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General Category => Entertainment and Media => Topic started by: maladroithim on January 30, 2008, 05:28:55 pm

Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: maladroithim on January 30, 2008, 05:28:55 pm
I was surprised that nobody else has posted a topic about this, so I thought I would take the initiative.  I'm sure we've all heard of this, but in case you haven't, I'll briefly summarize.

Sometime last week, the Fox News primetime news television show aired a story about the video game Mass Effect.  Their panel of experts claimed that the videogame was an interactive pornography experience marketed towards young children.  They referred to the XBox360 platform as the "Sex Box".  They also claimed that the video game featured "full frontal digital nudity and sex", which, among several of their other claims, is completely factually incorrect.  Videogame journalist Geoff Keighley was brought on with Fox's panel of "experts" to discuss the game, and upon asking the panel whether or not they had played the game, was laughed at and derisively called "darling" and eventually removed from the show.  Fox guest commentator Cooper Lawrence cited studies at universities that had no actually taken place and in general showed a complete and total lack of journalistic integrity and education about the topic.

Kotaku offers a better summary and also covers EA's response here:

http://kotaku.com/348187/ea-calls-fox-out-on-insulting-mass-effect-inaccuracies


I'm really pissed off that a major broadcaster like Fox News can get away with sensationalist, imflammatory garbage like this.  While I understand that Fox is not really a news program and is more of a news-related entertainment program, lying and misreporting like this is completely unacceptable.  The station has refused to air an apology or even deliver private remorse to the publisher or the staff that created the game.  Fox executives have dismissed EA's demands for an apology and I would not be surprised to see some sort of massive lawsuit come out of this (EA has been extremely graceful in only demanding apology and not suing for slander/defamation of character/etc already).  It is one thing to air segments on things like GTA's Hot Coffee scene or Manhunt's outright and uncompromising brutality, which represent content that actually does exist and might rightly be considered trashy by some conservative standards.  Calling Mass Effect pornographic or "an interactive cross between Debby Does Dallas and Luke Skywalker" is a disgrace to journalism.

Incidentally, Cooper Lawrence herself *has* apologized for misspeaking and being generally uninformed.  This makes me even more upset with Fox, who is willing to stand by embarassing half-assed reporting without so much as an apology.

There is an online petition for anyone interested: http://www.petitiononline.com/foxnews9/  These sorts of petitions don't always really achieve anything, but it's worth five minutes of your time if you care!

So, what do you guys think? 
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: HL on January 30, 2008, 05:33:19 pm
Quote
I'm really pissed off that a major broadcaster like Fox News can get away with sensationalist, imflammatory garbage like this.

Welcome to Fox News, though aren't you doing the same thing with the topic title? Nowhere do they ever say it is a Virtual Rape Simulator at all.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Vellfire on January 30, 2008, 05:34:10 pm
From what I've read on the internet so far, Jack Thompson is actually calling Fox News ridiculous for this.  That is how bad this is.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: tuxedo marx on January 30, 2008, 05:34:36 pm
It is Fox News, what can you expect?

Quote
"an interactive cross between Debby Does Dallas and Luke Skywalker"
I don't know about any of this but this sounds like a great game
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: HL on January 30, 2008, 05:37:50 pm
Quote from: Velfarre on January 30, 2008, 05:34:10 pm
From what I've read on the internet so far, Jack Thompson is actually calling Fox News ridiculous for this.  That is how bad this is.

Yes, this is very true, I think he has problems with the kids actually playing the game (understandable), but finds the way Fox News went about it (uninformed, lying, etc) to be really terrible. At least he actually plays the games....I guess. (he's still rather uninformed himself though.)
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: maladroithim on January 30, 2008, 05:59:09 pm
Quote from: handsome lamb on January 30, 2008, 05:33:19 pm
Welcome to Fox News, though aren't you doing the same thing with the topic title? Nowhere do they ever say it is a Virtual Rape Simulator at all.

Changed topic.  I was confused with a different but similarly ridiculous article about the same game in some political blog I had read recently.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Sredni Vashtar on January 30, 2008, 05:59:26 pm
godDAMN i'm so pissed off

The psychologist cunt specifically says that young boys are conditioned to think that women are objects for sexual gratification, and when Keighley points out that the sex scene is strictly when your character falls in love and has a motherfucking RELATIONSHIP WITH AN ALIEN she completely ignores him and talks down to him instead.

