EA Takes FOX News To Task Over Mass Effect

Jeff Cork from Game Informer writes:

"If you watched the recent FOX News piece about purported hard-core sex in EA's Mass Effect, it may have left you fuming. Between the inaccuracies, ignorance and misinformation, it showed yet again that it's virtually impossible to have a reasonable discussion about mature themes in video games within the constraints of a bite-sized news debate. If you count yourself among the peeved, you're in good company. Jeff Brown, EA's VP of communications, wrote a letter to Teri VanHorn, producer of Live Desk with Martha MacCallum, taking issue with the way Mass Effect was presented. Here's the virtual smackdown, in all its glory."

[Mr_Kuwabara]

Jeff Brown seems to be pretty pissed judging by his response...

OFF TOPIC: The servers seem to be fudged up today eh?

[rofldings]

don't worry, her book's still getting pwned on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/pr...

[resistance100]

Don't forget amazon.co.uk

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cul...

[switch-it]

For those who want to watch the show: http://youtube.com/watch?v=...

Too bad Geoff Keighley didnt get to defend the game that much, hes my new hero :D

[erx3]

Check out the 2nd picture that was added.

[G_CodeMonkey]

I agree. Keighley is usually a pandering tool (IMO), but he beat her over the head with the facts. Knowing she's cornered, she smiles and references "the experts" and some new study showing that youth can't tell the difference between real and videogames (my paraphrase).. Without seeing the study, I give it a few months before that one will be totally discredited by the scientific community, but unfortunately it will still be referenced by these yahoos. Their panel was a joke also. Not one of them could reference anything in the last decade about videogames, and even asked "what happened to PacMan?" -- fish in a barrel. gCM

[sticky doja]

FOX News + Cooper Lawrence = pwned!

[diatom]

You can't pay for this kind of advertising!!!! It's even on Fox news so it doesn't have to be true.

[pwnsause]

her book ranking was at 132 on Amazon, now its #190,868 in Books hAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAA TAKE THAT YOU DUMB

[wallace1000]

That is fantastic! I want to hear a response from her. Say you acted like a complete tool and we might stop posting bad reviews :-P

UPDATE: Her book is now ranked #209,473 :-D I love it

[Topbravo]

COOPER
[email protected]

PUBLICIST / TV APPEARANCES
Susan Blond Inc.
Jaime Cassavechia
Associate Vice President
Fifty West 57th Street
14th Floor
New York, NY 10019
T: 212.333.7728 ext. 108
F: 212.262.1373
[email protected]

[Texas GMR]

Her book looks like it's doing well on Amazon. LOL

I hate it when people make a comment on something they know nothing about. The round table was more like a circle jerk. What a bunch of idiots. They all want to act holier than thou on TV right before they head home and pick up their soft porn from Blockbuster. Give me a break.

Don't forget to keep those great book reviews come'n!

[SilverKiller]

i just want to see the response from fox and at least one apology :P

[dachiefsman]

I do as well but I am not holding my breath...

[InMyOpinion]

"Hi Jeff Brown!

Why don't you just shut up!

Sincerely, Bill O'Reilly"

[00]

Can't wait to see how this unfolds.

[Kyrue]

Thank you Jeff Brown for acting quickly.

[mighty_douche]

lame....

[Nevers]

When will the next gen Leisure Suit Larry come out... and whatever will they say ;-)

[bym051d]

EA? Isn't Mass Effect BioWare / Microsoft Game Studios? What does EA have to do with ME?

Edit: Oh yea, EA bought BioWare recently and therefore has some ownership of ME...

[Kururo]

i would like to see some legal actions here. bioware was small and probably wouldnt get into such legal entanglements if it didnt have to but EA is huge.

[Genuine]

I would say that they would have a very good chance at winning a slander and libel case.

[KyonoRocks]

Never thought I'd say this; Hurrah for EA!

[ravinash]

Yeah!....agreed.

[00]

if fox will do it.

[neogeo]

I would love to play it if they fix 360 I will buy it

[bootsielon]

I hope it isn't *yet*. FOX news can't get away with this. Did you see how these douchebags were discussing the game? How one of them said that the ESRB employees need a "head examination"? LOL, why don't YOU give a good look at the rating of the friggin' box instead, dumbass.

[G_CodeMonkey]

Sue'm 'til their eyes bleed!!!! Fox News' pandering to the lowest common denominator is why I can't stomach them.. gCM

[Bonsai1214]

i laughed at the limited knowledge of that psychologist lady..

