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CNN Saturday Morning News

Mature Video Games?

Aired November 09, 2002 - 08:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: It may sound like an oxymoron, but today's tech topic is mature video games.
CNN technology analyst Daniel Sieberg joins us to explain.

But we need to say, Daniel, that these are games for adults only. In fact, there are ratings for games and these are both rated M, I understand, right?

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. That's exactly right. That's a great point, Renay, before we get into any of these games. They are intended for a mature audience. That's part of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board or the ESRB. Each game gets a specific rating. And for these games, it is immature or 17 and older ratings. So for any parents who are watching right now, they certainly might want to take that into consideration.

SAN MIGUEL: Can you tell us why BMX XXX is pulling the M rating from the ESRB?

SIEBERG: Yes, we've got a couple of games to talk about today. The first one is from Acclaim called BMX XXX, based on the series of games that have come out before from Acclaim about BMX writing, this sort of extreme sport. This takes it a step further and instead of just having riders on bikes like you're seeing here, you can have topless riders. You can also see nudity that is live. And we saw just a short clip of it there. We've edited this video, but there is actually live duty you can see in the game if you unlock certain levels. Now, that's where the controversy is on this game.

It is not released yet. It'll be coming out next week. And, again, getting this mature rating for gamers.

SAN MIGUEL: So the idea here is that, I mean Acclaim has to have said something about this. I mean a lot of companies are going to jump on the bandwagon now, the mature bandwagon to try to spur sales. What does Acclaim say about this?

SIEBERG: Well, Acclaim has a response, because a number of retailers decided not to carry this game, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us. They decided not to carry it because of the nudity and the sexual content that they decided was too controversial for them. Acclaim has responded to all of this. They're saying the game is humorous. They're saying the product was not designed for, nor is it being marketed to consumers under the age of 17. And they do support the ESRB and its ratings system to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. They actually hired a number of Hollywood writers to try and make it funny and to try and appeal to the adult gamers. You know, gamers from the 1980s have grown up. They're maybe interested in games that have a little bit more appeal to them and sort of an adult theme. And that's where they're targeting this game. They have changed it slightly. For the PlayStation 2 version, they're going to remove the topless nudity, but for the Xbox and for Nintendo's Game Cube, it's going to remain the same.

SAN MIGUEL: And the reason, I'm sure, that BMX is doing this, coming out with this kind of game, is because of the phenomenal success of the Grand Theft Auto series from Rock Star Games. The latest one's been out for a couple of weeks now, Vice City, from Grand Theft Auto.

Tell us about that.

SIEBERG: Right. It's not so much a sequel as it is, using the same type of game play as the other Grand Theft Auto series of games, which have been around for a number of years. Grand Theft Auto 3 was the top selling game of 2001. Now they're capitalizing on that by putting out Vice City, which is set in the 1980s, meant to look a bit like Miami. And we've got the game loaded in right now and I can show you an example of some of the game play.

As you'd expect, part of the idea of the game Grand Theft Auto is to get into all sorts of cars and drive them around. Here's the car that we're just starting out in the game. You can drive around and listen to all sorts of music. The manufacturers of the game, Rock Star and Take Two Interactive, say yes, the idea of the game is, you know, you're playing this Tommy the criminal. There are some criminal elements to the game. You do have to kill certain people to accomplish your mission.

But what people focus on is the other violence, where you can actually get out of your car -- and if we do this now -- you can actually then run up to somebody else's car and take over their vehicle. You can beat up pedestrians on the sidewalk. But the manufacturers of the game say, look, that's not the focus here. You still have to accomplish what you want to do in the game. You don't necessarily have to do all those things. And, in fact, you can even be a good citizen, follow all of the rules and do the right things in the game.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes, but I mean the idea here is that you actually get points by causing mayhem and murder and damage and things like that.

SIEBERG: That's right. You do. You certainly do get more points and that is, you know, very appealing. Interestingly enough, you know, the game really reflects those people who play it. If you don't want to do any of those things, you don't have to. They're only available there if you want and, of course, there's a number of weapons. And the violence can be slightly graphic. You know, we're talking about animated violence, of course. But it can be slightly graphic at times. Again, another title that's rated mature, 17 and older.

SAN MIGUEL: The idea here, though, is that -- I mean this game gets so many rave reviews from the gaming press because of it, it's so deep. You're able to do a lot of things. You can kind of, you can, you don't have to go on those missions. Like you said, you can explore. You know, it's kind of a -- some might say it's kind of a shame that the best example of video gaming that's out there right now is one that your kids really can't play.

SIEBERG: Well, that's partly true. You know, the gaming, the graphics and the game play of this game, as with the other Grand Theft series, are fairly impressive. And that's pretty renowned across the gaming review board. But, you know, again, everybody seems to focus on the controversies here. If you see I'm able to beat up anybody who's in my way.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes.

SIEBERG: And, you know, you can get all sorts of weapons. But, again, it does allow you that freedom. This is a police officer now and he's going to try and arrest me.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes.

SIEBERG: Of course, if you do get into trouble, they will come after you, the police will come after you just like in real life.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes, you know, or you can also die. You get wasted and those kinds of things.

SIEBERG: Right.

SAN MIGUEL: And you, you know, you reappear in a hospital somewhere. It's just, it's kind of an amazing game. You've got to take it easy on these people here.

SIEBERG: Yes, right.

SAN MIGUEL: You're really, you're really wiping them out here.

SIEBERG: I'm sorry. This is a reflection of bad playing.

SAN MIGUEL: What is, whoa. What does Rock Star say about this? I mean Rock Star has been talked about now for a couple of years in regards to the violence. They've become the poster boy of violence in video games. What's been their official statement?

SIEBERG: Rock Star has a similar stance to Acclaim when it comes to the Grand Theft series. And we spoke with them and they responded by saying that, you know, they are marketing these games as responsibly as they can, gearing them to this older audience, older than 17, just as with BMX XXX, and that they do follow this ESRB ratings system as much as they can.

Again, that's left up to the retailers to enforce when a child goes to a store and, of course, for parents to make sure that their kids don't have these games if they're going to a store. There is a Web site, we should point out, esrb.org, which does have all of these different ratings outlined, what they relate to. You know, there's E for everyone, there's T for teen, M for mature. There's all these different ratings and they all have different reasons why they have these different ratings, whether it's violence or sexual content, whatever it may be.

And then there are, of course, other games that have this ratings system. We're pointing out two today, BMX XXX and Grand Theft Auto Vice City, but there are a number of other games out there -- we're just seeing a list of them now -- that are tapping into these adult themed games or mature games. And, you know, they go right across the board, all different platforms. Grand Theft Auto Vice City is just for PlayStation 2, incidentally, which is one reason why Sony is quite happy with it. It does make people want to go out and buy a PlayStation 2 just for that reason in some cases.

SAN MIGUEL: Exactly. Well, I mean the thing is here is that OK, so you've got this ratings system and it's not like a movie where if it's rated R or NC-17 you can't, you know, if you're too young, you shouldn't be able to go see it. But how likely is it that somebody under the age of the M rating will get to play BMX XXX or Vice City?

SIEBERG: Right. And that, you know, it's possible because, you know, a lot of critics of the game say look, it could just be a child over at somebody's house and the game could be sitting there on the coffee table and they pick it up and start playing it that way. So, you know, there's always a chance, always a way for kids to possibly see these games or to be able to play them.

But you made a good point about the movie industry. A lot of the supporters of these video games say look, it's just like the movie industry. There are movies for adults. There are movies for kids. And why shouldn't there be video games for adults and video games for kids? And that's really the crux of this argument, whether or not there should be adult titles that are marketed solely for an adult audience.

SAN MIGUEL: And I know that Nintendo, I mean, is known as being, you know, kind of for the kids, for the little kids, I mean with the Super Mario characters and things like that.

SIEBERG: Right.

SAN MIGUEL: But I know that Sony and some of these other, and Microsoft with Xbox, are really trying to chase that older demographic, because they're said to be, you know, they have more money to spend on games.

SIEBERG: They absolutely are. You know, but you should, we should point out that Nintendo is even pushing their adult themed games even more with titles like Medtroid Prime, which is a mature rated game.

So they're all realizing that gamers have grown up, that there are titles out there that they need to push to this adult audience, not just to kids. Of course, they still put out these kids' games like Super Mario Brothers. But, you know, Xbox and Sony and Nintendo with its Game Cube, they realize that there is a huge market out there for these games, especially when you point out, as I pointed out, that Grand Theft Auto 3 was the top selling game of 2001.

So, you know, every reason for them on the retail side to make these games and make them available to these adult gamers.

SAN MIGUEL: Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.

SIEBERG: Right. Yes.

SAN MIGUEL: Also a good way to make a buck in this business.

I'll know things have really changed when I see Super Mario engaging in carjacking in Super Mario Sunshine or something like that.

SIEBERG: That could be the end of gaming as we know it.

SAN MIGUEL: That could be. That could be a sign of a apocalypse here.

SIEBERG: Right.

SAN MIGUEL: Technology analyst Daniel Sieberg. I've enjoyed this. Thanks a lot for being with us.

SIEBERG: Thanks, Renay.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 9, 2002 - 08:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: It may sound like an oxymoron, but today's tech topic is mature video games.
CNN technology analyst Daniel Sieberg joins us to explain.

But we need to say, Daniel, that these are games for adults only. In fact, there are ratings for games and these are both rated M, I understand, right?

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. That's exactly right. That's a great point, Renay, before we get into any of these games. They are intended for a mature audience. That's part of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board or the ESRB. Each game gets a specific rating. And for these games, it is immature or 17 and older ratings. So for any parents who are watching right now, they certainly might want to take that into consideration.

SAN MIGUEL: Can you tell us why BMX XXX is pulling the M rating from the ESRB?

SIEBERG: Yes, we've got a couple of games to talk about today. The first one is from Acclaim called BMX XXX, based on the series of games that have come out before from Acclaim about BMX writing, this sort of extreme sport. This takes it a step further and instead of just having riders on bikes like you're seeing here, you can have topless riders. You can also see nudity that is live. And we saw just a short clip of it there. We've edited this video, but there is actually live duty you can see in the game if you unlock certain levels. Now, that's where the controversy is on this game.

It is not released yet. It'll be coming out next week. And, again, getting this mature rating for gamers.

SAN MIGUEL: So the idea here is that, I mean Acclaim has to have said something about this. I mean a lot of companies are going to jump on the bandwagon now, the mature bandwagon to try to spur sales. What does Acclaim say about this?

SIEBERG: Well, Acclaim has a response, because a number of retailers decided not to carry this game, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us. They decided not to carry it because of the nudity and the sexual content that they decided was too controversial for them. Acclaim has responded to all of this. They're saying the game is humorous. They're saying the product was not designed for, nor is it being marketed to consumers under the age of 17. And they do support the ESRB and its ratings system to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. They actually hired a number of Hollywood writers to try and make it funny and to try and appeal to the adult gamers. You know, gamers from the 1980s have grown up. They're maybe interested in games that have a little bit more appeal to them and sort of an adult theme. And that's where they're targeting this game. They have changed it slightly. For the PlayStation 2 version, they're going to remove the topless nudity, but for the Xbox and for Nintendo's Game Cube, it's going to remain the same.

SAN MIGUEL: And the reason, I'm sure, that BMX is doing this, coming out with this kind of game, is because of the phenomenal success of the Grand Theft Auto series from Rock Star Games. The latest one's been out for a couple of weeks now, Vice City, from Grand Theft Auto.

Tell us about that.

SIEBERG: Right. It's not so much a sequel as it is, using the same type of game play as the other Grand Theft Auto series of games, which have been around for a number of years. Grand Theft Auto 3 was the top selling game of 2001. Now they're capitalizing on that by putting out Vice City, which is set in the 1980s, meant to look a bit like Miami. And we've got the game loaded in right now and I can show you an example of some of the game play.

As you'd expect, part of the idea of the game Grand Theft Auto is to get into all sorts of cars and drive them around. Here's the car that we're just starting out in the game. You can drive around and listen to all sorts of music. The manufacturers of the game, Rock Star and Take Two Interactive, say yes, the idea of the game is, you know, you're playing this Tommy the criminal. There are some criminal elements to the game. You do have to kill certain people to accomplish your mission.

But what people focus on is the other violence, where you can actually get out of your car -- and if we do this now -- you can actually then run up to somebody else's car and take over their vehicle. You can beat up pedestrians on the sidewalk. But the manufacturers of the game say, look, that's not the focus here. You still have to accomplish what you want to do in the game. You don't necessarily have to do all those things. And, in fact, you can even be a good citizen, follow all of the rules and do the right things in the game.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes, but I mean the idea here is that you actually get points by causing mayhem and murder and damage and things like that.

SIEBERG: That's right. You do. You certainly do get more points and that is, you know, very appealing. Interestingly enough, you know, the game really reflects those people who play it. If you don't want to do any of those things, you don't have to. They're only available there if you want and, of course, there's a number of weapons. And the violence can be slightly graphic. You know, we're talking about animated violence, of course. But it can be slightly graphic at times. Again, another title that's rated mature, 17 and older.

SAN MIGUEL: The idea here, though, is that -- I mean this game gets so many rave reviews from the gaming press because of it, it's so deep. You're able to do a lot of things. You can kind of, you can, you don't have to go on those missions. Like you said, you can explore. You know, it's kind of a -- some might say it's kind of a shame that the best example of video gaming that's out there right now is one that your kids really can't play.

SIEBERG: Well, that's partly true. You know, the gaming, the graphics and the game play of this game, as with the other Grand Theft series, are fairly impressive. And that's pretty renowned across the gaming review board. But, you know, again, everybody seems to focus on the controversies here. If you see I'm able to beat up anybody who's in my way.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes.

SIEBERG: And, you know, you can get all sorts of weapons. But, again, it does allow you that freedom. This is a police officer now and he's going to try and arrest me.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes.

SIEBERG: Of course, if you do get into trouble, they will come after you, the police will come after you just like in real life.

SAN MIGUEL: Yes, you know, or you can also die. You get wasted and those kinds of things.

SIEBERG: Right.

SAN MIGUEL: And you, you know, you reappear in a hospital somewhere. It's just, it's kind of an amazing game. You've got to take it easy on these people here.

SIEBERG: Yes, right.

SAN MIGUEL: You're really, you're really wiping them out here.

SIEBERG: I'm sorry. This is a reflection of bad playing.

SAN MIGUEL: What is, whoa. What does Rock Star say about this? I mean Rock Star has been talked about now for a couple of years in regards to the violence. They've become the poster boy of violence in video games. What's been their official statement?

SIEBERG: Rock Star has a similar stance to Acclaim when it comes to the Grand Theft series. And we spoke with them and they responded by saying that, you know, they are marketing these games as responsibly as they can, gearing them to this older audience, older than 17, just as with BMX XXX, and that they do follow this ESRB ratings system as much as they can.

Again, that's left up to the retailers to enforce when a child goes to a store and, of course, for parents to make sure that their kids don't have these games if they're going to a store. There is a Web site, we should point out, esrb.org, which does have all of these different ratings outlined, what they relate to. You know, there's E for everyone, there's T for teen, M for mature. There's all these different ratings and they all have different reasons why they have these different ratings, whether it's violence or sexual content, whatever it may be.

And then there are, of course, other games that have this ratings system. We're pointing out two today, BMX XXX and Grand Theft Auto Vice City, but there are a number of other games out there -- we're just seeing a list of them now -- that are tapping into these adult themed games or mature games. And, you know, they go right across the board, all different platforms. Grand Theft Auto Vice City is just for PlayStation 2, incidentally, which is one reason why Sony is quite happy with it. It does make people want to go out and buy a PlayStation 2 just for that reason in some cases.

SAN MIGUEL: Exactly. Well, I mean the thing is here is that OK, so you've got this ratings system and it's not like a movie where if it's rated R or NC-17 you can't, you know, if you're too young, you shouldn't be able to go see it. But how likely is it that somebody under the age of the M rating will get to play BMX XXX or Vice City?

SIEBERG: Right. And that, you know, it's possible because, you know, a lot of critics of the game say look, it could just be a child over at somebody's house and the game could be sitting there on the coffee table and they pick it up and start playing it that way. So, you know, there's always a chance, always a way for kids to possibly see these games or to be able to play them.

But you made a good point about the movie industry. A lot of the supporters of these video games say look, it's just like the movie industry. There are movies for adults. There are movies for kids. And why shouldn't there be video games for adults and video games for kids? And that's really the crux of this argument, whether or not there should be adult titles that are marketed solely for an adult audience.

SAN MIGUEL: And I know that Nintendo, I mean, is known as being, you know, kind of for the kids, for the little kids, I mean with the Super Mario characters and things like that.

SIEBERG: Right.

SAN MIGUEL: But I know that Sony and some of these other, and Microsoft with Xbox, are really trying to chase that older demographic, because they're said to be, you know, they have more money to spend on games.

SIEBERG: They absolutely are. You know, but you should, we should point out that Nintendo is even pushing their adult themed games even more with titles like Medtroid Prime, which is a mature rated game.

So they're all realizing that gamers have grown up, that there are titles out there that they need to push to this adult audience, not just to kids. Of course, they still put out these kids' games like Super Mario Brothers. But, you know, Xbox and Sony and Nintendo with its Game Cube, they realize that there is a huge market out there for these games, especially when you point out, as I pointed out, that Grand Theft Auto 3 was the top selling game of 2001.

So, you know, every reason for them on the retail side to make these games and make them available to these adult gamers.

SAN MIGUEL: Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.

SIEBERG: Right. Yes.

SAN MIGUEL: Also a good way to make a buck in this business.

I'll know things have really changed when I see Super Mario engaging in carjacking in Super Mario Sunshine or something like that.

SIEBERG: That could be the end of gaming as we know it.

SAN MIGUEL: That could be. That could be a sign of a apocalypse here.

SIEBERG: Right.

SAN MIGUEL: Technology analyst Daniel Sieberg. I've enjoyed this. Thanks a lot for being with us.

SIEBERG: Thanks, Renay.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com