Also the panel... arrrrrrrgh the panel.

How long is this shit going to go on where an entire panel full of self-righetous hags can sit there and condemn a video game for its supposed malcontent and actually say that it's up to the companies to assume that parents are going suck at being parents and not monitor what their kids are playing.

Jesus Christ this is why I don't read the news anymore.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: HL on January 30, 2008, 06:06:35 pm
Quote from: Sredni Vashtar on January 30, 2008, 05:59:26 pm
How long is this shit going to go on where an entire panel full of self-righetous hags can sit there and condemn a video game for its supposed malcontent and actually say that it's up to the companies to assume that parents are going suck at being parents and not monitor what their kids are playing.

Jesus Christ this is why I don't read the news anymore.

Pretty much until our generation of gamers gets older and more and more of them move into the government, and news, and what not.

Probably?

This is also one of the reasons I don't read/watch the news anymore, the other being the fact that probably 80% of it isn't real news. HEY LOOK BRITNEY IS INSANE AGAIN, yeah whatever I don't fucking care ok?
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Grogrog on January 30, 2008, 07:17:26 pm
Quote from: konix on January 30, 2008, 07:05:51 pm
Fox News also trashed Kurt Vonnegut and downplayed his significance on the literary world when he died and while they were showing his obituary on tv and yet I didn't see anyone starting up internet petitions for that cause.

While I disagree with Fox News on pretty much every level I think it is also pretty ridiculous how some people get so profoundly insulted and defensive about stupid video games to the point where they start petitions and demand apologies just because some out of touch dinosaur on tv makes fun of them.

It is pretty insulting that people are allowed to get away with such ignorance. I mean I don't think anbody is profoundly insulted or anything, just annoyed that some dumbfucks are allowed to talk about shit they clearly know nothing about on a national level.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Jester on January 30, 2008, 07:19:02 pm
Quote from: konix on January 30, 2008, 07:05:51 pm
Fox News also trashed Kurt Vonnegut and downplayed his significance on the literary world when he died and while they were showing his obituary on tv and yet I didn't see anyone starting up internet petitions for that cause.

While I disagree with Fox News on pretty much every level I think it is also pretty ridiculous how some people get so profoundly insulted and defensive about stupid video games to the point where they start petitions and demand apologies just because some out of touch dinosaur on tv makes fun of them.
i dunno there were probably people getting pissed off on LITERACY WORLD FORUMS. not many people here are deep into literature, so.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: maladroithim on January 30, 2008, 07:21:17 pm
Quote from: konix on January 30, 2008, 07:05:51 pm
Fox News also trashed Kurt Vonnegut and downplayed his significance on the literary world when he died and while they were showing his obituary on tv and yet I didn't see anyone starting up internet petitions for that cause.

While I disagree with Fox News on pretty much every level I think it is also pretty ridiculous how some people get so profoundly insulted and defensive about stupid video games to the point where they start petitions and demand apologies just because some out of touch dinosaur on tv makes fun of them.

This in my opinion is a little different from downplaying Vonnegut's significance to the genre of literature.  I didn't see the program you're talking about so I can't really comment on it extensively, but stating an opinion that an author is insigificant is different from falsely reporting that a video game is pornographic.  Fox did not say that Vonnegut's novels are pornographic, for example.

Quote from: Jester on January 30, 2008, 07:19:02 pm
i dunno there were probably people getting pissed off on LITERACY WORLD FORUMS. not many people here are deep into literature, so.

Also, this.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Ryan on January 30, 2008, 07:31:11 pm
fox is just bitter that their darling candidate Giuliani dropped out.

but yeah as konix said them trashing Vonnegut was much more relevant than a bunch of old white republicans bashing a videogame.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Jester on January 30, 2008, 07:36:32 pm
well yeah but videogame fans tend to be 12-15 while literacy fans tend to not be 12-15 so you cant expect them to act the same :(

so in short: ya vg fans are dumber and more ANIME (MUST!!!!! ACT ON THIS) than other groups
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: jamie on January 30, 2008, 09:00:27 pm
i thought that sex scene in mass effect was pretty sleazy.

