EA responds to Fox News' attack on Mass Effect.

Pugnate

http://blog.shacknews.com/blogarticle.x/50921

Isn't the term "Fox News" an oxymoron?

I hate that network. They are a complete tabloid, and an embarrassment to news sources everywhere.

Anyway I think you guys should take a couple of minutes to write to Fox News to let them know how this bullshit reporting is denting their already infamous reputation.

[email protected]

LewieP

Damn that is rational.

Print is dead, TV is dieing, they have to bitch at someone.

Fox news is pretty much irrelevant though right? I mean anyone who takes what they see on Fox news as unquestionable fact is pretty much already 'lost'

darleysam

I will say that it's really good to see EA step up and say something to Fox about this, but I don't see it achieving anything, because Fox will just keep on hysterically reporting their sensationalist stories to desperately grab as much attention as they can.

xWonderboyx

I just watched the original newscast, and I think at this point we can say journalism itself is dead.

j0hnz3r

Between how they handled this and how they handled the Rock Band guitar RMAs, my trust in EA is growing. I'm sure they'll fuck that up later, but they're doing a good job on the PR fronts these days.

NailbunnyPD

xWonderboyx wrote: »

I just watched the original newscast, and I think at this point we can say journalism itself is dead.

Television and main-stream journalism, yes.

Kyougu

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1599211793/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Check out the reviews for Cooper Lawrence's book.

cloudeagle

xWonderboyx wrote: »

I just watched the original newscast, and I think at this point we can say journalism itself is dead.

Yeah, it was pretty horrible. Instead of a rational debate, it was everyone yelling at the one poor guy who volunteered to defend the thing.

Then again this is how Fox News always operates. Who needs those pesky "fact" thingies, all you need to do is be loud and rude and you'll "win." Sadly enough, this method probably sways the opinion of a LOT of people.

subedii

*ctrl c ctrl v from ME thread*

That clip from FN was hilarious if you take it in the right context. Although I honestly felt sorry for Geoff (it was weird seeing him in a shirt and coat, almost didn't recognise him from the show ), they gave him all of 2 seconds to try and defend Mass Effect before switching over to their "specialist panel" which included nobody from the actual games industry (and incidentally, "Let me at him!"? Lady could you have sounded more childish in your attempts to attack him? If I didn't know this was real I seriously would have thought it was a parrody).

Good grief, the sole extent of their combined gaming knowlege was a passing familiarity with with Pac-Man and some sort of Princess Adventures game bought for a 6 year old. That's just sad.

Also, mainstream journalism died a long time ago. The best you can do in this day and age is to try and read from multiple sources and try to do your own research and thinking on whatever's reported if you're interested in it. The point of mainstream news isn't to inform, it's to entertain.

xWonderboyx

NailbunnyPD wrote: »

xWonderboyx wrote: »

I just watched the original newscast, and I think at this point we can say journalism itself is dead.

Television and main-stream journalism, yes.

Let me clarify, I'm taking my experience of one situation and what other people have said to signify the whole. I call it the "Fox News Logic Leap." If Mass Effect is said to have the boobs, then it must have hardcore sex with penetration:If Fox News is shitty newscasting, then there is no good newscasting.

It makes win.

Coreo

Wow the EA statement was a pretty awesome comeback, I mean it's true, Fox News plays shows with partial nudity in it all the time. Silly Fox News. Silly.

subedii

xWonderboyx wrote: »

NailbunnyPD wrote: »

xWonderboyx wrote: »

I just watched the original newscast, and I think at this point we can say journalism itself is dead.

Television and main-stream journalism, yes.

Let me clarify, I'm taking my experience of on situation and what other people have said to signify the whole. I call it the "Fox News Logic Leap." If Mass Effect is said to have the boobs, then it must have hardcore sex with penetration:If Fox News is shitty newscasting, then there is no good newscasting.

It makes win.

Personally, I would be inclined to agree with there being very little good newscasting today.

Buzz Buzz

Anybody know anything about the University of Maryland study, I believe it was, that Lawrence tossed out? I mean, I'm going to guess that it shows that kids get reactions from video games that are similar to the reactions that they'd get from real life scenarios, which isn't remotely the same as being unable to tell the difference. But if there's a study out there that says something like that, it sounds pretty relevant to the discussion. Still, not sure how they'd prove that...

