The Sims... More evil than GTA?

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

Jack Thompson, will you please shut the fuck up?

[AndrewTS 0]

I posted it already in the GTA controversy thread, but it was ignored.

[dubq 0]

Copy/paste please.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

Sims 2 content "worse than Hot Coffee"

 

 

[uPDATE] Miami attorney Jack Thompson claims cheat codes make EA's life sim a pedophile's paradise by showing genitalia; calls for ban on T-rated game.

 

How do you like your hot coffee? If you're Jack Thompson, you like it scalding game publisher's laps. The Miami attorney and antigaming activist has done his share to see that games don't fall into the wrong hands. And lately, those hands have belonged to almost everyone.

 

Thompson was among those who spearheaded the recent effort to slap an "Adults Only" rating on Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and he's often been on the forefront of many other gaming issues, several of which have targeted the crime-spree-based GTA franchise. In the past, he's represented defendants who have been the victims of GTA-inspired crimes, including the triple homicide of three police officers by an 18-year-old boy in Alabama.

 

His beef with San Andreas? Unused code in the game that depicts sexual acts. These minigames can be unlocked by using game-cheat devices or patches available on the Internet.

 

Thompson is on a roll...and he's not done yet. His latest goat is a game that doesn't involve guns, carjacking, or prostitutes: He's going after Electronic Arts' The Sims 2.

 

In a manifesto sent today to press outlets, Thompson focuses on dismantling the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and exposing what he calls the industry's "latest dirty little secret." The secret's out now, and it involves nude sims.

 

In the statement, Thompson says, "Sims 2, the latest version of the Sims video game franchise ... contains, according to video game news sites, full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia, and pubic hair."

 

The Sims 2 is a "life simulator." In the game, players steer their digital beings around their cyberlives. Actions include everything from the spectacular (getting married, having children, receiving promotions at work) to the mundane (cooking microwaved meals, going to the bathroom, mopping the floor). Such activities, as in real life, sometimes require nudity. EA circumvents inappropriateness by "blurring" out the nether regions, almost to a comical sense.

 

Knowing that the game is popular among all ages, EA has even taken steps to ensure that Sims fans aren't exposed to indecent depictions. In the recent expansion pack, The Sims 2 University, gamers can send their teenage sims off to college. However, instead of packing the expansion with "keggers" and "reefer," EA chose to use juice and bubble blowers.

 

Thompson doesn't seem to care. He cites a cheat code that can remove the blur that covers the nether regions. "The nudity placed there by the publisher/maker, Electronic Arts, is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called 'the blur' which obscures the genital areas. In other words, the game was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the game and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet."

 

It's not just the adults that are liberated from their wardrobes. Sims kids can also be nudified, "much to the delight, one can be sure, of pedophiles around the globe who can rehearse, in virtual reality, for their abuse."

 

Were this to be true, Thompson would have his smoking gun, and EA would be forced to recall all copies of The Sims 2. However, it's what's under the blur that Thompson's after. And what happens when the blur is lifted? A simple mannequin-esque smooth body, according to EA.

 

Jeff Brown, vice president of corporate communications at EA, in response to the accusations, told GameSpot, "This is nonsense. We've reviewed 100 percent of the content. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Players never see a nude sim. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the pixels, they would see that the sims have no genitals. They appear like Ken and Barbie."

 

Thompson doesn't buy it. "The sex and the nudity are in the game. That's the point. The blur is an admission that even the 'Ken and Barbie' features should not be displayed. The blur can be disarmed. This is no different than what is in San Andreas, although worse."

 

[uPDATE] Thompson this afternoon updated his earlier statement, saying he is aware certain mods only remove "the blur," but adds that "Electronic Arts has done nothing about this." Thompson's new conclusion: EA is "cooperating, gleefully, with the mod community to turn Sims 2 into a porn offering."

 

The last time we checked, The Sims 2 was rated T for Teen by the ESRB, which means that anyone 13 years of age, with $50 to spend, can purchase the game.

 

By Tim Surette, GameSpot  POSTED: 07/22/05 12:06 PM

[Guest xSarahx]

Some people seriously need to find something better to do than trying to find offensive stuff in video games. The Sims 2 is one of the most tame games I have ever played in terms of offensive material. If this guy is so concerned with the nude patch, he apparently has never played the game. It's a "life simulator" and there is much worse things in life than nudity that aren't even covered in the game. There isn't any killing or cussing. If I was a parent, I would much rather let my child play The Sims over most other games. That guy is ridiculous.

 

Ugh. My rant is now over.

[AndrewTS 0]

Virtually everyone involved in this whole mess has some agenda.

 

Hillary wants to appear like she cares about "family values"/morals/etc.

 

Thompson is motivated by greed. Plus, stupidity, since his previous efforts have completely and utterly failed. Even this small "victory" hasn't gotten him dime one directly from Rockstar yet.

 

Illinois passed a law to prevent sales of "Mature" games to folks under 17. For comparison's sake, I don't believe there's any law on the books that legally forbids movie theatres to let anyone under 17 to watch R-rated films.

