Gaming's Dark Side: Bigotry and Intolerance Online

In November of ’07 I bought an Xbox 360. I was absent for the better part of last generation’s consoles so I don’t know how long this has or hasn’t been going on over the years, all I know is that I was exposed to it last November. I expected trash talk. I don’t mind trash talk and have been known to make a sailor blush on occasion myself but I can’t tolerate hate speech. I am intolerant to intolerance and I was totally unprepared for the bile that started spewing out of people’s mouths while playing online.

The N word is primarily used to two ways online. The first and most common usage appears to be (as Mr. Show put it) “white people co-opting black culture”. You know, middle class white kids saying things like “Yo, wat up nigga”. Pathetic and embarrassingly ignorant, this usage has become common in the last decade or so as hip-hop and “gangsta” culture has risen to soaring heights via Eminem, Snoop, McDonald commercials, and the like. These are just dumb white kids making themselves look painfully foolish while desperately trying to appear cool. The other usage is of the truly frightening kind; bigotry and hatred in its most basic form. This comes from people who hate an entire race of people for the plain and shallow fact that their skin is a different color. Or that they practice a different religion, or that they’re women. They have gamer tags such as “JewsAreGayyy”. In the world of Xbox live being gay is considered one of the very worst things a human being can be, they boast “I shot that nigger in the face”. Or the guy I heard that told his friend “Well, at least you’re not Jewish” or the man that told the woman on our team “Why don’t you just suck my mother-fucking cock you slut”.

Nothing is being done

Microsoft’s system for dealing with this problem is virtually non-existent. While it’s possible to file a complaint against someone for using hate speech or against someone who’s engaging in some other inappropriate behavior it’s practically useless because anyone can file a complaint against anyone else for any reason thereby rendering all complaints suspect. I don’t like you because you killed me a dozen times in a match and talked some smack? Fine, I’m going to file a complaint against you for using hate speech.

Only child predators are a potentially bigger problem than bigotry as online console gaming becomes a dominant and more mainstream form of entertainment and we all know that if sexual predators were as common as racists are on Xbox Live, Microsoft would throw its considerable and unmatched muscle at the problem. So why are sexual predators more likely to be given the attention they deserve while bigots are currently allowed to roam free? I think the truth is that, to them, one is acceptable while the other is not. God, I wish that weren’t true but I fear that it is. The reason why it’s flourishing in the online console gaming world is that nobody is stopping it.

The Solution

Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo need to send a clear message that hate will not be tolerated on their online services. I believe that moderators are the only realistic way to deal with the problem. Either hire people to do it or hand pick them from the Xbox live community (and perhaps pay them with free Xbox Live accounts and/or free downloads). Use hate speech once and get banned for a day. Use it again and get banned for a month. Use it again and get banned for life. The message would be quickly sent that it’s not in anybody’s interest to speak in this manner.

Ban someone based on their sign up info such as their credit card, address, phone number etc. Make it so they can’t just change their screen name. I have a feeling that once it gets out Microsoft is serious about this and that people are losing their online privileges for life we might eventually see an end to the hate speech online.

A friendly environment for all

Punishing violators doesn’t eliminate racism but it does make the online gaming environment a nicer place to be. An online gaming community should be a safe, fun place for everyone to enjoy, not just the profoundly ignorant. It is crucial that Microsoft, Sony, and others send the clearest and strongest possible message, that hate will not be tolerated. You cannot just give a chuckle and tell yourself “kids will be kids”.

Ninja Gaiden II Demo: A Love/Hate Thing

I've been looking forward to Ninja Gaiden II for quite awhile now. About a year. I didn't finish the Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox. I was waiting for #2 so they would fix that damn camera, right? I mean there was no doubt in my mind that the camera would be fixed. It's so frujeebly obvious. That they needed to fix the camera. In Ninja Gaiden. The camera needed fixing. Obviously. They're professional game designers! They KNOW the camera needs fixing. Right?

The camera in Ninja Gaiden II is worse.

The world is a very strange place. It is completely beyond my ability of comprehension to understand how the camera not only wasn't fixed but made worse.

Next point. The graphics. The screenshots leading up to the release of the game are just gorgeous. After playing the demo I have to say that that I was A LITTLE underwhelmed. The backgrounds and scenes stylistically remind me of one of my favorite games of all time Okami II (again with an odd, imperfect camera but miles better than the camera in NGII). The backgrounds and settings in the demo feel very "last generation" to me. The Characters look great. The characters and action look next-gen. It's an interesting combination that, if not wholly successful is not wholly unsuccessful either. It feels Japanese in that it has it's heart in the past while stepping into the future.

Now to the actual gameplay. Well, there's that aweful camera. Let's pretend for just a second that the awful camera isn't there. It's Awesome; incredibly addicting and engrossing and beautiful. And the blood. The beautiful blood and flying limbs and shooting blood. Like red paint being thrown straight from the bucket onto a wall. The gameplay. It's also frustrating. At times the game moves into a platforming style. I'm not into it. Or at least I'm not into the way it's done here. Let's just say the camera is problematic. Did I happen to mention that before? There's also an ability to zoom into first person. I found absolutely no use for this feature but it might be that there's no use for it in the demo level.

