David Jaffe has once again returned to the internet, following a long hiatus, to tell certain members of the press that their sensationalist headlines are bullsh*t. Too right…
Oh wait, we wrote one above. Whoopsy.
David Jaffe, best known for God of War, has been divorcing himself from the internet, closing his blog and twitter, due to many of his comments being taken out of context and blown out of proportion.
We were told in September that if we were to hear from him before the announcement of his studio’s first PlayStation 3 game, we were to call him out. Well, we be calling you out Mr Jaffe. However, he doesn’t believe the the below video blog breaks his promise, since it is ”press related.’ No fair.
So what’s the big fuss? At the Game Connect: Asia Pacific conference in Melbourne, Jaffe was painted as slamming the Australian classifications board after a number of video game bans in the country. Sega and Rebellion’s Aliens vs. Predator was the latest victim.
Edge Online quotes Jaffe as saying the following:
There’s a government board and if they say it’s too offensive, in that case there’s no fight to fight — it is what it is.
There’s not much you can do if you’re making games aimed at a mature audience. We never like to cut it, but what are you going to do? You’re dealing with governments… The reality is people still see a lot of these things as kids’ toys. It’s utter BS.
However, according to the video below, Jaffe wasn’t even referring to the Australian ratings board; he was simply calling out the ‘bullsh*t’ people who still view games as toys. Jaffe adds with cutting sarcasm:
Good job video games news people for absolutely fact checking and keeping things in context. You guys rock.
Well, I personally didn’t read a criticism of the Australian ratings board in his original comments. I read no defiance, only submission. The fact that Jaffe felt the need to deny his criticism of Australia’s truly flawed classification’s system, just shows that his many run-ins on the internet have dented his confidence.
I suspect journalists were looking to Jaffe as a high-profile figure to make an impression on the Australian government, but it seems that he no longer has any balls.
what can you say, the internet : man at its best, but mostly its worst
“Well, I personally didn’t read a criticism of the Australian ratings board in his original comments.”
Well, by posting one sentence out of context and judging it like you just did is EXACTLY why you’re the kind of douchebag he is ranting about. nice job.
Whats funny is that you all actually consider yourselfs Journalists.
“Whats funny is that you all actually consider yourselfs Journalists.”
Well, sports joournalists need someone to look down upon too, you know!
Dan: I posted six sentences from him on the matter and watched the original presentation. And it is him who said he didn’t make any comments about the Australian ratings board -speaking against the other headlines – meaning that I read him correctly.
Yomomma: Many are. Thanks for your comment.
“Dan: I posted six sentences from him on the matter and watched the original presentation. And it is him who said he didn’t make any comments about the Australian ratings board -speaking against the other headlines – meaning that I read him correctly.
Yomomma: I am a journalist, I may not be one on here, but I am elsewhere. Thanks for your comment.”
Oh Patrick, is your self esteem damaged? Do you need mommy to hold your hand and tell you you’re special now? Is that why you post these literary criticisms of offhand comments? Is that why you’re need the company of the faceless masses of the Internet?
Cheers for the comment Jeremy, but I’m not quite sure of the relevance. I’m merely questioning whether we have a bunch of Australia ratings board apologists. A system that fails to even have an 18+ classification not only patronises the video games industry, it patronises consumers.
If Jaffe’s comments had been taken as a criticism for this flawed ratings board, then too right, he’d be spot on. He should have stuck to that POV, because pulling back from that criticism doesn’t do anyone any favours.
@ #5….Really? What magazine and/or Newspaper do you write for? And no, these no name internet sites do not count.
If you don’t consider website journalism to be journalism, I can’t help you.
I myself do believe that many video game writers are journalists; many, of course, are not. But some are obsessive fact checkers, take great care with spelling and grammar, carry out in-depth interviews and also offer researched and honest opinions.
Indeed, you’ll find games writers’ articles sourced, and often stolen without credit, by the BBC, the Telegraph, the Guardian. Their critiques of other “respected” news sources often result in them correcting their articles (eg. Time magazine).
