To everyone but the most moronic and indoctrinated, it's pretty obvious that Donald Trump is currently using video games as a smokescreen to distract from the issue of gun control.
It seems unlikely that he has any real conviction over wanting to censoring video games, given that he typically says the first thing that comes into his ridiculous head. That said, I'm not averse to games having age ratings - indeed, I think they should - but, y'know, this is Trump. Going through with any sort of wide-scale censorship would prove a risky move for him, given former Trump adviser Steve Bannon's courting of the Gamergate crowd.
Speaking before a planned meeting with the president - announced in the wake of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida - America's Entertainment Software Association issued a statement: "Like all Americans, we are deeply concerned about the level of gun violence in the United States. Video games are plainly not the issue: entertainment is distributed and consumed globally, but the US has an exponentially higher level of gun violence than any other nation.”
That's not to say that video games don't have a history of controversy. We all know about the violence and the epilepsy and the Hot Coffee, but what of some of the other - more outlandish and unexpected - controversies to strike gaming?
Here are ten of them, brah!
It seems unlikely that he has any real conviction over wanting to censoring video games, given that he typically says the first thing that comes into his ridiculous head. That said, I'm not averse to games having age ratings - indeed, I think they should - but, y'know, this is Trump. Going through with any sort of wide-scale censorship would prove a risky move for him, given former Trump adviser Steve Bannon's courting of the Gamergate crowd.
Speaking before a planned meeting with the president - announced in the wake of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida - America's Entertainment Software Association issued a statement: "Like all Americans, we are deeply concerned about the level of gun violence in the United States. Video games are plainly not the issue: entertainment is distributed and consumed globally, but the US has an exponentially higher level of gun violence than any other nation.”
That's not to say that video games don't have a history of controversy. We all know about the violence and the epilepsy and the Hot Coffee, but what of some of the other - more outlandish and unexpected - controversies to strike gaming?
Here are ten of them, brah!
SIMCOPTER
A helicopter simulator is perhaps the last game you'd expect to be accused of homophobia, but designer Jacques Servin hid an Easter egg within the code of Maxis' Simcopter which prompted outcry when discovered, and ultimately cost him his job.
To wit: the cityscapes would sometimes become populated by semi-naked, muscled men, wearing tiny pants, who would hug and kiss one another, and had fluorescent, glowing, nipples. On occasion, the homosexuals would swarm around your chopper en masse, only to be sliced up by its rotor blades - requiring you to ferry them to the nearest hospital.
Having not told his employers about the semi-naked partyboyz, Servin was fired when an AIDS charity called for a boycott of all Maxis products. After initially blaming stressful working conditions for his decision to include the gay swarms, Servin later admitted he was paid $5,000 by anti-consumerist organisation RTMark to "subvert" the game.
To wit: the cityscapes would sometimes become populated by semi-naked, muscled men, wearing tiny pants, who would hug and kiss one another, and had fluorescent, glowing, nipples. On occasion, the homosexuals would swarm around your chopper en masse, only to be sliced up by its rotor blades - requiring you to ferry them to the nearest hospital.
Having not told his employers about the semi-naked partyboyz, Servin was fired when an AIDS charity called for a boycott of all Maxis products. After initially blaming stressful working conditions for his decision to include the gay swarms, Servin later admitted he was paid $5,000 by anti-consumerist organisation RTMark to "subvert" the game.
SHADOW MAN: 2ECOND COMING
Fight me if you like, but I think the Shadow Man games were truly horrible - all ugly visuals coupled to a trying-too-hard storyline.
However, they weren't quite as horrible as publisher Acclaim's announcement that it would be willing to pay grieving families for the opportunity to promote Shadow Man: 2econd Coming on the graves of their deceased relatives. While it might've been a cheap and tasteless publicity stunt, it had the desired effect; Acclaim came under fire from no less a group of dudes than the Church of England.
Responding to the criticism, an Acclaim spokesperson honked: "It's a dark, gory type of game and we thought it was appropriate to raise advertising to a new level," adding that payment to the grievers could be seen as "a subsidy to burial costs to give their loved one a good send-off".
However, they weren't quite as horrible as publisher Acclaim's announcement that it would be willing to pay grieving families for the opportunity to promote Shadow Man: 2econd Coming on the graves of their deceased relatives. While it might've been a cheap and tasteless publicity stunt, it had the desired effect; Acclaim came under fire from no less a group of dudes than the Church of England.
Responding to the criticism, an Acclaim spokesperson honked: "It's a dark, gory type of game and we thought it was appropriate to raise advertising to a new level," adding that payment to the grievers could be seen as "a subsidy to burial costs to give their loved one a good send-off".
MIND QUIZ
This 2007 Nintendo DS title surfed the "brain training" craze, but ran into trouble in the UK due to its use of the term "Super Spastic"; offensive in the UK, but not elsewhere in the world.
