RenoBassist

how many preorder copies did vice city have? i need it for a column for my school newspaper toshut up people who think kids shouldnt buy rated M games.

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\"Me, with my punched-out eyes and dried blood in big black crusty stains on my pants, I\'m saying HELLO to everybody at work. HELLO! Look at me. HELLO! I am so ZEN. This is BLOOD. This is NOTHING. Hello. Everything is nothing, and it\'s so cool to be ENLIGHTENED. Like me. Sigh.\"

Arnold K. (Admin)

Pre-order reached 3 million. Sales are currently reaching 6-7 million worldwide.

RenoBassist

cool, thanks

__________________
\"Me, with my punched-out eyes and dried blood in big black crusty stains on my pants, I\'m saying HELLO to everybody at work. HELLO! Look at me. HELLO! I am so ZEN. This is BLOOD. This is NOTHING. Hello. Everything is nothing, and it\'s so cool to be ENLIGHTENED. Like me. Sigh.\"

RenoBassist

oh yea, my story is going to make the school paper. im ready to hand this Joe Baca guy his ass on a silver platter. what a jackass. :STFU:

__________________
\"Me, with my punched-out eyes and dried blood in big black crusty stains on my pants, I\'m saying HELLO to everybody at work. HELLO! Look at me. HELLO! I am so ZEN. This is BLOOD. This is NOTHING. Hello. Everything is nothing, and it\'s so cool to be ENLIGHTENED. Like me. Sigh.\"

Reggie White

Wow, the story is gonna make the paper? Sweet! Stick it to 'em man!

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Play your games.

Arnold K. (Admin)

I once had a duel with someone at my school paper. It was a Spider-Man review. My review was soooooooooooooo much smoother to read, but the complaint was that it was a bit too fanatical. .... Their arguement? Not many people know the origins of Spider-Man, they pointed out that not everybody knows that Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider, etc.

I was baffled...

RenoBassist

so they were probably one of the posers who just saw spiderman because it got good reviews in the paper and cuz it was just so trendy to see spiderman? and to keep it on topic for gaming: spiderman was a pretty good game....

__________________
\"Me, with my punched-out eyes and dried blood in big black crusty stains on my pants, I\'m saying HELLO to everybody at work. HELLO! Look at me. HELLO! I am so ZEN. This is BLOOD. This is NOTHING. Hello. Everything is nothing, and it\'s so cool to be ENLIGHTENED. Like me. Sigh.\"

RenoBassist

here's the column (hope it represents the gaming community well at my school):

On May 2, 2002, Rep. Joe Baca of California proposed the Protect Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act to Congress. If passed, this act would make it a felony for retailers to sell Mature-rated video games to minors. According to Baca, the First Amendment does not protect video games, therefore the government can stifle game distribution. While Mr. Baca would like to protect our youth from big, scary video games, he overlooks the real situation: parents will always tolerate these violent video games, even if they overlook the compelling themes behind games.
The recent release of the game “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” has grabbed the attention of the gaming world, and not only because of its extremely controversial and violent content, but also because, according to psxextreme.com, its pre-sale reservations reached 3 million copies. Since people pre-order games over the internet, they need a credit card. And since parents usually control the use of the credit card, kids need to go to their parents for the purchase of these violent video games.
What does all this indicate? Well, it suggests that 3 million parents could care less if their kids play one of the most brutal video games of all time. It also means that Baca’s proposal would do diddly-squat, considering kids with credit cards could still purchase these games over the internet.
Along with this asinine proposal, Baca also brought up the fact that the First Amendment does not protect video games. Supposedly, video games do not communicate ideas worthy enough of Constitutional protection. However, as video games have matured, so has their content. “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City” not only allows players to explore a vast virtual-world, but it also satirizes American culture of the ‘80s with its outrageous outfits and ridiculous radio stations. “Metal Gear Solid 2” also received a Mature rating. Yes, it did involve Russian spies and shooting, but it also involved gamers in a storyline that ran deeper than many books I’ve read. It does not make sense that the First Amendment does not protect a medium that can display its ideas better than some novels.
In addition to the intelligent themes behind games, gamers all over the country will have the ability to communicate with each other, thanks to the recent launching of online games for the Sony PlayStation 2 and the Microsoft X-Box. The fact that the First Amendment still does not protect video games not only seems ridiculous, but it also demonstrates the lack of knowledge adults possess about the gaming world. And since they do not know about the gaming world, they will make faulty and irrational judgments.
Baca did not bother playing any of the games that he used to form his opinions. He based his judgments solely on the bad reputation video games have gotten as a result of several tragedies that have occurred in the past couple of years. So video game violence caused the Columbine school shooting, and not the neglectful parents who ignored the pipe bombs that their kids were making in their own basement? Gotcha. A nineteen-year-old shot some people in Germany, and the fault lies in video games being sold to minors in the United States? I see.
People like Baca ignore the truth about our society. Instead of taking the blame for their own mistakes, they put the blame on whatever they find disagreeable, such as violent video games. If Congress ratifies this bill, the video game industry could face a grim setback. Video games with violent content might be banned altogether, leaving society without a very important and profound media (and a $9.3 billion industry, at that). If video games continue to go unprotected by the First Amendment, what rights can other medias hope to retain? Influential (yet violent) movies like Pulp Fiction or Dirty Harry could cause unjust censoring orgies. Without fair representation, video games will continue to receive unfair judgments from the adults who cause these problems in the first place.

www.myband.i8.com wned:

__________________
\"Me, with my punched-out eyes and dried blood in big black crusty stains on my pants, I\'m saying HELLO to everybody at work. HELLO! Look at me. HELLO! I am so ZEN. This is BLOOD. This is NOTHING. Hello. Everything is nothing, and it\'s so cool to be ENLIGHTENED. Like me. Sigh.\"