there's no way you can get man on man action, is there? i mean, there always has to be at least one naked woman involved in the scene. i dunno if you can screw that kaidos guy or not, so set me straight if i got that wrong. so i think the game does objectify women a little. when i was playing through it and that scene came on at first i was surprised at it, then i just rolled my eyes (mentally). there is a series of stupid choices you need to make to get to that point, but it isn't some beautiful  love story, it's just a cheap gimmick. and that shit with the azari having a rep for being BIG SLUTS annoyed me, too. the game wasn't overtly misogynistic or anything, but there were loads of little things that got on me nerves.

the dating sim subplot all just reeked of b-movie sleaze to me. this is totally pathetic reporting as usual by fox news but i think, even if it was the softest of softcore, it was a little pornographic. so i don't think the game's got loads of integrity to maintain here, but who cares about integrity.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: HL on January 30, 2008, 09:03:06 pm
Quote from: real_jamicus on January 30, 2008, 09:00:27 pm
i thought that sex scene in mass effect was pretty sleazy.

there's no way you can get man on man action, is there? i mean, there always has to be at least one naked woman involved in the scene. i dunno if you can screw that kaidos guy or not, so set me straight if i got that wrong. so i think the game does objectify women a little. when i was playing through it and that scene came on at first i was surprised at it, then i just rolled my eyes (mentally). there is a series of stupid choices you need to make to get to that point, but it isn't some beautiful  love story, it's just a cheap gimmick. and that shit with the azari having a rep for being BIG SLUTS annoyed me, too. the game wasn't overtly misogynistic or anything, but there were loads of little things that got on me nerves.

the dating sim subplot all just reeked of b-movie sleaze to me. this is totally pathetic reporting as usual by fox news but i think, even if it was the softest of softcore, it was a little pornographic. so i don't think the game's got loads of integrity to maintain here, but who cares about integrity.

They were originally going to have man-man but had to cut it due to time constraints.

I am pretty sure the same thing nearly happened in Baldur's Gate 2, though if I remember correctly you could relationship a guy in that, but couldn't take it very far.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: jamie on January 30, 2008, 09:08:15 pm
haha that sounds like a load of baws to me. considering they had two different women you could entrance, and that they had thought of allowing both relationships to advance if you were playing as a female character, it seems like they either put all the fudgepacking action at the end of the queue to intentionally avoid it, or they had no intention of putting it in.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Jester on January 30, 2008, 09:42:53 pm
Quote from: real_jamicus on January 30, 2008, 09:08:15 pm
haha that sounds like a load of baws to me. considering they had two different women you could entrance, and that they had thought of allowing both relationships to advance if you were playing as a female character, it seems like they either put all the fudgepacking action at the end of the queue to intentionally avoid it, or they had no intention of putting it in.
well, if you think about it, it WOULD come after all the hetero stuff, right? gays are a growing part of the human race but heteros still outnumber them quite a lot in the gaming market (i'd.. assume)
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Marcus on January 30, 2008, 09:55:14 pm
The funny thing is, there's no nudity in this game that you wouldn't see outside of Prime Time television (hell, superbowl commercials are WORSE than this game).  Both sex scenes are completely PG-13 despite the M rating, both scenes are less than 20 seconds long, and the only skin you see is a woman's ass. 

As far as the lesbian scene goes the aliens in question are asexual.  They're impregnated by either a man or woman and their race is always in the form of a woman.  Why doesn't FOX address the episode of 24 where Jack Bower tortures an innocent man?  Why doesn't FOX address the nudity found at the end of the first episode of Terminator tv series? 

I don't even take those asshats seriously.  The only time I ever applauded FOX news for doing something right was when that old guy pointed out that no other news station bothered to mention that last October was the first month since the start of the Iraq war that not a single US Marine or Iraqi police force was killed.  No other news station even bothered to say anything (and CNN continued with their WAR IS DUMB BUSH SUCKS WE ARE LIBERAL NEWS WE ARE COOL) and I thought it was good research on FOX's side to put that out. 
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Jester on January 30, 2008, 10:01:56 pm
oh wow, really? i assumed it was worse than fahrenheit at least seeing as.. well, i dont remember anyone being in an uproar over that

then again mass effect is pretty HUGE i guess
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Marcus on January 30, 2008, 10:06:57 pm
Yeah, they edited Fahrenheit when it was released in the US but the PC directors cut contains that sex mini-game, the sex scene near the end of the game, and the hooker scene in that motel.

But I digress, it wasn't nearly as popular as Mass Effect.  I'm still laughing at the whole Bully controversy.  A game... with absolutely no guns or death is billed as a Columbine simulator.

