I think this is a hugely important article given the cross-examination being given to videogames currently: Licensed images of guns appear in games with the hope of selling more guns.

“It is hard to qualify to what extent rifle sales have increased as a result of being in games,” says Ralph Vaughn, the man who negotiates deals with game developers for Barrett. “But video games expose our brand to a young audience who are considered possible future owners.”

That’s not the best picture to be painted…

The use of fabricated gun names was acceptable in the fictional universe of James Bond [in Goldeneye], where a licence to kill did not rely upon licensing. But for those games based around real armed forces, the inclusion of brand names was necessary to remain faithful to the source material.

Today licensed weapons are commonplace in video games, but the deals between game makers and gun-manufacturer are shrouded

Hmm.

Parkin, Simon. “Shooters: How Video Games Fund Arms Manufacturers” (Eurogamer: Jan 29, 2013) <http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-01-shooters-how-video-games-fund-arms-manufacturers>.

Patrick Stafford has launched a new podcast all about writing about videogames. He seeks to probe the lives of interviewees—game journalists—to find what makes them tick. And, along the way, they avoid the “game journalism is broken” nonsense that plagues every conversation ever about games writing.

Give it a listen if you’re interested in games writing. Simon Parkin—you’ve heard of him, right?—is the first guest!

We don’t know how the prosecution intend on going after Anders Breivik after his appalling massacre, but in their opening remarks, they linger on his playing of World of Warcraft. So, once again, videogames are cast in a negative light.

Simon Parkin weighs in on the topic for The Guardian, offering a look at other cases (Columbine) as well as noting inconclusive studies linking games with violence. Here’s but one quote of a great read:

But it’s difficult to imagine World of Warcraft could “train” a person for any acts of violence, other than perhaps suggesting that murdering swamp rats is an effective way to pay for some fur-lined boots. More importantly, for many of its 10 million monthly subscribers, it’s an experience that creates community, provides the lonely with a virtual family and promotes teamwork and competition

Parkin, Simon. “Don’t blame video games for Anders Behring Breivik’s massacre” (The Guardian: April 23, 2012) <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/22/video-games-anders-breivik-massacre?>.

We spotted this thanks to the legendary @kierongillen, and think it’s quite brilliant. Part of that is that Jenova Chen, subject of the interview, is brilliant in his own right:

“But listen: none of us was born to be an asshole,” he says. “I believe that very often it’s not really the player that’s an asshole. It’s the game designer that made them an asshole. If you spend every day killing one another how are you going to be a nice guy? All console games are about killing each other, or killing one another together… Don’t you see? It’s our games that make us assholes.”

There’s also a sense of deja vu in the article, where Parkin comes full circle from his introduction. How he weaves the interview together is straightforward, but all the same masterful. We think you should give it a read.

Pack up your bags, folks, and head home because Simon Parkin is out to take all your jobs. Why do I say that? Because of introspective lines like this:

Sakaguchi resolved to try one last project in the emerging genre that first attracted him to the industry. He wrote the design document for Final Fantasy, labelling the project with a name that reflected the fact he expected this to be his final video game project, his first and last story.

It wasn’t. Final Fantasy launched with perfect timing, riding the swell of RPG popularity kicked up by Black Onyx (the first Japanese RPG, introduced to the country by Bulletproof Software’s Henk Rogers) and Enix’s own Dragon Quest. Final Fantasy found a vociferous following, first in Japan, then in America following the release of Final Fantasy 6 and, finally, in Europe following the release of Final Fantasy 7.

Parkin, Simon. “Hironobu Sakaguchi: Fantasy Man” (Eurogamer: February 27, 2012) <http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-27-hironobu-sakaguchi-fantasy-man>.