A watchdog... today.
Earlier this week, during our report on one-eyed mainstream media coverage of SEGA's MadWorld for the Wii, we mentioned that Mediawatch-UK's director John Beyer and his demand that the BBFC refuse to classify the game - despite neither Mediawatch-UK nor the BBFC having seen it.
We contacted Mr Beyer to see if this was indeed what he intended to say - he confirmed this. He has now come back to SPOnG to tell us why he and his organisation want the game banned.
Mediawatch-UK is the 'evolved' version of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, which was set up in the 1960s by moralising campaigner, Mrs Mary Whitehouse.
Mr Beyer responded to these questions:
* Just to confirm that you have yet to see the video game in question?
* Can you advise how long your organisation has been looking into video games?
* Are calls to refuse classification sight-unseen is standard practice?
Here's the word from Mr Beyer, "Mad World (sic) has yet to be classified and so no one should have seen it.
"Fortunately, there is enough information about it in the public domain to enable judgements to be formed. This is sufficient for anyone to express concern about the self proclaimed and stylised brutality the game contains.
"It will be up to the BBFC to grant or refuse a classification and whether or not they listen to our concerns or give in to the demands of the industry."
In the words of several letter writers to The Daily Express, "Is it just us or...." how can a game that no one has seen yet actually have any information about it in the public domain? Obviously someone has seen it.
Even if that logic does stand up and no one has seen the game, the only information available for it would be scuttlebutt and self-promoting guff. Calls for a ban - nearly a year ahead of release - based on this would appear to us to be jerking someone's knee at best, and out and out mind policing at worst.
Meanwhile down in Australia - according to Mr Murdoch's Herald Sun, the Victorian president of the Australian Family Association, Angela Conway (that is the state of Victoria, rather than the historical period) is also worried that the game might damage the Wii.
"The realism in the players' movements in the Wii format should be raising concerns about the impact of the game-playing on the player."
But she doesn't go as far as to call for a ban... even bringing some balance to the party.
"However, there are other games in other formats that you can effectively get guns and other realistic weapons to use."
With Hollywood largely wrapped up in RomComs and super hero tie-ins, and television disappearing into reality mire we are expecting more of this kind of right-wing reaction. Should be as fun as a stoning for heresy.
http://news.spong.com/article/16012
We contacted Mr Beyer to see if this was indeed what he intended to say - he confirmed this. He has now come back to SPOnG to tell us why he and his organisation want the game banned.
Mediawatch-UK is the 'evolved' version of the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, which was set up in the 1960s by moralising campaigner, Mrs Mary Whitehouse.
Mr Beyer responded to these questions:
* Just to confirm that you have yet to see the video game in question?
* Can you advise how long your organisation has been looking into video games?
* Are calls to refuse classification sight-unseen is standard practice?
Here's the word from Mr Beyer, "Mad World (sic) has yet to be classified and so no one should have seen it.
"Fortunately, there is enough information about it in the public domain to enable judgements to be formed. This is sufficient for anyone to express concern about the self proclaimed and stylised brutality the game contains.
"It will be up to the BBFC to grant or refuse a classification and whether or not they listen to our concerns or give in to the demands of the industry."
In the words of several letter writers to The Daily Express, "Is it just us or...." how can a game that no one has seen yet actually have any information about it in the public domain? Obviously someone has seen it.
Even if that logic does stand up and no one has seen the game, the only information available for it would be scuttlebutt and self-promoting guff. Calls for a ban - nearly a year ahead of release - based on this would appear to us to be jerking someone's knee at best, and out and out mind policing at worst.
Meanwhile down in Australia - according to Mr Murdoch's Herald Sun, the Victorian president of the Australian Family Association, Angela Conway (that is the state of Victoria, rather than the historical period) is also worried that the game might damage the Wii.
"The realism in the players' movements in the Wii format should be raising concerns about the impact of the game-playing on the player."
But she doesn't go as far as to call for a ban... even bringing some balance to the party.
"However, there are other games in other formats that you can effectively get guns and other realistic weapons to use."
With Hollywood largely wrapped up in RomComs and super hero tie-ins, and television disappearing into reality mire we are expecting more of this kind of right-wing reaction. Should be as fun as a stoning for heresy.
http://news.spong.com/article/16012
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