Bono's Gaming Problems.

[Justin24]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6167814.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;2

Mercs 2 has Bono under fire
Activists call on religious leaders to join petition asking U2 frontman to stop release of Pandemic's sandbox shooter set in Venezuela.
By Tim Surette, GameSpot
Posted Mar 21, 2007 12:49 pm PT
Militaristic games set in contemporary times benefit greatly from incorporating as much realism as they can. Real-world weapons, vehicles, and tactics bring an air of authenticity that doesn't require risking life and limb for. However, add what many claim to be a plausible plot based on current events and the fictionalized "real world" hits a little too close to home for some.

One man come he to justify...
The Venezuelan Solidarity Network is asking for help to stop production of Pandemic Studios' upcoming game Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. The game follows guns for hire as they help topple a "power hungry tyrant" in Venezuela. While no real names are used, protestors see the plot as a clear parallel to the Unites States' troubled relationship with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, and are labeling the shooter as anti-Venezuela propaganda.

The organization is seeking to gather the signatures of various religious leaders for a letter (PDF format) intended for the one man they feel can and should stop the game from going to market--U2 frontman Bono. The Irish crooner and part-time activist is one of the board members of Elevation Partners, the venture capital firm that is a majority stakeholder in the partnership between Pandemic and BioWare, which brought the two independent game developers together under the name BioWare/Pandemic Studios.



...one man to overthrow.
The letter from the Venezuelan Solidarity Network to Bono reads: "The aim of the video game is full devastation, so any 'person' who moves should be 'shot,' and all the buildings, such as the headquarters of PDVSA, the Venezuelan public oil company, can be 'destroyed.' Our concern is that this game will only deepen an already antagonistic relationship between the U.S. and Venezuelan governments. Millions of Venezuelans fear an invasion from the U.S.; knowing that a company that works for the US military has created a game in which their country is completely destroyed will increase those concerns."

The reference to Pandemic working for the US military stems from the studio's work on an Army-commissioned military-training program, which later was polished for retail as Full Spectrum Warrior.

The deadline for signatures to be included to the letter is March 31, 2007. The network plans to send the letter to Bono the following day.

This isn't the first attempt by the group to reach out to Bono to stop the game from being made. The organization pleaded with the artist to stop production of the game last July. One month before that, a member of the Venezuelan government publicly decried the game, calling it a "justification for an imperialist aggression."

In response to the protest, Pandemic sent GameSpot the following statement from cofounder Josh Resnick: "While we're flattered that people think Mercenaries 2 is a commentary on the real world, it is just a video game--and as they say in the movies, all characters and events are purely fiction. Our setting provides gamers with the overall look and feel of Venezuela, although it is not an accurate street by street depiction and the characters as well as the storyline are completely made up. More to the point, the characters are categorically not based on any real political figures in Venezuela or elsewhere."

The statement continues: "It's common practice in the entertainment business, both movies and video games, to set fictional storylines in real places. This isn't any different than setting a movie like Goodfellas in New York. And while we certainly hope Mercenaries raises the adrenaline flow, anyone wanting to experience or learn more about the real world, we recommend a good history book."

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is scheduled for release later this year on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and PC.

 

[BVS]

Is Bono the sole owner of this game? Why are they writing to him?

 

[JCOSTER]

Elevation Partners awhile ago bought a video game company and or partial stake in it.

I must say this one thing I DO NOT agree with Bono on. If you own a company such as this, they/he should make sure appropriate games are being made.

 

[BVS]

But is he CEO?

If Bono owned a record company, would you want him to censor certain artists?

 

[Canadiens1131]

Guys

a) Read the freakin' article, it answers every question raised so far

b) It's entertainment - what exactly is an "appropriate game"? It's a tactical warfare game - the people who buy it are as broad an audience as the same people who go to see Casino Royale and the Bourne Identity

 

[U2Man]

Elevation Partners awhile ago bought a video game company and or partial stake in it.

I must say this one thing I DO NOT agree with Bono on. If you own a company such as this, they/he should make sure appropriate games are being made.

they negotiatied and held meetings with the ceos of that particular company, eidos, but i think they pulled out just before they were supposed to sign the deal. i could be wrong, though.

