industry, not the second.

But go ahead, drag this out for as long as possible. I'm sure it's good for traffic.




tagged: game, gaming