Everyone who has at least one eye open (see image at left) and focused on the videogame industry knows that Rockstar has had some trouble lately, regarding the content of their games. Manhunt 2 was rendered unfit for publishing by an ERSB "Adults Only" rating, after the UK’s ESRB equivalent, the BBFC, refused to rate the game at all.
The latest in Rockstar’s saga of oppression and injustice is Gordon Hall’s battlecry to the rest of the industry to stand up and take action, alongside the GTA/Manhunt/Bully creators.
In an interview with European news site Develop, he had this to say:
"I don’t think Rockstar specifically has been picked on, but I do think that the wider issue attacks our entire industry. We need to teach people that games are an art form – they are more artistic than film.
I think the games industry should rally behind us, because there will come a time when we’ll all have an idea that’s a little edgy, and we need to have the freedoms to express it.
We are an adult entertainment industry – we may have started out with child-like technology making games solely for a younger audience, but it’s just not like that anymore. It might take legislature a little while to catch up, but if the industry sticks together hopefully we can change people’s attitudes quicker."
I think he’s absolutely right. The videogame industry no longer has such a narrow demographic as it once did, and legislators need to realize that there are individuals from a variety of age groups that consume its content. Hall’s "rally" may indeed be necessary.
