A persistent topic in the video game industry, video games have, time and time again, been given the blame for the violent--and usually murderous--actions of troubled youth who apparently played video games frequently, their family members and their country's politicians claiming that violent video game series such as Doom, Quake, and--more recently--Grand Theft Auto convinced a certain adolescent or two. Quite a few school shootings, especially the infamous Columbine shooting which claimed the lives of 15 people including the two gunmen who committed the shooting, have gotten video games involved, saying that the shooters were convinced by the aforementioned video games and/or other games. This has led to lawsuits against big video game publishers such as Take-Two Interactive (publisher of the GTA and Manhunt series) for hundreds of millions or even as much as a billion dollars.

Now, once again, this has become a hot topic, with states such as Washington and Arkansas creating bills to take action against video game violence. And while, in Arkansas, the state has made it so that M-rated titles such as recently-released hits Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and SWAT 4 are literally out of children's reach in retail stores across the region, Washington has done something which I would consider a bit more extreme: they have said that, the next time a minor decides to pump lead into a bunch of people one day or plots to murder someone out of spite with only god knows what as a weapon, video games will be to blame for influencing those responsible for committing the crime to commit the crime, regardless of the killer's source of inspiration--whether or not it be video games--and their motive.

Now, this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Before I get to the point at hand, think about this: why are video games made in the first place? Some are made for profit. Some are made to take an ingenious idea of one person or several people and make it a reality. Some are made because the people who created them are attempting to make a name for themselves. And some are made because, well, the people who created them just want those who play their creations to have fun with them. Were games ever intended to influence someone to go on a killing spree? Most likely not.

And then there's another thing to think about: what went on in the minds of those who committed these shootings prior to the horrific events that these bills are based on? Take Jeff Weise, for example: he killed 10 people, including himself, in the recent Red Lake shooting. He was a zealot to Nazism, according to archives of his visits to various Neo-Nazi message boards. But did he become this because of video games? After all, a lot of WWII shooters have been released in the past few years, such as Call of Duty, Medal of Honor: Frontline, and Brothers in Arms. However, video games apparently were not any sort of reason that the Red Lake shooter, Jeff Weise, became interested in Nazism. To quote one of his posts on one of these Neo-Nazi message boards:

When I was growing up, I was taught (like others) that Nazi's were (are) evil and that Hitler was very evil man ect... Of course, not for a second did I believe this. Upon reading up on his actions, the ideals and issues the German Third Reich addressed, I began to see how much of a lie had been painted about them. They truly were doing it for the better.Jeff Weise

Do you see the words "video games" or the words "Call of Duty" or any other words in that post that might imply that video games were the reason he took interest in Nazism? Of course not. Now, according to this bill that has been approved in Washington, video games are at least one of the things that inspired him to kill nine people and himself, regardless of all the evidence suggesting against that. In the case of the Red Lake shooting, if video games were being tried of influencing Jeff Weise to kill the aforementioned people in a court of law (of course, this is assuming that video games were treated like human beings), video games would have been acquitted of the charges.

Nonetheless, state representatives in Washington are saying "tough." They've forced corporations such as Take-Two Interactive and Electronic Arts to basically babysit their customers. Now, right from the start, I can tell that this is a bad idea. Why is that so? Well, how are you going to make sure that all of the hundreds of thousands or even millions of youth who play M-rated games everyday (when, technically, they shouldn't be) don't go and kill anyone for any reason they may have? Since when is it not the responsibility of these adolescents' family and friends, but the creators of these games that these same adolescents may or may not be playing? That pretty much boggles the mind.

I want to say to the world--yes. The world!--that, if you don't want your children and your neighbors' children and your children's childrens running around killing people, whether it be due to them playing violent video games or not, keep a good eye on them. I'm not telling you that you should necessarily babysit them, but, for once, keep an eye on what games they're playing. Keep an eye on their behavior. Make sure the games you're buying for them are appropriate for them. Please make life easier for us all by being responsible yourself!

PARTY PARTY PARTY!!!!!!!! Not really. I'm just letting everyone know, since it's pretty much an obligation to tell the world when you've made your 1,000th post on a message board. Anyways, buh bye!

