Dear Mr. Thompson,
I can understand your deal with Rockstar Games on the GTA: San Andreas "Hot Coffee" mod, but the rest of your ideals I find are purely unfounded and ridiculous. Read on to see why I feel that way. Also, I'm not flaming you at all, just presenting logical and well organized arguments. I hope I can trust you'll offer me the same treatment.
There is no legitimate scientific proof that violent games cause violence in gamers. I would love to see proper documentation of that Harvard study you claim to have been conducted. If it ever even happened to begin with, how many people were used? What was the diversification of the group? What variables were tested? How long did it go on? What were the findings of all these "studies?" I'm almost 20 years old. I've played all kinds of violent games ever since I was 12. GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Halo, GTA, Killer 7, Resident Evil, Eternal Darkness, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, I've played them all. I've never had the desire to shoot someone after playing them though. It's called "stress relief" Mr. Thompson. Any gamer with half a brain realizes it's fantasy and would never take that action out into the real world.
So Doom caused the Columbine massacre huh? I didn't realize that game controllers or keyboards were capable of training people to wield a weapon. Oh and the D.C. sniper shootings were stemmed from the guy playing the arcade game Silent Scope that utilized a sniper rifle huh? Hate to break it to you Mr. Thompson, but neither of those could ever happen. I tell you from personal experience, using any kind of plastic contraption, whether it be a game controller, keyboard or fake gun, is DRASTICALLY different from holding an actual gun. I've fired guns off before, and the technique or experience aren't even close to being the same. Guns are much heavier and take a lot more discipline to aim than a stupid moving targeting reticle in a shooting game. Games don't train people to fire guns, people train people to fire guns. It's far more difficult to use an actual weapon than using them in a computer generated environment.
There was a poll for teens who play GTA: Vice City and the violence it caused in them? Polls are bogus Mr. Thompson, they never take into account the number and diversity of people it should. I wouldn't be surprised if that poll took 500 votes. What can you prove with a poll that generated 500 responses? Just how many people were involved in that poll if you don't mind my asking? How many people live in the United States again? Sex with a prostitute is in there too huh? Show where that is explicitly displayed and I'll give you a cookie. The GTA games are rated Mature for their sexual content, so obviously if some females in those games "choose" that profession, why can't players take advantage of that? I'm not saying that content is morally correct, but it is indeed in the real world, and GTA takes place in a realistic society. Plus you're not forced to hurt them in any way after you do what you will with them. Also when was the last time a GTA player who killed a prostitute did the same thing in the real world? I can't think of any cases can you?
Kids have much easier access to inappropriate material on tv, the internet and in movie theaters. Heck, kids can view extremely inappropriate material through all those mediums either purposefully or accidentally. Why not criticize those forms of media as well? When games like "The Guy Game" and "Playboy: The Mansion" or "Leisure Suit Larry" come out, where were you then? Those games feature much more interactive pornography than GTA or Killer 7 EVER will. I don't see you complaining about those. Oh that's right, it's because they don't sell quite as well so they can't possibly be as influential on people right? How are 20 million people that buy GTA games any more or less likely to commit acts they see in these games than whatever number of people pick up those previously mentioned?
Have you ever even played these games yourself? I highly doubt that. As it seems like all your criticisms of games stem from the viewing of some kind of trailers or from word of mouth from industry critics online. You based your argument for the AO rating for Killer 7 on an exaggerated comment from Matt Casamassina from IGN. He said that Killer 7 had a "full blown sex sequence" when in truth that isn't even CLOSE to being correct. Hate to break it to you Mr. Thompson, but Samantha and Harman are both FULLY clothed. You don't even see any kind of physical interaction, just her bouncing up and down while moaning. Nothing explicit there Mr. Thompson.
Manhunt "trains" you to kill people with plastic bags huh? I'm sorry I didn't realize it was rocket science for someone to figure out how to put a plastic bag over someone's head. You don't need a game to show you how to do that. If someone wishes to do that, they don't need to play Manhunt to find motivation. People in this world are finding more and more sadistic ways of killing others, and if people want to kill someone, they will do it however they wish.
I see that you respond to a lot of peoples' e-mails with the fact that we are either mindless 12 year olds getting games from our parents or mindless 21 year olds that don't know what we're talking about. I'm sorry, I didn't realize it wasn't our position to defend an industry that many of us have been personally involved in for 15 or more years. How long have you been playing games, or have you ever even picked up a game controller? From what I've seen on your end, I'd say you never have. I do believe we are perfectly credible to speak up on issues that we know darn well what's going on with them.
