speculawyer
Member
OK people . . . what happened here? From what I can tell, someone created a trailer with OJ Simpons highlights for APF 2K8. But the person put OJ on a generic team called "Assassins" and that team has a big anamatronic Assassin in their stadium that moves an arm with a knife when a touchdown is scored. As a poster belong indicated, it looks like Gametrailers.com made this video.
A reporter at the thestreet.com, a financial news outlet who had a large shareholder with a short position on Take-Two then posted a story about this video making a big deal out of this. Keep in mind that Simpsons is never shown with a knife, he is just shown playing football. And 2K Sports did not release this video (a fact not disclosed in the story and in fact the story implies otherwise).
Did someone create this video and then tell this reporter? (This reporter is not a videogame player . . . she's made many stupid mistakes in her articles that clearly show she does not know what she is talking about when writing about videogames.)
What do you think?
Disclosure: Yes, I own shares in TTWO . . . but something weird is definitely going on here.
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I'm cutting and pasting the story here because thestreet.com often changes their stories:
Take-Two Game Has O.J. Simpson -- and a Knife
By Priya Ganapati
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
7/20/2007 12:57 PM EDT
Video-game publisher Take-Two Interactive (TTWO - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) has done it again.
The company, which has come under fire in the past for offensive content in its games, is now testing the taste barrier with its latest sports video game, All-Pro Football 2K8, which features O.J. Simpson, unquestionably America's most infamous athlete.
A game trailer on the Game Trailers Web site shows Simpson game highlights as his team, "The Assassins," moves down the field. Toward the end of the clip, Simpson scores a touchdown, prompting a large hooded mascot above the scoreboard to make stabbing motions with a large knife.
Game Trailers, a division of Viacom's (VIA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) MTV Networks, publishes video game trailers, previews, reviews from all publishers. {Speculawyer note: This video was not created by Take-Two but the preceeding sentence would imply otherwise.} Take-Two doesn't dispute that the Simpson clip represents the game's contents.
While the decision of Take-Two's 2K Sports label to include Simpson in the game, despite his past, could possibly be defended, considering his place in football history, it's unclear why the company would use a mascot that tries to play on Simpson's notoriety as the accused in the 1994 murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend, Ron Goldman. {Speculawyer note: I don't believe that 2K Sports put OJ Simpsons on the 'Assassins' team. The creator of the video did that.}
Simpson was acquitted of the murders in 1995; two years later, a civil jury found him liable for the wrongful death of Goldman.
2K Sports' decision clearly reflects a lack of sensitivity and leaves the company open to accusations of bad taste, but, at its worst, it suggests an attempt to deliberately offend and use Simpson's past to profit and promote a video game that many parents would likely buy as a normal sports-game purchase.
All-Pro Football 2K8, which features 240 of football's best players, including legends such as Joe Montana and Walter Payton, is rated 'E10+' by the industry's Entertainment Software Ratings board, which means it's suitable for ages 10 and older. The game was released Tuesday.
Take-Two declined to answer specific questions relating to whether Simpson approved the use of the mascot in the game. But a company spokesperson forwarded a statement saying that the knifelike motion from the mascot is "not specifically associated with O.J. Simpson, and the game does not promote any such connection."
Fred Goldman, father of Ron Goldman who was killed along with Simpson's wife, Nicole Brown, through his lawyer David Cook declined to comment on the game. "This whole thing is just beyond any comment and shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone," said Cook.
"As to whether Mr. Simpson is entitled to participate in any revenue stream based on the video and other rights, this matter is being studied," he said.
Take-Two also declined to reveal how much it has paid Simpson for the right to use his likeness in the game. But a video-game industry source estimates Take-Two could have paid Simpson anywhere between $50,000 and $125,000.
Shares of Take-Two were recently down 14 cents, or 0.6%, to $20.29.
This is hardly the first time that Take-Two has faced extensive criticism for poor judgment.
Last month, the company's game, Manhunt 2, was denied a rating by the British Board of Film Certification because of its violent content. Take-Two has suspended the game and has not indicated when it will release it again.