That's right! I've considered it for many weeks now, and, tonight, I finally started writing a novel (or, at least, a novella, which is a novel with not as much content as a regular novel) that is based on mostly obscure references to my life. I know that I've been pretty much a ghost here at the Gamespot community for a little over a month, and I can't really explain why other than the reason that I've been really getting into e-sports and diverting my attention unto things other than video games in general, such as Inuyasha, which is an awesome anime series, and should be watched by anyone with an imagination of any sort. Speaking of e-sports, I've also begun of my process of convincing my mom to go to Dallas with me in July so I can spectate the CPL Summer Championships. If I went alone, it would cost about $2,000 (that includes spending money), and if she and/or someone else that I knew went with me, they could go sightseeing throughout Dallas and the other nearby cities while I enjoy myself in the Gaylord Texan Resort, watching some of the best CS teams and Painkiller players in the world duke it out! I wish--oh, I wish--I could go... And, speaking of e-sports--again--I applied for a News Writer position at the Team Sportscast Network, aka TsN. I've gotten to know some of the staff members who work at TsN, and I enjoy their play-by-play coverage. The e-sports industry is a very, very interesting industry, which I've realized throughout the past couple of months since I first started getting into this industry and learning the trades. Anyways, it's getting a bit late, and I've been counting old coins. No, really--lots and lots of coins from Canada, the USA, and several other countries. Did you know that money from Hong Kong is (or was) pretty damn light: it must be made of aluminum or something. Anyways, good night!

Do I smell coffee percolating? No. But I do feel the steam coming out of my ears after hearing just how much I'll have to pay to get a PSP. I agreed with Rich Gallup and Ryan Davis on one edition of On the Spot when they predicted a $150 price tag for the PSP. Seeing as how, yes, electronics are more pricey in Japan and it costs an equivalent of $185US, it makes perfect sense to predict a $150 price tag. Hell, I even thought that a $200 price tag seemed a bit unlikely. But I have to pay $250US now? As a Canadian, I'm going to have to dish out about 100 more loonies than I was expecting to have to pull out of my pocket ($150US = around a $200CAD price tag). But, wait--it's $300CAD because it only comes with the Value Pack? So, what do I get with this Value Pack, Sony? A game? Hopefully, it would be Ridge Racer, right? Or what about Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children!? I've been wanting to see that flick since it was first announced!

The Value Pack will include a 32MB Memory Stick Duo (which usually retails from $24.99 to $39.99 solo), headphones with remote control, a battery pack, AC adapter, soft case and cleaning cloth, and a UMD disc with game-demo movies, and a music and video sampler. As an incentive for early adopters, Sony will include a free UMD copy of the blockbuster superhero film Spider-Man 2 with the first one million PSP Value Packs shipped.Tor Thorsen

Huh. So, lemme get this staight: let's say the PSP, by itself, had an MSRP of $150 (which it should be). With a crappy memory stick, some stupid headphones, a demo disc, and a whole bunch of other crap that I don't want, this thing costs 100 extra clams? The worse thing about it is that, well, I can't choose between just the system and the Value Pack because...there is no PSP just by itself! Just a handheld packed with a bunch of things that most buyers won't even care for. Oh, wait...I could get Spider-Man 2 if I buy it really soon! But, then again, I'd rather shell out $15 if I wanted that movie. Sony, where's my freedom of choice? Where's my freedom to choose to not buy your irrelevant accessories with what seems to be an awesome handheld? Was this the point of advertising the PSP like crazy without spilling the beans about a date or a price? Did you not tell us how much this thing is going to cost just so we could salivate at the thought of the PSP and feel obligated to buy your ridiculously expensive Value Pack when it comes out just so we can have it? And whatever happened to "accessories sold separately?" Better yet, whatever happened to the term "cost-effective?" I think it got replaced by the term "ripoff." And, when you think about how much the Sony PS2, a home console, cost in 2000, you realize that, yes, Sony is going to be ripping off a lot of people. And by ripping off, I mean ripping off: Sony, do you remember the 5,000 customers that you pissed off about a week and a half ago? What was that all about, by the way? A square button which you intentionally designed to stick and be non-responsive! And did you promise to fix it like you should have?

