• grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

    And The GTA Chinatown Wars Outrage Begins

    It was only a matter of time before Rockstar's Nintendo DS offering Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars fell under the scrutiny of international anti-everything groups, and what better place to start than with the "ever reputable" UK news stable, The Sun, where the news of GTA DS's drug selling mini-game isn't going over so well.

    Darren Gold of charity Drugsline said: “Anything using drug-dealing as entertainment is sending out the wrong message. “Glamorisation doesn’t help our work trying to educate kids of the dangers of substance misuse.”

    See? Now that's two things parents should be doing but don't in one statement - educating their children about drugs and keeping them from playing mature video games. I do like the little addition that The Sun reporter slipped in at the end though. "Experts predict the final edition is unlikely to feature explicit criminality. " "Experts" have apparently never played a Grand Theft Auto title.

    Fury Over Drug Deal Vid Game [The Sun via GamePolitics]

    9:40 AM on Thu Sep 25 2008
    By Mike Fahey
    4,019 views, 119 comments

    Most discussed RanChan03: another rant that i have about this, If you look at the video game related accidents, that involve games more »

  • grand theft auto

    Parents Fear GTA More Than Sex And Alcohol

    Back in my days as a teen, my parents weren't afraid of anything as far as I was concerned, but not all 15-year-olds are 6'6" with a goatee. Today's parents have plenty to worry about in fact, though a recent survey performed at the family-focused consumer game site What They Play seems to indicate their priorities are a bit out of whack. They asked a series of asked over 1,600 respondents what they’d fear the most if their 17-year-old were to participate in a sleepover. The results, picked from single answers only - no multiple choice here - indicated that while 16% were concerned about pornography and 14% about beer, 19% voiced concerns that their child might end up playing Grand Theft Auto.

    Proving that parents haven't gone completely crazy, the vast majority - 49% - were worried that their child would smoke a little chronic with their pals and then...I dunno, giggle for 8 hours straight, like we did back when i was a teenager. That's the real danger folks. More »

    9:40 AM on Mon Aug 11 2008
    By Mike Fahey
    14,311 views, 159 comments

    Latest by gencid: This pretty much shows 2 things: 1. Parents have failed their duty and rely on government to raise their kids. 2. ESRB more »

  • drugs

    Expert Weighs In On FPSBrain Gaming Enhancement Pills

    We let you know about the first official gamer-focused performance enhancer on the market, FPSBrain, earlier this month. The product makes bold claims, promising a "remarkable increase in perception and reaction capacities." Now MTV has called in an expert to evaluate the product. The verdict: FPSBrain pills are basically like energy drinks without as much caffeine. But that doesn't mean that they are the epitome of health. According to dietitian Danielle Marzano, such a product could be detrimental if taken in high doses or mixed with energy drinks:


    More »

    1:40 PM on Tue Jan 29 2008
    By Mark Wilson
    4,526 views, 42 comments

    Latest by Edge of Blade: Well, if the last enhancement pills I took didn't work, I have little doubt these will either. Or worse. more »

  • pills

    Performance Enhancers Come To Gaming (Officially)

    Let's be honest, we gamers have been abusing performance enhancing drugs for some time in liquid form— Jolt, Mt. Dew, coffee, tea, me—but a German company named Tomarni thinks they can do one better and make this whole craze official with their new product FpsBrain.

    It's not actually an exciting new drug, but a pill that looks like it could double as a gas station performance enhancer, if you know what I mean. B vitamins and a variety of other vaguely familiar mins, sins and tins make up the ingredient list (posted after the jump). If any doctors in the audience would like to elaborate on the listing, by all means do so in the comments (we promise not to sue you). Otherwise, all interested parties can get their own placebos pills at the hefty rate of 60 for $30, or about 50 cents a pop. More »

    12:00 PM on Wed Jan 16 2008
    By Mark Wilson
    4,513 views, 70 comments

    Latest by GOLD5: I'm performance enhanced on life.. more »

  • interesting

    Video Games Treat Pain Better Than Meds?

    Canada's universal healthcare has one catch: patients can go for a long time before seeing specialists—apparently years. That's why at least one Canadian researcher is studying drug-alternatives to pain management. And in a recent study, researcher Simon Fraser found that subjects playing fully-immersive games (they tested a 3D skiing title) reported less pain than the subjects taking drugs.

