Katie Tandler | Life Section Manager

3/22/02

Most of you know that, in addition to several of my other Whim duties, I write the weekly Tech Section feature called "Submitted For Your Approval," in which several bizarre links from the web are presented for the reader's perusal. I've seen a lot of really twisted stuff in the course of my work for that feature. I thought I was no stranger to the disturbing.

All that changed yesterday, when, in the course of my daily browsings, I was led to one of the most mindblowing articles I'd ever laid eyes on.

Guardian Unlimited, a British site, had the following to say:

A computer games firm has been accused of pushing back the frontiers of bad taste after it announced that it was seeking to advertise its latest title on gravestones.

You read right, folks. Acclaim--the company behind such titles as Crazy Taxi, NBA Jam, the South Park games, Bust-a-Move, the Turok series, and many others--has attempted to launch an advertising campaign for its newest game, ShadowMan 2, by purchasing space on markers in British graveyards from the families of the deceased.

They apparently tried to justify it by explaining that the game was dark, gory, and death-oriented, thereby lending itself to this 'edgy', morbid campaign. The advertising firm also "insisted that it was a genuine offer" and claimed that the notion was valid.

The article goes on:
A London spokesman for Acclaim Entertainment, which is based in New York, said that was appreciated that people may find its advertising offer offensive but that others might see it as a good way of procuring "a subsidy to burial costs to give their loved one a good send-off". He rejected the suggestion it was a cynical media stunt.

No one has yet to volunteer and the firm said payments would be calculated with regard to the exposure potential of any particular headstone.

What. The. Hell.

It often seems melodramatic when one such as myself throws up their arms and exclaims "is there nothing left sacred?!", but in this case, it's meant literally. No matter how much our culture stresses "pushing the envelope," there is still a line to be crossed, and Acclaim and its advertising firm have undoubtedly crossed it.

What makes me even angrier is that this only helps to reinforce the public's negative views of the video game industry. Games are already condemned for promoting violence among youth (remember Columbine?), and there were even articles floating around about how commercial flight simulators may have aided terroritst in preparing for the attacks on September 11th. Yes, there are bad games out there. There are also countless movies and television shows that promote and glorify violence just as much, and they're much more easily accessible. Yes, some people who play video games commit acts of violence. But so do some people who go hunting, who go fishing, who play chess, who read Tolstoy, who teach school.

For every senselessly violent game on the market, there are several more that are harmless. Some--RPGs especially--verge on being downright intellectual, with a subtlety and complexity likened to works of literature. Whatever happened to the brighter, more innocent side of games we saw in Pokemon and the Mario games? There are good and bad sides to every form of media, and we need to learn to acknowledge them both.

I don't condone Acclaim's actions in any way, but when you think about it, profiting off death is nothing new. Never before has it been this direct, of course, but then again, if Acclaim hadn't tried this stunt, someone else inevitably would have. It's a grim statement, but in this day and age, can you deny it?

The article referred to can be found here.