EA Asks Fox News to Correct Mass Mistakes
The publisher comes out swinging in defense of its property.
by Daemon Hatfield
US, January 23, 2008 - Fox News recently aired an alarmist segment on Mass Effect claiming the game featured full nudity and sex. The reporter also said critics claim the game is being marketed to children. The gaming community has been abuzz with talk of the segment, which many view as containing several inaccuracies. Fox News did not try to clarify any of these allegations. Fox News also used footage of the game that was originally shown on IGN.com, although it was obtained without IGN's approval. Both Fox News and IGN are owned by News Corp.
Electronic Arts (EA), parent company of Mass Effect developer BioWare, has responded to the Fox News Channel (FNC). Jeff Brown, EA's VP of Communications, has issued a letter to the channel asking it to correct these falsities and misstatements that the publisher feels have disparaged its property. Among Brown's points:
"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.
Other sources used in the segment made similar incorrect statements about the game. Judging by the inaccuracy of their comments, 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."
Brown theorizes that some of the negative attention TV news gives to videogames may be because viewers are spending more time playing games than watching their show.
"As videogames 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."
Those guardians of morales 
