Did computer games make you turn to a life of crime? A national newspaper wants your story and will pay hundreds of pounds to the right person. Just write a few lines about how computer games turned you to crime and if it’s something we like, we’ll call you straight back.

Can this be for real? What kind of witch hunt is this? How can balanced reporting occur in such a case, especially when there is little background checking involved, and the “right” person receiving the money? The right person? That should be read “the one with the most sensational story”. This is just the perfect opportunity for someone itching for some cash to conjure up some lies.

In case you can’t tell, we don’t approve of the premise - unless there’s something more to it we don’t understand - or the methods. Something they “like”, indeed. We’ll keep our eyes peeled to try and find out which newspaper this is.

Source: Next Generation

Last call for applications for writing here on the Watch. Prospective staffers will have until this Friday, April 4th to send in their submissions.

We urge you to check the specifics if you’ve forgotten what’s entailed, and also, keep in mind that you’ll improve your chances if you submit examples of work that mimic the style of articles you see here on the Watch.

Once again, good luck to all! This is your last chance…. thanks to all those who have stepped forward thus far, you’ll be hearing from us shortly.

Just a heads up to Watch readers - you’ve all likely known of and possibly read GamePolitics for some time (at least, if you’ve followed our advice), but these guys are really providing a service to an extent that no one else on the Internet does, and not only in the nature of their industry coverage. You also see examples of this excellence in the way they handle and present their individual stories as well, as the details and analysis they provide trump many other publications.

Case in point: the recent coverage of the Jack Thompson trials. GP has gone above and beyond by not only garnering excerpts from the trial, but going through the trouble of continued coverage via a stout multi-part series (now in part 7!). So, just a little shout out to those guys.

Game Politics - helping to lead the charge in VGMedia.

Oh, and he just happens to be an Xbox aficionado in his spare time…. just in case the above qualifications didn’t impress you. Al-Suleiman is a big fan of Black Hawk Down.

The point? This report comes courtesy of USA Today, which goes to show yet again how video games are permeating culture around the world to an extent that the mainstream press continues to find more frequent reasoning for providing either industry coverage or, at the least, more reason to acknowledge gaming’s cultural significance in their “heavier” articles.

Source: USA Today

Unfortunately, Thompson takes umbrage with the posting of selected excerpts, positing that it is an unfair characterization of the overall trial and that a complete transcript must be published in full. In a reflection of his typical hypersensitivity, Thompson has now threatened legal action against GamePolitics and their parent company, the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA).

This is interesting because not only is GamePolitics doing readers a service (and employing proper journalism, despite Thompson’s claims), the latter’s actions manage to backfire, as his insistence that GamePolitics’ journalism is immature would seem to, in and of itself, validate the importance and respectability of their publication - else why would he waste time with threatening legal action amidst the maelstrom of his own legal woes, hypersensitivity aside? He knows they’re highly regarded within the online games media, and takes any perceived slight seriously - whether said slight occurs or not, objectively speaking. By threatening legal action, Thompson is only bringing more negative attention his way, at a juncture when he can afford it the least.

All these considerations aside however, GamePolitics provides another example of games media making waves outside the industry.

Source: GamePolitics

MSNBC reported on recovering patients at WakeMed hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the unique therapy program many have been ushered into. It turns out these patients are in a Wii program in which they are redeveloping the use of their muscles - and in one case, the brain - through playing Wii Boxing, among other games. Those participating run the gamut in age, gender, race and medical condition, and the gameplay sessions reportedly not only stimulate the patients physically, but help promote socialization and stymie isolation.

As discussed before on the Watch, it’s mainstream press like this which will serve to combat video gaming stigmas prevalent in our society. We can only hope that those at home who watched the MSNBC clip won’t assume these patients will be hoisting guns or showing similar violent tendencies upon their release from the hospital, after all.

View the video here.

Source: GoNintendo

While reporting on the Canadian Teachers’ Foundation’s beef with Bully and sending a warning to parents, an advertisement for Airsoft guns was proudly and blatantly displayed right below the news story.

Okay, sure, CD98.9 Newscentre wasn’t really engaging in any editorializing, and there are far worse things than airguns, but this little gem warranted mentioning, if not for the perceived hypocrisy than for GamePolitics’ smart catch.

Either way, the question remains: Should we really be all tied up in a knot over digital representations of violence when real weapons that can cause real damage are left to be widely marketed with nary a thought to the contrary? Where are the mainstream media’s priorities, and are they in the right place?

Source: GamePolitics, CD98.9 Newscentre

Well, we’re ready to hear from you.

Send your name, age, a brief biography - that is, if you have anything worth sharing with us - and at least one (no more than two, we’ll have plenty of folks to look over) writing samples to bkirk@e-mpire.com. We’ll look ‘em over, and if we think you’ve got what it takes, we’ll be in touch soon.

Good luck, and we look forward to your submissions.

On base, everyone carries a weapon. That’s a rule. You take it with you to the chow hall, to the gym. But, these days in Ramadi, most grunts get more use out of the imaginary guns on their gaming systems then the real deal.

[….]

At the moment however, Carr isn’t playing a shoot-em-up game. Right now he’s got something a little more relaxing, “Hooked! Real Motion Fishing.”

“It’s basically just Bass tournaments and just different relaxing fishing games, which is usually what I do when I’m in the States, which is go out and fish. And I can’t do that because we have nothing but sand.”

Allington’s article is worth a read even though it isn’t entirely focused on video games, as it’s the kind of alternative piece that we either don’t see often or may simply overlook - and it’s always interesting to get first-hand reports from a war front and to see how games culture manages to seep in.

Source: Weekend America, GamePolitics

Why’s he there? Apparently, to discuss the absence of innovation recently in Japanese gaming - oh, and to discuss the whole firing incident. Color us surprised at that one. This should be an interesting segment, and those with the means should consider taking a moment to check it out. The Watch will provide analysis following the airing, so stick around for more.

Source: Kotaku