    While this is an interesting idea to pass the time, I wonder how the patients felt when they were done playing. And I wonder which meds were being tested...(is Mario better than morphine?)

    Video games beat drugs for chronic pain     [via nextgen][image]

    11:40 AM on Tue Dec 18 2007
    By Mark Wilson
    1,786 views, 71 comments

    Latest by GOLD5: I had a hearing surgery here in Ontario and the specialist whom I was referred to (and only had to more »

  • breaking

    Video Games = Crack Cocaine

    Father Raymond J. de Souza, a columnist for Canada's National Post, recently wrote a scathing exposé on the dangers of video game addiction. And in this provocative piece, de Souza explores his own troubled past with his own dark demon...known to some as Tetris.

    I learned the truth about video games the hard way, and so this is the lesson I offer for free: Don't play video games. Don't own them. And for the sake of all that is good and holy, don't buy them for your children...

    Since [deleting Tetris] I have never played another video game. It's too dangerous. Video games take what is most precious — time and thought. And they are making kids fat.

    It only gets better...
    More »

    1:20 PM on Thu Dec 13 2007
    By Mark Wilson
    13,304 views, 228 comments

    Latest by hollmeadus: @EndersGame: Hello, I'm an 18 year old college student. I'm currently taking a personal support worker program. Anyone here know what more »

  • crime

    Manila Mayor Hates Games (Basketball and Hookers, Too)

    Retired cop and current Manila mayor Alfredo Lim is cracking down. On everything. Shortly after the incumbent took office the summer, he demanded that internet cafes prohibit children from accessing games from 7am to 6pm in hopes of preventing children skipping school. Now, he's out to ban games he views as violent altogether. Says Lim:

    I have asked the city council to study a possible ordinance to ban these violent computer games at Internet cafes and arcades in shopping malls.

    His hardline has earned him comparisons to Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry. So far, Lim has destroyed cafes and night spots in Manila's tourist district as well as dismantled basketball courts, tightened up on prostitution and drugs, and imposed harsh punishments on petty crime. Next up, watch as he tries outlawing masturbation or something.
    Manila Mayor [ABS-CBN, Thanks Arbet!]

    2:00 AM on Thu Oct 4 2007
    By Brian Ashcraft
    2,115 views, 54 comments

    Latest by Mercury01: Lim is fucked up badly… that crazy old man has alot of issues on games when hes supposedly concentrating on more »

  • impressions

    Sloppy Seconds - Haze

    "So, I just want you to know that I'm here with the angle of what makes Haze different than just another first person shooter." Free Radical Lead David Doak nods politely.

    See, I have this theory. It's not really a theory, really, and it's not my original idea. But every year we see people excited about some new FPS. We hear its features—the way it's doing things differently. And we're generally sold (anyone remember the Prey media blitz?)
    More »

    6:20 PM on Thu Aug 23 2007
    By Mark Wilson
    12,434 views, 76 comments

  • rockstar games

    Mentally Ill Addict Hears GTA Voices, Kills

    The Evening Standard is reporting that a diagnosed schizophrenic teenager who was under the influence of drugs killed a 51 year old grandmother after "'gangster voices' from the ultra-violent computer game Grand Theft Auto had set him on a mission to stab a black woman." More »

    5:40 PM on Tue Apr 3 2007
    By Michael McWhertor
    2,648 views, 57 comments

    Latest by oM5o: @ Mahi... Very well said. Our society that is tolorent of violence and inherently flawed, looks for scapegoats rather than more »

  • canada

    Quebec Uses Gaming To Warn About Drugs, Sex and Gambling

    Potions that cure herpes? Amnesia spells that help you pickpocket? If only! Canadian resident Frederic sent us a link for Quebec campaign to curb drugs, unprotected sex and gambling. The campaign is called "You Only Have One Life" and incorporates gaming so that the kiddies get the message. (The kiddies love gaming, or so we hear.) There's a website, which has all the spots. Basically, they show young people getting into trouble and then making Final Fantasy-type reference like that they're going to reset their health or take a potion. Fairly sophisticated and slick as hell, but still guilty of showing gamers out of touch with reality. For our non-French speaking readers, Frederic was kind enough to translate the clips. All of them at that! Hit the jump for that. More »

    7:00 AM on Mon Mar 19 2007
    By Brian Ashcraft
    2,277 views, 24 comments

    Latest by Kaneda: So, is it true Ubi needs translators? I couldn't find anything about it on the Ubisoft Montréal site, but more »