Despite recent bad press over Reservoir Dogs and Bully - or should we say Canis Canem Edit - a British politician has given assurances that the government there stands behind the U.K. game industry.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Shaun Woodward, Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism, said, "I think it's terribly important that one or two things don't spoil the barrel for everybody else, because this is an exceptional industry with exceptional talent. It fulfills and plays an important role in our society, and a very constructive role in the lives of many young people, as well as middle-aged people like myself."

Woodward made his remarks during a speech delivered at the British Academy of Television and Film Arts (BAFTA). The minister referred to the games biz as "one of our most important creative industries, and one at which the U.K. excels."
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Eidos seems determined to challenge Take Two as the video game industry's bad boy publisher.

Last year's release of cops-and-robbers shooter 25 to Life inspired months of protests by law enforcement groups as well as legislative proclamations in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Now comes word that police in the U.K. are outraged by Eidos' upcoming game adaptation of director Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs film.

As reported in the Yorkshire Post, police officials are concerned that "players can take police officers hostage and go on to burn out their eyes with a lit cigar, chop off their fingers with a cigar cutter and hack off their ears using a scalpel, while they plead for their lives and scream in pain."
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As reported by GamePolitics and others, Australia's Office of Film & Literature Classification (OFLC) recently refused classification to Eidos' upcoming Reservoir Dogs, effectively banning the game Down Under.

On Friday GameSpy reported that New Zealand's OFLC had followed its neighbor country's lead, classifying Reservoir Dogs as "objectionable" (and therefore, banned).

But Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA), an Australian advocacy group has expressed concern about the nation's video game bans, suggesting that a new R18+ rating be adopted to designate games meant for adult players. Currently the Australian game rating system maxes out at 15+. Thus, any game judged by the OFLC to be unsuitable for 15-year-olds gets banned. Films, however, may be rated R18+.

According to APC Magazine EFA Executive Director Irene Graham has expressed concern that the OFLC is beginning to ban games like Marc Ecko's Getting Up and Reservoir Dogs based on the notion that they may promote youth crime.

"It's made worse by the fact that there is no R 18 rating for games," Graham said. The EFA exec fears that pre-emptive bans on games could spread to other forms of media as well.

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Australian gamers can now add another title to the list of games they won't be playing.

As reported by APC, Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) has refused to rate Atari's upcoming Reservoir Dogs, effectively banning it Down Under.

The game, which was scheduled for release later this year, mirrors the plot of the 1992 film, which itself received an R18 rating from the OFLC.
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The lengths I go to for GP readers - forcing myself to attend this year's E3 in Los Angeles; playing all of the new games and even checking out a bit of the E3 party scene.

In fact, while waiting in line to play the Nintendo Wii, I began to wonder which games will politicians and the anti-gaming crowd target in the coming year? What game will be the new GTA San Andreas or 25 to Life? Based on what I picked up at E3, these games could bring some rough sailing for the game industry:

First up is Grand Theft Auto 4 Why? Well, just because it's GTA. What more needs to be said? Ever since Hot Coffee, poor San Andreas has been pegged as the poster child for everything that's wrong with the video game industry. Will GTA4 cause a similar brouhaha? My gut says yes. It's true that we don't know anything about the game except for its name and release date but a lack of facts has never stopped the industry's critics. And besides, it's a pretty safe bet the characters in GTA4 won't be playing much ping pong.

Reservoir Dogs - If you've seen the movie, you know there's going to be a lot of violence towards cops. And 25 to Life showed how politically disastrous that can be for the game industry. Based on E3 previews, Reservoir Dogs has two play styles: psycho (kill everyone in your path) and professional (don't kill anyone). Check out Gamespot's preview for a gameplay video detailing all of the ear-slicing fun.

Sadness - Not much is yet known about this adult horror game due out for Wii in 2007 but here's an excerpt from the developer's website: "Imagine driving away rats with a torch, throwing a rope (as a lasso) when you want to climb over the wall, or slitting the throat of a persecutor with a piece of glass... All of this with the help of the Revolution controller."
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