apparently Sierra, which was also acquired by Activision during the merger, will have to get on their knees and ask permission to continue working on projects already being developed.
this is not cool. Sierra was one of my most respected companies and im worried now that they are going to end up going the way of westwood (RIP)
also, i was GOING to post this in an old thread about the original merger, but the one with the decent title had been locked, and the one using the news feature had a misleading title and the news article was gone. when i clicked on the giant link in the OP, it redirected me to the search news page which didnt have any story. this shitty ass news function continues to show MORE shortcomings every time i look at it. Comment (21)
The Boston Herald critisizes HB1423
Written by fiasco8
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
The Boston Herald critisizes recent anti-game bill HB1423. This is Massachusetts most recent bill that has Jack Thompson has contributed to meant to make it illegal to sell certain rated games to minors.
We know of no direct link between violent video games and the actual violence that has ensnared so many young Bostonians of late. Perhaps Mayor Tom Menino knows something we don’t.
Or not. Perhaps the effort to ban the sale of violent video games to minors is instead just another example of the mayor throwing a big idea against the wall in the hope that it might stick.
But unlike moving City Hall to the waterfront or linking the Public Garden to the Esplanade, this one is, shall we say, constitutionally problematic. Other states have been stopped cold in their efforts to ban the sale of violent video games to kids - as recently as yesterday, when a three-judge panel blocked Minnesota’s bill. The state failed to prove such games hurt children, judges said.
And Menino’s own human services chief acknowledges a ban here will be an “uphill battle.” Still, Larry Mayes told the Herald, this is “absolutely a battle that the mayor feels he should take on.”
And that’s the problem!
While we appreciate the mayor’s concern over the truly horrifying material in question - games that allow kids to “virtually” beat up prostitutes or take a sledgehammer to the head of an enemy - the idea has more than a few holes.
Is the mayor going to deploy a Video Game Task Force to patrol local stores?
Are either he or the lawmakers sponsoring the bill willing to find money in their budgets to fight the inevitable court challenge? Because other states have spent a fortune defending their bans - and losing.
The city, with Menino’s leadership, is making strides to address youth violence. But he needs to make better use of his time than going after such low-hanging fruit. Comment (0)
