What is the best way to handle a news story about an adult-themed Kinect game you might have seen on YouTube? Create a report about it where parents are concerned about their kids playing it. Forget for a minute that it's not actually available on a regular retail Xbox 360 with a Kinect, or that it is basically just a video floating around YouTube..
That is exactly what Martina Valverde, Morning News Reporter at KFox TV in El Paso, Texas did in a report called Adult Video Game In The Works For Kinect System Has Parents Concerned. In the report, she apparently brings the video of an adult groping game to the attention of parents who have a five-year-old son. The son got the game system for Christmas.
They are now worried that the new game from ThriXXX will somehow be purchased by their son, even though the report states that the game is the result of a hack (on the PC), there's no code available for it yet, and the game has been shot down by Microsoft as not appropriate for their service..
Angelica Valverde, the mom in the story, notes that anyone can get online with the Xbox 360 and Kinect and that they will now have to constantly monitor their son's activities on Xbox 360. They are also concerned that he may purchase something for adults.
You can read the whole thing here, but it is all pretty silly.
Comments
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
This article is hilarious! What's most amazing is that the author and the mother (no doubt sisters) don't know the difference between the game and the device for playing the game(Kinect), let alone the fact that there are regulations and controls to stop kids from getting hold of inappropriate games. Here are my favourite quotes;
"You see the commercials on the Disney channel on Nickelodeon of course they're going to want them."
Commercials for Kinect, and games like Kinect Sports, but not this game. If it were, it would not be allowed (should anyone want to try and market this to kids in the first place).
"Edwin's grandfather, Martin, who purchased the Kinect, nervously laughed as he watched a preview for the new adult game ..."If you notice it's only one hand so I figure the other one is busy," said Martin."
£5 says he bought the Kinect with an ulterior motive of playing the game himself. Parents: If you want that kid to remain undamaged, keep him away from your dirty old dad!
"Microsoft issued a statement saying they would block the game from being released ... It is still not comfort enough for the Valverde's."
No! It isn't enough that the game will never be published!
"Anybody can get on-line with the XBOX360," said Angelica."It's a possibility he could be able to buy it without me actually knowing.”
Well, it's not a possibility since it will never be published on XBLM, but if it were, then perhaps what's needed is some sort of parental control system...
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
...Or some sort of video game ratings system so parents can tell if a game has such content should Microsoft relent and release the game...
"Power means nothing without honor and pride."
Atlanta Video Games Examiner for examiner.com
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
"and that they will now have to constantly monitor their son's activities on Xbox 360"
Aren't you supposed to do that, like all the f*cking time?
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
I'm sure this would be more interesting use of Kinect for indie developers hoping to use some low cost mo-cap technology.
www.youtube.com/watch
www.youtube.com/watch
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
Even if this were an actual game (it's not), and even if it were available on XBox360 (it never will be), and even if the kid got his hands on it, SO WHAT?
It's a game where you touch a female image's boobs. That's all! Anyone getting upset about little Billy pretend-groping a consenting game character needs a reality check. Little Billy has a REAL life in which worse things are potentially going to happen to him or be done by him: bullying, drug abuse, date rape, etc. A game where little Billy masturbates to what is essentially an interactive Victoria's Secret catalogue should not be among a parent's concerns. If it is, then the parent needs to see a therapist.
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
If there's any group worse than the national media at handling these stories, it's one's local media.
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
wait.. so they weren't going to monitor the kids activity on the console to begin with?
real smart.. a 5yo + kinect games + no supervision idea = probably a lot of damage if any kid i've ever known is an example to be used.
to boot, even if the game was allowed, there are umm.. parental controls people! they really are not that hard to use.
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
If little Edwin finds out for himself how to get the Kinect drivers for PC, finds and buys that crappy game and has enough alone time to actually play it without his mother noticing anything, I think that family has more things to worry about.
Besides, if he was gonna go through that much trouble, he'd probably have found a free porn site already and been done with it.
Of course, now his mom's gonna stand behind him with a worried look while he plays, expecting a porn pop-up to appear. The child will start to feel worried himself every time he wants to play a game.
Anyone else thinking what I'm thinking? That maybe this kind of frightened diligence will do more harm than good?
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
"Oh, no! Now we HAVE to do our job as parents! Damn you, ThriXXX!"
It's amazing how far parents will go so that they don't have to be parents.
"Power means nothing without honor and pride."
Atlanta Video Games Examiner for examiner.com
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
Wait. So a five year old kid is going to grab his wallet and drive down to Gamestop to pick up a game which pretty much doesn't officially exist? Yeah, they have a pretty low faith in their own parenting skills. I guess I have a low faith in thier skills now as well, but for a different reason.
-Ultimately what will do in mankind is a person's fear of their own freedom-
Re: Kinect, Sex Games, and Your Local News
(new technology gets introduced to kids)
Parent: "Great, now I have more stuff to figure out."
(new technology gets introduced at work)
Employee: "Great, now I have more stuff to figure out."
GameSnooper