Report on German Nerds at Gamescom

[SyntherAugustus]

First part is the best but the rest is pretty worth it. Apparently this is leading to a lawsuit from a group of nerds.

[negke]

Blah. I watched this earlier today to see what the fuss is about. It's well known that the channel and its offsprings try hard to cater to the dumbest possible audience (perhaps comparable to FOX in the US?) and the show this report appeared on is like rainbow press TV which isn't known for its profound reporting or quality. This report doesn't do just to the event (being the largest games convention in Europe) and plays on the common stereotypes on gamers, but the whole tone is mostly humourous, even if in a silly way. So as pleased as I am that the channel gets slap to the face now, I don't really see how this is worth the big outcry that it supposedly created. There've been worse (outrage-worthy) reports on serious channels/shows renown for proper investigation and sophisticated reporting, e.g. in the wake of school shootings.

So, what I find more interesting is how this got hyped this much beyond its news value that someone even took the effort of subtitling it, and that it eventually ended up on international web forums.

[Tango]

hahahaha. what a bunch of dicks.

[Mattfrie1]

Yup, from what I know about German culture, RTL and it's sister channel RTL II were pretty well known for their trashy programming at one point. Even though they dropped all of their softcore porn programming, the bad stigma still follows them about it to this day.

However, I find it funny how it looks like there are a bunch of teens talking about their "ego-shooters" (German for First-Person Shooters) when German government-run programs like the USK (German video game rating system known for it's censorship of violent games) and the BPjM (used to "index" violent Movies, Music CD's and Video Games so they can't be purchased by minors or advertised in German media) try so hard to keep violent video games out of the hands of kids and teens.

Don't believe me? Check out the cut USK 16 rated version of Half-Life:

(Don't worry, I think the uncensored version was released in Germany as well, but it was indexed and rated USK 18)

[pavera]

People with special interest gathering with other people with special interest while showing lots of interest in said interest? Shock and awe.

[Jodwin]

Mattfrie1 said:

Don't believe me? Check out the cut USK 16 rated version of Half-Life:

Not saying that I agree with Germany's sentiment against game violence, but compared to the American attitude where violence is glorified but anything sex-related is banned the Germans sound much more sensible. ;)

[Technician]

Eeew gross, Germans...

[Mattfrie1]

Jodwin said:

Not saying that I agree with Germany's sentiment against game violence, but compared to the American attitude where violence is glorified but anything sex-related is banned the Germans sound much more sensible. ;)

I agree with you completely. I just find it interesting how Germany handles video game violence a lot differently then the US does.

[hex11]

Beware of video game violence!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGQkszIEMiw

[Lila Feuer]

I guess that's the thing to do in Germany; get shot, sit down, and shake head in disagreeable fashion.

[Sharessa]

Heeey, the PvZ guys were handing out headcones there. They were only giving away bumper stickers and pink hats at PAX.

Also, that booth girl is a cunt.

[Coopersville]

Yeeeeeeeeeeah! I love nerd conventions. Here's me disguised as a nerd getting pictures taken with furries. I love going to these things and exposing the attendees for the mockeries that they are. I'm actually going to an anime convention tonight to do that in fact.

Apparently this is leading to a lawsuit from a group of nerds.

Seriously? Years and years ago, a friend of mine went to Anime North dressed up in a pink Bridget costume (this was before being a trap was the hot new joke-fetish; he was like the only guy dressed like this). It got him a similar interview with the news, and it was like the best day of his life.

What are these nerds going to sue for? Slander? Are they going to bring in tangible evidence that they don't go out in public smelling of BO and pop tarts, posing with booth girls using the hover hand, and trying to sneak in kisses when these girls have no idea where they've been? Did they get tricked into being filmed with a wonky release form that said they were interviewing the most badass people at Gamescom?

"Leave it up to hipster nerds to pretend they hate what they actually want."
- Tucker Max