Mature games carry that rating for a reason, how about going after the parents that don't monitor what games their kids are playing? Stores are in it to make a profit and can't be entirely blamed for the selling all the time. Sure they should be penalized for repeat offenses, but how could you possibly look past the ignorance of today's parents when it comes to the games they're buying for their kids? All these stories on the news about how parents are all of a sudden concerned about the issue after something like the Coffee mod happens are ridiculous. These stories use how many mothers? Then you guys try to make it seem like it's the entire population of a state that is concerned about this stuff? Give me a break, that's not happening. It's not the mothers, it's politicians like yourselves. You don't seem like you'll be happy until you ban all forms of electronic entertainment. GTA: San Andreas was the first noticeable mistake that was made with the ESRB, but aren't you forgetting the Bill of Rights? We DO have freedom of speech you know.
So what if children orientated tv stations have advertisements for games like GTA on them? Game developers and publishers have to sell their games somehow, is that not the core goal of a business? Little kids watch MTV more and more these days, so what's the difference? Games are going to be advertised, and kids are going to see these advertisements in some form or other. What's the difference if it's on Disney or MTV on tv or on the internet or even the radio? Marketing does what it does very well, and it doesn't target any one specific audience to purposely cause harm. What about tobacco products Mr. Thompson? Those are all over tv, the internet and on the radio, anyone can witness those, even kids, why aren't you complaining about that? Smoking is harmful to our bodies is it not? Once again I do believe it's the parents' jobs to make sure they know what their kids are involving themselves with.
Finally, why can't you see videogames as an art form? People say that about movies, music and various forms of tv media. Why can't the same be said about videogames? What you are trying to do is gain control of a profession/art form that teams of hundreds of people take years to painstakingly go through. This involves graphic design, music composition, programming, story writing, gameplay mechanics and so on and so forth. How would you feel if enough people thought the practice of law was nothing but corruption and tried to have it shut down? I'm sure you've held your position for a number of good years so that wouldn't make you feel too good would it? Why are you trying to help take over an industry that so many people put ungodly hours into and sacrifice so much of their lives to actually pull through with it? I'm sorry, but I find that to be a shoddy display of character. These people have families to support and jobs to do, why can't you just leave them alone? While the ESRB does have its flaws, what rating system doesn't? I've seen plenty of movies that are rating PG, PG-13 or R that could've easily been rated one bit higher. The same about the other way around. Maybe instead of pointing fingers at developers at the ESRB, how about pointing fingers at the ways kids that shouldn't be having these games are actually getting them?
I've presented all my arguments in the most mature fashion that I can. This in no way is a personal attack upon you, so I sincerely hope you don't take it that way. Now since I took the time to write this up the way I did, why don't you offer me the same courtesy and respond in the same kind of respect?
Thank you for your time,
Justin Joseph
I can understand your deal with Rockstar Games on the GTA: San Andreas "Hot Coffee" mod, but the rest of your ideals I find are purely unfounded and ridiculous. Read on to see why I feel that way. Also, I'm not flaming you at all, just presenting logical and well organized arguments. I hope I can trust you'll offer me the same treatment.
There is no legitimate scientific proof that violent games cause violence in gamers. I would love to see proper documentation of that Harvard study you claim to have been conducted. If it ever even happened to begin with, how many people were used? What was the diversification of the group? What variables were tested? How long did it go on? What were the findings of all these "studies?" I'm almost 20 years old. I've played all kinds of violent games ever since I was 12. GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Halo, GTA, Killer 7, Resident Evil, Eternal Darkness, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, I've played them all. I've never had the desire to shoot someone after playing them though. It's called "stress relief" Mr. Thompson. Any gamer with half a brain realizes it's fantasy and would never take that action out into the real world.
So Doom caused the Columbine massacre huh? I didn't realize that game controllers or keyboards were capable of training people to wield a weapon. Oh and the D.C. sniper shootings were stemmed from the guy playing the arcade game Silent Scope that utilized a sniper rifle huh? Hate to break it to you Mr. Thompson, but neither of those could ever happen. I tell you from personal experience, using any kind of plastic contraption, whether it be a game controller, keyboard or fake gun, is DRASTICALLY different from holding an actual gun. I've fired guns off before, and the technique or experience aren't even close to being the same. Guns are much heavier and take a lot more discipline to aim than a stupid moving targeting reticle in a shooting game. Games don't train people to fire guns, people train people to fire guns. It's far more difficult to use an actual weapon than using them in a computer generated environment.
There was a poll for teens who play GTA: Vice City and the violence it caused in them? Polls are bogus Mr. Thompson, they never take into account the number and diversity of people it should. I wouldn't be surprised if that poll took 500 votes. What can you prove with a poll that generated 500 responses? Just how many people were involved in that poll if you don't mind my asking? How many people live in the United States again? Sex with a prostitute is in there too huh? Show where that is explicitly displayed and I'll give you a cookie. The GTA games are rated Mature for their sexual content, so obviously if some females in those games "choose" that profession, why can't players take advantage of that? I'm not saying that content is morally correct, but it is indeed in the real world, and GTA takes place in a realistic society. Plus you're not forced to hurt them in any way after you do what you will with them. Also when was the last time a GTA player who killed a prostitute did the same thing in the real world? I can't think of any cases can you?
