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 Digg.com Facebook Google Bookmarks N4G Gamerblips del.icio.us Reddit Slashdot.org StumbleUpon Sitting on your backside playing computer games all day WILL make you unhealthy. I don't see how they can argue with that. OHH GOD, we're all gonna die. :(
seriously though has anyone played the tutorial on the Wanted demo. the opening lines almost echo this ads message. Hope they get sued to shit!
I hate all this anti game, scaremongering ********! It's nothing but propaganda. Why isn't there some fat **** stuffing his face with pizza & watching TV on the ad? Where do I complain to? What about my job as IT support? I've barely had to do a thing today that involved leaving my chair! My mind and body would be better off at home playing games. Well, thats what I tell myself! I played my console AND ate a pizza once. Ooooh, dangerous! they are trying to claim that playing video games can lead to early death, or whatever, but in the current economy situation, the game industry is doing well, so i think they should just shut up. its the governments fault that this country is in the mess its in, in the first place, trying to be a better country, they should stick to what they know......F**k all That kid is sitting waiting for an update to come down for his PS3...I sometimes think I will die before mine updates! aye and by the time that update finally installs that little boys balls will have dropped and he'll be sporting a beard so big he'd be eligible to join ZZ-Top. if they're still alive by then :wink: http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/how_to_complain/complaints_form/ But with all the paedophiles, knife criminals, drug dealers, gangs, people-trafficking imigrants, terrorists, bird flu, MRSA, joy riders and evil fast food outlets, I think I'll take my chances at home.
Or at least that's what The Sun told me.
As usual, sit on your arse and you won't be as healthy. Eat crap food and you won't be as healthy. This was a known fact in the 80's when I was growing up. Do parents really need to be told this? It's a sad day, but a lot probably do. I HOPE SONY SUES THERE ASS! :twisted:
This ad screams to me that kids die from playing games?! WTF! Theres a chance if your gonna sit there playing games and eating junk will lead to an early death... IF YOU ARE ON IT FOR 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK! seeing as how most of the parents nowadays grew up in the 80's and 90's you'd think they'd remember this. but then again its easier to sit the weans down in front of the telly to shut them up than actually do something with them. Ha ha. I can't enlarge the image, sure there's a Wii logo on there somewhere Looks like he is trying to get an online game of Gears 2 to me.
:wink: I think that games should be enjoyed in moderation, but linking them to an early death? Preposterous! If a full scale, long term study was undertaken it may show that games in fact help reduce the risk of an early death due to lack of exposure to other sources, such as street crime, traffic accidents, drugs etc, exactly the things that the Government should be spending our money on.
This ad should at least have some form of evidence to back it up.
I can imagine the head of that department: "I know, today if you eat too many vegetables you are helping to fund terror. Let's make an advert showing a cucumber wearing a beret, with a bunch of sprouts backing him up." :roll:
I could go on...
Wish I had a job making up bull****. Absolutely - I don't think there's an awful lot they can do about this either...it's not as if the ad actually highlights gaming as a specific problem; it just states that you need to live a more active life.
Personally, I do find all of this stuff incredibly patronising - I don't really think there is a person within this country that is completely ignorant of the basic importance of healthy living....yet the Government still seem to feel the need to spend a load of money spoon-feeding us things we already know.
It's much like the awful pictures that they have on cigarette packages these days - I don't think that any smoker is in any doubt that the habit is anything more than extremely bad for your health....but, is there really any need to put images of a corpse on a morgue slab?
:) »could be. picture might have been from a month ago and maybe he's just trying to play it himself without a few friends. previous points would still stand then. :wink:
honestly i haven't even played gears2 for ages so i don't know whether the online was ever sorted out. this is the before picture for a wiifit ad right. this is a crazy because if we were all to give up smoking on the back of these picture campaigns the country would probably collapse in this climate due to the loss of tax made on tobacco. its a lose, lose situation. The advert is too vague and offers no real advice. Why not say that limiting kids to only a one hour-a-day gaming session can help kids live longer?
Instead I have images of a PS2 controller going psycho down the streets of the town centre strangling people with its cord. My problem with this advert, is why wasn't he sitting with a book or a TV/DVD remote? It's surely the same issue!
(Not that reading is bad, I could name a few posters on here that could do with picking up a book rather than game controller!) »
Too true! I haven't actually played online Gears 2 since about new years. They took so long to sort it that it seems alot of people don't bother now. Shame.
And Mark, as a new dad, I hope you will heed this excellent advise when it comes to your little 'un! Its already started. The whole minimum price for alcohol debate is obviously a thinly veiled way of the government to recoup taxes from lost tobacco revenues.
I bet drinking i'll be the next thing to villafied and then taxed to buggery.