Overall I will say that there were times when playing the demo where I was completely wowed, entranced and thrilled. I'm going to buy this game which is something I rarely do. Buy games. For all it's flaws, and there are many, it's still a mesmerizing, awesome piece of action gaming. There's something about Japanese idiosyncratic style that I find magnetic and undeniable. And for better and for worse it's all here in NGII. While it's creator has stated that it's the last one in the series (and has quit and begun a lawsuit against his former bosses) I certainly hope that isn't the case. Cause I really want them to fix that Frebenhaphen camera!

Juggernaut Is Alive and Well

My unreliable source proved to be just that; unreliable. We all knew that juggernaut wasn't going to go anywhere but man, it sure felt good feeling that hope.

Karen Allen Superstar

How come Karen Allen didn't become a HUGE star? Not only was she more than a welcome sight in "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" but I just saw her again in Starman. She is just one of the most beautiful and interesting women to have ever graced the silver screen. I'm madly in love with her.

Call of Duty 4 Update Rumor! No More Juggernaut?!

just got it from totally unofficial source (a stranger I was playing with online) that there's going to be a huge CoD 4 update this Sunday (June 8th). According to my source the Juggernaut perk is going to be removed from the game as well as "Last Stand". I certainly hope not because while I hate juggernaut using tards on CoD4, I make a few extra bucks selling anti-juggernaut t-shirts.

I sincerely doubt the veracity of my dubious source's claim but in reality I would love to see all the little juggernaut using cry-babies go nuts when their worthless little perk gets kicked into oblivion. A man can dream can't he? Goodnight and Godspeed while I go rack up double xp!

No Failo 3 From Microsh*t

I am sad to report that I, as well as countless others, will not be getting our promised free copy of Halo 3 . The gist is this: Microsoft had what appears to be only a few hundred copies of Halo 3 available for the promotion (Switch an xbox live account from an original xbox to the 360 between Nov. 21 and Dec. 24th and get a free copy of Halo 3). After talking to XBOX customer service I found out that over 4000 people registered for the promotion; around 1000 qualified for the free copy of Halo 3. It was verified by 2 (or was it 3?) supervisors that I did qualify but they ran out of copies (while supplies last). The thing that gets my panties all twisted up in a knot is that I registered about a week after the promotion started (it ran about a month). I don't know how many copies they had to give a way but I'm thinking it's substantially less than a thousand. Offering a couple hundred free copies of Halo 3 at christmas time constitutes a drawing more than it does a promotion that's worded "Do "Y" and get "X" free!"Why couldn't Microsoft have worded their promotion something like this: “The First 500 people to transfer their original Xbox account to a new Xbox 360 will receive a free copy of Halo 3”? Because they wouldn't have sold FOUR THOUSAND XBOX 360's, that's why. This is such a scam on Microsoft’s part. By stating “Transfer your account…get a free copy…” you imply that there are more than just a hundred copies available. We’re talking about Halo 3 at Christmas time for cryin’ out loud! AND why they couldn't have told me this during my first call to customer service instead of 6 or 7 calls later? UGH! Ok, I have to finish packing for my move.

Oh Halo Where Art Thou?

The ongoing saga of my free Halo 3 game continues. To recap: For the holidays Microsoft ran this promotion: Switch an xbox live account from an original xbox to the 360 between Nov. 21 and Dec. 24th and get a free copy of Halo 3.

It's now Feb 8, 2008 and I've yet to recieve the game. I've called customer support 5 times and spent over two hours on the phone (mostly on hold). At first I believe there was a language barrier as I was unable to communicate clearly that I wasn't waiting for a "replacement disc" for a damaged disc I sent them. Over and over again I had to re-iterate that they, Microsoft, ran a promotion for which I was eligible. You can read my previous posts on this topic here at to find out more details on my previous attempts to correct the situation.

Here's the latest! Got a customer service rep named "Danielle" (which I don't believe was her real name due to the fact that she pronounced it two different ways). I give her a reference # for my previous call (with Jeff). She looks over what I childishly imagine is detailed information regarding my situation. She asks how she can help me; I tell her I still haven't recieved my copy of Halo 3 yet to which she replies "You haven't recieved your Halo 3 replacement disc?".

I slowly put the barrel of the gun in my mouth. I begin to pull the trigger...

I decide against the good 'ol U.S. of A's version of seppoku and continue my conversation with Danielle. I try my best to fill her in. She has no idea what I'm talking about. Promotion? She can barely pronounce the word let alone define it. I ask her if I can email her the link to the promotion's web page. She say's they cannot accept emails from customers. I spend the next several minutes trying to get her to this web site:

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/h/halo3/promotions/buyxboxgethalo.htm

Don't let ANYONE tell you that something is impossible. Because, by gum, we finally got her there! Here's where it gets interesting. She looks over the page for a few seconds and is now a veritable treasure trove of information regarding this promotion. Here's the long and short of it:

They ran out of discs and had to get more. The latest shipment of discs went out on the first of February and will probably be arriving by February 5th but for sure no latter than February 15th. If, by some act of God, my disc doesn't arrive by the 15th, I should not hesitate to call again.

I asked her, out of curiosity why had I been told on several different occasions that my disc would be arriving on several different dates. Her response was a kind of speaking in tongues. Instead of trying to bridge our communication barrior I was struck with the profound need to end the call and put my head in a vice.

More to follow.