It's according to specifications. This is something that we've created, and this is our specification. There was a clear purpose to it, and it wasn't a mistake.Ken Kutaragi

It wasn't a mistake? Since when was a design flaw *not* a mistake? Am I hyperopic or am I really reading this right? A major design flaw, according to Mr. Kutaragi here, is not a mistake. Tell that to the 5,000 angry customers whose PSPs' square buttons don't work.

I believe we made the most beautiful thing in the world. Nobody would criticize a renowned architect's blueprint that the position of a gate is wrong. It's the same as that.Ken Kutaragi also

This guy does not know what in the blue hell he is talking about. People don't buy a gate to be entertained, Ken. Those two things are far from the same thing. Mr. Kutaragi, I have some major advice for you if you want to succeed and make profits in this handheld business: you do not keep a design flaw in your product when you are well aware of it, especially if that flaw was there on purpose and your customers found out about it the hard way. Also, you do not compare that flaw to a gate--especially when your product is an electronic product--and say that that justifies your claim that the flaw is not a mistake and that us, the people who pay money for this "professionally designed" product, will have to "get used to it." And, lastly, do not say after your explanation for such a ridiculous flaw that you think you've made "the most beautiful thing in the world," because what you just implied beforehand was that, metaphorically, you grew apples that were nice and shiny on the outside, but have worms on the inside. People ate those worm-infested apples, and after you found out, you said "tough." Is that really how you should be treating the people who made you a multibillion-dollar corporation? Do you think that, now that you've glorified the PSP, that you can treat the public as badly and as deceivingly as you please and they will still buy your product with pleasure? Ken, if everyone in this entire world who had even half of a brain read what you've said in response to the reports of the aforementioned design flaw, they would be outraged at the fact that you think we're idiots. Well, news flash: we are not. That being said, unless Sony either lets me buy the PSP just by itself, lowers the price of the ridiculously overpriced Value Pack, fixes that ridiculous design flaw, or gives a minimum 2-year warranty, I am not buying their handheld. I am not foolish enough to buy something that I will probably have to send to Sony and wait forever to get back only to have to send it back in again. Sony has lost my respect, and if I ever buy a PSP, I will not do so with a smile on my face.

To explain the inspiration for this entry, it went down like this: I've been playing a slew of console games lately--in fact, I just won the Super Bowl in ESPN NFL 2K5 last night. Now, on Friday night, I discovered a documentary based on a professional e-sports clan known as compLexity. And after watching it--which describes the events at the Cyberathlete Professional League's winter 2004 tourney that their Counter-Strike team, a 27th-seeded competitor at the CPL event, placed 5th in--I was actually convinced to blow the dust off of my arrow keys and play some good, 'ol Counter-Strike for the first time in quite a long while. And, ever since, I've been getting owned. A lot. And, today, I realized something: just playing a video game does not mean that you will always enjoy it. You need to do more than just play the game to truly enjoy it--you need to be skilled at it. I play a lot of games with my friends, and it doesn't matter what it is: if it's a console game, my best friend Trevor always wins when I play against him in it, no matter how much I've played it or similar games before, and no matter what the game. And as a guy who does not enjoy losing and getting that loss rubbed in his face by his opponent and the spectators (and I'm referring to my friends, who do so when I lose), I get pretty mad. If you ever meet me in person, you will notice that I am a completely different person than I am when I talk to you through a computer system. I can get pretty angry, and, a lot of the time, the reason that I'm angry is because I'm not doing so well at a certain video game, whether I'm competing against a CPU or against a friend. And, usually, the reason that I'm not doing so well after playing a game for a while is because I get to the point where I'm so mad that I'll whine and complain and whine some more. Then, I get to the point where I don't even want to try anymore. For example, on Friday afternoon, when I went to my friend's house after my Provincial exams, we played NFL 2K3. About 10 minutes into the game, I was losing pretty sad, so I complained about how the game is so different from ESPN NFL 2K5, and how my wide receivers and my defense are playing like crap. Needless to say, this sort of ticked off my friend whom I was playing against and convinced him to turn off the console and stop playing NFL 2K3. There are some people who play video games to vent their frustration and anger. Well, I see playing video games as a source of anger in itself. When I play a game, I'm either doing good and having a good time or I'm throwing the controller and yelling at the top of my lungs because the game is being "gay" or "****in' stupid." When I get mad, I cuss like a sailor. And there has been many a time where I've cussed and said all sorts of bad words in frustration because the game or someone playing the game with me is giving me a hard time. And so, today, I realized all of this. And, when I did, I vowed to not play a single for a week because, if games are meant to be enjoyed through playing them, and I'm not enjoying playing them, then what's the point? Some people say that practice makes perfect, but I haven't seen any improvement in my gaming skills through years and years of playing. I've played since I was a toddler, and I'm not great at games at all. Yet, there are people who have only been playing games since a few years back, and they practically wipe the floor with me when I play against them in any game. That angers me, and, deep inside, it makes me unsure of whether or not I want to play video games anymore...