[Ripper 0]

what is wrong with that. An adult has to buy the game? An adult has to buy the movie tickets to a R rated movie.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

That way is actually better for clerks in gaming stores, because now if a parent complains that you won't sell a game to their kid, you can now simply say that it is illegal, like with cigarettes.

[AndrewTS 0]

That way is actually better for clerks in gaming stores, because now if a parent complains that you won't sell a game to their kid, you can now simply say that it is illegal, like with cigarettes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It won't stop any 18+ year old brother/sister, or any parent from buying the game, and handing it right to little Billy even if it is in that very store, though.

 

It just saves clerks from having to make a debate of it.

[therealworldschampion 0]

Is there anyone else that wishes that the Florida Bar would just disbar this asshole Thompson?

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

That way is actually better for clerks in gaming stores, because now if a parent complains that you won't sell a game to their kid, you can now simply say that it is illegal, like with cigarettes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

It won't stop any 18+ year old brother/sister, or any parent from buying the game, and handing it right to little Billy even if it is in that very store, though.

 

It just saves clerks from having to make a debate of it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That's what I mean. It makes it easier on the clerks.

[AndrewTS 0]

Is there anyone else that wishes that the Florida Bar would just disbar this asshole Thompson?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

For being a swarmy, greedy, lying bastard?

 

You'd have to disbar a hell of a lot of attorneys, then.

 

I'm more for Ironhead Haynes' 4th Commandment, myself.

 

what is wrong with that. An adult has to buy the game? An adult has to buy the movie tickets to a R rated movie.

 

According to the Classification and Ratings Administration, age rules for movies are merely guidelines. There is no law behind the ratings; they are simply a voluntary agreement between the MPAA and the National Association of Theater Owners. So, it's just like the relationship retailers and game publishers had with ESRB previously.

 

So, any employee that directly sells R-rated movie tickets to some one under 17 has to worry only about his manager at most. He/she won't get fined.

[razazteca 0]

Are elections coming up anytime soon?

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

While I'm too drunk to read the whole thread, I do remember a broad I work with trying to sell me on the Sims by saying "You can watch them have sex!"

 

I insisted that was no sale, as I already had, and I quote

several movies like that

 

She got upset.

 

That's all I got.

[Ripper 0]

what is wrong with that. An adult has to buy the game? An adult has to buy the movie tickets to a R rated movie.

 

According to the Classification and Ratings Administration, age rules for movies are merely guidelines. There is no law behind the ratings; they are simply a voluntary agreement between the MPAA and the National Association of Theater Owners. So, it's just like the relationship retailers and game publishers had with ESRB previously.

 

So, any employee that directly sells R-rated movie tickets to some one under 17 has to worry only about his manager at most. He/she won't get fined.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

When I worked at AMC, they made us check after there was a crack down here in atlanta with the multiple finings and such for selling R tickets to minors. So there has to be more than a guideline.

[tekcop 0]

So... is this guy a virgin or a pedophile?

[A Happy Medium 0]

A little bit of column A, and a little bit of column B.

 

How long until this douchebag realizes that you can bring people back from the grave by paying the Grim Reaper a few bucks?

[AndrewTS 0]

When I worked at AMC, they made us check after there was a crack down here in atlanta with the multiple finings and such for selling R tickets to minors.  So there has to be more than a guideline.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Could be a state thing, or perhaps the MPAA starting fining, but the point it that it's self-policing industry situation, as opposed to a government organization behind it, as far as I know.

 

Back on topic, there's a bill in the works for California similar to the Illinois one.

[Ripper 0]

But are you saying you have a problem with denying MA rated games to minors? I don't understand how anyone could possibly have a problem with this.

[AndrewTS 0]

But are you saying you have a problem with denying MA rated games to minors?  I don't understand how anyone could possibly have a problem with this.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'm having a problem with any government agency elbowing its way into the industry and punishing somebody for selling games to minors. It's basically a violation of the first amendment based on similar precedents.

 

The industry should police itself. It already is right now, with retailers dropping the game, but it's misguided and driven by the scare tactics of a handful of politicians. The change in rating is a de facto "ban" because major retailers are scared to carry it. Because of a ratings bump of one year. That's pretty stupid.

 

However, kids are still going to get the game once the content is removed, because most parents don't care and will let them have "Gwan Teftoddo". These laws will fail in their essential aim, and the only ones benefitting are politicians. It's giving up a bit of freedom and industry autonomy for absolutely nothing in return. This is nothing at all like the creation of the ESRB, which merely adopted similar guidelines as the movie industry.

 

Not that the ESRB isn't a complete joke now, anyway. Caving in to the pressure so easily shows they're a joke, and the distinction between M and AO seems arbitrary.

 

The creation of "E 10+" sure was useful, wasn't it?

 

Jack never even cared about the sexual content of games until this opportunity came up. He was still sitting in some corner somewhere masturbating over his "inevitable" prediction of "Columbine times a hundred."

[Ripper 0]

But in your theory, movies shouldn't have ratings. Games have ratings. The purpose of it is to let parents know what their kids are buying, and despite what you might believe, it has helped alot of parents to chose what games their kids will be able to play.