[resistance100]

Good for EA.

However its not surprising that they defend there IP, after investing hundreds of millions on Bioware

[360CameFromHell]

I am really looking forward to what Fox is gonna say about this!!!
A public apology/explanation would be awesome.

Maybe from now on stupid people will think twice before saying any nonsense about gaming and gamers.

[Iron Man 2]

OMG you posted a similar news article almost two days ago Mr Kuwabara and someone else posted a similar one to yours almost two days ago also,who keeps approving this Mass Effect sex scene garbage?

[00]

The F**k out of these threads then because you have a choice NOT to read them.

[Method]

Kermit you're like a retarded puppy that runs up to an electrical fence to get shocked.

If you don't like these articles then don't click on them, idiot.

[diatom]

Anything that is remotely tangental to Boobies is automatically approved. A policy I heartily endorse.

[Dmack79]

However, anyone who argues about something that they have NO CLUE about, is just asking for it. She is clearly uneducated when it comes to the game industry.

[hydrog]

I would LOVE to not shower for a month and shove my smelly balls in that stupid whores mouth.

[InMyOpinion]

Add some urine in the mix and do it teabag style!

[BLUR111]

lol

[power of Green]

I wouldn't call an Adult game with two charactors kissing showing two heads over eachother hardcore sex.

[Bonsai1214]

i agree. its a freaking butt crack and a side boob. big whoop

[rofldings]

Agreed. However, I'm surprised you didn't try to blame this entire segment on Faux News as some conspiracy by "PS fanboys"

[InMyOpinion]

Actually, I think it's the lesbian part that's freaking them out.

[Tsalagi]

Are we actually rooting for EA? Maybe the Mayans were right.

[Dukester101]

EA actually did something right. I commend him for this, as it is very immature, naive and idiotic to air something that you know nothing about and then disgrace it on nation television.

I hope that FOX news responds to this, and if not, I think EA should file a lawsuit. Normally, I'd say that's stupid, but seriously... what is up with FOX and their bad press!?

[whengeeksgobad]

If they can pork up a story about a videogame so easily, what does it say about the news we get on a daily basis? Not that I've ever considered Fox to be a credible news source but it is a little food for thought.

[Genuine]

I can't watch FN, I get sick to my stomach. They are like the Sony Protection Group of the republican party. Extremist nuts. I used to be a republican, but after 8 years of George Bush's crooked a**, I felt ashamed. I am actually excited to finally have that f*cktard out of office.

[power of Green]

Where's the pounding doggy style gameplay, my experiance points must not be high enough...

[Genuine]

lol I've tried and tried and still can't talk that chic into doing anal.

[InMyOpinion]

All those things and more will be available in Mass Effect: Directors Cut. Dirty Sanchez, teabag, potatosack, the spanish chair, anal, sandwich, anal sandwich, cream pies etc. You will get to choose your action depending on the situation, and it will affect the outcome of the story.

[Genuine]

Don't forget the sidequests were you give out pearl necklaces, show off your fruit bowl, and take golden showers.

[karlostomy]

this thread is definitely NOT rated PG....

[ravinash]

Do you get any Xbox live achievements when you do that?
That'll be one to show off to your friends!

[Kugar77]

ive never played mass effect but the game looks fun and after finishing this letter, im incredibly pissed at the media and its ignorance. simply preposterous

[Jones Miller]

GO GO GO EA it´s not like you don´t have the money. You´d be well on you way to regain credibility.

[666 Death Valley]

Haven't played Mass Effect but it sounded like Jeff Brown pwned that b*tch.

[dragon376]

I am so annoyed seeing brainless reporter on TV talking about things they don't understand.
They really need to read this:
http://www.gamerevolution.c...

[witchking]

Thanks for that link. Great read.

[BLuKhaos]

Im surprised that those baboons over at FN got the name of console for the game right.

[tony]

such a airhead. all just for air time.

[montavious]

For making me defend EA like this. Mad kudos for not even threatening a lawsuit or other BS, just calling them out on their usual pack of lies

[darkside]

I'll say it again, FANBOYS maybe FANBOYS but once a outsider tries fcuken with our gaming life style like this fcuken bi1ch!!. fanboys from all consoles stop arguing about which ones better then one another. And we all unite and become a unstoppable force. And right now this bi1ch is feeling it. lol!!

A FAMOUS quote: "my fellow GAMERS!, ask not what your game industry can do for you; ask what you can do for your game industry.!!" - JK with a twist.