No wonder violent crime is on the rise. No ones allowed to go aout and have fun anymore. »»
We had a girl, so I doubt she will follow in her fathers footsteps! The missus is already talking about bloody horse riding lessons, which in my mind is much more dangerous.
It'll be lads when she hits her teens that I'll be more worried about... :cry: ooo gosh. it's stuff like this that just makes you feel a little powerless... like why rise to it? whatever we write here, the king of healthy business isn't going to think "yes, FragDaddy32 is actually right... Keith! stop printing those posters now!!"
but they've poked the bear, and it's quite a notoriously defensive and adamant that his (or her it could be a lady bear) hobby is good bear
I thought we were getting past this with the wii...
though the point about books was very good. There have been instances where people who do too much exercise have suddenly died!
I actually know someone who was 'Super Fit' and one day when he went to tie his shoe laces "SNAP". A muscle in his back suddenly snapped and he has been paralysed ever since.
Everything should be done in moderation. It's common sense really. I probably play computer games 4-5 hours per week. I walk to/from work plus go to the gym 3 times a week. I eat a reasonably healthy diet which includes plenty of fruit and veg. However I do treat myself to the odd indian takeaway or cake or something. And how many times have I been to my local GP or the doctors in the last, say 10 years? Once - and that was for a check-up where I was told I was perfectly healthy! I sent this to the ASA:
Why are you complaining?
The poster links gaming to an "early death". It is misleading and harmful to an industry which I both care about and have financial interest in.
The poster does not target any other activities which involve sitting down for hours whether your mind is active (e.g. reading, writing) or not (e.g. TV). Instead the poster chooses to exclusively pick on videogames (which at least promote an active mind as proven by many studies).
It is an unfair representation of videogaming which is harmful to an industry which is already constantly under attack from ill-informed research (and Ann Diamond). :lol:
Does anyone know if she was asked to do any more reviews? - those were hilarious.
:) My dad died while playing badminton. I'll take my chances with my console :wink: »»»
Well enjoy the next 13 years then!
And horse riding? You might as well give her an e!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7876425.stm With the way this bunch of incompetent ***** have screwed up the country along with their secretive "Common Purpose" group, they are in no way in a position to pontificate on what's good for the country...I really hope Sony do sue the ar$e off the tossers! Do nothing eh?! By jove I was just about to order another Jumbo Burger and Mega Coke for the third time today and get started on another 15 hour marathon round of World of Warcraft but this incredulity must be given vent.
Last week I... *HRURK*!!!!! lkAJZNG;KJALBNGZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.....
Message ends. Anne Diamond? Ugh...makes me sick. Sitting down for hours at a time with no exercise will make you unhealthy. That is a fact.
The people who complain are industry PR cronies and people who have a vested interest in the game industry or, porkers who don't like the truth being shoved in their face (instead of a pie). Although its a stupid point, the ad does make a great desktop wallpaper! Pfft... if anything's going to kill me prematurey, it'll be my job! Yeah, I'd die if I played on a PlayStation too... I wish i could get a job at the ministry of state the bleeding obvious. I think, to be fair, if people are stupid enough to let Boris Johnson become Mayor of London just because he's funny, then people really are stupid enough to be told what to do.
Don't run with scissors!
Always wipe before pulling up your trousers!
Don't let your kids sit around all day playing computer games!
It might keep them quiet and busy, but you're a parent now. Take some ****ing responsibility! Yet another example of the "do gooders" critisizing something they know nothing about. Even if the ad's were true, hey at least I would go safe in the knowledge I went doing something I enjoy. Why is it always video games I mean it this case it could just as easily be a book or... anywhere this ad is shown! Ofcourse not moving about can kill you lots of things can so saying that is just being simple minded really but games are by no means bad for you people who think that just need to stop being knuckle dragers and open their eyes. All the same though the government can go f*** themselves they're just pushing attention away from their own incompitance. Videogames = media scapegoat
blame the parents that throw cake at their kids... Why are people taking this as an attack on the gaming industry? They could have easily had the kid playing a boardgame and MB games wouldn't have kicked up a fuss, watching the TV and I'm sure the BBC/ITV/bSkyb wouldn't have said a word, reading a book.....you can see my point.
I'm a fan of the gaming, but it is fact that playing games from that sort of age on a regular basis is not the way to start a healthy lifestyle. Neither is sitting on your backside and reading books all day or watching TV. You NEED exercise.
You people need to get over it, it's nothing personal, it was just one of an option of many unhealthy activities. I can assure you MB games would take action if one of their board games was linked to an early death!
But I think the ad probably didn't intentionally mean to insult the games industry or gaming fans - they were probably just looking for a typical example - but that in itself kinda shows just how little gaming and its culture is understood or respected.
I'm sure there are many gamers who do just sit around doing nothing (as I'm sure there are many non-gamers who do the same), but I for one have taken part in sporting events such as the Great Manchester Run and other gamer friends of mine do everything from playing football to taking kung-fu classes. We don't all spend every waking hour whoring achievements or trophies.