Publisher Ubisoft pulled the game from release once the issue came to light... but barely a month later the whole thing happened again when the offending word appeared in Mario Party 8. Specifically, the phrase "Turn the train spastic".
Given how grossly offensive it has become, it's odd to think that "spastic" was recently considered acceptable when describing people with cerebral palsy - I still remember Spastics Society shops on the high streets. They have now, of course, all been renamed Scope, which has - regrettably - led to the term "scoper" coming into parlance.
It was BBC children's show Blue Peter which popularised the use of the term "spaz" as an insult, due to its well-intentioned - but ultimately misguided - decision to use cerebral palsy sufferer Joey Deacon as a recurring guest.
In America, the word no longer has connotations with cerebral palsy. In a 1965 article, the film critic Paul Kael wrote, for some reason: "The term that American teenagers now use as the opposite of 'tough' is 'spaz' . A spaz is a person who is courteous to teachers, plans for a career, and believes in official values. A spaz is something like what adults still call a square."
Publisher Ubisoft pulled the game from release once the issue came to light... but barely a month later the whole thing happened again when the offending word appeared in Mario Party 8. Specifically, the phrase "Turn the train spastic".
Given how grossly offensive it has become, it's odd to think that "spastic" was recently considered acceptable when describing people with cerebral palsy - I still remember Spastics Society shops on the high streets. They have now, of course, all been renamed Scope, which has - regrettably - led to the term "scoper" coming into parlance.
It was BBC children's show Blue Peter which popularised the use of the term "spaz" as an insult, due to its well-intentioned - but ultimately misguided - decision to use cerebral palsy sufferer Joey Deacon as a recurring guest.
In America, the word no longer has connotations with cerebral palsy. In a 1965 article, the film critic Paul Kael wrote, for some reason: "The term that American teenagers now use as the opposite of 'tough' is 'spaz' . A spaz is a person who is courteous to teachers, plans for a career, and believes in official values. A spaz is something like what adults still call a square."
SUPER MONACO GP
The original arcade release of Super Monaco GP landed Sega in trouble over its use of in-game advertising for Marlboro cigarettes. Or, rather, the thinly-veiled "Marlbobo" cigabettes.
In a 1989 complaint to the Federal Trade Commission, Dr. John W. Richards of the Medical College of Georgia, accused Sega of promoting tobacco products to minors: “Super Monaco GP is essentially one big Marlboro ad. A child playing Super Monaco GP is exposed to literally hundreds of Marlboro ads during the game, if he’s good. If he’s not good and doesn’t reach ‘extended play,’ then he’ll see only 50 or so Marlboro ads.”
Additionally, Sega was sued by Marlboro manufacturer Philip Morris for copyright infringement, forced to pay a fine and run three months of full-page ads in trade industry magazines, offering Super Monaco GP owners conversion kits and $200 to remove the offending Marlbobo branding.
In a 1989 complaint to the Federal Trade Commission, Dr. John W. Richards of the Medical College of Georgia, accused Sega of promoting tobacco products to minors: “Super Monaco GP is essentially one big Marlboro ad. A child playing Super Monaco GP is exposed to literally hundreds of Marlboro ads during the game, if he’s good. If he’s not good and doesn’t reach ‘extended play,’ then he’ll see only 50 or so Marlboro ads.”
Additionally, Sega was sued by Marlboro manufacturer Philip Morris for copyright infringement, forced to pay a fine and run three months of full-page ads in trade industry magazines, offering Super Monaco GP owners conversion kits and $200 to remove the offending Marlbobo branding.
LITTLEBIGPLANET
Sony's attempt to create a PlayStation mascot to rival Sonic and Mario rather backfired when LittleBigPlanet was recalled worldwide when it was revealed that some of the licensed background music included quotes from the Qu'ran. Specifically, the phrases "'Every soul shall have the taste of death" and "All that is on earth will perish".
Sounds like a cheery book.
Unfortunately, in attempting to avoid offending Muslims, Sony then came under fire from anti-censorship advocates...
Sounds like a cheery book.
Unfortunately, in attempting to avoid offending Muslims, Sony then came under fire from anti-censorship advocates...
PORTAL 2
Sometimes it feels as if people are just looking for a reason to be offended. Case in point: Valve's Portal 2, which featured the player's character being mocked by an AI over her supposedly adopted status, by calling her "Fatty fatty no parents".
An adoptive father complained to local CBS news station that he found the comment offensive.
"It literally pokes fun for not having parents," he told WBTV, though conceded that "If you're not an adoptive parent it's probably not that big a deal to you,"
An adoptive father complained to local CBS news station that he found the comment offensive.
