UPDATE: For a long time now we’ve enjoyed getting a few people to bite on our Fiction Friday, although we always label them FAKE NEWS, some people still get hooked in. Well, what goes around, has come around. ScrapeTV is a satire site. The article was worded very officially and to be honest, I got hooked in this time. So file this one under FAKE NEWS (tag being added now). I apologize for getting fooled and then sending it up as a real story. I thought it was real…. apparently it is not.
Wal-Mart long ago appointed itself the watchdog of morality. From selling censored CD’s to banning certain movies from its DVD shelves, nothing seems to deter them from their goal of creating a deeply discounted utopia of happiness and warm-fuzziness. Today, they announced that they are taking things one step further. Soon the retailer will begin covering the boxes of video games rated “M” for mature by the ESRB. I have three young kids and even I have a problem with this on so many levels.
Obviously, this is a move meant to protect children from the harmful effects of video game, uh…. cover art… right? Sorry, but I don’t see it that way. Most of these games have very mild artwork. Take Grand Theft Auto, for instance. It’s one of the most controversial franchises on the market, but the cover art is artistic, smooth, and cool. Hardly anything worth covering up, yet under Wal-Mart’s new plan, it’s going to be issued the same black sleeve that you’d find over “Lactating Midgets Gone Wild” in a 7-Eleven. This will essentially serve only to demonize video games even further with Soccer Moms and the right-wing wackos that think Satan himself is developing these games. (Trust me folks, Satan doesn’t have the budget for a AAA title.)
No friends, Walmart is not, in any way, doing this to protect the children of America from video game cover art. They are doing this because they need a new economic boost from the hyper-conservative client base. They know, or think they know, that people who buy these M-rated games are not likely to be deterred by a black sleeve. It’s a win-win.
I beg to differ.
If Wal-Mart really wants to protect children from M-rated games, then they should stop selling them altogether. Period. End of discussion. That won’t happen. Even the lessons of God Almighty pale in comparison to Wal-Mart’s hunger for the almighty dollar. They would stand to lose millions of dollars in revenue by not selling these games in their stores. Instead, they’ll sleeve the hottest games in their gaming section and call it an “act of child protection,” all the while salivating over each sinful dollar that they make from the sale of M-rated games.
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Walmarttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
This is moronic. Epic fail from Walmart.
i have seriously had it. Such a BS excuse to endear themselves to the conservative dorks.
Bye Bye Walmart electronics section. Enjoy selling Wii games and My Little Pony videos. I am sure you’ll make a killing.
I’m with you… if this is really going to happen I think I’m done buying (at least) games from them.
Agreed.. but I havent bought a game at Wal-Mart since the day Final Fantasy X was first put on shelves.. and I didnt even pay for it.
Never the less. I’m with you all the way.
What are they going to do next, cover up underwear because it might suggest kids to take them off and have sex with each other?
The games will have the black sleeve, but there will be ungodly huge posters depicting a driveby when GTA4 is released in the front and center window.
Its like saying “yea…we got the stuff…but uh…we are not telling you where”
This better turn out to be a hoax.
Guys, this is not the same time where gaming was just a bunch of nerds’ hobby, done only in the confines of a dark basement, lit by a flickering TV. We gamers have some power, and if we could come together, douchebag companies like Walmart will have to listen to us. If a bunch of gamers, hell the whole community of Mature playing gamers stopped shopping at Walmart and started shopping MORE at GameStop and EB, we could systematically FORCE Walmart to take us seriously. The monetary losses would be big enough that they could lift the black sleeves and possibly change their atitude towards gaming in general. This would be a great accomplishment for the gaming community, and a necessary one after all these hits we’ve been taking.
I think it’s hypocritic to cover them, and sell them.
We want to cover them bu we don’t mind if you pay the full price
Yeah, I just bought something at Wally World and i somewhat regret that now (could’ve got it online really…).
Just think, Gaming is going to end up in the history books at this rate! “Modern Entertainment; The rise of Gamers” Chapter 27
This sucks, what are they do…Oh wait, I don’t shop at Wal-Mart, ever.
