[Nappi]

Yea.. well... There goes my respect for Rockstar. I mean, it really sounds like the only thing they want to do with this one is to stir up controversy (unlike with GTA's which are genuinely good games). I really doubt Rockstar is honestly mainly targeting this one to adults (I at least would choose the new GTA instead of beating some schoolkids), even though they will slam that 18+ sticker in the box and mention it many times as a defence. They must know that lots of the buyers will be underage especially when the action happens in school.

It also seems to me that Rockstar can't really lose with this one either. The game will probably be banned in some countries, but it's just publicity and any kind of publicity seems to be good publicity. And when some teenager starts to act like that skinhead in the game, the company can always say that parents should not let kids play this kind of games (which is true, but...)

Anyways... that's just what I think of it.

EDIT: I'm not one of those persons who think that violent games are from the hot pits of hell or that the developers of those should be neutered. Far from it! I'm just sick and tired of hearing all this 'videogames are the tools of Beelzebub, lord of the flies' talk every time some new (and crappy) Postal is released.

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by Jake

Yeah they had to postpone development on "Infant Penis" to make way for the new titles. A major bummer.

Literally.

[100ja a.k.a. mr_mitja]

Originally Posted by Jake

Some sort of group of insane sex superheroes or something? An orgastic four if you will? So you're basically saying you will be buying Bad Brain's "The Orgastic Four" on release day? I see.

Well, I'll surely get a new mobile by December 2006. So why not?

[sethsez]

Originally Posted by mag

Yeah, but who are the ones who bought it? Mostly Americans, I'm guessing. Doesn't really matter where the game was made. It was made FOR Americans, and judging from how well the game did in the U.S., I'd say their estimation of what the American public wants was dead on. That certainly says something about our country.

The first two GTA games were pretty clearly European in design. Hell, one of the expansions took place in London in the sixties. As for popularity, it wasn't until the third game that it really took off in a major way, and that was due to the overhaul of the engine.

Besides, GTA sells extremely well in Europe as well. San Andreas was the top selling game in the UK last week, and has been in the top ten charts since it was released. It's far from exclusively American in popularity.

Oh, and for people saying that Rockstar doesn't make non-violent games, they also make the Midnight Club series of racing games.

[SakSquash]

Everyone is bullied at least one time in their lives, even bullies themselves. I doubt this game will even have any killing. I say go for it.

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by sethsez

Oh, and for people saying that Rockstar doesn't make non-violent games, they also make the Midnight Club series of racing games.

That would be Rockstar San Diego I believe. See... The Americans are trying to clean things up a bit, it's those damn Canadians and Scottish who are crazy about blood and guts! Just kidding. Frankly, I enjoy the stuff out of the Scottish studio most.

[SakSquash]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

That would be Rockstar San Diego I believe. See... The Americans are trying to clean things up a bit, it's those damn Canadians and Scottish who are crazy about blood and guts! Just kidding. Frankly, I enjoy the stuff out of the Scottish studio most.

They should make a game where you play an angry haggis that goes around killing people with a meat thermometer.

[sethsez]

Originally Posted by temporaryscars

They should make a game where you play an angry haggis that goes around killing people with a meat thermometer.

That sounds like something Taito would have made in the 80s.

[Fop]

I seriously don't understand how blowing a cops head off with a SPAS 12 gauge shotgun is less controversial than picking on some school children.

[Starflux]

I want them to make a game where I can kick pregnant women in their stomachs when they're in labour in the hospital. If they don't make it I'll release those feelings on the real world. This is serious.

I'm not kidding.

[Lucien21]

Originally Posted by temporaryscars

They should make a game where you play an angry haggis that goes around killing people with a meat thermometer.

[Kolorabi]

Damn, when I first heard about this game, I thought it would be a kind of remake of Skool Daze. Now that would have been cool.

Anyway, I think it's a little early to be judging it, especially based on an article from The Mirror of all things.

[SakSquash]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

Hahah, I take it you're either scottish or haggis.

[SamandMax]

Manhunt was controversial too. Then it also turned out to be pretty shitty. Hopefully they're doing Bully for quality, and not publicity.

[mag]

Originally Posted by Fop

Hmm, this looks like a Rockstar game in which you don't actually kill anyone and *now* they've gone too far?

We want mayhem and carnage!

It's all a matter of context. Really, all of these Rockstar games a pretty much the same--you go around beating the hell out of people. The only thing that changes is the setting. In GTA you could mow down some innocent bystandards, sure, but it was really little more than the video game equivalent of a mafia film.

