http://kotaku.com/348187/ea-calls-fox-out-...ct-inaccuracies


Electronic Arts, likely sick of having their recently-acquired role-playing franchise Mass Effect dragged through the mud on national television, has requested that Fox News Channel correct their error-plagued segment on the game.

In the letter, which cites Kotaku, Jeff Brown, EA's vice president of communications, asks Teri VanHorn, producer of the Live Desk with Martha MacCallum, to clarify "serious errors" the channel made in their Mass Effect story.

"As the parent company of BioWare, the studio which created the game, EA would like you to set the record straight on a number of errors and misstatements which incorrectly characterize the story and character interactions in Mass Effect." The letter starts and then proceeds to outline their very strong case.

Your headline above the televised story read: "New videogame shows full digital nudity and sex." Fact: Mass Effect does not include explicit or frontal nudity. Love scenes in non-interactive sequences include side and profile shots - a vantage frequently used in many prime-time television shows. It's also worth noting that the game requires players to develop complex relationships before characters can become intimate and players can chose to avoid the love scenes altogether.

FNC voice-over reporter says: "You'll see full digital nudity and the ability for players to engage in graphic sex."
Fact: Sex scenes in Mass Effect are not graphic. These scenes are very similar to sex sequences frequently seen on network television in prime time.

FNC reporter says: "Critics say Mass Effect is being marketed to kids and teenagers."
Fact: That is flat out false. Mass Effect and all related marketing has been reviewed by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and rated Mature - appropriate for players 17-years and older. ESRB routinely counsels retailers on requesting proof of age in selling M-rated titles and the system has been lauded by members of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission. In practical terms, the ratings work as well or better than those used for warning viewers about television content.

The letter goes on to point out that the people who wrapped up the segment with a round table were equally clueless about the game: "They have had zero experience with Mass Effect and are largely ignorant about videogames, the people who play them, and the ESRB system that governs their ratings and sales."

The story wraps up by pointing out how insulting the resulting story was to EA and Bioware and asks, not demands, a correction:

The resulting coverage was insulting to the men and women who spent years creating a game which is acclaimed by critics for its high creative standards. As video games continue to take audiences away from television, we expect to see more TV news stories warning parents about the corrupting influence of interactive entertainment. But this represents a new level of recklessness.

Do you watch the Fox Network? Do you watch Family Guy? Have you ever seen The OC? Do you think the sexual situations in Mass Effect are any more graphic than scenes routinely aired on those shows? Do you honestly believe that young people have more exposure to Mass Effect than to those prime time shows?

This isn't a legal threat; it's an appeal to your sense of fairness. We're asking FNC to correct the record on Mass Effect.

Sincerely,

Jeff Brown
Vice President of Communications
Electronic Arts, Inc.

Attachment: http://kotaku.com/347350/keighley-sets-mas...ght-or-tries-to

Good for you EA, it's important, I think that publishers should step up to the plate to defend themselves, especially in light of such outrageous and patently false claims.

Not only EA themselves, gamers have been protesting Fox News and the writer of this book

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159921179..._pr_product_top

Gamers have been flooding that amazon page full of one star reviews in response to her part in the whole thing.

Other links include: http://news.filefront.com/gamers-strike-ba...ence-on-amazon/

http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/01/video-sexbox-on.html

From all the comments It seems everyone is stuck between calling fox on it's ####### and feeling dirty that they're actually AGREEING with EA.

As I pointed out in the shoutbox I like how they bring up that television is worse than anything shown in Mass Effect. While I don't really care about " love scenes " in my video games myself, I suppose if they're trying to make games more cinematic and realistic they're something that we may have to really get used to if they're looking to approach the level of Hollywood or what have you.

I'm glad EA sent them this message. It's like " That's right bitch " and a slap to the face of Fox.

I agree that I don't really care much about the sex scene in Mass Effect (I did witness it, it was for the achievement, I swear!) but Fox is just blowing this out of proportion because of ratings and the competition between TV and games. Almost every statement in that clip was false, and they purposely set it up by cutting of the video game expert from SpikeTV before he could make his point, as well as by bringing in this Cooper Lawrence woman who they claim to be an expert (on what I don't know, she is currently IN SCHOOL to become a psychologist and is only known for her book and for being a radio host) who when asked if she even played the game, she giggles and says no. They also bash the ESRB for not rating the game AO even though that would also justify getting rid of most cable stations as well as rating 90% of movies NC-17.

Another comparison Fox made, was saying that kids will be exposed to this by "playing their dad's games while he's out" sort of in a looking at playboy while the parents are gone kind of fashion, which is laughable, because as the man from SpikeTV said, when you turn on the game, it doesn't ask you if you want to have sex. Basically, Fox's whole argument is laughable, but thats just something we should all expect from this "fair and balanced" news station these days.

Fox: I'm mad because nobody gives a ##### about the news I post anymore. So you know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to become an attention whore and over exaggerate stuff about VIDEO GAMES. AHAHA after all they are always getting flake for content so why not?

EA: Talk your inaccurate crap about some other game. Don't start with Mass Effect. LOL JEALOUS BECAUSE OF ITS SALES. "man I wish that us =(" You want ratings? Go make your own #####!

Seriously I never thought they would stoop so low.

They already have, in one particular interview where they blame video games specifically for the Virginia Tech shooting. As a guest star in this episode, they brought in Jack Thompson to make up facts and invent statistics and still manage to lose to the video game side. Of course, by lose I mean Fox was "out of time" when it was the pro-video games side's turn to speak, so he was cut off as well. This video is also easy to find on sites like gametrailers.