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EA slams FOX News for reckless Mass Effect attack

By Stevie Smith Jan 24, 2008, 7:18 GMT

BioWare’s award-winning Mass Effect has this week been directly attacked during a Live Desk item aired on the FOX News network, which saw the sci-fi RPG accused of marketing and delivering full-frontal nudity and sexual interaction into the hands of children. FOX News slammed by Electronic Arts for aired attack on Mass Effect. Credit: Game Informer.

FOX News slammed by Electronic Arts for aired attack on Mass Effect. Credit: Game Informer.By way of immediate reaction, Jeff Brown, a vice president of communications at BioWare’s parent company Electronic Arts, has dispatched a stiff corrective letter to Live Desk producer Terri VanHorn outlining the many inaccuracies, errors, and misstatements made during the piece, all of which incorrectly characterise Mass Effect’s narrative and its in-game interactions."Mass Effect does not include explicit or frontal nudity," explained Brown in response to the FOX News headline ‘"Se"Xbox? New video game shows full digital nudity and sex.’ Similarly, while FOX News offers that players will experience "full digital nudity" and the ability "to engage in graphic sex," while progressing through the game, Brown clearly states that: "Sex scenes in Mass Effect are not graphic," but rather "very similar to sex sequences frequently seen on network television in prime time." He also outlines that the possible love scenes in Mass Effect (which the player can choose to completely avoid) are only accessible following the evolution of complex character relationships, and subsequently play out as non-interactive cut sequences that contain only side and profile shot selections, which are "a vantage frequently used in many prime-time television shows."

Answering the FOX News assumption that Mass Effect is "being marketed to kids and teenagers," Brown slams the report as being "flat out false" before turning to the game’s ESRB rating of ‘Mature,’ which clearly denotes via the packaging that Mass Effect is appropriate for players 17-years and older and can only be sold to consumers based on proof of age as imposed by the retailer.Brown goes on to accuse FOX News of exercising "a new level of recklessness," in relying on contributory sources "largely ignorant about videogames, the people who play them, and the ESRB system." He further calls FOX to task regarding the content of shows aired on its own network such as Family Guy and The OC and suggests that news reports such as the one regarding Mass Effect are on the increase as broadcasters continue to combat the effects of audience migration towards supposedly corrupting interactive entertainment.In closing, the EA exec labels the piece as being "insulting to the men and women [of BioWare] who spent years creating a game which is acclaimed by critics for its high creative standards."Does Mass Effect deliver corrupting full frontal nudity and graphic sex acts, or nothing more tantalising than a regular prime time TV show? View the following for the answer.

Source: Game Informer.

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STILLWINTERJan 24th, 2008 - 09:45:24

This is an outrage.How a broadcaster like FOX that shows us Family Guy ( which by the way im SURE isnt marketed to kids!) can give 10 minutes to slating a FINE game. The game DOES NOT use ANY full frontal nudity or graphic sex, the player CAN NOT choose or define what happens, its a cut seen.

Why have a gaming world rep in the studio if you don't give him time? This whole story was a vehicle to plug a book.. and WHO were those people at the dest after? These 'experts' are SO un informed.

First XBOX 360 can password protect accounts so kids CANNOT play on their parents machines

It also Locks out age classification so if you dont want your child playing 'r's, you can fix that.

You can even set it to only be a 'playable' console for 5 hours a week or what ever you choose.

This is fox scare mongering. I play alot of video games, im an adult ( well past 30 ) and there are 10 million people on XBOX LIVE, most i know are mature, well ajusted human beings with jobs and a lot more savvy than these guys speaking. None im sure would sit in a studio and spout out drivel on a subject that they neither know about or engaged in researching.

Fox should be set to task on this. Its all lies.

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BigJan 24th, 2008 - 12:21:49

Good job EA next time sue too. Fox news has the terrible problem of being geared towards old white males that are 75+. It's ridiculous.

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JacquelineJan 24th, 2008 - 16:49:02

Geez, that was what they're making a big fuss about? Its so dark anyway you can't even see what they're doing. If I was a 9 year old without any type of sex education at all, I would have no idea what they were doing anyway and probably not ask questions about it either. FOX shows way more crappy shows that have worse sex scenes. But then again, I've never taken FOX news seriously...

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tonny from belgiumJan 24th, 2008 - 17:09:40

What kind of brain sees offense in nudity or sex but finds none in serial killing.It should be the opposite .Sex is good ,violence is bed.By the way not enoufg sex makes people aggressive.

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krisJan 24th, 2008 - 17:56:47

from the TV network that cancelled Arrested Development

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Ivan_PSPJan 25th, 2008 - 07:54:09

Well i shouldn't be defending this game since is not on PLAYSTATION 3 yet. But i do hope Electronic Arts sues them for all the lies and bad publicity they gave the game and the gaming industry itself. The news reporters didn't even play the game just talking about statistic OMG so much BS. Fox is a big JOKE.

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Media warFeb 12th, 2008 - 18:09:48

In reference to this entire clip, I love how the media knows nothing about gaming or what these games are about and attempt to jump on the boat and crap on a game that took so many years to make.

These old bags love to do nothing but start sqawking about things they can go off on a railing on. If they were to personally play the game they would understand. However, because of a small sex scene in a game they start going off. Are we in America? The USA? Land of the ffree? If your answer is yes, then why are people like these old hawks ragging on a video game with a 'M' rating in reference to a two minute sex scene?

It's not like they are showing anything different than what network shows show. However, because it's a video game they want to attempt to smash it. I really got irritated just watching this interview. I couldn't finish it all of the way. They talk about it bring someone on. He attempts to talk, they cut him off and go to their rant again.

The media is only good for a few things now:

Causing panic
Capatalizing on horrific events
False information esp. weather .... I mean where else can you get a job and do or say something completely false and still have a job?
and bashing. The music industry, the movie industry, the gaming industry. What the heck do you want from us media?

What ever happened to being real news? There is a war going on here and this is the best you can do? Spend your time jabbering your dinosaur lips about a game? How about you report on a presidental campagin or something?

I dispise the media right now. They are the enemy.

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