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XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

Australian Road Safety Authority Criticizes Racing Game 66

Posted by simoniker from the angry-anderson dept.
Thanks to the Sydney Morning Herald for their story revealing Australian road safety authorities are trying to pull the plug on Project Gotham Racing 2 for Xbox, claiming the real-life Sydney course in the game is "undoing a lot of the effort authorities are putting into road safety." According to State Labor MP Paul Gibson, chairman of the Staysafe Committee: "This game sends the wrong message to young people. It is actually glorifying speed and power. It is clearly an inappropriate depiction of speed behavior. If I had my way I would ban it." A spokesman for Microsoft responded: "It is not about driving on the streets, it is purely a racing game. The streets are blocked from other traffic and there are no pedestrians. All we are doing is taking the geography of Sydney and turning it into a race track."
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Australian Road Safety Authority Criticizes Racing Game More

Australian Road Safety Authority Criticizes Racing Game

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  • Glorifying speed and power (Score:5, Interesting)

    by wed128 ( 722152 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @11:56AM (#7493141)
    Please...speed and power have been glorified since cars were invented...did we forget the GTO's and Mustangs of the 60's? this game won't make kids irrisponsible drivers any more than doom makes them kill or Pacman makes them crave candy and run away from ghosts...

    • Re:Glorifying speed and power (Score:5, Interesting)

      by DLWormwood ( 154934 ) <wormwood@meCOMMA.com minus punct> on Monday November 17, 2003 @12:10PM (#7493258) Homepage
      Please...speed and power have been glorified since cars were invented... this game won't make kids irrisponsible(sic) drivers...

      Amen. The way the quote reads, it makes it sound like drag racing and Nascar-like events are illegal in Oz. While not as common now, "road course" events were a popular draw in the States and Europe for Indy/Formula One races. The roads are always closed off, and markings and signs are added to make it clear to both drivers and spectators that it is a racing event.

      Did the Australian authorities act up when Crazy Taxi was released? That would have been a better target, though acting against the game's release would have still been a waste of time.

      • Did the Australian authorities act up when Crazy Taxi was released? That would have been a better target, though acting against the game's release would have still been a waste of time.

        No because Crazy Taxi does not feature reproductions of Australian roads, this new game will.

        (For the record I do not agree with them banning this game though)
    • Good point. As an aside, am I the only person who sees parallels between the "kids these days" attitude expressed in this and other things going on -- blaming DOOM and Quake for Colombine, study after study trying to find out what's wrong with gaming, etc. -- and the attitudes that parents in the 60's had towards rock 'n' roll? Of course now we look back and see the rock of the 60's as basically harmless. And kids in the 60's knew rock was harmless. But there's something about games that must really bot

  • Pac-Man? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Acidic_Diarrhea ( 641390 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @11:58AM (#7493158) Homepage Journal
    Wait till they see Pac-Man! It glorifies the culture of overeating! These damn Americans and their fatty games coming to Australia and perverting the minds of the young - there ought to be a law!

    Hopefully, some right-minded person in Australia will take the reigns and end the tyranny of Pac-Man.

    • And Frogger will make them want to cross heavily trafficked streets!!! The Carnage!!!

    • Re:Pac-Man? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Ed_Moyse ( 171820 )
      Note to mod who rated that a troll: it's a joke!
      • Too bad a result of the Slashdot moderation system is that my karma will be down one point at the end of the moderation of this comment even though the comment itself is +5 funny since funny moderations don't count. Hopefully metamoderation will catch the poor moderation but since Slashdot is run in a fairly closed style, I'll never know.

    • Re:Pac-Man? (Score:5, Funny)

      by jordanda ( 160179 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @02:40PM (#7494674) Homepage
      "It is ridiculous to claim that video games influence children. For instance, if PacMan affected kids born in the eighties, we should by now have a bunch of teenagers who run around in darkened rooms and eat pills while listening to monotonous electronic music." --Gene Spafford
      • How about Funny. An amusing quote, but it falls apart under any sort of scrutiny, such as, ohhh what videogames were kids playing in the 40's and 50's that "made" them take drugs during the 60's and 70's?

