US TV Reports on Portal 2 Adoption Mocking Controversy!

I love the comment at the end about Sony passing the buck to Valve. Which unfortunately shows what little understanding these so called reports have!

As for the rest of it I'm speechless at the moment.

Hello,

My name is Josh Roberts. I am the producer of WBTV News at 5:00. I appreciate reading the varied comments and opinions about our story which aired yesterday (Tuesday 5/17/2011).

I believe our coverage was fair - and it continues.

First, the young girl in this story is 10-years-old, and the game is rated E10. It was age-appropriate.

Second, we are not taking sides in this story. This is one father, who contacted our station, and complained about an issue that he felt other parents should know about. We did try to contact Valve yesterday, and will continue to solicit their side of the story today.

Third, tonight we will share many comments from our viewers who support this game. I agree that it's important for all sides to be heard - and we look forward to continuing the conversation.

I would request that those of you who feel passionately go to our website, www.wbtv.com, and read the story. I think it's important that you know Neal continues to support the game, he just questions whether it is appropriate for all children. (Edit comment)

@Josh_Roberts,_WBTV Lol, you're a joke if you seriously think pre-recorded dialogue in a game is enough to insult a child. Sure, there's nothing wrong with being adopted, and let me say that again, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING ADOPTED The father could have muted or turned off the TV instead of making ahissy fit about a video game that's not even educational.

@Josh_Roberts,_WBTV

This is on the same plane as the one person in Canada complaining about the Dire Straits "Money for Nothing", causing a temporary ban of the song on radio.
Dad looks like he'll need therapy now! "What to do!? What to do!?"
This is not a valid story - it is proof that there will always be at least one fool looking for attention.

Hi Josh,

Thanks for taking the time to contact us like this and kicking in the debate, to be honest that in itself coming from a mainstream media outlet is refreshing.



We believe it's unfair given that no one was actually upset. Had the 10-y/o been upset, you may possibly have had a story. As it was, with no input from the person in question, it's effectively a story stating, "Something might or might not have upset someone". That's not a story, that's scaremongering,.

It also throws into sharp focus a more troubling atmosphere in news coverage of the cultural medium of gaming. Orphans and Adoption have been common themes in literature aimed at children (Harry Potter, Oliver Twist, James and the Giant Peach, Anne of Green Gables - often cruelly and in an initially frightening sense (see also Hansel and Gretel).

As Kansas State University assistant English professor Philip Nel points out in his research, in fact, orphans in culture can and often do illustrate how the apparent powerlessness of childhood - as highlighted by adoption/orphaning - can result in a sense of empowerment when confronted.

For a fair and balanced view and news story, you should explore the full-game context of Wheatley's orphaning rather than extracting one line (nowhere near as cruel as some of the lines in Dahl or Dickens books for example) yourselves.

Finally, if one person contacts you to say that someone they know might or might not have been upset about a poster, a book, a record, a TV Show, would you run a story based on that?

I very much doubt you would. I look forward to your response.

Regards

Tim Smith

I guess this guy's okay with the "fatty" comments Wheatley makes at the same time as the orphan comments?
It's stories like this that make me think our skins are getting so thin these days, God help the future generations.

I wouldn't say it was thin skins as much but more about being attention whores and making a quick buck?

I just read at a gaming site that Valve, the creating company, announced lower than expected sales of the game at just over a half million units.
I'm sure they're grateful for your assistance, as am I.
...Looking forward to a Portal 3!

Thank you for taking time to listen to people's opinions on this matter, one which has clearly caused a lot of heat online from communities that have actually played and understood the game in question.

The footage shown during the report was biasedly edited together and made to look far worse than it actually is. The 10-15 seconds that follow the "fatty fatty" comment actually proves 'Wheatley' wrong when 'GLaDOS' states "and what's wrong with being adopted?", to which Wheatley eventually replies "well... nothing, actually some of my best... friends are... orphans... but...". Add this part into the clip and suddenly Portal 2 has no issues whatsoever, so it's obvious the clip was shortened to cause more controversy than needed.



In terms of the rating of E10+, the ERSB is an 'advisory' rating, not a legal one. The European equivalent from PEGI is 12+. Therefore the age is NOT decided by Valve or EA, and certainly not Sony who have nothing to do with the title! Sony build the console, not the game. Also the PlayStation is one of four consoles it is available on, making Microsoft and Apple also just as not responsible as Sony are. So to comment on Sony "passing the buck" sounded ignorant and uneducated.

If Portal 2 was a film or a television show, this report probably wouldn't have happened... video games have become the entertainment industries scapegoat for many years now, and this kind of fact-less reporting doesn't help that.

The main character Chell has been known as adopted since the first Portal, and several 'jokes' regarding this [along with those about weight issues and psychological damage] were scattered throughout both titles. The main joke throughout the game series is the inability computers have to understand the human psyche. But as previously said by myself and many others online, highlighting one point doesn't allow the average viewer to understand this, and shines Valve in a bad light unnecessarily. Valve/Steam have previously released a digital book on the game entitled "The Final Hours of Portal 2" which looks into the back stories of both development and scriptwriting, and how the games dark humour is established through the thoughts of computers.

Valve are probably not feeling the need to urgently reply, as a result of discussing this with it's consumer base since the first games' release back in 2007. Portal and the adoption topic has been covered for over 4 years now, they don't need to cover old ground I'd presume in their eyes.



I have read/viewed your website regarding this story ever since it arose online, and think that 99% of comments have been ignored [seeing most of my comments have been said numerous times prior to your second report], so reading or commenting on the story has done no-one any favours so far. I also emailed Brigida from the website, who also dismissed half of my opinion regarding the story, choosing to focus on her 'facts' as apposed to researching the real ones.

Overall, airing a man's feelings on a product is one thing, not getting the facts and editing footage to favour a particular argument, is another thing altogether. The video game industry is attacked enough without misinformed reports joining it, as I say, if this were a film it would be seen as acceptable.

Frankly, excellent post and I've got nothing to add but praise.

Thanks

Tim

Did no one mention how prior to that clip, GlaDOS was mocking the character, Chell, for being adopted? or overweight? Or being "garbage?"