But really what I meant by games and developers “staying in their lane” is to stay in the area of their expertise. In other words, not be utilized as a platform of education or idea dissemination that is better handled by another medium or expert. The same applies to advertising in games, promotion of gambling in games, and other influences. It’s a fine line to draw, I realize, but there is a certain social responsibility that a game publisher has to take, whether they like it or not, if they want to have their product in the hands of millions of players.
1) I don't know that I agree with you about video games not being a proper medium for "idea dissemination" or "education." Especially the latter. While it might be limited to children, there's a long and fruitful history of educational video games. But, anyway: fictional media reflects our values and concerns about the world, so it doesn't really make sense to erect this artificial wall between ideas and our cultural output. Even pure popcorn entertainment reflects certain unspoken assumptions about reality. But, judging by a comment later in your post, I think we do probably see eye-to-eye on this.
2) Not a fan of the term "social responsibility" myself, as I find it's used as weasel language to try and pressure companies and other entities into supporting causes that they had no intention of supporting in the first place. Which is why American companies need strong regulations to keep them in line, as opposed to public pressure campaigns. The only "social responsibility" a company has is to its stockholders. They're machines designed to generate profit, not friends to be reasoned with.
3) I don't think we really disagree much at the base of things. When you talk about fiction telling you what to think and who to vote for, you're talking about propaganda, and I also get quite annoyed when monied cultural elites try to sneak lectures and finger-waving into my entertainment.
I liken it to the ridiculous trend of professional athletes endorsing products and famous actors making political statements. Suddenly they are considered experts by the masses just because they can dunk a basketball? When choosing which shampoo to buy, should I listen to the pitch of an NFL player or a dermatologist? Some of this I write off as just advertising getting eyes on their product and they know any consumer with half a brain will know that Aaron Rodgers has no right to truly be giving them advice on what car insurance to buy. But viewers will find it fun to see him on the ad and it will stick with people when they are trying to choose a product.
That tendency occurs with some regularity in our society because, in a late stage capitalist society, everything is a commodity. Advertising reflects that.
Capitalism is a fine system of economic growth, but when you start worshiping it like a God, like a lot of so-called American 'conservatives' do, then it rots away at the moral integrity of your society.
It's a similar concept to the idea of constructive criticism, something I'm always open to (in other words, you've got a free pass to tell me to shut up).
Someone telling you to "shut up" isn't... constructive, though. Or criticism. It's just mean.
Does this give me a right to pass judgement on American culture? Absolutely not. My image of your country is limited to this sanitised entertainment output, crafted by a hundred people at most (as well as, in my twenties, a handful of business trips and a contentious encounter with one particularly bone-headed member of a past government, who shall remain nameless). I can speak about how America sells itself abroad, and therefore about how certain people want America to be seen, but were I to include an American character in a future novel, for example, then I'd want to gather much more information before I'd ever try to pass them off as a "realistic representation" of your fellow countryfolk.
Our culture has stretched its tentacles into every corner of the globe. Our messes become your messes. I'd say you have every right in the world to stand in judgment of us.
Besides, if we're going down this rabbit hole of who is and isn't allowed to have an opinion on something, I would wager that most Americans are really no more informed about most of the issues confronting our culture than you are. They go about their little lives, meeting with friends, going to work, etc. and then come home to consume the same "sanitized cultural output" that you do. Why do they get to have an opinion? Because of the accident of where they happened to be born?
Nevertheless, there are universal truths which transcend international boundaries and borders, and they're growing in number with each passing year. It's why I do slightly disagree with you bringing in the Japanese censorship argument; I respect that there are indeed cultural differences and tolerances in play, and we can understand the causes as maturely and as dispassionately as we want to. On that, I completely support you. I'm not here calling for charges to be brought against anime artists, nor am I wanting to demonise Japanese culture in any way, but I do believe that there are some universal red lines, which is why I support Sony's decision to censor content outside of its original culture (and therefore its original context).
Having followed that debacle for a while, I see hypocritical cultural imperialism from the 'woke' San Francisco-ites who have infiltrated the company. They'll happily profit from the violent misogyny in something like GTA V while simultaneously stabbing small Japanese developers in the back over games featuring light sexualized elements.
The insane levels of violence we're exposed to almost every day in American media used to be a so-called "red line" too, until creators pushed back against the content policing and minds changed. Universal standards mostly don't exist. But we get groups of people with agendas who want to foist their moral viewpoints and value systems on everyone else and do so by claiming that their standards are "universal." THOSE are the people Sony is catering to.