"It literally pokes fun for not having parents," he told WBTV, though conceded that "If you're not an adoptive parent it's probably not that big a deal to you,"
GAME OVER
As Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake discovered to their peril when they chose to expose the former's breast during the Super Bowl half-time show in 2004, people don't wish to see any unscheduled boobies.
If only they had been aware of Game Over, a 1987 cross-platform shoot 'em up, published by Imagine Software. Foolishly, Imagine chose to promote the game with advertising featuring a cyborg warrior and a scantily-clad space lady wearing a futuristic bikini - the artwork had originally appeared on the cover of Heavy Metal magazine - which partially exposed one of her areolae.
Following widespread outcry, Imagine re-published the ad in magazines the following month, with the nip-nip hastily and crudely obscured by a metal plate. Ironically, the censored version appeared in the September 1987 edition of Your Sinclair... which also came with a free Game Over poster displaying the uncensored nipple in all its turgid glory.
Apropos nothing, the Janet Jackson nip-flash was directly responsible for the creation of YouTube; the site's co-creator Jawed Karim has admitted he was inspired to develop the site after he had difficulty finding the clip online.
If only they had been aware of Game Over, a 1987 cross-platform shoot 'em up, published by Imagine Software. Foolishly, Imagine chose to promote the game with advertising featuring a cyborg warrior and a scantily-clad space lady wearing a futuristic bikini - the artwork had originally appeared on the cover of Heavy Metal magazine - which partially exposed one of her areolae.
Following widespread outcry, Imagine re-published the ad in magazines the following month, with the nip-nip hastily and crudely obscured by a metal plate. Ironically, the censored version appeared in the September 1987 edition of Your Sinclair... which also came with a free Game Over poster displaying the uncensored nipple in all its turgid glory.
Apropos nothing, the Janet Jackson nip-flash was directly responsible for the creation of YouTube; the site's co-creator Jawed Karim has admitted he was inspired to develop the site after he had difficulty finding the clip online.
SPANISH FOR EVERYONE
This educational DS game was supposedly a tool for teaching children Spanish, through the south-of-the-border exploits of a young boy called Shawn.
Ostensibly, Shawn is trying to track down his Nintendo DS - which a Spanish friend has run off with accidentally (he got into his father's car, which he hadn't realised was being chased by the police) - but along the way he encounters numerous racial stereotypes, and accepts lifts from strangers who offer to "teach you many things" (one of whom is named Gina VAsquez - think about it...).
Additionally, the game is littered with grammatical errors - both in English and Spanish - and features a talking bull who believes that Shawn's coming has "been foretold in the world of bovines since the dawn of time", and that Spanish is "the language that will thwart evil".
Lastly, he gets a ride with a man who is quite clearly some sort of drug smuggler, who promises Shawn that "We won't get attacked if we ride together".
To which Shawn replies: "Jeeps are cool!"
Ostensibly, Shawn is trying to track down his Nintendo DS - which a Spanish friend has run off with accidentally (he got into his father's car, which he hadn't realised was being chased by the police) - but along the way he encounters numerous racial stereotypes, and accepts lifts from strangers who offer to "teach you many things" (one of whom is named Gina VAsquez - think about it...).
Additionally, the game is littered with grammatical errors - both in English and Spanish - and features a talking bull who believes that Shawn's coming has "been foretold in the world of bovines since the dawn of time", and that Spanish is "the language that will thwart evil".
Lastly, he gets a ride with a man who is quite clearly some sort of drug smuggler, who promises Shawn that "We won't get attacked if we ride together".
To which Shawn replies: "Jeeps are cool!"
NIGHT OF BUSH CAPTURING
No, not as filthy as it sounds... Night of Bush Capturing is an Islamic attempt to redress the balance when it comes to first-person shooters - a vast majority of which see players shooting Muslims. Published by Global Islamic Media as a free-to-play title, it featured, naturally, the player fighting back an infidel invasion, before facing off with a crudely-depicted version of then-President George W. Bush
The US State Department damned it as a recruitment tool for Al Qaeda - not entirely dissimilar, in fact, to the way the Call of Duty titles are essentially recruitment tools for the US military - thus drawing entirely unwarranted attention to a game that would otherwise have been ignored.
Somewhat metaphorically, Night of Bush Capturing was a re-skinned version of a game called Quest For Saddam, a sequel to a little-known title called Quest For Al Qaeda. Developed in 2003 by one Jesse Petrilla as a response to the 9/11 attacks, it saw players shooting terrorists, before finally taking on Saddam Hussein.
A favourable TV news report on quest For Saddam claimed it included "many funny scenarios", over the top of footage showing the heads of Saddam's bodyguards exploding in clouds of red mist.
"I've been laughing every time we've been playing this," continued the the MSNBC host.
Speaking about the Night of the Bush Capturing, Petrilla offered: "They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. But I'm not flattered."
