The clash of politics and video games

The U.S. Supreme Court today heard arguments on the constitutionality of a California law that would ban the sale of violent video games to minors.
The timing is perfect, seeing how it’s also Election Day.
Politicians love to pick on video games, especially those with violent or sexual content. They say these games are corrupting our youth. It’s one of those family values-type issues that they think sells well to voters.
You’d think with high unemployment, a crushing federal debt and other major problems, they’d have more pressing issues to deal with.
Video games already have an industry ratings system in place, just like the movies, and retailers like GameStop and Toys R Us do an excellent job preventing minors from buying Mature video games. Plus, parents have to take responsibility for what their kids are playing on their game consoles and PCs.
During oral arguments today, Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical of the California video game law, according to Bloomberg and the New York Times.
So, in honor of Election Day, here are some video games that feature politicians as playable characters.
Up top are President Barack Obama and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as killers in “Mercenaries 2: World In Flames.” (See Vanity Fair article.) The Electronic Arts game is rated T for teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.
Below is a screenshot of Obama and Vice President Joe Biden as basketball players in EA’s “NBA Jam.” The game also features Palin, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, George W. Bush, John McCain and Dick Cheney, among others. (See Huffington Post article.) The game is rated E for everyone.
And finally Obama and other world leaders appear in the PC game “Rulers of Nations: Geopolitical Simulator 2” from Eversim. It’s rated T for teen.

Nerf: Training tomorrow’s soldiers

Toy weapons are filling children’s TV commercials and toy store newspaper ads this holiday season.
Hasbro’s Nerf division is leading the assault with ads showing kids firing automatic weapons that shoot spongy projectiles. These kids look like they’re getting ready for combat in Afghanistan or Iraq. Just trade the foam Nerf bullets for the real thing.
Also, McDonald’s is giving out Nerf weapons in its Happy Meals now.
Toys R Us has its own line of foam dart guns, including the Air Zone Punisher Gatling Blaster.
Is this part of some covert plot to train our kids for military service?
Of course not. Toy makers simply are filling a need young boys have to play army or cops and robbers.
The pendulum has swung away from the days when parents refused to give their kids toy guns. Those parents didn’t want to glamorize guns or desensitize their children to them.
It’s only a matter of time before parents get up in arms again about the proliferation of toy guns. Kids will complain then. But the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution doesn’t give kids the right to bear toy arms.

Photos, from top to bottom:
Nerf N-Strike Recon CS-6
Nerf N-Strike Longshot CS-5
Air Zone Punisher Gatling Blaster from Toys R Us. (Check out the grin on the kid gripping that toy Gatling gun!)

Nerf: From sports to military training tools

Toys have changed a lot since I was a kid growing up in the ’70s. Back then Nerf toys were soft foam basketballs and footballs designed for safe, indoor play.
Today, Nerf is about weaponry – guns that shoot foam bullets and darts. Some look like guns Arnold Schwarzenegger might have used in one of his testosterone-fueled action movies.
Take the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25, which has a list price of $43. Toy maker Hasbro describes it as “the ultimate in battery-powered blasting.” Fully automatic, the Nerf gun holds up to 25 darts and can fire up to three darts per second. You can buy extra 25-dart ammo belts so you don’t run out of ammunition to shoot at your friends.
Hasbro carpet-bombed the newspaper circulars with ads for its Nerf weaponry, which runs from handguns to missile launchers. Sure, they only fire spongy projectiles, but I can’t help but think that we could be training the next generation of soldiers with these toys, designed for ages 6 and up.
The tech toys for kids today also are pretty cool. I especially like the spy gear.
With the EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles, kids can reenact the climactic scene from “The Silence of the Lambs.” On second thought, that’s a bad idea.
With the night vision goggles from Jakks Pacific, kids can see up to 50 feet in complete darkness. The product lists for $79.99, but was selling for $59.99 at Toys “R” Us on Christmas Eve.

The day after Christmas: A second-chance Black Friday

Retailers are having a tough go of it this year. So in an effort to salvage the Christmas selling season, many stores are having big sales the day after Christmas. Some are calling this Friday, a second Black Friday.
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, got its name because it was the date historically when many retailers turned a profit or, in accounting lingo, went into the black. But with many retailers still seeing red, stores have decided another round of door-buster deals were in order.
Kohl’s, Macy’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods were among the retailers with newspaper supplements advertising big sales for the day after Christmas this year.
Among electronics retailers, GameStop, RadioShack and Toys “R” Us were trumpeting major sales.
GameStop spotlighted the red-hot category of music video games on the cover of its newspaper supplement. It’s offering bundles for Viacom and EA’s “Rock Band 2” and Activision’s “Guitar Hero: World Tour.” The sets feature guitar, drum and microphone peripherals along with the actual game for wannabe rock stars.
GameStop is charging $169.99 for its “Rock Band 2” bundle for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 console. That’s $20 off, or 11% less than the regular price of $189.99. The “Guitar Hero: World Tour” band kit for Xbox 360, PS3 and Nintendo’s Wii console sells for $189.99.
GameStop obviously is looking for shoppers to cash in gift cards on those pricey sets.
RadioShack and Toys “R” Us are smartly targeting people who just received portable devices, like Apple iPods and Nintendo’s DS game machine. Both are selling accessories on discount.
They are offering deals on MP3 music player accessories such as cases, chargers, earbuds, FM transmitters and speaker docks. Toys “R” Us is advertising sales of camera cases, GPS accessories, and video game software and controllers.
With a nod to the coming digital television transition, RadioShack is promoting digital-to-analog converter boxes.
“Hurry – Just a few short weeks until the switch to 100% digital TV,” the ad says. “If you have an analog TV and use a rooftop antenna or rabbit ears, you must take action before February 17, 2009, to continue receiving TV broadcasts. Visit your local RadioShack now for the latest information and the gear you’ll need.”
RadioShack is selling a converter box for $59.99. With a $40 government coupon available from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the final cost is just $19.99. Visit the TV Converter Box Coupon Program Web site.
Converter box sales have been very important to RadioShack lately.
“The sales generated by converter boxes significantly contributed to our results during the last two quarters and also illustrates RadioShack’s reputation for helping our customers choose the best personal technology solutions that meet their needs,” RadioShack CEO Julian Day said in a statement Oct. 23.
Despite a difficult economic environment, RadioShack’s sales rose 6% to $1.02 billion in the third quarter from the same period a year ago. In the second quarter, sales were up 6% to $995 million.
Those year-over-year sales gains followed seven straight quarters of declining sales.

Tis the season for out-of-control shoppers

The Christmas shopping season kicked off with three deaths in two separate incidents at stores holding early-morning sales on Black Friday. Merry Christmas, everyone!
A worker at the Wal-Mart store in Valley Stream, N.Y., was trampled to death by out-of-control shoppers who broke down the doors at a 5 a.m. sale. Other workers were injured as they tried to rescue the man. Shoppers stepped over the victim on the ground and streamed into the store. Customers shouted angrily and kept shopping when store officials told them the store was closing because of the death, the Associated Press reported.
At the Toys “R” Us in Palm Desert, Calif., shoppers ran for cover when two men shot and killed each other in the store, press reports said. Joy to the world! (Photos by AP, see links.)
Last year, there were only sporadic conflicts and violence among shoppers on Black Friday, according to Cnet. But in 2006, there were numerous reports of crowds getting violent at post-Thanksgiving sales.
Good news for shoppers who didn’t get the big deals on Friday: Many stores are planning doorbuster sales on Saturday too.