[mr_potato]

Wow these jerks want to give it an AO rating for sex being 0.000001% of the game.

Guess they never heard of manhunt.

[i Shank u]

good job having bioware's back on this. props to EA for once

[GITPWNED]

FIX News got f*cking schooled. Can't wait to see what happens next to those propaganda masters. "Fair and Balanced" my ass. Maybe if they say it a few million more times, I'll start to believe it.

[Surviver]

Ha this whole ordeal is ridiculous. Fox News and the original author of article about Mass Effect should b sued. Alot. I hope everyone who talked about it gets whats theirs.

"You like this side boob?" You shouldn't, cause thats MY blue alien side boob that you get to see for a split second.

[Rocko]

I wanna smash their faces into the game box and make them scream the rating as loud as they can. M-RATED GAMES ARE FOR 17+, THERE IS NO ARGUMENT. There was at least one sane person there, the guy who said the magic words "ITS UP TO PARENTS". Thank you Sherlock f**kin Holmes.

EDIT: Do you always stalk and harass people online? How many stupid ass PM's did you send to everyone who made anti-israel comments? You really have no life huh? You were blocked because I don't argue with people in PM's. I'll clarify everything for you now though you disturbed prick, By "f**king jews" I was talking about israeli's. *for everyone wondering, we had been arguing over this story http://n4g.com/NewsCom-1019... * I have no problem with jews in general. My username is PANZERFAUST14, so what? Its a German WW2 weapon http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... and just sounds badass. The number 14 means nothing. How many people have 88 in their screennames? A LOT, I guess they all must be white-supremacists as well huh? By your logic, you must a skinhead b/c your avatar has a shaved head. YOU are a deeply disturbed son of a b*tch, the constant page long rants in your comment history are proof of that. If anyone here needs a banning, its you. 54 ignores and counting, douchebag.

[bootsielon]

Especially jews. Hey, I know what you're thinking. Why do I have to go after you to extract the truth out of you? Oh that's right, because you're such a coward that you blocked me because you can't have an argument where you lose, or where you learn something.

You said that I claim that everyone that bashes Israel is an anti-semite... why do you generalize so much like a true nazi? I only said that you are the only racist here, not everyone else. There are lots of Israel bashers that arem't anti-semites, especially the ones of the left wing, but you have all the symptoms of a true anti-semite. At least be a man, and admit it, Panzerfaust. Honor the "white man" that you probably worship. Be honorable. Admit that you follow first your ideology, and THEN you follow facts.

People, I know this is off topic, but this guy has got to be banned, or at least ignored by everyone. After PMing me about how I, supposedly, love the "f**king jews" in a thread about a middle-eastern game, he blocked me in order for me not to be able to respond to him.

Is it a coincidence to you people that this guy's name is "Panzerfaust", like that record company which produces White Power, white supremacist and separatist music, such as "Prussian Blue"? Do you people know what the "14" in his nickname stands for? It means the "legendary" 14 words that David Lane, a Neo Nazi leader, forged.

"We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children."

Notice how he will blatantly ignore this, he won't explain or try to add context to his nickname or his attitude, and will simply insult me, call me a douche, or try to make it seem I claimed something I didn't (non sequitur, as usual with these intolerant guys) and other such bullsh1t. Ban these unreasonable nazis, what the hell are they doing in sites where there are people of all races, ideas, and what not.

Is it a coincidence that he used to have a helghan as his N4G avatar, and he has something resembling a Helgan on his XBL gamertag (like one of the Nazi Ensatzgruppen soldiers, or a Fahrenheit 451 fireman)? Remember how Helghan are the "equivalent" of the Nazis in the world of Killzone; even their flags resemble those of Nazi Germany. Do you notice how his anger and insults parallel those of the self called "angry aryans"? Is it surprising that he says "f**king jews" and then denies being an anti-semite (lol)? Is it surprising that he is as intolerant as he is in every one of his posts? Should we tolerate this kind of TRASH on N4G? I don't think I'm being paranoid here. All the signs point to him being a hater of everything and everyone that differs from him in any form. The "f**king jews" reference simply made it more blatantly obvious, even though I was giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I advice all the blacks, asians, jews, and whites on this site that are offended by anything he represents to ignore this dude that contributes to absolutely nothing to any conversation.

