Lunabean's Video Game Politics News

The Phony "Resident Evil 5" Race Debate

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:11:29 -0800

Resident Evil 5 is a game set in Africa. It would follow, then, that many of the characters are African. This same logic would apply to a game set on Kashyyyk, home of Wookiees. One would expect to see many of Chewie's kin.

Yet because of Resident Evil 5's setting, we've been hearing a multitude of voices claiming that the game is racist. Most recently, via the Wall Street Journal.

The controversy stems from the fact that you play as white man, Chris Redfield, who is sent to several villages in Africa to investigate an odd virus that is affecting said villagers and turning them into zombies. ZOMBIES!?! Yes, zombies. And what do you do with zombies? Well, you certainly don't have tea with them due to their tendency to eat brains. More specifically, your brains. So, you kill them. You kill them any way you can. Be it with guns, knives, machetes, a Bic pen...anything. They're zombies after all and it's you or them.

Gamers can't vote with a Wii-mote

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:10:37 -0800

Hmm...I was too busy being nervous about the election to catch this Election Day ad, but it's worth posting, even a couple of days late.

Kind of feels good to have the President Elect (or even just the people around him) care enough about gamers to target them in an ad, doesn't it?

Violent Video Game Law Hits Appeals Court on Wed.

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:01:28 -0800

On Wednesday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will review a 2007 ruling of a San Jose federal judge finding that the 2005 Anti-Violent-Videogame law, written by state Sen. Leland Yee (D - San Francisco), is unconstitutional.

There is little doubt that the Court of Appeals will uphold the ruling, as the law as it is written violates the first ammendment.

Which leads me to think that the timing of this is awfully convenient, what with an election a mere 10 days away. Yee and his fellow state Sens. can claim that they're fighting for families when all they're really doing is pretending to be concerned.

As Ali so eloquently has written:

The problem is, when the politicians write such laws and they make such noise, they are undermining the work of the ESRB, leaving parents confused. If the politicians are serious about this issue, they need to back up the ESRB and their rating system instead of fighting them at every turn. And, until the politicians do back up the ESRB, I can only assume they are looking our for themselves, and not our kids.

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In-game Obama ads in 9 games...spoofs ensue

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:28:08 -0800

Yesterday, we told you about Obama's in-game ad in the Xbox 360 version of EA's "Burnout Paradise".

Today, we have confirmation that the ads are also appearing in "Madden 09," "Nascar 09," "NHL 09" and "Skate." And, Rachel Maddow, of MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show" said last night that the ads are appearing in nine games total.

Of course, with those ads come some McCain-Palin spoof ads. You can view some good ones here.

If I had the time today, I'd like to photoshop my own. For now, I'll offer you a few premises. "NHL 09," + hockey mom Palin = "Hockey Moms Do it Better" and "That ain't lipstick, that's blood" (hockey joke about losing your teeth and bleeding...in case the Secret Service is looking).

Then, there's McCain. Of course, the good 'ol "I'm old" jokes float through the head, but I'd like something a little more esoteric. Perhaps you could name your "NHL 09" team "The Keating Five" (of course, that leaves out the goalie...who makes the save-ings and loans).

I guess, I'll fold to my easy-joke filter and suggest yet another "NHL 09" ad: "McCain: It's cold in here. I need a blankey."

Ah yes, that feels right.

Obama advertising on Xbox 360

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:16:40 -0800

Say what you want about Barack Obama, but the man (and his team) understands how to market himself. .

Initially, we were impressed with the simplicity of the graphic design of his Obama logo. Then, we saw his website and were extremely impressed at not just the design, but the Facebook-esque interactivity. Next, we saw that he was advertising on BlogAds.

The inevitable TV commercials soon came, and they were quite good, often produced in a day in response to an issue raised just the day before.

We thought, how could the Obama team do any better in the marketing department?

Well, that question has been answered: An in-game billboard ad in EA's "Burnout Paradise". Wow. Bravo.

We're interested to see if any other X360 games have Obama ads..."Project Gotham Racing 3?" "Amped?". We'll be sure to let you know if we hear anything.

Oh, and watch out for in-game ads in "Wii Bowling" from the McCain camp. I hear "Wii Sports" is a big hit at retirement homes.

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Jack Thompson disbarred

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:50:16 -0800

OK, I know it's old news by now, but we've been really, really, really busy. Anyway, JACK THOMPSON HAS BEEN DISBARRED! Hahahahahahahahaha!

Mark Methenitis, Joystiq's Law of the Game attorney/blogger, says of the news, "While I know a lot of people in the industry truly dislike Jack, I hope people show a bit of respect for a man who has just lost his livelihood. I also hope people realize that this doesn't mean we've heard the last from Jack. I wouldn't be surprised to see him start his own nonprofit group to continue to advance his viewpoint."

I am an extremely compassionate person. In fact, I'm probably compassionate to a fault. But, all I can think of to say to Mr. Thompson right now is, "Suck it, Jack". This man has proven to be little more than an ambulance chaser and a fame seeker. He used families of victims of horrific crimes and said, "Videogames did this". Then, he went on to sue and/or threaten to sue anyone who dared speak out against his perverted view of gamers.

Mr. Thompson did this to himself. He is a mean man and he was disbarred because he broke the law...several times. I'm not going to show respect for someone who clearly has so little respect for me. So, good luck, Jack. I'm sure we'll see you again, but, at least we'll be able to laugh at you and your disbarment when we do.

Special thanks to NickT for pointing out that we had missed this very important story.

Anti-Spore site a joke

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:29:33 -0800

Thank God.

'Polar Palin' Flash Game

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:23:27 -0800

Now I know why Sarah Palin is suing the federal gov't over making polar bears an endangered species. They're terrorists!!!

Thank God we have her, able to look into the eyes of the bears and see them for the islamo-fascist-eco-terrorists that they are. I mean, for Christsakes, they carry dynamite and run on two legs. There must be some sort of training program in Afghanistan!

Or, so it goes in the new flash game, Polar Palin.

It's embedded above...

Florida Bar requests Jack Thompson be disbarred for 10 years

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:41:17 -0800

The hard working people over at GamePolitics have the latest details on the current world of Jack Thompson (the ambulance chasing attorney who blames all adolescent violence on video games and those who make video game consoles). GP has done a great job, so I'll just provide links to the specific articles, along with a quick summary:

Florida Bar Wants Jack Thompson Disbarred For 10 Years; Thompson Storms Out of Hearing - The Florida Bar requested that Jack Thompson be disbarred for 27 counts of professional misconduct. Thompson nearly made it 28 counts by storming out of the courtroom soon thereafter.
Jack Thompson's Suit vs. Florida Supreme Court Dismissed by Federal Judge - In a separate case, a U.S. District Court Judge dismissed a lawsuit by Thompson, which accused the Florida Supreme Court of unconstitutionally barring Thompson from representing himself in front of the high court. I guess that's just what happens when you needlessly include pornography in your court filing.
Jack Thompson: Sweet & Sour - Sweet: The title of an e-mail Thompson sent out to various publications yesterday, explaining that "Certain Florida Bar officials need to hire criminal defense lawyers today". Sour: Thompson caught telling a lie under penalty of perjury about something that involved GamePolitics.

I think it's fair to say Thompson's days as an attorney in Florida are numbered. I just wonder if the mainstream media will ever catch on and stop using the man as a respected source of the effects of video game violence on society. Doubt it, but it's a nice thought.

Obama taking over GTA posters in LA

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:06:01 -0800

Someone in L.A. is a Barack Obama fan:

"Attack of the Show" producer Luke Wahl snapped the above photo, along with a few Obama Iron Man posters.