Aug 6
The Controversy Continues: Part 1
In the gaming world today games like “World of Warcraft” have reach a population of over 300,000(That’s about the entire population of Jamaica). But not all games have a positive look like that, games like “The Sims 2”, “GTA: San Andreas”, Has the debate over video game content reached a tipping point?
That could very well be, now that Republicans are jumping into what has been, up until recently, a Democratic issue. Hot Coffee is fueling the fury, of course. The mainstream coverage that the GTA: San Andreas mod has received has not gone unnoticed by Republicans, who are loathe to allow their Democratic counterparts to steal a political march.
An article in The Hill notes that H.R. 376, a resolution calling for an FTC investigation of the Hot Coffee scandal, was the first video game action ever introduced by a congressional Republican. Michigan Rep. Fred Upton’s resolution was passed by an overwhelming 355-21 margin.
“Everyone wants to get on board now because almost no one will disagree,” with the idea that explicit games should not be sold to minors, said Mathew Baum, a political science professor at UCLA.
Richard Davis, who teaches political science at Brigham Young told The Hill that the GOP move is no surprise. “It is traditionally the case that Democrats come up with an initiative, Republicans pick it up, pass the lesser form of it and still get the credit. This is a classic example.”
Like it or not, Hot Coffee is going to be with us for quite a while. The video game industry is now entering what will probably be the most challenging phase in its brief history.
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