Opinion: MADD shouldn’t be so mad about Beer Pong’s E rating
A Nintendo Wii game based on the drinking game Beer Pong has caused a bit of controversy with MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) due to its “Everyone” rating by the ESRB. As a result, developer JVGames has changed the game’s name to Pong Toss and, rather than making it the dry version of Beer Pong, changed the in-game use of root beer to water.
For those who didn’t partake in Beer Pong in college, it typically has two teams with a player on each side of a ping pong table. The object is to throw or bounce a ping pong ball into one of 10 cups (set up in a triangle) at the opposite side of the table. If you succeed, a player on that team has to drink out of that cup and the cup is removed from the table. The team without any cups left loses. The beer used is more often either pale ales or light beers, though on dry campuses they use root beer. For more information you can consult the National Beer Pong League.
A member of MADD told KETK-TV that the game only be sold to the 21+ gamers since the drinking aspect is such a problem. Well, at least it’s in the best of intentions, even though a move like that will ultimately fail. That would put it on the shoulders of all adults to ensure that the children don’t have exposure to the game. Let’s face it. All a kid would need is an open-minded, free-thinking brother/cousin/uncle who is a gamer, 21+ and has the game to have exposure to it. Exposure is something that can’t be combated effectively.
So apparently an “E” rated game promotes drinking. Well, here I am getting up on a soapbox to say two things.
First is that it doesn’t promote drinking unless it portrays one of the Mii’s drinking or orders you to drink.
Second is, why complain about it now? Games that were rated “E” or “T” have had aspects that would be illegal were the young gamers to partake in real-life. Final Fantasy and Suikoden had drinking games or gambling in them and no one complained. Sure, they were part of a larger story but they often were needed to advance the story or build up your party.
Also, what about different casino games that have been released under the “E” rating? There’s games glamorizing gambling and no parental or political backlash. Let’s face it. Both drinking and gambling can be addictive. If you play too big and start owing the wrong people money, gambling can be just as detrimental to your health as drinking. Still, there’s no backlash at gambling games being rated “E.”
As brought up with a previous gamertell article regarding the ESRB, it’s a matter of consistency. If people want their complaints to be taken seriously, they have to give them consistently. If it is illegal to either drink or gamble under aged, complain about both instead of just one.
Something that people don’t realize is that anything they want to complain about can be found anywhere in a game, book, film or painting. Yes sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. However, the rarely said add-on to that old saying is “Then again, sometimes a cigar is more than a cigar.” If people search for it, no matter what, people will find something to complain about. Some complaints might be warranted. Others are absolutely ridiculous.
Read [KETK-TV] Also Read [NintendoWiiFanBoy] Also Read [National Beer Pong League]
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on August 8, 2008 at 08:13 AM - LINKWill
Great article..
on August 8, 2008 at 03:18 PM - LINKThanks Erg.
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on August 8, 2008 at 04:15 PM - LINKWill - You can contact the site Editor (me) through the “Contact Us” link at the bottom of the site.
on August 8, 2008 at 04:48 PM - LINKFirst is that it doesn’t promote drinking unless it portrays one of the Mii’s drinking or orders you to drink.
If the game is showing drinking games in a fun, positive light, then it is sending a positive message about drinking to players. Seems like an indirect, and perhaps unintentional, promotion to me.
Second is, why complain about it now? Games that were rated “E” or “T” have had aspects that would be illegal were the young gamers to partake in real-life. Final Fantasy and Suikoden had drinking games or gambling in them and no one complained.
*shrug* Maybe MADD didn’t know about the drinking in these games at the time that they were released. Should they be expected to go and research games that are years old before being allowed to take a stance on a game that is current and in front of them right now? Whether or not they complained about other similar games in the past doesn’t really have any bearing on the legitimacy of their argument against Beer Pong.
If people want their complaints to be taken seriously, they have to give them consistently. If it is illegal to either drink or gamble under aged, complain about both instead of just one.
It’s not inconsistent for MADD to focus solely on a a drinking-themed game that’s rated E without addressing gambling games that are rated E. Their organization is devoted to combating underage drinking and driving, not underage gambling. Why should they be expected to address every single thing that may or may not be harmful to kids in E rated games before being allowed to speak out against the one issue that their organization was founded to address?
I care about MADD’s protest of Beer Pong about as much as I cared about MADD’s protest of drunk driving in GTAIV, which is to say not very much at all, but I don’t see anything wrong with their actions. It’s consistent with and a legitimate complaint according to their organization’s goals and beliefs.
on August 8, 2008 at 08:13 PM - LINKThe overarching argument is regarding parents but also political backlashing. The government tries to ban or restrict material having to do with either violence, sex or alcohol but ignores other vices which the government themselves have put restrictions on. While the governing bodies do hold a great deal of sway, sadly, much like parents complaining about different content, they do so inconsistently. They do “buffet” style complaining, picking and choosing what they feel would better benefit their public image.
I do believe that MADD has valid concerns regarding alcohol. Mothers Against Drunk Driving, it’s a noble thing to try to keep alcohol out of the bodies of people driving. It’s noble because through keeping alcohol out of the body of someone who is supposed to be driving protects the driver and anyone he/she might run over while driving in a drunken haze.
However their demands, if met, really wouldn’t amount to anything because of the fact that we are in a digital era talking about electronics where programs and games can be found a multitude of different ways, some of which are legal and others aren’t. A parent can only ensure that a child exposure to objectionable material is limited only in their house.
on August 8, 2008 at 08:38 PM - LINKAh, okay. I understand where you’re coming from now. Fair enough. :-)
on August 9, 2008 at 12:26 AM - LINKAnd rightfully so,
on August 9, 2008 at 05:45 PM - LINKI look at this in a different way. Granted Pong Toss came from a drinking game but it’s an individuals choice to drink. I think its a much bigger concern on how an underage would get alcohol vs. their choice to drink it in a game or make the game only accesable to 21+.
The truth of the matter is that Pong Toss doesn’t involve anything more then throwing a ball into a cup. It’s the individual on the outside of the game that equates it to having to drink.