So what’s up, you guys looking forward to this 25 to Life game? I’ve been checking it out, Swat Team vs Gang Members in the city and shit. I’m even supposed to be in the online beta test. For those of you that don’t know what that means it’s when the company sends out the game for play to a select group of people to play and test for a short time before the game is released. So I should be getting my hands on it next week to see what’s up. But anyway you know the government is all up in our shit and they want to shut this down, check it out.
Once again the heat is on developers of violent video games as Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York has targeted 25 to Life; an upcoming game which the Senator claims makes the Grand Theft Auto games look like “Romper Room” (a popular Children’s TV Show in the U.S.). The video game is due out this summer. In the game you can either choose the side of gangs or the side of the law. The Senator wants this “cop killer” game boycotted by retailers and even calls on Microsoft and Sony to end their licensing agreements with Eidos.
Most gamers are familiar with the controversy that has surrounded Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for the past months. The violent game was used as an example by lawmakers who are worried about the influence these games may have on children. “The last thing we need here in New York is to reinforce a destructive culture of violence and disrespect for the law. Little Johnny should be learning how to read, not how to kill cops,” Schumer said. However game makers would argue that these games are not intended for children.
The sale of these “violent” games makes up a huge part of the industries $10 billion in annual U.S. sales. GTA: San Andreas was released in October 2004 and quickly became a best seller. Retailers and console manufacturers try to avoid the controversy of violent games, mainly due to the success of the games. The problema lot of lawmakers have the games is that they seem to get more violent as they go along due to the developers’ need to make the games more realistic. 25 to Life features gun battles between police and criminal gangs, in which human shields are used.
The controversy seems very similar to past controversy over violent movies and will likely have a similar outcome.