My point is that I can see why the industry is annoyed by this because the ad directly links a stark (and stereotypical) image of playing games with a headline that states categorically that this image equates to doing nothing, thereby risking an untimely death(!)
There are many sedentary activities which are far more damaging than playing games - which at their best must surely aid hand-eye co-ordination, problem solving and maybe even tell a good story. Many of these other activities have just as frequently been vilified by the press and government but have since been set aside as videogaming has become more prevalent.
This ad is unfair though, because gaming is nowhere near the worst cause for an unhealthy lifestyle. Regardless, surely rather than demonise something that may or may not be unhealthy, the government could direct its efforts at promoting the fun that can be had taking part in healthier activities, and like nutrition, suggesting to the public that everything is okay in moderation.
People aren't stupid; scare tactics will always cause the target audience to become resentful, stubborn and probably reinforce their supposedly bad habit rather than deter it. But in one poster you are limited into how you are able to portray the lifestyle. The only way you make it "fair" would be to have a huge number of snapshots of the kids day, none of which include any exercise. That's not exactly a good or distinct message in marketing terms. Regardless of demonising, it gets the message across loud and clear.
Yes they are. You talk about conveying a message that everything is good in moderation. That simply doesn't work. Shock tactics do (moreso). That's like the government advertising "Speeding is OK as long as you know what you're doing and how to control the car, otherwise please don't do it".
This advert is targeted squarely at parents who really should stop their kids playing games as much as some do. A picture of a kid sat there reading a book doesn't have the same impact. The games industry is a scapegoat due to the already negative image gaming has in the publics eye. Publishers and industry representatives need to work on changing the image of the games industry, as difficult as that would be word needs to get around.
http://www.playfire.com/a/forum/general-discussion/thread/24105 I don't think it really can be seen as an attack on the gaming industry....if the caption said "This mandatory install is gonna be the f*ckin early death of me", then fair enough. :P i bet its got something to do with TV ratings lol! Lost and Prison Break(2 shittest things ever created, although PD season 1 was ok) arent gettin enough ratings this year, scum! Has to be said, the theory is correct, it's just very poorly implemented. Put a joypad in a kids hand, the games industry is up in arms. If the kid is just say watching TV, which is tantamount to the same thing, I doubt the likes of Panasonic and Hitachi would be frothing at the mouth.
If you sit on your arse all day doing nothing but eating junk food, you are going to get fat. The emphasis should be on the 'doing nothing'. Games aren't the best example, but they are a valid one. Games also encourage many positve things though, so as I said before, fair point, but badly put across.
In fairness to the advert, it's a campaign for getting active and keeping healthy, not a campaign against video games, so really it's just a little misguided. I quite agree. I'm merely saying that I can see why the games industry might take offence to what's being suggested by this kind of advertisment.
I find your assertion that people are stupid quite insulting to the majority - I think most people can tell the difference between fact and hugely sweeping statements designed to grab your attention. Of the people targetted in campaigns like this who maybe "stupid", surely they are more likely to either throw the baby out with the bath water and ban videogames in their house altogether (the Daily Mail readers) or simply ignore the information and buy their 10 year old GTA4, because they are indeed stupid and ignorant.
The rest of us appreciate moderation and don't need this information to start with (the vast majority I suspect...)
Its nothing like an anti-speeding campaign! Speeding - even slightly - could very definitely mean the difference between and death. Playing videogames in moderation is highly unlikely to prove fatal. I spend more time in front of a computer at work each week than I ever have playing videogames and noone's telling me that that's fatal. Indeed, we work more hours here in the UK than anywhere else in Western Europe. Instead, we're told to take regular breaks and ensure our work area is comfortable. If I played videogames 8 hours a day how would that be any worse (apart from the fact that I wouldn't get paid!)?
These campaigns are run by the same sort of people who think bumping up the price of booze will genuinely stop those most at risk from binge drinking. I spend about £15 on an average night in the pub. I know people who think nothing of spending £100 on nights out. How will another £20 matter to them when Saturday night in town is what they live for? People need exposure to adequate alternatives, not shock tactics. I should think that the 8 hours spent sitting at my desk every day are a bigger factor.
Perhaps the gov should start investigating a solution to that problem . :)
*cough*threedayweek*cough* Yet again, the media accuse videogames, this time of premature death. Nothing to do with the increase in stabbings, or drug users, or alcohol drinkers, or smokers, or anything like that, then? Also, what about computer users, people who watch TV, etc? They're not part of the equation, either?
I hope they get sued for millions and millions. Tossers. Yeah you say that yet I'm pretty much one of those people and yet I'm still healthier than most people I know. And I know a lot of people. | 
