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Stop The Presses! A "Real World" Journalist Actually "Gets" Gaming
In an excellent satirical piece for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Humorist James Lileks details the failure of Minneapolis's attempt to pass an anti-violent video game law.
James points out both the ridiculousness of a $25 fine for selling to minors, as well as the Judges comparing of the violence in the Bible to the violence in a video game. While it would seem he wouldn't be opposed to a more strict way of keeping violent video games away from children, he points out the most obvious place to start: with the parents.
The exceptional humor however comes from the author's take on the violence hidden in even the most friendly looking games, including Roller Coaster Tycoon (as a drowning simulator) and Wii Bowling (a "simulator for aggression against polished dowels"). How refreshing to finally read someone in the "real media" who actually understands video games.
Too bad the only people that care about the Strib (what we call it up here) get it for wrappig up the fish they caught.
-Lego
I've heard James Lileks on the radio and on podcasts many times, and I love his retro-themed Lileks.com website. If I lived in the twin cities market, I would subscribe to the Strib for his column alone.
Posted by BlueBottle at March 25, 2008 5:25 PMyes, I read this awhile ago, glad to have an intelligent journalist on the star trib., and a good article, surprised it showed up here.
Posted by darkstar at March 26, 2008 4:24 PMFinally.
Though I really have to say the gaming laws at my area are quite a bit too lax. Here, eight year old kids can buy M-rated games. :(
Still, it's good to see that there's still some in the media that understands videogames.
Posted by Yuu at March 27, 2008 11:22 PMPlease keep your comments relevant to this entry: inappropriate or purely promotional comments may be removed. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.