Pubdate: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2005 San Jose Mercury News Contact: http://www.mercurynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390 Author: Mike Antonucci, Mercury News Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) DRUGS IN 'NARC' GIVE AMMO TO GAME CRITICS Given the political and social backlash against violent video games, you might expect their publishers to duck for cover. Judging from the latest twist, you would be wrong. Coming next week: A video game in which characters temporarily become more efficient at fighting and killing by taking drugs that include crack cocaine, LSD and speed. ``NARC,'' scheduled for a Monday release from Midway Games, also includes negative consequences from the drug use. Moreover, the publisher emphasizes that players won't be able to complete the game unless the characters they control have cleaned up and become drug free. But ``NARC,'' a PlayStation 2 and Xbox game that's theoretically intended only for people 17 and older, is an example of what's provoking some politicians and advocacy groups to allege that video and computer games are becoming a more harmful influence for children. ``The games have gotten worse,'' said Assemblyman Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, who has been trying to build support for state legislation that would prohibit the sale of certain violent games to anyone under 17. `Janet Jackson mistake' David Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, believes some game producers are so eager to garner attention through controversy ``that somebody, somewhere, is going to make a Janet Jackson mistake. ``They're going to push over the line too far, and they're going to be surprised at the reaction.'' The game industry's critics contend that teen and preteen boys are a huge outlet for violent games, and that retailers are inconsistent at best in voluntarily restricting sales by age-group ratings. The industry's defenders say the criticism is largely misinformed and that adults constitute most of the market for controversial games. They say industry research shows that younger players are being closely monitored by their parents. Game critics ``see this in the context of a 12-year-old, and that's the wrong context,'' said Carolyn Rauch, senior vice president of the Entertainment Software Association, the publishers' trade organization. ``It's in the context of adults who enjoy making their own entertainment choices, just as they make them for movies, books and music.'' Industry leaders also argue that most games are unlike the ones generating the protest. Although the bestselling game of 2004 was the latest edition in the inflammatory ``Grand Theft Auto'' series, 13 of the top 20 sellers carried an Everyone rating, which means they were recommended by the industry for anyone 6 and older. Attempts to legally restrict minors' access to video games in other states have been struck down as unconstitutional. But the cause has not lost momentum; Rauch said the Entertainment Software Association is aware of some kind of regulatory effort in at least 20 states. CBS gave the debate national exposure earlier this month with a ``60 Minutes'' segment about an Alabama teenager who killed three men, including two police officers, in a sequence of events that resembled action from a ``Grand Theft Auto'' game. In video clips from Midway that illustrate how ``NARC'' can be played, drug use is featured as part of what can be experienced to create interesting visual effects and allow the two main characters to perform more aggressively or lethally. For example, the use of crack cocaine makes them crack shots, and the use of speed enables them to run super-fast. The main characters technically are law enforcement officers, but the game allows them to operate like vigilantes and to frequently kill people, including civilians. Steve Allison, Midway's chief marketing officer, noted that the game can be completed without using drugs at any point. Midway also describes the game as a morality play that's based on real-life issues of corruption and temptation in law enforcement activity. But this version of ``NARC,'' a remake of previous games, added the drug use as a new feature. An ad from Midway in a newsstand game magazine touts the ability to ``use drugs to gain an extra edge.'' The game, which will sell for about $20, also involves extreme violence with no realistic basis, such as the ability to kick the heads off people after taking a fictional drug called Liquid soul. `Very strong argument' ``When a game in any way glorifies drug use,'' said Walsh, ``I think there's a very strong argument to be made that this will have a harmful effect on kids.'' Debates over media content escalated after Jackson's Super Bowl incident and often focused last year on radio or TV material subject to government oversight. For decades the issues have involved cable TV, movies, books and music. Flash points ranged from stunts on MTV's ``Jackass'' show to rap lyrics to the witchcraft in ``Harry Potter'' books. But some recent criticism of electronic games has attempted to single them out as particularly worrisome because of they are interactive. Yee, who wants to restrict the sale of games with violence that he defines as ``especially heinous,'' says it's the participatory nature of games that distinguishes them from other entertainment. He points to the Supreme Court's recent decision to ban the execution of juvenile killers, noting that the majority opinion from the court described minors as more vulnerable than adults to outside pressures that cause them to act irresponsibly. Allison said Midway is not afraid of the antagonism ``NARC'' may generate. He said the company will limit TV advertising for the game to between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., and that the intended audience is the adults who have made crime games ``the bestselling genre'' in his industry. ``We'll take whatever reaction society throws at us,'' said Allison. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin