British Tabloid Soliciting "Games Made Me Do It" Stories... Will Pay
British Tabloid Soliciting "Games Made Me Do It" Stories... Will Pay
March 31, 2008
An unnamed British newspaper is soliciting tales of those who turned to a life of crime, thanks to playing video games.A message posted on Star Now, a U.K. website for aspiring entertainers, reads:
A national newspaper wants your story and will pay hundreds of pounds to the right person.
Write a few lines about how computer games turned you to crime and if it's something we like, we'll call you straight back...
Application criteria: Males & Females aged 0 to 60 from UK
Via: Next Generation
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Comments
If you didnt need to register I'd send off a message of disgust at their sensationalist BS
Doesn't Britain have laws to prevent people from making money off of their crimes???
If it does then I guess there will be a lot of parents writing to the paper to tell how Manhunt 2 has turned their newborn babys in horrible monsters that cry and poop all the dang time...(why the hell is it !!!ZERO!!! to 60????)
Nyoro~n?
Still, I can't imagine "real" criminals responding, so it'll be mostly over-hyped kids behaving badly, portrayed as the downfall of civilization...
Also, kind of amusing that they put an age limit of 60.
It's not like that article is going to be outrageously biased at all. Hurray for fair and balanced reporting!
[/sarcasm]
"It was Doom that drove me to rob that liquor store."
"Really? Would you say that you played a lot of Doom?"
"Yeah, I played that %^&* for hours every day."
"Perhaps you could help me then... WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU FIRST PICK UP THE SHOTGUN!?"
"... um... you become Super Mario?"
"No further questions, your honor. The defense rests."
I dunno, guys, could be the Sun. Then again, I might just be projecting my lifelong dream of having my sordid story of how the gradual decline of the Sly Cooper series turned me into a cigarette-smoking, binge-drinking, crowbar-swinging football firm fighter screaming Sex Pistols lyrics at the top of my lungs while stealing an old woman's purse and/or cat printed alongside a Page 3 Girl. (Around here we call that Saturday night.) Too bad it's not open to the rest of the commonwealth.
... Like some friggin' toddler is going to talk about how she played Elmo's ABC's, somehow LOST the game, and smacked her mother's foot with a rattle out of frustration.
Seriously, the newspaper that's trying to press this kind of crap needs to smacked upside the head half a thousand times with a copy of their paper rolled into a tube.
"GTA is an adult's only game, this child is 6"
I parked on double yellow lines yesterday!
Im so ashamed, I wouldn't ever have done it if I hadn't played GTA!!!
Video games made me jaywalk, tear tags off of matresses, download MP3s from the internet, cheat on my taxes, willfully ignore Valve's licensing agreement, and illegally modify an X-box console or two. Can I get paid for that?
Maybe John Bruce can contact them and explain how video games started him on a downward spiral that led to him slandering judges, sending libelous "press releases", crippling email servers, and culminated in the murder of an innocent fax machine. After all, he could probably use the money, I hear he will be out of a job soon.
Haha, I have that t-shirt.
Gift.
Monkey Island was my downfall! Yes, too late did I learn the hard lesson: you can't win a fight with insults. The police clearly didn't know the rules and, worse, didn't appreciate me telling them that they fought like a cow.
Gift.
This time it's the Byron Report -- so games will be hot for a week or two, then forgotten until the next time a kid gets murdered.
It might be the only money he makes for the next few years, so he should jump on it now.
its mindless sensationalism, no worse than over there, like most similar issues not many people care hence the papers try and sensationalise it for a cheap story.
I don't imagine the sentiment in the UK is not really different in the UK compared to anywhere else in Europe. The UK media has long tradition of pushing stories which they perceive as being the current 'hot-topic'. At the moment that appears to be youth crime and violent teenagers. The Byron Review has is now mired up in the debate.
As the Review didn't help them push the 'games/kids are evil' line they are looking to rubbish it through sensational 'real world' examples of games ruining lives.
I'd be amused if he did, our slander/libel laws are positively draconian I'm sure he'd get his arse sued off for demonstrably false comments like "Columbine simulator".
Otherwise yeah like the others say, I don't think there's a moral panic outside of a few news papers really. It's always short live though, the Daily Mail has so many things to hate it can't devote much time to video games. :D
Gift.
And they try to call us the paid shills....
Says it all really....
"We'll pay big money to blame your crimes on someone else!" Like the burgler who sues the homeowner for his sprained ankle during the heist.
Think I'll move to Canada...
I guess new born babies can apply too? XD
- Warren Lewis
The truth is they are probably already getting a ton of submissions claiming that "Pack-Man" lead to their drug problem or "Mortal Combat" has lead them down the wrong path. By asking for the stories this way, they distance themselves from the source and can print anything without consequences. Same way tabloids here in the states can claim that Oprah is pregnant with Elvis' baby every other week.
Especially as it's centred on a site specifically tailored to the 'Me! Me!' section of the population.
It won't stop, but I really thing it won't change anything either, the Press is under a lot more pressure about their effect on people's lives with Paparazzi etc than Video Games are in the UK, and I doubt a distraction technique would work.