Now imagine if they did the exact same game as GTA, only instead of a criminal you play as a Nazi. Yes, I know that all references to "nazi" or "Hitler" must be stricken of the language of mankind for all eternity, but just humor me on this one. If Rockstar made a game where you play as a Nazi, it would be considered wildly inappropriate. Not because you're doing anything in the game that we haven't seen before, but because of the context.

Now I'm not saying that a game about being a bully is equivalent to a game about being a Nazi. My point is just that certain concepts are inappropriate simply because they lack good taste. Being a bully who assaults other children and hunts down his teacher is, in my opinion, just such a concept. Bullying isn't a joke.

If they wanted to deal with bullying in a way that was thoughtful and appropriate, I'd be all for it. But from what I can see, this is not that game. This is just Rockstar trying to make a joke out of something that isn't funny in the least.

Originally Posted by sethsez

The first two GTA games were pretty clearly European in design. Hell, one of the expansions took place in London in the sixties. As for popularity, it wasn't until the third game that it really took off in a major way, and that was due to the overhaul of the engine.

Besides, GTA sells extremely well in Europe as well. San Andreas was the top selling game in the UK last week, and has been in the top ten charts since it was released. It's far from exclusively American in popularity.

That's just the lamest cop-out I've ever seen. I'm sorry, but the "everybody else is doing it, so it must be okay" excuse doesn't carry a whole lot of weight. And if you're actually going to try to convince me that GTA hasn't been marketed toward an American audience, then you're just deluding yourself.

mag

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by mag

If Rockstar made a game where you play as a Nazi, it would be considered wildly inappropriate.

Uh oh... It's probably their next game.

[Aj_]

"Must use Nazi reference... can't help self... all control slipping... slipping..." *The writing trails off, there are blood marks on the page*

Acknowledging that you shouldn't, but doing it anyway, because bullies can't be compared to Nazis. That's why you don't compare them to... uh... Nazis.

Some subjects are just innappropriate. Killing indiscriminately for greed? That's OK in my book. Murder in general? Sign me up! Hell, compared to Bullies and Nazis, that other crap is bunnies and flowers, pansy stuff. See, Nazis and Bullies are cut from the same cloth, hell in a lot of ways, Hitler was just a big bully.

When are they going to release Genocide, the simulation/management game, that challenges you to kill as much of a minority race in 26 countries, 16 time periods.

I spit on you all that buy this game, you filthy filthy scum, I hope you go to hell for all your wicked ways, and I hope Rockstar makes no money. I'm off to play GTA:SA, I've been dying to kill some hookers all day, now where did I put my razor blade.

If Rockstar made a game where you play as a Nazi, it would be considered wildly inappropriate.

It's not like dosens of other games allow you to do so.

GTA hasn't been marketed toward an American audience

Sure, but see, publishers operate in a lot of countries, the game was also marketed in every country it was sold in. If you mean the game design, then no, there is nothing in there that makes references to things that Europeans, and most of the world, don't have access to. It wasn't made by Americans, it doesn't have special US incite, the setting doesn't change the gameplay, GTA:London, wasn't made specifically for the UK.

[Lucien21]

Originally Posted by temporaryscars

Hahah, I take it you're either scottish or haggis.

Well i'm not a Haggis, but the other one might be true. I better check under my kilt to be sure.

[sethsez]

Originally Posted by mag

That's just the lamest cop-out I've ever seen. I'm sorry, but the "everybody else is doing it, so it must be okay" excuse doesn't carry a whole lot of weight. And if you're actually going to try to convince me that GTA hasn't been marketed toward an American audience, then you're just deluding yourself.

That's... not what I said at all?

I didn't say "everybody else is doing it so it must be okay." I said "you are claiming that the games are American in design and appeal, which isn't true based on where they're made and how well they sell in various parts of the world." There's a pretty significant difference there, and I don't see a judgement on the quality or moral relevance of the series anywhere in it. If you're going to single out America with a game, try not to choose a European-developed one that tops charts in the UK for many months. It's a worldwide success, not just an American one.

Also, Vice City and San Andreas were clearly more "American" than previous games in the series, but that was after the series had already taken off, and after three games and an expansion. Part III was poking fun at America, not celebrating it, and the developers have been pretty clear about that. The fact that most people missed the joke despite it smacking them in the face says more about the knee-jerk reactions of most people than it does about the actual game.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by sethsez

[GTA] III was poking fun at America, not celebrating it, and the developers have been pretty clear about that. The fact that most people missed the joke despite it smacking them in the face says more about the knee-jerk reactions of most people than it does about the actual game.

Yeah, I got the humorous satire on America, a good part of why I enjoyed GTA III so much.