Guess who isn’t going to be buying games at walmart ever again. O.o
Wal-Mart wasn’t a good store to begin with..
Called it quits with Wal-Mart right after the GHIII midnight madness with the GHII controller!!! This doesn’t surprise me at all!
I bought contra and rez for PS2 at wallmart since they was the only ones who had it.
XDDDDDDDDD
i will ask to look at these games and chuckle creepily just to make it seem as if i get some sort of dirty pleasure from it.
eeeehhahahahahahahahahahaha!
So… has Wal-mart published any books on Amazon recently? >:)
You know whats even more ridculos? is that they can cover up M rated games, but they wont cover up R rated movies which tend to be worse than M games.
this is a pure sign the we gamers are looked down apon, and if theres a game where you kill people like GTA and theres some sort of bad thing that happens (like the virgina tech shooting) than it will be blamed on a game. yet if theres a bad movie like Mr.Brooks and something bad happens than no one will care and say some BS like “well they interacte with the game and they dont with a movie” or i actually heard this on the news once after there was a shooting in a mall somewhere this “Expert” actually said “Well they play these games and kill people and think oh thats cool i should go do that in real life” WHAT BS i mean come on, its like the whole Fox news and Mass Effect thing i mean its BS.
“Just think, Gaming is going to end up in the history books at this rate! ?Modern Entertainment; The rise of Gamers? Chapter 27″
Your not far off there mate…
“Discovery Channel Examines the History and Impact of Videogames in New Special RISE OF THE VIDEOGAME” – http://kotaku.com/gaming/tv/discovery-channel-to-air-5-hour-videogame-documentary-320294.php
Look it up its actually quite interesting.
Which is yet another reason NOT to shop at Wal-mart
Question? Does Wal-mart really believe, that in this changing world of “downloadable” video game software, that their role as master retailer is still as important as it once was?
Two? What do you think the response is going to be from game publishers and game studios — after spending millions of dollars, years in development, and who know how much on marketing — just to have Wal-mart come along and COVER_UP box art, that probably took months to decide upon.
I know that if I were in that situation, I would be extremely angry, and would move quicker to “cut-out-the-middle-man”, and sell my games directly on-line. PS3, X-BOX, & Wii, all have on-line stores — completely circumventing the need to deal with this kind of ridiculous bullsh_t.
I don’t go to Wal-mart much myself unless I have to (which is rare) because I hate the place but the company I work for (we actually make video games incidentally) REFUSES to deal with Wal-mart under ANY circumstances. I’ve been told when we have to buy anything at all to go to anywhere that’s not Wal-mart. They’ll continue to make money, as they always do, but they won’t make any from me now.
………
I hate Wal-Mart.
this is just rediculous, and yes i know i spelled it wrong.
This is not true, that article was just a joke.
UPDATE: For a long time now we’ve enjoyed getting a few people to bite on our Fiction Friday, although we always label them FAKE NEWS, some people still get hooked in. Well, what goes around, has come around. ScrapeTV is a satire site. The article was worded very officially and to be honest, I got hooked in this time. So file this one under FAKE NEWS (tag being added now). I apologize for getting fooled and then sending it up as a real story. I thought it was real…. apparently it is not.
Doc I’m sorry but…
EPIC FAIL!
XD
That was an awesomely believable joke article.
Critical Failure. On a bicycle.
haha i actually believed this when i saw it on another site
We should post links to other sites that got punked too….
are you people dense?? This is a FAKE news article. Translation for simpletons: Wal-Mart is NOT putting covers on any video games.
[...] Doc gets suckered in: Wal-Mart Censorship – (Article) [...]
[...] game? Is it not enough to ask for ID to buy a Mature rated title? Why don’t they just put bags over the games like they’re porn and put them in a back room? Let’s make people even more [...]
I buy most of my stuff from walmart, they have good prices on everything, they aren’t depressingly empty and quiet like k-mart, and occasionally I’ll find a videogame other stores stopped selling a long time ago, such as psychonauts in 2007, and a PS1 game last year (really, I don’t know why).