This link makes me want to strangle someone, but of course, that'd only prove to these people that video games are just creative ways to kill people (and have alien sex).

There is a very well written six-comment-long comment nearly at the bottom. But at the rate that's gaining comments (due to Penny Arcade linking to it), it'll be buried soon.

The entire thing is just sad, and what's worse is people that don't play these games will believe what he says, so that some parent out there who has read this is disallowing their teenage child from playing a wonderful space RPG on the grounds that Mass Effect is some kind of porno.

, they're onto us.

Seriously, though, that is one of the dumbest things I have read outside of these forums. Mass Effect is nowhere near as bad as he makes it sound. Even if it was, though, sane kids/people wouldn't be negatively affected by some shagging, and we have worse things to worry about than videogames with insane kids/people.

whats wrong with alien sex?

and here I thought Jack Thompson wrote that article.

The best way to get a kid to elevate something is to tell him how terrible and horrible for him it is. Yay for these articles! They make video games more popular, and kids find more interesting ways to play them!

The game is rated M and should therefore not be worrying about a parent not letting their teenager play the game.

Its not rated T for a reason.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone from mass effect asked him to write this piece to boost up sales

I find it interesting that our culture has this huge stigma on sex; we must hide it from view, we must never talk about it, because once a teenage finds out what that thing between his legs does he will start raping every woman he sees...

Odd then that people don't think the same about killing. The most popular games seem to be FPS, yet how many young people grow up and actually start sniping people from rooftops or walking into a mall with guns blazing? Out of the two, I think out-of-control violence is far, far deadlier than sex.

Its a shame that people don't even know what the stigma is anymore!

The stigma is not that you will go raping people, the stigma is that you will be having sex with people you only have a passing caring for and will base your idea of a good relationship on it.

Everyone knows that murder is wrong and killing is something you don't do. Not everyone knows that having random sex with people will ruin your ability to have more satisfying long term relationships. (as witnessed by the people who are shocked when it happens to them)

The apparnelty subtle idea of sex being good in private, but not in public is lost on Americans. (hence why others go overboard about sex in the media, but not about violence in the media)

I give the same response then that I gave when people told me the Golden Compass would corrupt kids: parents need to step the f up. If a kid doesn't know that casual sex is not a good thing, who failed to teach him? Schools here can barely tell a child they are wrong for attacking a teacher let alone instruct them in sexual morality. The Government keeps giving parents more and more reasons to do nothing by absolutely regulating everything. Sex ed, what to watch, what to listen to, what to believe; it is all the parents' responsibility, and this case just shows that once again parents are not going to be responsible.

And now that I've read more of the comments, this entire hubbub is over ONE erotic, but not overly erotic sex scene? This is ridiculous...

Jack Thompson is a horses ass. I'm glad I'm old enough to buy M-rated games so I don't have to care what he thinks

Agreed. I'm glad I'm immoral enough to know how to use the internet to get games so I don't have to care what he thinks.

This (being anti public exposure to sex in entertainment for kids) has been the societal policy for well over 100 years. It has little to do with government regulation.

edit: Also, no amount of parenting or talking to someone is going to change the effect that watching erotic material has. You watch it, you enjoy it, you want it. Parents can talk thier mouths off about the dangers or why it is or isn't good. Its not going to change the fact that a large portion of people who see erotic material want to emulate it.

Why would you have to care what he thinks if you were 10 years old exactly?

And its not even Jack Thompson who wrote this.

'cause then his parents would have more of an influence and if they were swayed by J.T's rubbish he wouldn't be able to play a variety of decent games.

I know Jack Thompson didn't write it, but I still think he's a horses ass

If your parents are influenced by an article that says a game is all about sex, when in fact it isn't, then you have larger issues to worry about.

I'm not arguing that there should be no limitation on sex put out there in the public eye for all to see; there's a line between moderation and irresponsibility, and that crosses it. I'm arguing that something so insignificant as this erotic scene (which, from people who've actually researched the game, isn't anything at all like what can be seen on network TV) shouldn't be getting the overreaction it's getting simply because it involves a mature theme (hence the M rating, which the author completely ignores).

The trend is to shelter kids from absolutely everything and pamper them to death-- hence the boy in school who is absolutely uncontrollable because he's never been told no and the girl who can't go to a friend's birthday party because the parents don't know the parents, even though the parents are going to be there. I've always believed that the most active people in a child's life should be the parents, followed by the teachers (and religious leaders, for those who have religion as a part of their lives). Don't bombard the kids with mature material, of course! But kids will eventually learn all of this stuff, and it is up to the parents first and foremost to make sure they learn it in a responsible and safe manner.

I wouldn't buy this game for my little cousins, if because of the M rating if nothing else. Any parent that lets their kid buy an M rated game has forfeited their right to complain about the content. I once saw a person rant on and on about the game Indigo Prophecy. They said they were playing it with their little brother, and near the end of the game there is a sex scene that is a cut scene that looks like it would be from a movie PG-13 to R rated-- don't see anything, very little body, and certainly no pornographic elements. This person was horrified that his little brother saw it, and blamed the game.

Those that posted after him were quick to point out that the game was rated M and said "Sexual themes" on the box, so his little brother shouldn't have been playing anyway; and that the game begins with a graphically depicted knife murder followed by more and more killing, but he didn't seem to have a problem with his brother seeing that. In fact, he said his brother was mature enough to handle brutal killing.

It all comes down to what we teach our kids and how we do it. We've managed to teach them that killing someone is fun and games in the virtual world, but not here. We need to do the same for seeing sex on TV or in movies.

Probably, but that sure doesn't help.

Bioware should sue. This is blatant libel, eh? Anyone who has actually played the game knows this.

Anyways, I think this guy is old news. More and more people are starting to recognize gaming as an art-form. It's quickly becoming the strongest medium for storytelling and entertainment. People like Jack Thompson and this dork are a dying breed. Worry not for gaming, I say.

Ok yeah. I wasn't talking about this article at all. I completely ignored it after I read the first paragraph and saw it had nothing to do with reality. I was just responding to your comment in general.