[Oilers Fan]

i had no clue this was the case but in that case he should be banned from n4g. Good job

[millerlite]

You take the name of "PanZerFaust" just because it sounded cool, yet you spout the same rhetoric of racists morons that also use that name. You claim that as a coincidence?

That said, even though I agree with what you say in the beginning of this particular post, can you (and anyone else reading this) please put some effort behind your posts instead of just yelling f**in' this and that? I don't mind swearing, I just think it's immature and shows an inability to collect your thoughts in a coherent manner.

[GITPWNED]

f*ck jewz and anyone who disagrees. jewz are the cause of all the world's problems. they must be eliminated.

[SpikeSpiegel]

Fox News knew what they were doing when they aired that crap on television. They weren't trying to have a "balanced" discussion about content in video games. They were trying to appeal to the hardcore "moral" audience that watches those shows. The same "moral" audience that is appalled by the change in video games, movies, music,etc. The same audience who in their eyes believes that Fox "won" that argument.. I guess its easy to believe that Fox always wins their arguments when you outnumber the opponent 8 to 1 and then cut them off in the middle of their speech when they make valid arguments...

[Jeremy Gerard]

pretty much all news and media has become lazy and inaccurate just like this, its not just Fox News, reporters used to research stories, get to the bottom of them, now they just pump out gossip, and slander. It's scary, because most of you probably hate the President at a time of war, based mostly on what the news and media has told you.

[FCOLitsjustagame]

OK, this is pretty funny.

However people make some good points. We/I know for sure she was very uninformed about what she talked about on FOX so there is no actual reason to assume she has any more knowledge on what she would be talking about in this book. It would be just her spouting her random and ill thought out opinions.

[TheHater]

I don't understand why Fox is making such a big deal about this. Isn't there more important this going on in America than a so-called nudity in Mass Effect? And that women in the video complete got pwned by Jeff. She has even play this game, and yet she speak like she know the game in and out.

[xXMFx Izzy]

All Her Books are belong to us!

[ravinash]

...there is no escape, bide your time...

[H2Os]

http://www.theesa.com/facts...

Look and fact 3 and 4

TOP 10 INDUSTRY FACTS

1. US computer and video game software sales grew six percent in 2006 to $7.4 billion – almost tripling industry software sales since 1996.

2. Sixty-seven percent of American heads of households play computer and video games.

3. The average game player is 33 years old and has been playing games for 12 years.

4. The average age of the most frequent game buyer is 38 years old. In 2007, 92 percent of computer game buyers and 80 percent of console game buyers were over the age of 18.

5. Eighty-five percent of all games sold in 2006 were rated "E" for Everyone, "T" for Teen, or "E10+" for Everyone 10+. For more information on ratings, please see www.esrb.org.

6. Eighty-six percent of game players under the age of 18 report that they get their parents’ permission when renting or buying games, and 91 percent say their parents are present when they buy games.

7. Thirty-six percent of American parents say they play computer and video games. Further, 80 percent of gamer parents say they play video games with their kids. Sixty-six percent feel that playing games has brought their families closer together.

8. Thirty-eight percent of all game players are women. In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (31%) than boys age 17 or younger (20%).

9. In 2007, 24 percent of Americans over the age of 50 played video games, an increase from nine percent in 1999.

10. Forty-nine percent of game players say they play games online one or more hours per week. In addition, 34 percent of heads of households play games on a wireless device, such as a cell phone or PDA, up from 20 percent in 2002.

[LostCypher11]

i'd like to thank jeff brown of EA, b/c of this letter i might just go rent an EA game.

[BELIE7ER]

mass effect was a very good game. first one of its kind that i could actually like. it was beautiful and had enough action to keep it going. the sci fi story was pretty good too. i can assure you that the nudity is 3/4 of a buttcrack and 1/4 of a boob with no nipple. not exactly hardcore. i am dissapointed in fox. i would have expected this more with cnn but fox is only a little better when you get down to it. i always hope that when someone starts this crap about m rated games being played by very young kids that someone would say "where are the parents? why is your kid able to bring stuff like an m rated into your house and spend hours with it and you dont even kow what the game is about?". i watched alot of violent and scary movies with my dad growing up, but he also spent a little time reminding me about the differences of fantasy and reality and trurths of right and wrong.

[jessupj]

I think the facist mods at amazon have stopped deleting reviews with a rating of 1. There's more then 500 bad reviews now. Take that cooper!

[wallace1000]

Check out this review, best one of the bunch!