  • glorifies speed & power.. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by gl4ss ( 559668 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @12:01PM (#7493190) Homepage Journal
    how SHOCKING.

    i wonder if arnold movies send the wrong signal too, glorifying killing and mayhem.

    virtual mayhem is much better than real, live mayhem. what if it was an imaginary city the track was set in? what real difference there would be? except that they wouldn't get huge extra free advertising from biggots like this? grimm stories glorify violent revenge too, they must be bad as well.

    actually if it's realistical enough it provides an incentive to not do it in real life(as you end up being a murderer of innocents and trashed by a truck in mere minutes, after which the game burns).
  • I really hope when Generation X starts to take over the political enviroment/wasteland, that these views on video games will die.

    • Now that is funny. (Score:3, Interesting)

      by DAldredge ( 2353 )
      Look at what the 60's generation has done since the tookover the political enviroment. Things have gotten worse.

      Power corrupts.
    • I really hope when Generation X starts to take over the political enviroment/wasteland, that these views on video games will die.
      That would mean that Generation Xers would have to get out and vote :(
  • eg - bike races are often on real city streets that are closed to normal traffic and pedestrians.

    sometimes there are even NASCAR-style races. this is all the game appears to be. anyone know of examples of this?
    • What about the monaco grand prix? [monaco.mc] That's a F1 (Indycar I guess for americans) race around a city.


      Or the manx tt [ttwebsite.com], a motorbike race on normal roads around an island.


      And of course, any WRC rally has sections on normal roads.

      • Indycar is like open wheel Nascar. F1 is much better. Crap, everyone else in the world gets cool racing (touring car, observed trials, WRC, etc.) and we get Billy Bob's Go Fast, Turn Left Extravaganza.

        At least US Superbike is still tolerable.
        • Crap, everyone else in the world gets cool racing (touring car, observed trials, WRC, etc.) and we get Billy Bob's Go Fast, Turn Left Extravaganza.

          You're not looking hard enough. Speed Channel sponsors the SCCA/Speed Touring/GT series. They're great races, and they actually turn right sometimes. You could always look for an SCCA race in your reigon, as well. And don't forget the US Grand Prix. See? We do get F1...
      • For added bonus fun, once you get outside the towns and villages, the roads on the Isle Of Man (where the Manx TT takes place) are derestricted. No speed limits, on roads that are also a racetrack. Madness.
    • Not to mention the Surfers Paradise IndyCar race every year where they close off some of the streets in the centre Surfers Paradise (Queensland, Australia) to run an IndyCar race as well as a Touring Car race (which is vaguely normal cars).

      Also the Melbourne F1 Grand Prix, where they close off public streets in Albert Park to do the same thing (F1s + Touring Cars).

      Plenty of examples of this kind of racing already happening in Australia, not to mention availability of those tracks in IndyCar and F1 games.

  • Games vs. reality (Score:5, Interesting)

    by keithosu ( 223527 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @12:15PM (#7493298)
    Maybe which should rename "video games" to "reality". It is really hard to tell the difference.

    Seriously, games are an escape. It is a virtual environment to do things that you may not necessarilly be able to do in real life. I have never been able to do more than 110 MPH in a car in reality but it is fun to do in a video game because you don't die when you crash that high speed car.

    I've also chosen not to join the mob, pickup hookers, kill people on the street and steal cars. Though, it is real fun in a video game since there are no consequences.

    Maybe they should make games about sitting in front of a cumputer, in cubicle and being the low man on the totem pole. I'm sure that would sell quite a few games.

    • Re:Games vs. reality (Score:5, Insightful)

      by BadCable ( 721457 ) <kumareshb@yahoo.com> on Monday November 17, 2003 @01:20PM (#7493889) Journal
      Having done over 110 in a RL car many many many times I am here to say : You're not missing much.