Well, I'm done my Provincial Exam (AKA finals) for my English 10 course. Now, before I get to the main point of this entry, I'll tell you how a Provincial Exam works: basically, grade 10 provincials are worth 20% of your final mark for the semester. Now, this does not count for your term mark, which means that everything else that you did in the course is worth 80% of your final mark. So, simply put, it was a big exam, and everyone who was in the course this semester--not just my English class--had to do it in our school's smaller gym (as it was implied, we have two gymnasiums). We have to arrive to the exam a half-hour before the actual exam is scheduled, and it lasts for up to 2 1/2 hours although you can leave an hour after it starts. So, now that that has been said, I'll get to the main point. My point is that this marks the end of a very, very long frickin' month to me. It was full of exhaustion, frustration, and--most of all--work. I literally had the hugest workload that I've had in many, many years, if ever. I lost count of how many projects I had to do this month, but I had at least six this month, not to mention the nine missing assignments I had for my Science class in which I completed seven of them. I look back at it, and I'm relieved that I'm finally home-free--I am guaranteed to pass all but one of my classes (that class being Carpentry, but I always had problems with that class anyways), and I've only got one exam left before I can look forward to exercise, learning about computers, and learning about math--not to mention taking my other course, Social Studies. All of those classes will probably be good to me. I hope so, considering the fact that I had such a hectic semester from September to now. Also, I learned something from taking AP Prep English 10, and it's that, no matter how good you are, technically, at writing, you won't excel in English without getting in touch with your creative side. And that is why I'm planning to take regular English next year while I attempt to communicate with my own creative side--which has not come out of its corner in quite a few years. I feel really overwhelmed by this fact, and I fear that I will not be able to pursue the career that I want to pursue without finding something creative to say in my work. I am hoping that I recover that part of me that was lost. Anyways, I'll end this entry on a totally unrelated, but cheerful note: when I ordered that new Dippin' Sticks pizza from Pizza Hut tonight, I said to put on extra cheese, but neglected to ask for cheese only (not to mention three marinara sauces, not one of each: marinara, garlic, and ranch) on the 'Strips. And, so, instead of fussing--which I usually do because I'm a picky, picky eater--I decided to try them out with the one marinara sauce, and I discovered that a pepperoni pizza dipped in marinara sauce is quite awesome...and spicy. >.> I hope I do good on my Science exam on Tuesday--I've got the confidence, and I'm confident that I can come into that exam ready to get an "A" on it!

I hope Santa Claus is reading this right now. Anyways, time to fantasize! First off, I want... An iPod A regular iPod, an iPod Mini, or an iPod Shuffle--I don't care what model it is! Hell, I don't care if it's pink and has flower decals plastered all over it. I just want a good MP3 player! >_< I also want... A PSP Forget about the DS--I can't even rent any games for it at Rogers Video! And, ya know, while I'm at it, I want these games for the PSP! Lumines What a pretty puzzle game! ME WANT!!! Ridge Racers What a pretty racing game! ME WANT!!! NBA Street Showdown NBA Street on a handheld!? ME WANT!!! A whole bunch of other PSP games, including the movie FFVII: Advent Children .........ME WANT!!! Let's see...ah! Another thing that I want is... A Hydra jet with unlimited fuel And, while I'm at it, I also want an invincibility cheat! Yet another thing I want is... Peace in the Middle East And--although it means less modern-era army shooters based in the Far East--North Korea. I mean, well, nukes and missiles are pretty, but they're bad. They also hurt my eyes. :( I could have sworn that this wasn't gonna turn into another spam entry. Oh, well. Better luck next time!

