Exclusive: Hooligans creator speaks out - A storm across the industry
Row flares over ELSPA inconsistencies in treatment of controversial games
ELSPA has released a statement censuring the Dutch-developed real-time strategy title Hooligans, in which the player has to control and manage a group of football hooligans as they vandalise their way across Europe.
The statement reads, “Hooligans was developed in Holland and the developers, Darxabre, found it impossible to get any ELSPA members to take it on and distribute it in the UK.”
The statement continues, “The fact that none of ELSPA's members wished to handle the game in the UK clearly illustrates the levels of social responsibility that they maintain in the content of games for consumers. Hooligans is, therefore, not a game with which the UK games industry wishes to be associated, and we regard it as unfortunate that it has obtained distribution here, and in doing so, is tarnishing the responsible attitudes to game content adopted by all ELSPA members."
In this statement, ELSPA seems to be overlooking the overwhelming success of Grand Theft Auto 3, which contains similar levels of gratuitous and immediate violence as Hooligans, and is published by Rockstar, a division of ELSPA member Take-2.
We spoke exclusively to Hooligans creator Jason Garber, who responded as follows:
“ELSPA has demonstrated apparent disgust over Hooligans Storm Over Europe. This is interesting, since, if I recall correctly, Roger Bennett head of ELSPA, gave an interview at ECTS in September, where he stated that there is nothing wrong with the game.
I also find it interesting and amusing that ELSPA are taking "social responsibility". This smacks of a cover up and hypocrisy. One of their members Take 2, currently publishes the three best selling games: State of Emergency, Max Payne and GTA3, all of which have topped the charts. Any games player will tell you there is more realistic violence and killing in these products than there is in Hooligans
Finally I am baffled by the U-turn in ELSPA's opinion and even more amazed by the fact that... "Yes, we do sell this and that game with guns and killings...but no, not this title called Hooligans - Storm over Europe because it is morally wrong.”
The statement reads, “Hooligans was developed in Holland and the developers, Darxabre, found it impossible to get any ELSPA members to take it on and distribute it in the UK.”
The statement continues, “The fact that none of ELSPA's members wished to handle the game in the UK clearly illustrates the levels of social responsibility that they maintain in the content of games for consumers. Hooligans is, therefore, not a game with which the UK games industry wishes to be associated, and we regard it as unfortunate that it has obtained distribution here, and in doing so, is tarnishing the responsible attitudes to game content adopted by all ELSPA members."
In this statement, ELSPA seems to be overlooking the overwhelming success of Grand Theft Auto 3, which contains similar levels of gratuitous and immediate violence as Hooligans, and is published by Rockstar, a division of ELSPA member Take-2.
We spoke exclusively to Hooligans creator Jason Garber, who responded as follows:
“ELSPA has demonstrated apparent disgust over Hooligans Storm Over Europe. This is interesting, since, if I recall correctly, Roger Bennett head of ELSPA, gave an interview at ECTS in September, where he stated that there is nothing wrong with the game.
I also find it interesting and amusing that ELSPA are taking "social responsibility". This smacks of a cover up and hypocrisy. One of their members Take 2, currently publishes the three best selling games: State of Emergency, Max Payne and GTA3, all of which have topped the charts. Any games player will tell you there is more realistic violence and killing in these products than there is in Hooligans
Finally I am baffled by the U-turn in ELSPA's opinion and even more amazed by the fact that... "Yes, we do sell this and that game with guns and killings...but no, not this title called Hooligans - Storm over Europe because it is morally wrong.”
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