Here we try our best to bring you news with honest opinions and a little humour. We don’t need to pretend to be journalists, only careful and researched bloggers in this PS University.
I think it’s a bit rough slamming Jaffe for an issue with the Australian’s ratings board. I’m a 30+ Aussie gamer, and reckon it’s rubbish that we don’t have an 18+ classification, partly due to the ultra-conservative and out of touch Government we had from 1996 through to 2007. However, Jaffe is not an Australian citizen – if people from overseas started telling us how we should do things (drive on the other side of the road, have certain things in our bill of rights, whatver), we’d be pretty cranky about it. Jaffe did what is right – he accepted that it was an Australian issue that should be resolved by Australians. There’s a lot of things about the US that I think are mad – just off the planet – but that’s for you lot to work out. Jaffe showed Australia a lot more respect than many folk from the US and Europe, who often assume the moral high ground from a very questionable position.
So arguing that David Jaffe has no balls, because he has respects Australia’s right to govern itself, is hardly the strongest position to make. I’d argue that this article implicitly reinforces the “US often has it’s head up it’s own arse” perception (don’t get me wrong, it’s not an issue that is unique to the US – the trait is one found in all humans of whatever society – but the US in it’s position of being the most powerful and influential country in the world has many more opportunities to be culturally insensitive than a lot of places, and this has rubbed off in it’s perception by people from other places).
tel you what, this guy must have a dildo up his a$$ 24/7.
i mean i have immense respect for the guy, because hes one of the few developers that have such high expectations and really want to push the boundaries instead of releasing crap.
and come on he created GOW how can i not have immense respect for him?
but jesus fu***ng christ!
every single time i read a quote from him hes bitching about something.
if its not video game used sales its impossiable dead lines and publishers have to much say over developers.
if its not that its censorship.
if its not that its something else.
i mean JESUS CHRIST! dude take a chill pill and a nap!
i know when he was making GOW he said” i am kratos”, but i did not think he meant that literally!
dang whats with all the criticism to patrick, all he did was post an article and not a bad or biased one either, you guys need to calm down
Well, he did say Jaffe no longer had any balls, a fairly big call on the strength of one statement ;). For mine, I’d rather video game devs supporting Australian gamers by including region searches in their online games (something that even these days is pretty rare outside of first-party Sony offerings on the Playstation) than political lobbying.
Axe99: That’s certainly a respectable opinion on the matter. However, video game developers are by default on the world stage as their games are sold around the world. If a game, such as Aliens, is refused classification in Australia, the developers, whether they are Australian or not, should be able to make comment on it.
As for myself, I am a website journalist (or writer) – and the internet is also by default a wide-world medium. Citizens of other countries should be able to criticise the Aussie government and their policies if it’s out of touch – this is often what prompts progress.
I myself am British and I’m disgusted at the UK government’s lack of video games industry tax breaks. It’s only by comparing the industry to foreign industries, such as Canada’s, that we can prove the virtue of video game tax breaks – and for individual developers within those countries to call out the UK government on these issues, raises their profile.
I don’t blame Jaffe for pulling back, but I just miss the old ballsy Jaffe – he was a breath of fresh air. I talk about Jaffe’s antics (with respect) in the 9th issue of D+Pad magazine (pages 61-64) and I think it’s a shame he has divorced himself from the internet; http://www.dpadmagazine.com/dpadissue9.pdf
“But is silence really the solution? There’s something charming about open developers, and some, like Insomniac and Bungie, do get it right. The secret is for interaction to be both measured and positive. Ultimately, bad previews fade in the wake of good reviews, but make a fuss and the stigma will stick. Ignore the rampant trolls and definitely don’t insult the media, or else expect a gaggle of egos to take offence. Then again, we might just regret the day our David Jaffe’s and Denis Dyack’s are replaced by vacant press releases and robotic developers devoid of human passion.”
Cheers. BTW I don’t mind the heat. That’s what we’re here for – debate and conversation.
look at his doorknob in the video… haha it’s broken