Petrilla went on to form the United American Committee, a political action group which aimed to remind Americans of "the threat that radical Islam poses to all of us."
He later successfully ran as a Republican candidate for the city council of Rancho Santa Margarita, California, an achievement which was seemingly unaffected by his 2001 conviction for firing a gun during a bar fight.
The US State Department damned it as a recruitment tool for Al Qaeda - not entirely dissimilar, in fact, to the way the Call of Duty titles are essentially recruitment tools for the US military - thus drawing entirely unwarranted attention to a game that would otherwise have been ignored.
Somewhat metaphorically, Night of Bush Capturing was a re-skinned version of a game called Quest For Saddam, a sequel to a little-known title called Quest For Al Qaeda. Developed in 2003 by one Jesse Petrilla as a response to the 9/11 attacks, it saw players shooting terrorists, before finally taking on Saddam Hussein.
A favourable TV news report on quest For Saddam claimed it included "many funny scenarios", over the top of footage showing the heads of Saddam's bodyguards exploding in clouds of red mist.
"I've been laughing every time we've been playing this," continued the the MSNBC host.
Speaking about the Night of the Bush Capturing, Petrilla offered: "They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. But I'm not flattered."
Petrilla went on to form the United American Committee, a political action group which aimed to remind Americans of "the threat that radical Islam poses to all of us."
He later successfully ran as a Republican candidate for the city council of Rancho Santa Margarita, California, an achievement which was seemingly unaffected by his 2001 conviction for firing a gun during a bar fight.
CANNIBAL ISLAND
Of all the games on this list, the ZX Spectrum adventure Cannibal Island - which saw the player stranded on a remote island, with a mission to build an escape raft - was the least controversial upon release.
This is despite the titular island being populated by human cannibals - with big lips and bones through their noses - who wanted to eat you, and said things like "Ugg um blood!" and "Me no want to die!" and "Umgowwa um pain!" and "Me hurt me die!"
Even though it was released as recently as 1986, nobody even batted an eyelid. There weren't even any complaints at the instructions advising you that "Loosing a fight with a cannibal will result in you loosing a limb".
Have I ever told you the story about how I met a self-confessed cannibal?
It was during my expedition to Guyana to look for real monsters - as sponsored by Capcom. Our guide, Damon - an Amerindian chieftain descended from an eagle - took us to a remote village to meet with a man who had encountered some of the monsters we'd been searching for. Right before we arrived, Damon warned us: "He's a cannibal, but don't mention that, I'm not sure how he feels about it..."
We were introduced to the feller, who told us about his encounters with a giant anaconda, before Damon blurted out: "Tell them about that time you ate somebody".
He proceeded to relate a tale of how he was sent up a nearby mountain to retrieve the body of the village chief's son, whose plane had crashed, and was believed to have perished. Upon finding the crashed plane, he wrapped the decapitated corpse in polythene, slung it over his shoulder, and headed down the mountain to present it to the chief.
Unfortunately, he got lost en route and was stuck out in the jungle for weeks, eventually becoming so low on food that he ate the arm of the chief's son, thus returning the body sans one limb.
"What was it like?" we asked.
"It was okay. It had already been cooked because the plane had caught fire."
He didn't even have a bone through his nose or anything. He was wearing a baseball cap.
This is despite the titular island being populated by human cannibals - with big lips and bones through their noses - who wanted to eat you, and said things like "Ugg um blood!" and "Me no want to die!" and "Umgowwa um pain!" and "Me hurt me die!"
Even though it was released as recently as 1986, nobody even batted an eyelid. There weren't even any complaints at the instructions advising you that "Loosing a fight with a cannibal will result in you loosing a limb".
Have I ever told you the story about how I met a self-confessed cannibal?
It was during my expedition to Guyana to look for real monsters - as sponsored by Capcom. Our guide, Damon - an Amerindian chieftain descended from an eagle - took us to a remote village to meet with a man who had encountered some of the monsters we'd been searching for. Right before we arrived, Damon warned us: "He's a cannibal, but don't mention that, I'm not sure how he feels about it..."
We were introduced to the feller, who told us about his encounters with a giant anaconda, before Damon blurted out: "Tell them about that time you ate somebody".
He proceeded to relate a tale of how he was sent up a nearby mountain to retrieve the body of the village chief's son, whose plane had crashed, and was believed to have perished. Upon finding the crashed plane, he wrapped the decapitated corpse in polythene, slung it over his shoulder, and headed down the mountain to present it to the chief.
Unfortunately, he got lost en route and was stuck out in the jungle for weeks, eventually becoming so low on food that he ate the arm of the chief's son, thus returning the body sans one limb.
"What was it like?" we asked.
"It was okay. It had already been cooked because the plane had caught fire."
He didn't even have a bone through his nose or anything. He was wearing a baseball cap.
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