 

[JCOSTER]

But is he CEO?

If Bono owned a record company, would you want him to censor certain artists?

You can't preach one thing and promote the opposite of what you are preaching to everyone.

 

[Tiger Edge]

Violent games do not encourage violence. Trust me, I know this from experience. I've played violent games my whole life (Doom, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat, every single game that has ever been labeled as a drain on the society) and I've never been inclined to punch someone in the face or steal a car.
Movies are far, far, far, far, FAR more graphic than any of these games suggest.

This is like the Marilyn Manson caused Columbine debacle all over again.

 

[rihannsu]

Elevation Partners is an equity investment firm. Buying into a company does not necessarily give them any say in the actual running of the company. It would depend on how much they invested and what the terms are. If it is a venture capital deal depending on how the contract is drawn up they may not have any control. As an artist who has always valued his own artistic freedom I don't see Bono as the type to want to control or suppress someone else's art. Most people may not consider video games as art but I would argue that they are just as much art as any movie or song or novel. Why would Bono want to subject artists to outside control like that?

Dana

 

[BVS]

You can't preach one thing and promote the opposite of what you are preaching to everyone.

So did you oppose him writing a song for the James Bond movie?

 

[BVS]

Buying into a company does not necessarily give them any say in the actual running of the company.

Exactly what I was getting at with my questioning. Thank you...

 

[Jeffo17]

I don't think its upto Bono to get involved in this... I can only see this turning into a bit of a mess if something was canceled.

 

[U2 Beginner]

Guys

a) Read the freakin' article, it answers every question raised so far

b) It's entertainment - what exactly is an "appropriate game"? It's a tactical warfare game - the people who buy it are as broad an audience as the same people who go to see Casino Royale and the Bourne Identity

 

[U2Man]

JCOSTER, please stop!!!!!! Your Bono critizising is gonna end U2!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BoyStupidBoy88]

This all sounds kinda stupid. Bono seems to be very VERY loosely tied to this whole thing. Give the man a break.

 

[Aygo]

Violent games do not encourage violence. Trust me, I know this from experience. I've played violent games my whole life (Doom, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat, every single game that has ever been labeled as a drain on the society) and I've never been inclined to punch someone in the face or steal a car.
Movies are far, far, far, far, FAR more graphic than any of these games suggest.

This is like the Marilyn Manson caused Columbine debacle all over again.

Violent games lead, yes, to violent actions and attitudes. It has already been proved and you can clearly confirm that with the kids of today which games have having more violence in it and it copys many times the things they do in their journeys.

 

[Tiger Edge]

Violent games lead, yes, to violent actions and attitudes. It has already been proved and you can clearly confirm that with the kids of today which games have having more violence in it and it copys many times the things they do in their journeys.

That's not what I learned in my mass media and society class last year.
How can anyone say that without complaining about movies such as Casino Royale and the Matrix? Watching someone be violent (or playing a violent person with a remote control) does not make you any more inclined to kill somebody.
If you are thinking about those gun-shaped remotes (think Duck Hunt) that are in arcades, then yes. They provide hand-eye coordination training similar to the training cops receive with simulators. But there is a very big difference between a plastic gun (or remote control) and holding a real gun to someone else.

And I'm also not talking about the 8 year old kids that can't tell the difference between right and wrong. I'm talking about the intended audience with the Mature ratings. If a parent wants to buy their 8-year-old a shoot 'em up game, then they should provide morality along with it.

Link: http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

 

[Aygo]

That's not what I learned in my mass media and society class last year.
How can anyone say that without complaining about movies such as Casino Royale and the Matrix? Watching someone be violent (or playing a violent person with a remote control) does not make you any more inclined to kill somebody.
If you are thinking about those gun-shaped remotes (think Duck Hunt) that are in arcades, then yes. They provide hand-eye coordination training similar to the training cops receive with simulators. But there is a very big difference between a plastic gun (or remote control) and holding a real gun to someone else.