Now if someone could arrange for that add to be mentioned on the BBC news now newspaper in the UK would ever dare publish a "Games made me do it" piece ever again. :)
I dunno, he'd do well in the House of Commons, I think. That place is a bar brawl half the time anyway.
This crap is why games get a bad rap, seriously.
He'd be looking at the inside of a call within weeks with some of the comments he's made about various sections of society. ;)
Thanks for the link to the GTA shirt
thats a good thing with the house of commons, other politicians can, in more polite words, tell people to shut up and stop being an idiot on the floor if theyre being idiots.
All it takes is someone else more informed on the matter to quiet sensationalists.
"this british paper has testimonies about the evil influence of videogames!!"
"but sir, isn't that a tabloid?"
"SILENCE FOOL!! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!" *runs off to fax article to every person in his rolodex*
next heard: the death toll of fax machines everywhere.
LOL. Brawls in our house of commons sounds not withstanding, Jack would have to be elected before he could speak there without fear of the courts. Bored as we are with our politicians right now, we're not bored to the point of madness; Jack's got no chance. :p
Gift.
@ anele
I would think JT would do that, and that most people would go susidal at knowing their on his list of faxing( THE HORROR!)
"Yeah I uh played that uh game uh whaddyacallit...Steal My Car on the uh thing uh the uh Playcube."
Also, does it help that I don't do drugs, and instead of going out to bars getting drunk and getting a dui, I stay at my house and play games?
British Tabloid + mad gamers = email spaming = sucks to be you!
....I like the way you think my friend
Let me tell you a story about games man..
"Life had always been hard for me man, i walked the streets looking through every trash can for a scrap of food. Then one night videogames came by and changed my life for the better. Videogames let me into his house gave me food and shelter...he gave me love, videogames gave me a life beyond that of my hobo ancestors.I love you videogames"
Which part?
Video games made me a better man?
Video games made me spam your email?
I wonder if they will buy it.
Good idea.
Now let's find some other ludicrous ideas.
My brother has played Anarchy online and now is in prison for trying to set up a terrorist attack. Just like in the game.
@ Kerotan
As per Gabriel Knight 3, I have used cat hair and syrup to create a moustache that I use when renting bikes with a fake passport.
Clearly they've already decided what their article is going to say. What do you think this is, journalism?
No actor worth their salt would look for "work" on this site. The best they could *hope* for from those kind of sites is something good enough to put in a showreel to then use to get real acting work.
@GusTavToo
I've heard the Byron report be mis-represented in our british press. It was by the BBC of all places, albeit late at night & in one of those "new in 60 seconds" style bits, but the entirety of the story on the Byron report was "Computer games make children violent says a report by Dr Tanya Byron". I thought that here was another hack that learned to write before they learned to read.
It will be awesome! There will be cake! There will be some TV segment on the lack of research of the tabloid press (ironic, innit?)! There will be a tabloid guy going "oops" somewhere!
It will be awesome!
Take THAT you damn lobsterbacks!
It's not lately, our press has been crap for years. Also, if I told you a substantial portion of our news papers were owned by Rupert Murdoch would things start to make sense?
Seriously if you want to see irresponsible journalism check out our tabloids, even those that aren't owned by Murdoch have a seriously chequered history.
Gift.
GP - I want that SHIRT!
"It will be awesome! There will be cake! There will be some TV segment on the lack of research of the tabloid press (ironic, innit?)! There will be a tabloid guy going “oops” somewhere!"
The cake is a lie!
Who made you kill those three cops in Alabama... May be Blackmesa. That was a joke... ha. ha... Fat chance.
Hey, don't you be railing on us Playcube users! And Steal My Car is AWESOME!!
hehe
Which paper is unimportant though.. it'll be one read by right wing middle classes who think that they are thinking independently, opposing a horrible corporate industry which profits from the corruption of children.
Yet they lack the mental capacities to examine their own media influenced stance on the subject. While in the UK religion is not such a major force in convincing our conservatives to oppose games, moral panic seems to be far more prevailent here.
In any case, I'd like to see someone write in saying that playing the criminal career path in The Sims inspired them to become a bank robber.
Hmmm, maybe I should submit one based on all those cheesy internet and virtual reality movies out there....
The scary thing is that half of the suggestions in this thread are pretty much the same thing I got banned for a while back. I suggested the creation of a hysterical anti-gaming article where we would collect every cliche into one absurd narrative and send it to the press just to see if anyone would actually buy it.
The thing thats even MORE scary is that this shit is actually REAL. Is this a recent thing & just for games or did they have a "Send us your stories of one night stands with princess di" or "Tell us how the cast of emmerdale molested your dog" requests?
I wonder if this is what they are thinking of?
Gift.
Gift.
Or should I send in my story about how World of Warcraft made me lose hours of sleep regularly? I doubt they'll find that one very interesting though. "Games cause insomnia! They must be banned!"
"Please note: To take part, your story must not incriminate yourself or any other person."
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