And yes, of course, Fox News sucks. :P

Pugnate

I know this is going off topic, but how soon before Internet journalism is dead as well?

Sources like CNN, FOX and the like only spew what the bigger players want them to say. The fact is that these networks are backed by big money, and their reports will lean towards whatever they are meant to say. We all know the government plays a big role as well, aside from the businesses.

Also if you take a look at the state of Health Care and High School education, the US of A is on the bottom 50 of the world's developed nations. Yet nothing is done about this, because the people who can make changes don't have it in their interests to.

The CEOs of the Health Insurance companies are making billions, and getting so rich, they are pooping money. Yet the system is really flawed, and a lot of good people are royally fucked because they can't afford treatment. Unfortunately nothing is done about this, because the lawmakers are swayed by massive donations.

It is corruption at the highest level, and no it isn't a conspiracy theory, it is just business.

Similar logic applies to the journalism field. For the most part, their reports are accurate, but often they will sway towards whatever the agenda requires. It doesn't matter if it is the agenda of a big business or the government.

With net neutrality in place, the internet is still the wild west. When will that finally change? A decade? Two decades from now?

NickTheNewbie

I think the idea of having all of the PA forums e-mail fox news is a bad idea.



a VERY bad idea.

streever

guys,

this is nothing new
this has been how "parental journalism" has been done for a century

When they aren't freaking out over "rainbow parties" on Oprah (something that probably didn't exist until they publicized a middle-aged man's fantasy) or the drugs that "90% of kids are doing--EVEN YOURS" or asking, "Do YOU know where your child is?" they are just thinking of the next thing.

p.s. I watched the fox news broadcast
I think that the video game guy from Spike was great, and that the hystrionic woman sounded like a dumb nutcase
The panel was clearly kind of a joke, but they made some GOOD points: "this is for parents to monitor"
I also want to point out that if you think this is bad, let's go back to a certain war in America's past, started entirely by one newspaper.

Trust me, it's not THAT bad anymore ;-)

subedii

NickTheNewbie wrote: »

I think the idea of having all of the PA forums e-mail fox news is a bad idea.



a VERY bad idea.

Pugnate

NickTheNewbie wrote: »

I think the idea of having all of the PA forums e-mail fox news is a bad idea.



a VERY bad idea.

I should have realized that. If anyone does write to them, please try to sound sane and remember that anything with the word "Fuck" in it, is impolite. We shouldn't play into any stereotypes about gamers.

VoodooV

The Amazon raid was great. Initially it was tastefully done and just completely smacked of delicious irony and poetic justice. She bashes a product without using said product, well so did the raid. She complains that the game objectifies women. But wait a minute, why is she on the cover of her own book in a sexy, provocative pose?

Sadly, the raid, which started out great, has just turned into vandalism now. The customer images are just downright annoying and tasteless. as are the customer-made tags. I've read some of the reviews that wish violence upon her now, which is just completely unacceptable. What's worse, is that the pundits will cherry pick those kinds of comments and ignore the tastefully done ones and use them to paint her as a victim and will only further their viewpoint that gamers are nothing but thugs.

Magic Pink

Yeah, FOX News must just HATE all this attention we always give them when they pull yet another something stupid.

chamberlain

That was a pretty classy email.

Could EA have any legal recourse here? There's bad reporting, and then there's intentionaly leaving things out to make people look bad. Isn't that libel?

elizabex

The panel was out of control. I like how no one in the panel, or original segment (apart from the Spike TV guy, I assume) has ever played a video game. Except for the one panel guy who bought Princess-somethingorother for "his daughter."

There's a thread on Slashdot with these same stories --- complete with a link to a PA comic.

streever

They are clearly just people who aren't keeping up with the evolution of society.

Defacing her website & sending angry e-mails does nothing but fill them with chuckles.

Why play into it?

These people have no relevancy--like most tv news. Ignore them. They will go away. I promise ;-)

Trust me, these people are old, and they'll always have a place--on a shitty, irrelevant news network that caters to grandmothers and alarmists.

