put a nickel in the graveyard machine

I can't believe I'm commenting on the matter of the NY Post's asinine article regarding Take Two Interactive and the Grand Theft Auto games, because to have something like that published on the internet, under the guise of "journalistic integrity" makes me want to prove these fuckers right. What started as nothing more than a blatant publicity stunt and cash grab has been fabricated into a plot to destroy a game publisher, and has now suddenly become the story of the year and the general public's window into our hobby. How is it that games that are two years old are now suddenly the cause of youth violence everywhere, even though every two-bit journalist's comment and "supporting argument" are taken out of the context of the game? My mind is boiling over with anger, to think that proletarian news media has taken upon itself to crucify a hobby that has only in recent years become recognized as a mainstream entertainment medium. MTV already has a god damned awards show for the kiddies to consume. This type of publicity couldn't have come at a worse time.

The Post's article goes on to say that the video game ratings system is "totally unenforceable", and I'm just going to go ahead and reference a past post with an anecdote proving him wrong. Sure it's only one situation, but to completely dismiss the video game ratings system is the same as saying that a movie's rating is pointless because kids are going to sneak in anyway. We need parents and an informed public to make the kind of decisions that would potentially keep a game like Vice City or Manhunt out of a child's hands. Frankly I'm appalled that someone with such limited knowledge of our hobby can say that the GTA games have "incredibly realistic graphics" and call the game "10,000 times worse than the worst thing anybody thinks Michael Jackson ever did to a little boy" in the same fucking sentence.

Obviously kids are playing these games, and a California legislator has taken it upon himself to introduce a "Games Bill" to restrict even further the sale of Mature-rated games to minors. This would include stocking Mature-rated games apart from the rest of the titles, much like you would stock pornographic videos separate from the rest of the crap on your local video store's shelves. It's these types of decisions that put our hobby in danger of becoming a controlled substance, where you need to fill out applications in triplicate, have a doctor's note and an ID card that says "Registered Violent Gamer".

This isn't the first time we've seen the attempted passing of such laws: back in April Washington state passed a law that would ban the sale of violent video games to minors, which was then challenged by the Interactive Digital Software Association (ISDA), and then subsequently overthrown due to its unconstitutionality. Let's hope the people making the decision on the "Games Bill" have the same foresight.

like a tired soldier