By Andrew Wright - See all my reviews

Mass Effect has turned me into a sex crazed zombie. I just wish I had never played with that damnable devil-machine. I can't sleep or eat anymore... I'm up all night, craving digital sideboob. This book features no sideboob.

[Statix]

.

[23478ueyur_938223]

Cooper Lawrence is one ignorant tramp, she totally talks as though she's booked Mass Effect already. Geoff probably wanted to mouth her off far more than he was able to.

[retro]

...as we call crapy FoxNews over here in Europe.

[Commando47]

Her book the Cult of Perfection maybe ranked 209,473 her OTHER book got number 1,621,411...

It just goes to show you, shes a terrible writer and a terrible person for making up nonsense crap on TV..

Come to think of it....each time Fox makes any mention of videogames, they always must have some sort of "expert"....what the hell man?

And where in the world do they scrounge up their experts anyway? The sewer?....well actually that maybe true :p

[djroberts]

This honestly makes me want to buy a 360 and Mass Effect. This is a good thing, it's uniting us gamers. The real enemy is not PS3 or 360 owners but rather the non-gamer.

[Crazy Larry]

I want that ho to get curb stomped. Mass Effect is an amazing experience, and that female douchebag has NO idea what it entails. For too long it's been us against us, when it should be us against them (the flaming loser media)

[IzKyD1331]

amazon deleted all the comments on her book's page

[pwnsause]

well talk about Censorship, Amazon just removed all the customer images that were there, lmao! I think amazon already knows that we are pissed!, alright guys no off to Barnes And Noble, lmao

[IzKyD1331]

aparently, were not allowed to have opinions on books anymore lol
also, i doubt FOX will respond to the letter, they'll be like "oh EA, whats that, a video game company? their probably a joke"

[Topbravo]

COOPER
[email protected]

PUBLICIST / TV APPEARANCES
Susan Blond Inc.
Jaime Cassavechia
Associate Vice President
Fifty West 57th Street
14th Floor
New York, NY 10019
T: 212.333.7728 ext. 108
F: 212.262.1373
[email protected]

[pwnsause]

ALright guys, lets FAX THE HELL OUT OF HER FAXING MACHINE!!!!!!LMAO!!SPAM HER UNTIL SHE APOLOGIZES AND SEE HER MISTAKES, OH WAIT HER OFFICES IS IN THE CITY, EVEN BETTER!!!!!!

[gololo]

come on....tv, magazines, music, internet, everything promotes sex and unfortunately they do tend to make women look like objects....but come on....don't pick on video games....this is crap

[ICEJACKEL]

This is the kind of stuff that GAMER'S as a whole should defend.
People who are hard core fans of PS3, 360, Wii or PC (I will not use the term fanboy) should realize that this impacts us all as GAMER'S not just the 360!
We as GAMER'S should find a middle ground and come together to defend gaming.
People (News, Government, States, Religion) are always trying to categorize video games as evil, unproductive, influential(in a bad way) etc....
I consider myself a hard core gamer just not a hard core fan of PS3 but that is my console / gaming machine of choice.
Anytime people (News, Government, States, Religion) single out a game and try to say negative things about it, that hurts GAMER'S as a whole.
So, in sort hard-core fans and hard-core GAMER'S should see eye to eye on topics like this and defend your gaming honor!

[TwissT]

Must have been a slow news day on fox...

[RAM MAGNUMS]

I dont watch tv anymore because it sucks I play games because they are different than what tv recycles every year and the media just doesnt get that. Then, they get women to bad mouth games and say things like " really dads have this game and their sons are gonna play it when dads not home. Where's mom, Oh yeah she's too busy suckin the mailmans DiGhK!!! Just like the biotches on the panel. Kids already know that women are just objects of a mans obsession. Please, Lil boys dighks get hard for girls, ok... thats why there women at the workplace now! Its the fact that men dominate gaming society and its a fact that men make money and spend money on entertainment and my money is right all the time biotch, now get the fughk back in the kitchen or go talk some dumb shiz with somebody who givs a fughk! This whole debate is over because in court it only matters on paper. And in life sex sells because men see women as CummBuckets. RAM MAGNUMS IS JUST KIDDING...

[ZeChamp]

I wonder how it feels to have your career destroyed by gamers, why so many ppl underestimate gamers is beyond me. anyways if you want to see some more faux news bashing check out the darkness rants on youtube there quite funny and the news stories that Faux talks about are completely retarded.

[Gish]

Just kidding. seriously though, its good to see a subject all gamers can agree on, without a flame war.