Kids have much easier access to inappropriate material on tv, the internet and in movie theaters. Heck, kids can view extremely inappropriate material through all those mediums either purposefully or accidentally. Why not criticize those forms of media as well? When games like "The Guy Game" and "Playboy: The Mansion" or "Leisure Suit Larry" come out, where were you then? Those games feature much more interactive pornography than GTA or Killer 7 EVER will. I don't see you complaining about those. Oh that's right, it's because they don't sell quite as well so they can't possibly be as influential on people right? How are 20 million people that buy GTA games any more or less likely to commit acts they see in these games than whatever number of people pick up those previously mentioned?
Have you ever even played these games yourself? I highly doubt that. As it seems like all your criticisms of games stem from the viewing of some kind of trailers or from word of mouth from industry critics online. You based your argument for the AO rating for Killer 7 on an exaggerated comment from Matt Casamassina from IGN. He said that Killer 7 had a "full blown sex sequence" when in truth that isn't even CLOSE to being correct. Hate to break it to you Mr. Thompson, but Samantha and Harman are both FULLY clothed. You don't even see any kind of physical interaction, just her bouncing up and down while moaning. Nothing explicit there Mr. Thompson.
Manhunt "trains" you to kill people with plastic bags huh? I'm sorry I didn't realize it was rocket science for someone to figure out how to put a plastic bag over someone's head. You don't need a game to show you how to do that. If someone wishes to do that, they don't need to play Manhunt to find motivation. People in this world are finding more and more sadistic ways of killing others, and if people want to kill someone, they will do it however they wish.
I see that you respond to a lot of peoples' e-mails with the fact that we are either mindless 12 year olds getting games from our parents or mindless 21 year olds that don't know what we're talking about. I'm sorry, I didn't realize it wasn't our position to defend an industry that many of us have been personally involved in for 15 or more years. How long have you been playing games, or have you ever even picked up a game controller? From what I've seen on your end, I'd say you never have. I do believe we are perfectly credible to speak up on issues that we know darn well what's going on with them.
Mature games carry that rating for a reason, how about going after the parents that don't monitor what games their kids are playing? Stores are in it to make a profit and can't be entirely blamed for the selling all the time. Sure they should be penalized for repeat offenses, but how could you possibly look past the ignorance of today's parents when it comes to the games they're buying for their kids? All these stories on the news about how parents are all of a sudden concerned about the issue after something like the Coffee mod happens are ridiculous. These stories use how many mothers? Then you guys try to make it seem like it's the entire population of a state that is concerned about this stuff? Give me a break, that's not happening. It's not the mothers, it's politicians like yourselves. You don't seem like you'll be happy until you ban all forms of electronic entertainment. GTA: San Andreas was the first noticeable mistake that was made with the ESRB, but aren't you forgetting the Bill of Rights? We DO have freedom of speech you know.
So what if children orientated tv stations have advertisements for games like GTA on them? Game developers and publishers have to sell their games somehow, is that not the core goal of a business? Little kids watch MTV more and more these days, so what's the difference? Games are going to be advertised, and kids are going to see these advertisements in some form or other. What's the difference if it's on Disney or MTV on tv or on the internet or even the radio? Marketing does what it does very well, and it doesn't target any one specific audience to purposely cause harm. What about tobacco products Mr. Thompson? Those are all over tv, the internet and on the radio, anyone can witness those, even kids, why aren't you complaining about that? Smoking is harmful to our bodies is it not? Once again I do believe it's the parents' jobs to make sure they know what their kids are involving themselves with.
Finally, why can't you see videogames as an art form? People say that about movies, music and various forms of tv media. Why can't the same be said about videogames? What you are trying to do is gain control of a profession/art form that teams of hundreds of people take years to painstakingly go through. This involves graphic design, music composition, programming, story writing, gameplay mechanics and so on and so forth. How would you feel if enough people thought the practice of law was nothing but corruption and tried to have it shut down? I'm sure you've held your position for a number of good years so that wouldn't make you feel too good would it? Why are you trying to help take over an industry that so many people put ungodly hours into and sacrifice so much of their lives to actually pull through with it? I'm sorry, but I find that to be a shoddy display of character. These people have families to support and jobs to do, why can't you just leave them alone? While the ESRB does have its flaws, what rating system doesn't? I've seen plenty of movies that are rating PG, PG-13 or R that could've easily been rated one bit higher. The same about the other way around. Maybe instead of pointing fingers at developers at the ESRB, how about pointing fingers at the ways kids that shouldn't be having these games are actually getting them?
I've presented all my arguments in the most mature fashion that I can. This in no way is a personal attack upon you, so I sincerely hope you don't take it that way. Now since I took the time to write this up the way I did, why don't you offer me the same courtesy and respond in the same kind of respect?
Thank you for your time,
Justin Joseph
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