If the executives at Sony were decent about it, they'd set non-arbitrary guidelines about content in their games and not put Japanese developers through the indignity of having Americans stand in judgment of their cultural output. Instead, small Japanese devs have no idea what Sony will or won't have issues with and has apparently been forcing them to work with American censors in English (a language they mostly don't speak) at ungodly hours of the night (because that's convenient for the gaijin who they're talking to).
edit: This process might have changed, but this is what some Japanese developers were dealing with when the policies first changed.
Of course I know who I'd vote for if I were an American, but that doesn't give me the right to tell an American who to vote for (via metaphor, directly or otherwise). That's their decision, not mine, because the outcome is gonna impact them more than it will me.
Maybe, but I don't think the same is true of the people whose lives we shatter when whatever warmonger in chief we've happened to elect invades their country or murders their friends and family with his army of flying death robots (even President Nobel Peace Prize, who ordered more drone strikes during his term than did GWB).
If we start a war, there's always other countries who end up sending soldiers to aid us as well.
And, frankly, if we do something stupid and tank our economy, the world is going down in the muck with us.
Currently in London on a long weekend, it feels so strange being without games when this is normally when I play the most! Brought my Vita but it dies in 0.2 seconds on battery so I have to play it plugged in. If anyone knows a nice place for dinner in the King’s Cross area then I’d appreciate it! Trying to decide whether to eat at Piebury Corner or Dishoom tonight.
@nessisonett I dunno it was really odd, I was waiting for someone to come in on a train at 2pm on a Saturday. Thought it was a regular pub, didn’t notice the naked woman rubbing herself on stage until I’d ordered my pint 😂
@RogerRoger Dishoom was queued out the door so ended up at MEATLiquor. It was really quite tasty and got a lovely toffee apple boozy shake. Absolutely stuffed so time for One Piece Pirate Warriors 3!
@Ralizah@RogerRoger Thank you both for your contributions for me to ponder. I do think we see eye-to-eye in the majority of these issues, with each of us having our own little twist on the same basic core beliefs. Kinda like there are several different types of vanilla ice cream, but the same basic flavor can be modified to taste a little unique in its own way. (I’m a fan of Vanilla Bean, personally)
I really enjoy getting into these discussions as a good mental exercise. I’ve said before that’s partly why I enjoy writing reviews as well — through the act of verbalizing (or in this case putting in writing) a thought, opinion, or idea, we actually crystallize our perspective to ourselves as much or more than we do to the hearer or reader. I will leave it at that and might take you up on extended discussion over PSN.
@nessisonett MEATliquor sounds divine! What a great name for an eating and drinking establishment.
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers legend, five-time NBA champion and one of the most prolific scorers in basketball history, is dead at the age of 41.
The retired basketball star was aboard a helicopter that crashed near Calabasas, California Sunday morning. Los Angeles County Sheriffs wrote that all five people aboard the helicopter were killed in the crash.
Been bouncing back and forth between crying in the bathroom and bear hugging my kids for the last few hours. Kobe had a big impact on me as he was in his prime while I was a high school/college basketball player. Absolutely stunning and sad news. The fact that the tragedy claimed children as well is even more gut wrenching. Hope all of their loved ones find peace.
Go hug someone you love, you never know when their time comes
@RogerRoger thank you! Still a bit shaken from it all. I was driving home from my son's basketball game when I got the news. He was just like me, a dad just being there for his kids. Greatful to have watched him as a player and father and wish all the best for his family and the others affected.
Shame about the kids and everyone losing their lives, but Bryant was a rapist. Apologised for, enabled and embraced over and over again by the American commercial sports machine.
PSN: KALofKRYPTON (so you can see how often I don't play anything!)
Twitter: @KALofKRYPTON (at your own risk, I don't care if you're offended)
"Fate: Protects fools, little children, and ships named Enterprise." - Cmdr William T. Riker
@kyleforrester87 I've had people in work say to me this week:
Life is a test
Life is a journey
Life is a rollercoaster
Now you come on here and say this.
I'm not quite sure what the hell is going on! 😂
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@RogerRoger@kyleforrester87@JohnnyShoulder According to Rascal Flatts and Walt Disney Pictures, Life is a Highway, which does fit kyle’s description. Nevertheless Mr. Gump says it’s a box of chocolates. As for me, I think it’s like trying to eat a box of chocolates while driving on a twisted highway — just a series of distractions ending up in a stomach ache and a food stained shirt.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
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