101: The Fake Sound of Outrage

[The Escapist Staff]

"Let's go back in time, to the early '90s: Nirvana's Nevermind just launched the grunge movement, and David Koresh's Branch Davidians were under siege by the ATF. But rock music and embattled cultists were the last thing on concerned parents' minds, as a greater evil, one far more advanced, was already working its way into their very homes! In 1992, Night Trap was about to hit the home console audience. This was the year politicians became interested in videogames and started a war of ignorance and misunderstanding that even today shows no sign of reaching an amicable peace treaty."
Richard Perrin tracks the moral outrage over videogames to its source: Night Trap.

The Fake Sound of Outrage

 

[Jim Simmons [deprecated]]

A simple proofread would have told you that this "Zito" referred to in paragraph 3 is not identified. Would you care to elaborate? As for the "damage" done to the game by the congressional hearings, the game sold many many more units than it ever would have if the pubilicity and misrepresentation had not occurred. The game would have simply disappeared without a whimper. And this is not my opinion; it was told to me by "Zito" himself.

 

[Richard Perrin]

Ack! You're right I'd meant to refer to him as Tom Zito the first time around. I had that in at one point and then must have edited it out of the sentence and never spotted.

As for the "damage" you talk about, well I don't think I ever claimed the controversy damaged the game as such. Controversy always sells, I know here in the UK the media outcry over Manhunt helped its sales rather nicely. By "damaging controversy" I was talking about Sega, and to some extent the games industry as a whole. Having games dragged through congressional hearings and having the media hold them up as an example of how games are dangerous to children may make a few quick sales but the long term effect is much worse.