...you should protest against the existence of seafood! Why? Because God hates shrimp! (Sorry for the spam entry. I couldn't resist. :p)

No, this isn't a commemoration to the mother of Jesus Christ--it's a commemoration to football! And, although the Steelers just got eliminated from the playoff by the satanic Pats last night (a disappointing game which convinced me to eventually do something else besides watching it), my Pittsburgh Steelers have made a fairly good start in ESPN NFL 2K5's Franchise Mode with a 1-1 record after Week 2 at Baltimore, home of the Ravens. I skipped the preseason, and the simulator was nice enough to give me a 4-0 record prior to the start of the season. The default settings included five-minute quarters, which seemed appropriate enough, as I've played several games with hardly any defensive struggles. Week 1, vs. Oakland (0-0): My friend Trevor's favorite team faced off against my Steelers in Heinz Field, and although they drew first blood, I sent them home a bloody mess, in comparison. They started the game with the ball, and I stopped them in the red zone, forcing the field goal. I got two TD's and an FG to end the first half with a sturdy 17-3 lead. The third quarter was scoreless, but I absolutely owned the Raiders in the fourth quarter. Believe me when I say that 36 points in one quarter is 100% pure ownage. 5 TD's with one two-point conversion led to the Raiders' embarassing loss. Final Score: 53-3 PIT The next week, however, was much less one-sided: Week 2, at Baltimore (1-0): Well, the real-life Steelers (15-1 this season) had only one loss this season, and that was at Baltimore in Week 2, so I expected a fight from the Ravens. Again, I got the short end of the stick during the coin toss, and the Ravens started off with the ball. However, they hardly made any sort of a drive before I forced the punt. 3 TD's and an FG led the Steelers into the second half with--once again--a sturdy lead as the Ravens trailed 24-7. Now, you'd think I'd repeat the ass-kicking that I dealt to the Oakland Raiders, but not this time: I only managed one TD in the third quarter, and my offense only got worse from there, with the Ravens nabbing 2 INT's and 4 TD's in the second half. I drove them into the red zone in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter, but they killed the clock to secure the win. Final Score: 35-31 BAL Well, I'm pretty sure that none of you care about all this, but I'm sort of dry when it comes to ideas for a journal entry, yet I wanted to write one, so there you go. I hope the Pats choke a week from Sunday! :)

So, tonight, I went to EBGames and bought a copy of ESPN NFL 2K5 for the PS2 (my collection has been updated). Now, I'm not too much of a sports game fan, and I have never actually bought a sports game before I bought NFL 2K5 (although I have rented several sports games), but I do love football. I was at the store, hoping to be able to finally pre-order three of the PSP games I want (Ridge Racers, Wipeout Pure, and NBA Street Showdown). However, all of the games that I could actually pre-order right then (GTA PSP? Nah. Untold Legends? What the hell is that?) weren't what I wanted. So, eventually, after realizing that all of the copies of Madden 2005 and ESPN NFL 2K5 were rented out at the rental store (readers of my past entries should remember that my local EBGames is merged with my local Rogers Video), and realizing that I could afford either one of those games at EBGames (Madden was $40 Canadian, and 2K5 was $30 Canadian; a pre-owned copy of 2K5 was $25), I decided to get 2K5 for the PS2. They had no new copies, so I got the pre-owned version, which had some weird bump on the top-left corner of the back of the box. But why would I go so far as to pay $25 for a pre-owned game that has some weird mark on the box just for some virtual football goodness? Well, when I thought about this when I got home, I realized that I was glad that I didn't spend extra money on Madden 2005 and I was glad that I got Sega's game instead, albeit a game with an imperfect box and someone else's name having been written on it before mine. Why is this? Because EA should be ashamed of themselves. They should be ashamed for what their actions have caused: the indefinite hiatus of the ESPN NFL 2K series. And you know what? Year after year, the NFL 2K series got better and better, especially when it came to its presentation. Hell, they even threw the "first-person football" feature in there for free. And, then, they made their best football game yet, NFL 2K5, 20 dollars (Americans). 20 dollars? That's how much a large pizza or something similar to that would cost! Hell, some kids wouldn't even have to save up their lunch money for very long to afford a copy of that game. And, meanwhile, Madden degenerated over the years. Its reputation has sunk since the days of Madden '95--one of EA's finest sports games ever made. It's like EA gets lazier and lazier every year. An Owner mode? Pfft. Please. It's basically Franchise mode with a few minor refinements, and every sports game nowadays has some kind of Franchise mode. Defense? Who cares about defense when the funnest part of the game is all about the offensive aspects of the game. And did I mention the glitches and the annual rehashes of Madden's commentary? Nonetheless, the mainstream community is so ignorant that, year after year, the better game is outsold by the other game by a large margin. This margin is so large that the creators of that "other game" have shut the creators of the better game out of the competition completely. And, unless you've been living under the rock for the past month or so, you know what I'm talking about: EA's acquisition of the NFL license. The NFL football games are, by far, the most popular sports games in the industry, yet EA has managed to keep the profits from that very fact to themselves. And, when you think about it, now that they will be the only company to be able to make NFL video games for the next five years, they can do whatever the hell they want. Not to mention that they bought the rights to use ESPN as a part of their video games for the next 15 years. I can imagine a meeting in the offices of EA Tiburon, the developers of Madden 2005, during this year:

The following takes place in EA TIburon's conference room Project Lead: So, since we started production on ESPN NFL 2006, we've managed to cut back our funds by...80%. All because all we're doing is making roster updates. Programmer #1: Well, that's nice and all, but why don't we fix at least some of the glitches in the game? I mean, a lot of customers have been complaining about how the CPU attempts 80-yard field goals and they're always good. Also, a lot of people have complained about the game crashing constantly. Project Lead: Well, they'll have to live with it. I mean, after all, no one can make NFL games right now! Programmer #1:But-- (Project Lead interrupts) Project Lead: Get outta here. You're off the team. (Programmer #1 says several nasty things under his breath as he leaves the conference room) Project Lead: Does anyone else in this room object? (About 25 other coworkers are in the conference room. None of them say a word.) Project Lead: I mean, jeez laweez, people! We don't have any--and I mean any--competition when it comes to football games. After we bought the rights to the NFL license, Sega thought they could make an Arena Football League game to try to fight against our inevitable takeover of the video game industry. (He laughs maniacally) Well, they thought wrong. We bought the rights to the AFL, and now the employees at Visual Concepts (the developers of the NFL 2K series) are stuck in a fetal position, panicking and not knowing what will happen to them. Sega is so foolish... Programmer #2: Well, we do need to cover an important topic right now. Project Lead: Oh? And what might that be? Programmer #2: All of the new consoles--the Playstation 3, the Xbox Next, and the Nintendo Revolution--are probable for release dates sometime in 2006, and the higher-ups need copies of ESPN NFL 2007 for those consoles being made starting very soon... Project Lead: Meh. Just make some roster updates, re-program it, and make some prettier graphics. I'm sure no one will notice the similarities. Designer: Well, I've also a topic that should be discussed. You laid off our entire Quality Assurance department. Project Lead: So? Who cared about the several major glitches that Madden 2005 had? Who did? Certainly not all the people that made it a multiplatinum title! And, also, who calls Technical Support, really? Designer: We can't tell...because, now, our "Technical Support" line is run by a 486-based computer system that one of our coworkers stumbled upon in our leaky basement floor. Project Lead: And that will be sufficient for the peons that buy our game! But, for now, we shall spend most of our working days sitting on our asses and sleeping. After all, that's what we've been doing at work for the past five years! Am I clear, everyone? All: Yes, sir. Project Lead: Meeting adjourned!

Okay...so maybe my vision was a bit boring and poorly written. No matter, for it's still somewhat believable. But my point is that EA makes lackluster football games, and these two exclusivity deals does not help the video game industry at all. Those, along with the purchase of 1/5 of Ubisoft's shares, just shows that EA is committing monopoly and getting away with it. Does anyone remember when Nintendo was sued back in the early 90's for monopoly? Well, if the existence of that case was necessary, then a claim of monopoly against Electronic Arts is absolutely essential. No one likes the EA/NFL deal, and that's for a very, very good reason.