      The whole point is ZERO RISK in a game. HUGE risk in RL. Taking a car over 110 in RL is NOT fun. It's THRILLING. Games are FUN. It can be somewhat thrilling, but worrying about getting the best time is not the same as worrying about cops, and managing to stay on the road.

  • Pre-Approved games by INSOC (Score:5, Funny)

    by Dutchmaan ( 442553 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @12:18PM (#7493325) Homepage
    Soothing be productive lights and pretty be happy colors... and the gentle sounds of the be complacent ocean..

    There now.. isn't that better than be accepting those nasty old violent thought games...

    You've achieved a productive happy accepting citizen rating.. a shiny gold star will be mailed to you shortly..

    • Australia already filters content for its citizens. It just wants to extend its reach to content in video games, which it already has for other publications and Internet access.

      Lucky, here in our State of Washington, our gubberment passed a law against video games violence against police/authorities. (No more Counterstrike/GTA3). Our state supreme court threw it out as quickly as it was passed.

      Lucky we have some checks and balances in most nations. Strange how all the elected officials try to "Nanny" us w

  • The Truth. (Score:3, Informative)

    by Leroy_Brown242 ( 683141 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @12:28PM (#7493435) Homepage Journal

    The real truth is, it's just like anything else. People react differently.

    I grew up playing video games and watching movies where there were fast driving, fast women, and law breaking. (Smokey and The Bandit *shame*) I grew up, got a car, and proceeded to break laws like crazy flying through the country, where I lived.

    About 6 months after I got my license taken away for "reckless Endangerment", my friend gets arested for "Felony to elude a police officer in an automobile". He grew up on the same movies as I did.

    On the other hand, I watched action movies just as much as driving movies. I have not shot at anyone, have not killed anyone, have not held up a bank, and am not a fugitive from the law.

    When it all comes down to it, it's all about your own moral base. What do you think is right, what do you think is wrong, and what do you just not care either way on.

    Banning things with a high demand is silly too. We can see that banning certain drugs has kept the US city streets free of drug users. Prostitution is full under control, there are no murders, and nobody ever speeds.

    • Banning things with a high demand is silly too. We can see that banning certain drugs has kept the US city streets free of drug users. Prostitution is full under control, there are no murders, and nobody ever speeds. That's right, apparently bad bad Leroy Brown here thinks that we should stop the evil government ban on murders. That is a silly law, right along the same lines as speeding.

      In all honesty, I grew up on those same shows, and have received one ticket in my own life. You're right, it is a mo

  • oh no! (Score:4, Funny)

    by elmegil ( 12001 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @12:34PM (#7493493) Homepage Journal
    We had better ban Flight Simulator too, in case people get the idea that they can actually crash planes into things without any consequences!
    • um.. I know you're joking but in one of those MS flight simulator version (I can't remember which one they were up to when 11th of Sept happened) they removed the Twin Towers from the scenarios.

      A completed SEGA game, that was going to come out on th Dreamcast, got pulled because you could smash into buildings. :(

  • Irony. (Score:2)

    by GoRK ( 10018 )
    It's kind of ironic that if some big-budget movie wanted to pay the city of Sydney a bunch of money to block off the REAL streets and use them as a racetrack, there would be almost no controversy at all despite the REAL danger that driving cars around inside the city at insane speeds would present.

    ~GoRK

  • Amusing. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Oddly_Drac ( 625066 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @01:11PM (#7493801)
    "This game sends the wrong message to young people. It is actually glorifying speed and power. It is clearly an inappropriate depiction of speed behavior. If I had my way I would ban it."

    Someone call Bernie Ecclestone and cancel the next Australian Grand Prix.

    Why is it that idiots like this get a soap box on Slashdot?

  • Maybe Aussie officials are upset that the game would have people drive on the wrong side of the road.