In 2005, the discovery of racy content in another Take-Two games, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, had many retailers pulling the games off shelves until the company removed the offending portions of the game.
A reporter at the thestreet.com, a financial news outlet who had a large shareholder with a short position on Take-Two then posted a story about this video making a big deal out of this. Keep in mind that Simpsons is never shown with a knife, he is just shown playing football. And 2K Sports did not release this video (a fact not disclosed in the story and in fact the story implies otherwise).
Did someone create this video and then tell this reporter? (This reporter is not a videogame player . . . she's made many stupid mistakes in her articles that clearly show she does not know what she is talking about when writing about videogames.)
What do you think?
Disclosure: Yes, I own shares in TTWO . . . but something weird is definitely going on here.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm cutting and pasting the story here because thestreet.com often changes their stories:
Take-Two Game Has O.J. Simpson -- and a Knife
By Priya Ganapati
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
7/20/2007 12:57 PM EDT
Video-game publisher Take-Two Interactive (TTWO - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) has done it again.
The company, which has come under fire in the past for offensive content in its games, is now testing the taste barrier with its latest sports video game, All-Pro Football 2K8, which features O.J. Simpson, unquestionably America's most infamous athlete.
A game trailer on the Game Trailers Web site shows Simpson game highlights as his team, "The Assassins," moves down the field. Toward the end of the clip, Simpson scores a touchdown, prompting a large hooded mascot above the scoreboard to make stabbing motions with a large knife.
Game Trailers, a division of Viacom's (VIA - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) MTV Networks, publishes video game trailers, previews, reviews from all publishers. {Speculawyer note: This video was not created by Take-Two but the preceeding sentence would imply otherwise.} Take-Two doesn't dispute that the Simpson clip represents the game's contents.
While the decision of Take-Two's 2K Sports label to include Simpson in the game, despite his past, could possibly be defended, considering his place in football history, it's unclear why the company would use a mascot that tries to play on Simpson's notoriety as the accused in the 1994 murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend, Ron Goldman. {Speculawyer note: I don't believe that 2K Sports put OJ Simpsons on the 'Assassins' team. The creator of the video did that.}
Simpson was acquitted of the murders in 1995; two years later, a civil jury found him liable for the wrongful death of Goldman.
2K Sports' decision clearly reflects a lack of sensitivity and leaves the company open to accusations of bad taste, but, at its worst, it suggests an attempt to deliberately offend and use Simpson's past to profit and promote a video game that many parents would likely buy as a normal sports-game purchase.
All-Pro Football 2K8, which features 240 of football's best players, including legends such as Joe Montana and Walter Payton, is rated 'E10+' by the industry's Entertainment Software Ratings board, which means it's suitable for ages 10 and older. The game was released Tuesday.
Take-Two declined to answer specific questions relating to whether Simpson approved the use of the mascot in the game. But a company spokesperson forwarded a statement saying that the knifelike motion from the mascot is "not specifically associated with O.J. Simpson, and the game does not promote any such connection."
Fred Goldman, father of Ron Goldman who was killed along with Simpson's wife, Nicole Brown, through his lawyer David Cook declined to comment on the game. "This whole thing is just beyond any comment and shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone," said Cook.
"As to whether Mr. Simpson is entitled to participate in any revenue stream based on the video and other rights, this matter is being studied," he said.
Take-Two also declined to reveal how much it has paid Simpson for the right to use his likeness in the game. But a video-game industry source estimates Take-Two could have paid Simpson anywhere between $50,000 and $125,000.
Shares of Take-Two were recently down 14 cents, or 0.6%, to $20.29.
This is hardly the first time that Take-Two has faced extensive criticism for poor judgment.
Last month, the company's game, Manhunt 2, was denied a rating by the British Board of Film Certification because of its violent content. Take-Two has suspended the game and has not indicated when it will release it again.
In 2005, the discovery of racy content in another Take-Two games, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, had many retailers pulling the games off shelves until the company removed the offending portions of the game.