Don't get so upset, that makes them more effective.

Arcibi

VoodooV wrote: »

The Amazon raid was great. Initially it was tastefully done and just completely smacked of delicious irony and poetic justice. She bashes a product without using said product, well so did the raid. She complains that the game objectifies women. But wait a minute, why is she on the cover of her own book in a sexy, provocative pose?

Sadly, the raid, which started out great, has just turned into vandalism now. The customer images are just downright annoying and tasteless. as are the customer-made tags. I've read some of the reviews that wish violence upon her now, which is just completely unacceptable. What's worse, is that the pundits will cherry pick those kinds of comments and ignore the tastefully done ones and use them to paint her as a victim and will only further their viewpoint that gamers are nothing but thugs.

Yeah, some of them are pretty dumb

I did have a hearty chuckle at "we killed a tree for this" though

Grid System

chamberlain wrote: »

That was a pretty classy email.

Could EA have any legal recourse here? There's bad reporting, and then there's intentionaly leaving things out to make people look bad. Isn't that libel?

I doubt it would be worth the time, money, and effort for EA. Since ME is in fact not marketed to minors, and since most of the people who would buy the game are not avid Fox News watchers, it's unlikely that this report will have any appreciable negative impact on the game's sales.

Axen

Sad day indeed when the only person on there talking rationally is a dude from Spike TV.

GrimReaper

xWonderboyx wrote: »

I just watched the original newscast, and I think at this point we can say American journalism itself is dead.

Fixed.

I've watched Fox News (via Sky News in the UK, they used to air Fox News stuff at certain periods in the day), CNN (International), BBC News, ITN (ITV and Channel 4 news are made by ITN) and Sky News (UK, Australia/NZ).

I've also watched news networks in Australia and New Zealand. (Sky News and something else.. I think it was ABC?)

Let me just say the BBC and ITN absolutely bitch slap the American and Australian news networks.

The BBC and ITN do make mistakes or sometimes their stuff is dumbed down or just stupid. (watching a normal news reader talk about tech on any channel is always funny) But in comparison to Fox, CNN etc they're Einsteins.

However, unfortunately not all UK news is intelligent. Sky news in the UK is just as bad, when I first got cable I watched it every so often and it always amazed me how like Fox it is. Granted, it wasn't as bad but I always thought of it as Fox News Lite. I don't know if it's improved in the last couple of years as I stopped watching it long ago. There was some right wing opinion shows which I think could be comparable to Hannity & Colmes (only, with one right wing guy.. I can't remember his name)

Either way, if you want decent news I highly recommend the BBC & ITN. Although I think you guys can only get BBC America. (I don't know of anything ITN related that Americans can get)

Vash108

Pretty much the news outlet these days is "there is no news like bad news" no matter the network it is dying in general.

Becoming

Kyougu wrote: »

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1599211793/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Check out the reviews for Cooper Lawrence's book.

It's a shame that the defacing of her work is so obvious. Some of the low ratings were real!

urahonky

Kyougu wrote: »

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/1599211793/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?%5Fencoding=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Check out the reviews for Cooper Lawrence's book.

Oh God, that's hilarious!! This comment is the best:

The Book is just plain dull and has no redeeming good qualities about it.

Another thing I should tell you, is that I actually have never read the book.

You may ask yourself then how could you give an educated review about the book and its content. Well that minor fact is not going to stop me from giving my opinion on the title. Why should it? It didn't stop the author (Cooper) from going on Fox News Channel and bad mouthing topics she knew nothing about. She was in a debate about a video game called Mass Effect (for the Xbox 360) she really started laying into the game and about its negative aspects. Then the man she was debating asked Cooper if she had even played the game (at all). Cooper (giggled) and said no, well how can she know anything about the game and its qualities good and/or bad with out knowledge of the subject.

So I figure if Cooper can do it, why can't I?

Oh man. Hilarious!

chamberlain

Grid System wrote: »

chamberlain wrote: »

That was a pretty classy email.

Could EA have any legal recourse here? There's bad reporting, and then there's intentionaly leaving things out to make people look bad. Isn't that libel?

