I was taking a stroll through the Gamestop website when I saw something I had no idea was coming. A preorder for a new 2 disc edition of Mass Effect. According to Gamestop, the package is nothing too deluxe.
Disc 1- Mass Effect video game.
Disc 2- Documentary, Game Trailers, Music, Design Galleries & Bring Down the Sky.
Makes me wish I hadn’t bought it all for the sum of $70… but at the same time, it was worth all $70. One of my favorite games of the last 5 years!
In an interview with Financial Times (FT) EA’s Chief Executive stated that we are in a time when “the greatest games will be viewed by almost everybody as being as important as Best Picture at the Academy Awards.“
Oh how I wish it were true, but I have to disagree with Mr. Riccitiello. One of the best games of the last few years was undeniably Mass Effect. Unfortunately for the industry, we spent more time talking about a 30 second scene than the brilliant quality of the game as an interactive piece of fiction – a piece of art. There was a graphic sex scene somewhere in the middle of Schindler’s List, too, but that’s not what people remember, or what people focused on. But unfortunately for video games like the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV, clearly rated “M” for Mature (age 17+) in the United States, the media will have nothing to say of the brilliant script, fantastic voice talent, and fine details in imagery that go into the game. No, they’re going to focus on virtual use of drugs and alcohol, objectification of women, and violence. All of which were themes of many prominent films.
The silver lining to the FT article, was the undeniable success of the video game industry. His appointment to this position and decision to split EA into several lables all comes with a bit of pressure. “Under the 16-year tenure of his predecessor, Larry Probst, the company had grown from sales of $102m in 1991 to $3bn in revenues last year.”
I have been reading about the story all over the place, and finally decided to educate myself. I despise Fox News, I think it’s a laughable news network. I’ll watch CNN, MSNBC… hell, I’d watch the Home Shopping Network, any day of the week, before watching Fox News. They live in their own universe where only they know what they’re talking about, and they force an opinion down your throat all day. Every news channel has people giving their opinions all day, but Fox News only gives one point of view, unlike the others which give a few hours a day to various views.
That’s enough of my rant, though.
Unscripted 360 does a good job of covering the story, and thanks to DeaconBlade 360 for the links. IGN has covered te entire story and even provide a link to the youtube video of the Fox News article. Watch it. Be sure you’ve seen it, don’t get involved in the conversation based on what you’ve heard – hear it as it happened. That’s important to being part of a discussion.
The key thing for me, however, is this: youtube’s Xbox 360 owning populous has made a series of responses. We all know that the Fox News article pretty much has the last say, that EA’s press release is going to be completely overlooked, and no other news channel or website is going to cover this either. But check some of those youtube responses and see the occasional valid and mature response! Take that, big media!
