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POPSSchool Moves to Block Bully Game by Rockstar (of GTA fame)
Ok, so I am usually all for the game makers and thier right to sell games. But in this case, I am on the fence, and even leaning towards supporting the schoolboard. This game is obviously targeted at teens. And the rating it will get will be M (for Mature, meaning you must be at least 17 to buy it). That being said, is Rockstar responsible if violence happens as a result of kids playing this game? Or are parents responsible here too? One can argue that GTA was always meant as an "Adult" game, that Rockstar never intended for it to fall into the hands of children. But this game, "Bully" takes place in a private school, and seems to be aimed at senior high school grade kids. (Most kids are about to enter university at 17, the legal age to buy an M rated game). Personally, I think this game is in just bad taste, and Rockstar is just asking for trouble. Why make this game? Again, I'm usually for the game industry and hate the idea of games being censored. Not here though
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POPS"Bully" gets bullied If the judge "takes a look" at this game the way I "took a look" at GTA or Battlefront, he won't see the light of day for months.
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POPSRockstar paid $100,000 for the voice of Niko Bellic "Had this been a television program, a film, an album, a radio show or virtually any other sort of traditional recorded performance, Mr. Hollick and the other actors in the game would have made millions by now," writes Schiesel -- and important sentence cut out by Clipmarks. Essentially the theory here is that videogame companies need to offer royalties to all the voice actors in the game. The problem, however, is figuring out where to draw the line once you start paying royalties. Is a voice actor more important than an animator? This is one of the concerns facing EA in the possible acquisition of Take-Two: The Houser brothers receive generous royalties from Take-Two that, if acquired, might cause insurrection within Electronic Arts' other studios.
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POPSSelling Music From INSIDE a Game This is a smart and creative move that doesn't even sound like it will distract from the game play which is key. I'm going to be very interested to see what kind of listens this generates and sales.