 

Its not against the first amendment. No one is stopping them from making the game, but parents should have the ability to stop their kids from getting questionable material.

 

What point is there in rating games if you don't think anyone should enforce the rating.

[AndrewTS 0]

But in your theory, movies shouldn't have ratings.  Games have ratings. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

"This is nothing at all like the creation of the ESRB, which merely adopted similar guidelines as the movie industry."

 

I'm not arguing that games shouldn't have ratings, nor am I arguing that movies shouldn't have ratings. I'm saying that those were harmless, natural, and useful (for the parents that actually paid attention to them).

 

Its not against the first amendment. No one is stopping them from making the game, but parents should have the ability to stop their kids from getting questionable material. 

 

A government agency shouldn't be given the power or means to enforce something if the industry itself is willing and able to enforce them. If there was widespread irresponsibility, sure.

 

However, the irresponsibility is on the part of the parents ignoring the ratings. From my personal experience ESRB/retailers aren't at fault, nor should they be blamed for the parents' failings.

 

What point is there in rating games if you don't think anyone should enforce the rating.

 

The problem I have is in *who* is enforcing the rating.

[Gary Floyd 0]

Wouldn't it be hilarious if this guy was related to Scott Thompson? I think it would be.

[Special K 0]

So now any game that has some kind of dirty or gory patch or mod is held to some knd of crazy standard?

 

Because if so OMG NUDE RAIDER LOL

[Scroby 0]

It won't stop any 18+ year old brother/sister, or any parent from buying the game, and handing it right to little Billy even if it is in that very store, though.

 

It just saves clerks from having to make a debate of it.

 

Actually I have a few methods of preventings stupid idoits from doing this because most of the time little Billy doesn't explain the reasons why I'm calling his parent in to sell the game. If the game has a Mature rating, I will explain the reason why the game is rated Mature. If I think its a bad choice for a 7 year old kid to be playing I don't have a problem with telling the parent "hey you may not be fore your kid.". Most of the time, I get understanding parents who actually want to know why the game is rated Mature and actually take a few seconds to think about it before buying the game....plus this gets me out of the "I want a refund because I didn't realize how bad this game really is" because I explained the reasons before I made the sale.

 

Now when it comes to the kids who go out and get some random person to buy them the game or trade things in I have a different method of handling them. Because Gamecrazy wants buyers to have accounts, I sell the game or let games get traded in on the adult's account. For example, someone brings a friend in whose 18 and wants the 18 year old to trade in a few games. I tell them thats find but I'm doing it on the 18 year's account and explain to the kids that it's now their (18 year old) store credit now and they can do with it what they please. Now why would I do that if I'm selling a game. Easy, that ways if the minor gets wants to get a refund and it has to be done on that other persons account.

 

I'm a snicky prick i know.

[Anya 0]

I am just worried all this is going to make developers too afraid to make games that really push the M rating. We already had games like Punisher being censored to prevent an AO rating before.

[Slayer 0]

^

Seconded

 

It's my concern that "Hot Coffee" will do for the video game industry what Janet Jackson's breast did to TV and radio.

[Black Lushus 0]

Andrew...if the complaints are piling up and they're vocal enough (which has been the case for at least a decade now), the government will step in to do what the gaming industry can not do...it's only a matter of time and that's just the way life goes...I applaud any cashier that actually abides by any "selling to minors rule" regardless of what the product is (games, alcohol, cigarettes, porn, etc.). Yeah, they're not the kids parents, but lord knows a lot of parent these days need all the help they can get...

[AndrewTS 0]

the government will step in to do what the gaming industry can not do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The government can't do it either. It's even harder than expecting small theaters to always catch kids sneaking into R-rated movies, because once they have the game in their hands, they can play it all they want. Parents will still buy it for them because they're AWARE of the ratings but they DON'T CARE.

 

games, alcohol, cigarettes, porn, etc

 

Holy crap--which one of these is not like the other?

 

So, you want laws to throw parents in jail for giving a kid under 17 an M-rated game?

 

Maybe you want similar laws to prevent selling of T-rated games to kids under 13? If there are immeasureably-stupid laws on the books against selling non-alcoholic beverages to minors, why not?

[Ripper 0]

People want the rating system enforced. you keep saying that parents will buy the game anyway, but that is definately not always the case. PLENTY of parents will not allow their kids to play MA games and they should be able to know that their kid can't just walk in a store and buy it without their permission. IF the stores suffer no reprecussions to selling a MA game to kids, they are going to do it. I mean seriously, they have to choose between following the supposed wishes of some kid they don't know or making 50 bucks, they are going to say fuck that parent and sell the game.

 

Yes the video gaming industry did their part by putting the ratings on games, but that is as far as they can possibly take it. Precautions mean nothing without penalties for breaking said precautions. That is what the government is doing here. Its against the law to sell porn to a child. The porn industry have done their part by putting the warnings, and the ratings on the boxes. Are you saying that goverment shouldn't have anything to do with making sure that the rules set up are enforced?