  • Again: why just videogames? And why just racing? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by lightspawn ( 155347 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @01:17PM (#7493859) Homepage
    Let's ban all movies, books, music and any other type of art that glorifies speed.


    Or substance abuse.


    Or intolerance.


    Or civil disobedience.


    Or anything that disagrees with one or more branches of government.

  • This one will never die. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Liselle ( 684663 ) * <slashdot@lisWELTYelle.net minus author> on Monday November 17, 2003 @01:28PM (#7493958) Journal
    "This game sends the wrong message to young people. It is actually glorifying speed and power. It is clearly an inappropriate depiction of speed behavior.

    I love these guys. While this subject (and others like it) will be debated about until the end of the civilized world, I don't think the important point is ever going to come to light: the difference between a cause and a correlation. I don't mean to portray mass media or videogame makers as blameless, but honestly, they are largely giving the public what they want. Some people like games (and movies) where you speed around in cars, and do absurd things you could never realistically do yourself in real life. It's a form of escape.

    Some people are quick to argue that this sort of game encourages the same behavior in real life. I'd argue that the fantasies people have about this sort of thing create a need for these games, and software devs and movie producers are more than happy to cash in.

    Take a look at some of the more absurd games that have been created in response to things people like to do. We have a bazillion low-quality "Deer Hunter" games (Huh?), and Paintball PC games, which, when you think about it, is a simulation of a simulation. It's no surprise to see the GTAs or the Gran Turismos of the world being so successful.
  • This sounds like the start of Microsoft's attempt to be "cool" -- look, the Man is down on us. He may have a funny accent, but he's still the Man.

    No, I don't think that's likely. But is a possibility.

    • In the grand scheme of things, I still trust MS slightly more than governments. At least, so far, MS doesn't have tactical nukes and M16s. In addition, the government can set their own rules (MS tries, but it's much easier for gubmints).
  • If violent video games make me more homicidal, and driving games give me a lead foot, then by extension, playing Dance Dance Revolution will cause me to stomp people to death in a rhythmic fashion.
  • Firstly, it's ludicrous. It's a game. End of story. You might as well go back to the "Doom encourages violence" argument.

    Secondly, why don't they make some sort of realistic game where you can see exactly WHY you can't race around city streets. You're penalised for killing people. You could have a bit of plot along the lines of you being in a police car chasing etc., you could have REALISTIC traffic (yet to see realistic-acting traffic in any computer game) and pedistrians crossing the street quite no
  • um... Mad Max?

  • Milton Bradly and others maybe in trouble (Score:5, Funny)

    by xenocide2 ( 231786 ) on Monday November 17, 2003 @03:59PM (#7495435) Homepage
    If games encourage reckless behavior:

    Risk - Its lifelike depiction of the globe and glorification of "world domination" may be a severe liability to Hasbro worldwide.

    Monopoly - The day someone is inspired by the best strategies in this game will be the beginning of the end of mankind. Encouraging housing shortages, anticompetitive behavior and beauty contests are not desireable behaviors in our landlords.

    Hungry Hungry Hippos- In today's world of fast food franchises being sued for causing obesity, any game encouraging eating all you can outside of a thirdworld country is asking for trouble.

    Hi Ho Cherroy - Sure, most people think the most dangerous aspect of the game is children choking after actually eating the cherries. But they neglect the greater social consequence of stealing poor American farmer's fruits!

    The game of life - Its encouragement of heterosexual marriages may be approved by the President, but that won't stop gay right's activists from petitioning stores to stop carrying it!

  • "The way politicians act in parliament sends the wrong message to young people. It is actually glorifying heckling and bad manners. It is clearly an inappropriate depiction of proper behavior. If I had my way I would ban it."

  • "If I had my way I would ban it."
    If I had my way, I would ban censorship-fanatic politicians.
  • australia rocks, alll this shit about us being censorship peoples, well at least WE didn't allow the DMCA m0h4h4h4h4

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