The media needs a new scapegoat.  Now that the manga and comic book industry are taking off again, maybe the news will shift to that.  I'm a little unnerved that the 12 year olds who browse the manga section (and sit in the fucking aisles) have easy access to Battle Royale and Sword of the Berserk.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: aboutasoandthis on January 30, 2008, 10:23:53 pm
I think I was watching this on Fox the first time it came out. I was cringing.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: GZ on January 30, 2008, 10:39:03 pm
if you insult my vidcons... i will slay you with my dragonmaster katana (i sharpened it myself in my dojo)...

i thought this clip was pretty funny given how horribly reported it was. i honestly have no idea how anyone could take this seriously.

you know, mass effect had no good reason whatsoever to have the sex scenes in the game. it was poorly done and i can't imagine why they thought it would be a good idea to have them. bioware really should have known better considering people used to get worked up about pixelated blood in mortal kombat. fox completely misrepresented the game but you honestly have to ask yourself how damaging this is to the sales of mass effect when the types who even take fox news seriously would never allow and M rated video game in their house to begin with (games that have magicks are the work of the devil). so what's this big uproar about? so i guess this reminds me again that gamers and fox news are both ridiculous??? i also thought it was funny how the anchor was saying you could easily bypass mass effect's website by saying you are 18+ even though the site had nothing mature about it, but seems to forget some kid could easily type BIGDICK.COM or visit any other objectionable site much more easily.

p.s. the guy saying mass effect is an amazing game with revolutionary AI is comparative to saying mass effect is LUKE SKYWALKER MEETS DEBBIE DOES DALLAS.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: bort on January 31, 2008, 12:00:38 am
i cant believe i didnt hear about this until now

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QrWx6vwybrs&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QrWx6vwybrs&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

watch this, guys, especially the last 10 seconds or so
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Ghost_Aspergers on January 31, 2008, 12:07:22 am
I thought it was posted here (the Kurt Vonnegut/ Fox thing)... like 1-2 weeks ago! I know I saw it before.... and it definately wasn't from the other sites I go to.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: jamie on January 31, 2008, 12:12:33 am
before, i thought kurt vonnegut was a pretty damn good guy but i find it hard to maintain that opinion after seeing fox news reframe his entire life as sad, deranged and empty in only a couple of minutes.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Rowain on January 31, 2008, 12:33:32 am
how could I ever read a book by such a despondant leftist..... too bad he FAILED at suicide all those years ago, we wouldn't have had to listen to his "left-wing" baloney and scatalogical humour
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: bort on January 31, 2008, 12:47:57 am
the SO I'LL SAY IT FOR HIM is pretty legendary i think
Quote from: Chainer on January 31, 2008, 12:07:22 am
I thought it was posted here (the Kurt Vonnegut/ Fox thing)... like 1-2 weeks ago! I know I saw it before.... and it definately wasn't from the other sites I go to.
lol i dont read gaming world dude
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Ciel on January 31, 2008, 01:00:51 am
Quote from: handsome lamb on January 30, 2008, 09:03:06 pm
They were originally going to have man-man but had to cut it due to time constraints.

 Why is it when time is short the first thing to go is always the gay sex.  :(
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Ragnar on January 31, 2008, 01:47:30 am
Mass Effect SOUNDS like a gay porno

I bet these Fox News guys watched the xxx version and it slipped into their subconscious
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Lars on January 31, 2008, 02:14:24 am
Mass Effect more like Ass Affects (Young Boys) huh??
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: ase on January 31, 2008, 03:34:17 am
holy shit @ kurt vonnegut video

jesus christ..... mumbo jumbo... rich and irrelevant..... failed at suicide.... ILL SAY IT FOR HIM
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Doktormartini on January 31, 2008, 03:43:43 am
Dude it's Fox News...what did you expect?  They've been caught lying NUMEROUS times.

More like FAUX NEWS heh.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Bondo on January 31, 2008, 07:42:42 am
Fox news has no more journalistic integrity than the Sun or National Inquirer tabloids you pick up at gas stations.  What makes them dangerous is that many people don't know this.
Title: Fox News: Mass Effect is Pornographic
Post by: Hundley on January 31, 2008, 11:18:16 am
Quote from: bort on January 31, 2008, 12:00:38 am
i cant believe i didnt hear about this until now

(video)

watch this, guys, especially the last 10 seconds or so
[/quote​

that's extremely upsetting