And I'm also not talking about the 8 year old kids that can't tell the difference between right and wrong. I'm talking about the intended audience with the Mature ratings. If a parent wants to buy their 8-year-old a shoot 'em up game, then they should provide morality along with it.

Link: http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

Man (and children even more) lives of imitation from obervation. Unfortunately, not everyone can be as racional and have the same capacity to discern reality/virtuality like you and me. Many many people are not capable of that and playing violent games doesn't improve anything in you as a better person. Does it?

 

[Aygo]

^ "mass media and society classes"...

I see that you study in my area of working/investigation...

 

[xaviMF22]

Violent games do not encourage violence. Trust me, I know this from experience. I've played violent games my whole life (Doom, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat, every single game that has ever been labeled as a drain on the society) and I've never been inclined to punch someone in the face or steal a car.
Movies are far, far, far, far, FAR more graphic than any of these games suggest.

This is like the Marilyn Manson caused Columbine debacle all over again.

Pla plays grand theft auto





























Pla rocks

 

[JCOSTER]

So did you oppose him writing a song for the James Bond movie?

A James Bono movie is nothing compared to some of the video games that are out today.

And no I didn't.

IMO, there are way to many kids that get there hands on these games where as it's a little bit more difficult to see a James Bond movie in the theatre.

 

[JCOSTER]

JCOSTER, please stop!!!!!! Your Bono critizising is gonna end U2!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

U2Man, I think I wuv U!

You of all peeps here should know if I am going against something Bono is involved in that I feel strongly about the issue.

 

[Caroni]

This is not about a violent game, is about the bad image of president Chavez don´t listen to those bastards of the bolivarian circles

They

Are



Crazy

They are more Violent in real life than any videogame ever released

 

[Tiger Edge]

Pla plays grand theft auto





























Pla rocks

Pla fucking LOVES the Grand Theft Auto series. So much that's she's speaking in the third person. I may just have to buy a PS3 when the new one is released.
Anyway, enough OT

Chavez

 

[Liesje]

I never believe it until my psych and media ethics profs presented studies that prove there is causation between children of ALL classes/races/religions/background (they did an awesome job eliminating these factors) being exposed to violence in the media and acting more violently. I didn't want to believe it, since I played the DOS Doom back in the day and I know where my dad keeps his rifles, but never had the inclination to shoot up my classmates. (The good news is that there is an even stronger link between children watching shows with altruistic themes behaving more altruistically.)

Anyway, even given this fact, I still don't give a flying fuck if Bono supports/plays/makes money off of violent games. The bottom line is that these games were never intended for children. If they are "too violent", it's because they're getting into the hands of the WRONG audience. All parents have to do is tell their kids they're not allowed to play them and give them some alternatives.

 

[Caroni]

Chavez

 

[redhotswami]

Violent games lead, yes, to violent actions and attitudes. It has already been proved and you can clearly confirm that with the kids of today which games have having more violence in it and it copys many times the things they do in their journeys.

I disagree. I don't think video games cause violence. However I do think that society has become more numb to violence, not due to video games, but video games are a reflection of that. So are movies, music, and hell, even (depending where you live) stepping outside.

Pla, so good to see another MK fan!! I had a secret crush on Nightwolf.

 

[Liesje]

I disagree. I don't think video games cause violence. However I do think that society has become more numb to violence, not due to video games, but video games are a reflection of that. So are movies, music, and hell, even (depending where you live) stepping outside.

I'm not sure if video games were part of the study, but it has been proven that exposing children to violence on TV causes them to act more violently. I'd imagine video games may have a similar effect.

 

[xaviMF22]

Pla fucking LOVES the Grand Theft Auto series. So much that's she's speaking in the third person. I may just have to buy a PS3 when the new one is released.
Anyway, enough OT

Chavez

<-----'s Pla

 

[david]

I also disagree that violent video games cause violence. I think bad parenting leads to violence. There's an overall bigger picture involved when a child suposedly does something violent because of a video game he or she might have played. People tend to just put the easy blame on the video game and not other factors that could be involved.