I doubt it would be worth the time, money, and effort for EA. Since ME is in fact not marketed to minors, and since most of the people who would buy the game are not avid Fox News watchers, it's unlikely that this report will have any appreciable negative impact on the game's sales.

While I agree that it will have no financial impact, someone is eventually going to have to take Fox News on or they will get more and more out of control. Between EA and Microsoft, the pockets are deep enough to support a mostly frivolous lawsuit. Not that I advocate this, but the only thing that will effect them is an army of lawyers.

Either that, or just buy Fox.

Snare

I can't believe all the free publicity Mass Effect is getting! This is hardly going to STOP people buying it, it just makes more people want to!

urahonky

Also: "What happened to Atari and Pac-Man", it's called evolution you dumb bitch. What happened to reporting the truth?

Axen

urahonky wrote: »

Also: "What happened to Atari and Pac-Man", it's called evolution you dumb bitch. What happened to reporting the truth?

The Truth was hunted to extinction.

Or it evolved into Truthiness.

I forget which.

urahonky

Axen wrote: »

urahonky wrote: »

Also: "What happened to Atari and Pac-Man", it's called evolution you dumb bitch. What happened to reporting the truth?

The Truth was hunted to extinction.

Or it evolved into Truthiness.

I forget which.

Touche sir.

TheSonicRetard

GrimReaper wrote: »

xWonderboyx wrote: »

I just watched the original newscast, and I think at this point we can say American journalism itself is dead.

Fixed.

I've watched Fox News (via Sky News in the UK, they used to air Fox News stuff at certain periods in the day), CNN (International), BBC News, ITN (ITV and Channel 4 news are made by ITN) and Sky News (UK, Australia/NZ).

I've also watched news networks in Australia and New Zealand. (Sky News and something else.. I think it was ABC?)

Let me just say the BBC and ITN absolutely bitch slap the American and Australian news networks.

The BBC and ITN do make mistakes or sometimes their stuff is dumbed down or just stupid. (watching a normal news reader talk about tech on any channel is always funny) But in comparison to Fox, CNN etc they're Einsteins.

However, unfortunately not all UK news is intelligent. Sky news in the UK is just as bad, when I first got cable I watched it every so often and it always amazed me how like Fox it is. Granted, it wasn't as bad but I always thought of it as Fox News Lite. I don't know if it's improved in the last couple of years as I stopped watching it long ago. There was some right wing opinion shows which I think could be comparable to Hannity & Colmes (only, with one right wing guy.. I can't remember his name)

Either way, if you want decent news I highly recommend the BBC & ITN. Although I think you guys can only get BBC America. (I don't know of anything ITN related that Americans can get)

all news comes from the same place - ap or reuters.

Grid System

That's not true.

TheSonicRetard

Grid System wrote: »

That's not true.

no it pretty much is. Even stuff shown on CCTV comes from the ap and reuters. news is reported by them, then repackaged by local news stations. You can even see the exact same story on the BBC as you can on CNN.

Grid System

You left out Agence France-Presse though. :P

GrimReaper

TheSonicRetard wrote: »

Grid System wrote: »

That's not true.

no it pretty much is. Even stuff shown on CCTV comes from the ap and reuters. news is reported by them, then repackaged by local news stations. You can even see the exact same story on the BBC as you can on CNN.

What.. I don't even know where to begin. But i'll put this simply, you're wrong.

The BBC does not buy or repackage AP/Reuters news, the only AP stuff i've seen them use is the occasional AP photos for their online stuff.

Somehow, I doubt BBC News spends its £350 ($700) million annual budget on buying AP/Reuters news items.

Grin System wrote:

You left out Agence France-Presse though. :P

I've never watched it, so it'd be pretty irresponsible of me to comment on something i've never seen. Although I am aware of AFP.

Hazz

TheSonicRetard wrote: »

Grid System wrote: »

That's not true.

no it pretty much is. Even stuff shown on CCTV comes from the ap and reuters. news is reported by them, then repackaged by local news stations. You can even see the exact same story on the BBC as you can on CNN.

Man, someone shoud've told Alan Johnston before he went to Gaza. All that trouble could've been avoided so easily...