Play Meter

FROM TH E EDITOR Don't believe everything you hear M Valerie Cognevich Editor PLAY METER y nephew raced into the living room Christmas morning and began ripping open packages. His Sega system was "just what he wanted." Then he opened the other surprises which, of course, weren't really. "What, no Mortal Kombat?" he said, genuinely surprised, his mother related to me later. "There is no way I would even consider buying that game," she stressed in her most concerned motherly voice. "I've heard it's simply awful." I asked her if she had played it or even seen someone else play it. "I didn't have to,· she replied. "With all the publicity about it, I know it's just too violent.· How many conversations have you had with people like this? Not just about violence, but about various issues within our industry. People always just know what the media has told us we should know. But it's usually so one-sided that it's hard to believe we accept it so blindly. The media certainly are experts at making mountains out of mole hills. I' m thinking of a very recent example concerning President Clinton. Suddenly, we're all questioning whether he actually had illicit affairs and whether the police helped him make his secret rendezvous. Front page stories dredge up the Gennifer Flowers accusations, presented with pride by the media during t he pre-e lection days. Remember Gary Hart and his fateful run for the highest office? Would he have made a good president? Was he qualified? Who cared-he had an affair! Gasp! Of course, he couldn't be president. Is Clinton any less capable because of the possibility of past infidelities? I'm sure there are many other reasons to choose from. Now, I'm not condoning illicit affairs for anyone, but I'm trying to make a point. The media so often sidesteps important issues to dwell on something that makes no difference at all. Well, maybe it'll mean a financial windfall for the policemen when they decide to write a book or sell the movie rights. I've also been following the Brady bill concerning gun control. The media has been in a frenzy over this. In fact , I'm sure no one really knows the issue from simply reading what the media has chosen to feature. Being familiar with guns and able to shoot fairly well, I resent some of the rationalizing done by the media. I am one of those who believe that if guns are outlawed criminals will still have guns or other ways to kill innocent people. However, for the same reason, I can see where guns in the hands of irresponsible 10 people uneducated in handling handguns could be fatal. No matter where your sympathies lie, the only thing that's certain is that the media has found a juicy subject; anything they dredge up will be accepted as fact. Sound familiar? Sure, our industry gets onto that treadmill occasionally. It becomes a "hot topic," something like Sen. Bob Packwood and his nowfamous diaries. Even in the good-ole-days when video games were new, the media couldn't handle something positive. Instead, they found things like "Pac-Man elbow." It seems someone once complained about playing video games so long that his elbow hurt. Ah hah, said the media, video games cause medical problems! Didn't they just have a field day with that one. Maybe if we complain of breaking out in a mysterious rash from paying taxes, someone will try to ban them! It's so unfortunate that the media can distort issues so completely. Remember the guns mentioned earlier? We're all so fed up with crime and murders (New Orleans reported nearly 400 murders in 1993) that we are trying to find an answer to the problem. Since many of the crimes involved teenagers, the focus seems to be who to blame. Violence on TV, disgusting shows, violent content in video games. The media fueled an uproar when a fiveyear-old set his house on fire, killing his baby sister, after allegedly being influenced by the Beavis and Butt-Head show. No one asked why a five-year-old was allowed to see such a show. Instead of blasting the show CI personally think it's disgusting), why didn't someone admonish the parents? Why isn't someone in the media lashing out at parents of 13and 14-year-olds who are on a killing spree? As Chris said in his "Last Word" column last month, he may have wanted to drink beer and watch pornography when he was 13 but his parents put a fast end to that idea. They didn't set out to ban beer and pornography; they settled the matter at home. I'm sure Chris would have been a little shocked if they would have watched him guzzle a few and click on the X-rated flicks , blamed the breweries and filmmakers , but did nothing else to stop him. Where are parents today? How I wish someone in the m e dia would speak out about the corruption in the family unit and place the blame for many of our problems squarely where it belongs. It's time that parents take a little responsibility for their children and stop trying to place blame everywhere else. In the meantime, we can all campaign to remove violence from video games and plead with manufacturers to reconsider some offensive scenes. But we should know that until the m e dia finds another juicy topic, we're it, folks . Let's do what we always do when we 'r e attacked-wait for the media to let up so we can get on with our business. D FEBRUARY 1994