Nilo

Even though similar studies have already been done, the argument for doing this is the same as all the ultraspecific tests on how birth control would affect people at different ages from the 60s to the 90s; When it's a social issue the science needs to be absolutely impenetrable to the kinds of claims and stunts that anti-BC groups, or in this case the NRA, would make. The only reason the NRA could mention a random NES game and flash game as being causes of violence is that a lot of influential people don't understand or care about video games and this research is the best substitute for that.

Having said that, it's probably going to be about as enlightening as researching the effects of violent comics and penny dreadfuls and wrestling and adult bookstores.

The only thing I dislike is that professional research can be taken out of context and due to the state of libel and slander laws in this country the NRA can keep on making differently worded claims to people who don't care about research, which is really only painful because they have a lot of lobbying power.

It is what it is - an internet fan poll. The Modern Library did a fan poll and an internal poll of the 100 best nonfiction works and the internal poll choices were reasonable works of art, while the fan polls were every libertarian, survivalist, tea-party-esque book ever with titles like  "Send In The Waco Killers",  Scientology represented with Dianetics and books about the evils of psychiatry, every Ayn Rand book ever written, every Ayn Rand biography ever written, Howard Stern's Private Parts, and Oprah pop-schlock. 80 out of the 100 entries were pure upvoted garbage. This is what happens when internet forum lemmings band together.

So this means they can't say the Seven Dirty Words on the 'air' anymore, right?

This thread is pretty dumb.

Darkpen,

You're missing several levels of nuance if you think that the GB crew was doing anything other than calling out played out, meaningless designs in everything from enemies to font, irritating music and clichéd over-exaggerated ridiculous nonsense storylines and pointlessly whiny, dramatic, and annoying characters that has so clearly become a trend among certain current-gen mainstream JRPGs. Lost Odyssey, Last Story, Last Rebellion, Resonance of Fate, and especially, especially The Last Remnant. Even the names are robbed of meaning by how same-y they are.

If the art of all these is such that you could place all in the same game universe and not bat an eye, that has some very damning implications about that school of game design.

These are the types of trends that a reviewer would feel far more strongly about because there are so many games that they have reviewed that have copped that same aesthetic. If you could ignore it when playing FF13, good for you, but it's irrelevant in the face of questions such as:

"Why design a world in which there is no aesthetic standard in that world's game elements setting that world apart from those of my competitors?"

"Is my game's fate-of-the-world mission a fun story or is it a Lord of the Rings/Beowulf/Gilgamesh/Old Testament mishmash of fantastical nonsense?"

Persona 4, a game that answers those questions with better answers, was without contest the larger breakout JRPG success of recent memory in terms of critical acclaim. Yes, it sold something like 600k copies to FF13's 5.5 million, apparently continuing the rumored trend of 60% first day sales. Guitar Hero went from selling 1.5 million in its first week to its latest iteration selling 86k copies in the span of four years.

Even other SMT games didn't have quite the same art direction that P3 and 4 used. The visual design of everything in the world of Persona 4 not only had a definable purpose, but moreover took tired tropes like Japanese school uniforms (that old chestnut, the High School Anime/Manga) and at least made them seem relatively different.

Reviewers, and by way of extrapolation, some of the general public outside of JRPG diehards, were able to enjoy it in a way that is easily attributed to these aspects, thus earning P4 the wide appeal needed to earn a top review score and cement their brand.

P4 is a game in which you are guided through a small-town serial murder mystery in which people die after they appear on local television at midnight. You and others have the ability to summon manifestations of your/their personality, but you alone are free to capture spirits you encounter. Your world, consisting of a school and small town, has a clear, easily definable purpose.

I find these two links explain the appeal of Final Fantasy 13.http://forums.gametrailers.com/thread/ff13-story-makes-no-sense--spo/1112083http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tmC9H3fLTI&feature=related

Rather than "ignorance and apathy... hate and dismissal", I heard a brusquely expressed desire that these types of games either justify the worlds they've created or design worlds that matter. The Final Fantasy series will eventually have to inject substance into the franchise to sustain their business model of pouring money into increasingly dated CG.

The matter of when exactly they will do so is mostly up to the market, of course.

The next Final Fantasy game: an multi-million-strong international group of teenage Linkin Park AMV making Final Fantasy fans must determine the fate of their favorite franchise. The final boss is Meg Ryan as Tidus.