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Ceri JC
from Jefferson City (United States) on 2003-12-12 02:34 [#00987729]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag
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...depths of idiocy:
Rockstar to release a new version of their blockbusting GTA3 follow-up after criticism, complaints and the threat of a lawsuit.
Will the controversy surrounding Vice City ever end? As if not content with everything that has been said and written about the game since it first dominated the sales charts, the American media has driven Take Two to editing all future copies of the title.
This time there were claims that the game incited racial violence by asking the player to 'Kill all the Haitians' in one mission. Not any old Haitians, some evil drug-dealing Haitians. It could have been any racial group - the fact that they happened to be from Haiti is not important here.
Undeterred by the fact that they were reaching new levels of mass stupidity by taking the whole thing entirely out of context, Haitian-American groups got New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to threaten Take Two with legal action of they didn't remedy the situation. To their eternal credit, Take Two resisted the urge to stick two fingers up at the whole situation, pointed out that it was rated 'M' and intended for actual grown-up people. They then apologised for any anguish caused and promised to edit all future copies of the game.
So look out for the new version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soon, where we're sure you'll enjoy attempting the mission 'Kill all the Generic Evil Bad Guys Who Bare No Resemblance to any Racial Group or Stereotype.' Sounds fun.
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jonesy
from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2003-12-12 03:06 [#00987740]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker
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If it said "Kill all the Americans" there'd be cries of Anti-Americanism, which is surely the most dangerous and pervasive prejudice in the world right now.
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The_Funkmaster
from St. John's (Canada) on 2003-12-12 03:06 [#00987741]
Points: 16280 Status: Lurker
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lol... who really cares? If some game came out saying all Canadians were psychopaths or some shit, I wouldn't care... I'd find it funny!
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The_Funkmaster
from St. John's (Canada) on 2003-12-12 03:07 [#00987744]
Points: 16280 Status: Lurker | Followup to The_Funkmaster: #00987741
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and heh, it wasn't even saying all haitans were drug dealers... so yeah, it's pretty stupid! :)
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jonesy
from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2003-12-12 03:11 [#00987749]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker | Followup to The_Funkmaster: #00987741
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But how many Canadians experience racism? If this said "Kill all the Jews" I wonder what people would think.
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Q4Z2X
on 2003-12-12 03:12 [#00987751]
Points: 5264 Status: Lurker
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they will probably just change it to "kill the illegal mexican immigrants" "or ruthlessly club the african american-maybe possible drug dealer" and then just sell the game to be used as a police-training simulation..
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The_Funkmaster
from St. John's (Canada) on 2003-12-12 03:22 [#00987760]
Points: 16280 Status: Lurker | Followup to jonesy: #00987749
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I guess... but I guess the fact of the matter is that those Central American countries are big for drugs, and so for this game using a country like Haiti would seem realistic...
like if you were going to make a game about Nazi's and stuff, you set it in Germany... where else are you going to have it take place? Shrug...
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jonesy
from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2003-12-12 03:26 [#00987769]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker | Followup to The_Funkmaster: #00987760
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Oh, so North America has fuck all to do with drug dealing I suppose?
The use of the words "Kill all the Haitians" is dodgy too.
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The_Funkmaster
from St. John's (Canada) on 2003-12-12 03:37 [#00987773]
Points: 16280 Status: Lurker | Followup to jonesy: #00987769
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heh, I don't know! :)
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The_Funkmaster
from St. John's (Canada) on 2003-12-12 03:39 [#00987774]
Points: 16280 Status: Lurker
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what I really meant was that central america seems like the main place where all the drugs are grown and stuff, and smuggled to Miami or something... so I don't know, Central America always seems to be this big huge place where all these drug kingpins hang out... but I don't know, maybe I'm talking out of my ass! :)
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jonesy
from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2003-12-12 03:40 [#00987775]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker | Followup to The_Funkmaster: #00987774
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Sure, but there are the drug dealers in the US who then deal with it when it arrives on shore. Why is it the south Americans who get tagged as the drug barons?
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Ceri JC
from Jefferson City (United States) on 2003-12-12 05:17 [#00987856]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag
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In the GTA games, all the crime families are of different ethnicities:
There are italian mafioso, Yardies (jamaican gangsters), Haitians, Triads, Yakuza, etc.
Upon reflection, the haitians are the only ones refered to (directly) by their ethnicity, despite all the other names being for criminals of a particular ethnicity. Do you think there would of been the outcry if there was a name for haitian gangsters the way triads refers to the chinese etc?
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_user
from rostov-on-don (Russia) on 2003-12-12 05:22 [#00987862]
Points: 1260 Status: Regular
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political correctness is a really funny thing imho......
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Ceri JC
from Jefferson City (United States) on 2004-01-08 10:24 [#01023374]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag
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Update:
"Not happy with the removal of the offensive 'kill all Haitians' line, Haitian civil rights groups are seeking to ban Vice City outright.
You may remember the fuss kickstarted by the Haitian civil rights groups a few weeks back, who took an objection to the instruction 'kill all Haitians' in a mission on the marvellous Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Obviously, this was taken completely out of context, the player was NOT instructed to kill ALL Haitians, only a certain group of very bad, drug dealing Haitians. Anyway, even though Rockstar have removed the offending line from all future copies of the game, the fist-shaking moanies still want the game removed from retail and are seeking $15,000 in damages.
The furore caused by the 'kill all Haitians' line has caused Rockstar and parent company Take-Two Interactive all sorts of problems. The statement has caused public rebukes of the company from both New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Anti-Defamation League - the New York Post even went as far as suggesting Vice City was "10,000 times worse than the worst thing anybody thinks Michael Jackson ever did to a little boy." What. On earth. Were they thinking?
The case will be up before a district court in the coming months soon, where it'll be decided whether Rockstar ever had the right to put a line like 'kill all Haitians' in the game in the first place. Us? Seeing as we're not gun-toting psychos who are unable to distinguish between a videogame and the real world, we'll happily pop Vice City back into our PS2 (and Xbox, from today)."
Hmm, seems a bit unfair that the money only goes to a small number of the Haitians- shouldn't they all get a cut if it is their race that is offended?
In answer to Jonsey's question... Jewish gangsters probably haven't appeared in a GTA game yet not because Rockstar care about offending people (their latest game is about snuff movies!), but simply because they're too boring. Of all gangster stereotypes, jewish gangsters are almost indisting
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Ceri JC
from Jefferson City (United States) on 2004-01-08 10:27 [#01023376]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Ceri JC: #01023374 | Show recordbag
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indistinguishable from Mafioso apart from their faith, so much so that it would cause problems in a game of this sort. Also, they're the least likely to engage in open street battles. White collar crime makes for fascinating film and book plots, but isn't really much cop in a game like this. What's more entertaining, running over a load of triads and grabbing a briefcase full of heroin and riding out of china town or walking through the CBD and exchanging a briefcase of cash for some insider information with a man on a park bench?
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Cfern
from Sacto (United States) on 2004-01-08 16:07 [#01023976]
Points: 1384 Status: Lurker
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. haiti was the second country in the western hemispere after the us to gain independence from european powers and yet they are now the poorist nation in the western hemiphere. then you say something like damn hatians are poor and people say your a racist.
that had no relavence
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japes
from Suriname on 2004-01-08 17:32 [#01024108]
Points: 520 Status: Lurker
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People get so worked up about minor details. That's what offends me more than anything.
It's the same mindset as the people who read the Daily Mail. Grow up, get a sense of humour and get your own opinions.
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