Insomniac's Ted Price speaks out against video game legislation

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 25th 2008 at 9:15PM }

Insomniac's CEO Ted Price knows about fun and games. However, he takes the issue of games legislation quite seriously. "I think video game legislation has no place in America," Ted Price told Shacknews in an interview. "It saddens me to see legislators stomping all over our First Amendment rights for their own specific interests."

Although they may be most famous for Ratchet & Clank, Insomniac is no stranger to creating games meant for adults. Their PS3 launch title, Resistance has sold millions of copies, with a sequel being readied for launch in November.

He believes that video games are being painted as the "scapegoat" of society's problems, much like movies, radio and even books in the past. Just like in the past, it will take some time before this attitude is rectified. "It won't be until we have more gamers running for office that this will calm down," he added. "It's something that we'll weather, because we are right, what we do is defensible under the Constitution and shouldn't be regulated by the government."

[Via GameDaily]

Tags: insomniac, legislation, ted-price

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Game_playa @ Sep 25th 2008 9:28PM

So true.

miglaugh @ Sep 25th 2008 9:34PM

right on. fight the good fight.

Ash @ Sep 25th 2008 9:53PM

That's the way to tell 'em Ted

Daniel @ Sep 25th 2008 10:04PM

smart man

AJ @ Sep 25th 2008 10:11PM

Ted Price for President 2012 anyone? maybe Hideo Kojima will be Vice President, or some other Playstation developer. =D

kevin @ Sep 25th 2008 10:26PM

no.
i dont wanna be drafted to go off on a chimera war.

John @ Sep 25th 2008 10:33PM

His succinct comments are spot-on. Notice that Japan's new prime minister reads Manga and plays Videogames.

iamkid @ Sep 25th 2008 10:34PM

sweet

MexicanTerrorist @ Sep 25th 2008 11:22PM

Video games are unfortunately still not widely accepted by "normal" culture. The problem is that the industry is still too young. Eventually, the gaming industry will find its place in the world, and maybe then this legislation and "scapegoating" bullshit will slow down.

PC-Max @ Sep 25th 2008 11:48PM

Funny how the people who are too close to the issue don't see the problem. Can't see the problem from the entertainment value of violence.

Hate to burst peoples bubbles but vid games are one factor in the world of violence and aggression in youth. It varies from one degree (someone throwing a tantrum when the die in multiplayer) to another(getting out in a car and punching someone out for cutting you off). They are not the sole influence, but a part of the pop-culture then endorses violence as a means of entertainment.

Its been proven so by people who actually believed otherwise and went out to prove it... and to their surprise vid game do influence the violent/aggressive nature that is human. They also proved how it influences developing brains. In other words affects younger people more so than older in how they deal with issues. All that means is if you are a hardcore gamer who mostly enjoy violent or explicit games... well take a good look at your life and see how you react to things that don't go your way.

Besides all this, each generation has had something "popular" that has made it more violent or aggressive.

Course, that does not stop of us from playing these games, but there lays the conundrum.

I have seen it with my friends and they scoff at it, but man... don't want to drive with them after playing GTA and having a bad time with it. Feel sorry for all those cats and squirrels.

SharpShooter @ Sep 26th 2008 12:30AM

Sorry, but none of the people I know, including me are even slightly effected by violent video games. If somebody feels the need to go punch somebody after playing a violent video game, or even throw a tantrum, then there is something wrong with that person.

Scorchy5 @ Sep 26th 2008 1:51AM

i believe that the more aggressive people go for violent games not that the games make people aggressive.

Violent games WILL bring out your inner aggression, but its the person who chooses to play the game, the person chooses to be aggressive. Its a shame we live in a culture that endorses violence as a means of entertainment.

Ba watcha gone do.

miglaugh @ Sep 26th 2008 9:31AM

If you are violent in real life, you will get your just deserts eventually (be it prison, injury to yourself, etc).

If you are violent in a video game, it can be hilarious (ragdoll bodies flying into buildings, cars soaring through the air flipping).

If you can't distinguish between the two, and understand that one is OK and the other is not, you are slightly crazy, and stay the hell away from me.

Stop with the one size fits all hat that "any and ALL violence is bad and should be replaced with group hugs and flowers". If YOU don't like violence, or can't handle it without going crazy in real life, GTFO of my main entertainment source.

If you want to talk about WHY violence in video games is fun, and how you wish it wasn't, then maybe that's another discussion for another time (it's called philosophy class). But trying to get me to feel bad for shooting a virtual character in the face all gangster like, it's not going to work. In real life I would never hurt a fly, and that's ALL that matters.

duckhunt8 @ Sep 26th 2008 4:05PM

"Its been proven so by people who actually believed otherwise and went out to prove it"

And vice versa. Your *opinion* is correct that video games can lead to violence. But if you're going to fight to stop video games, then I better see you fighting to stop books, movies, billboards, magazines, posters, music, basically anything visual or auditory that has even the slightest bit to do with violence, since it still contributes.

Video games don't kill people. Angry / Dangerous people just happen to play video games.

Rasti @ Sep 26th 2008 9:40PM

I beg to differ. Anyone with a decent home enviroment and responsible parents will not be affected by violence in games. Tell me, how is computer generated characters killing eachother worse than real live human beings doing the same in movies (often in a realistic and very detailed manner)?

It is not the videogame industries responsibility to pick up the slack of dead-beat parents. I have many friends who are gamers, and many who are not, and I can tell you that the ones not playing videogames are far more violent than any of the gamers. Why is idolizing Niko Belic worse than looking up to Scarface?

ChocoDK @ Sep 26th 2008 12:26AM

I agree with Ted Price on what he says. Back in the day parents used to be scared of their kids watching TV or listening to Rock N Roll because it was considered to "taint their minds." Now all the blame is going towards video games. Yet our society is getting more and more violent in so many other ways. Yes, I agree that video games are much more violent then they were lets say 20yrs ago but lets look at the movies and tv shows now.

Back when I was a kid growing up in the early and mid 90s most TV shows were comedies and wholesome i.e. Bill Cosby Show, Home Improvment, Fresh Prince of Bellar, Full House etc. I hate sitcoms on TV now and what is on our televisions. We got reality nation on our televesions and thats all nice. But so much sexual refrences are on tv now. Even look at movies back when I was a kid I remember there was rated R movies and now I don't even see them anymore.

So many current movies have so much swearing now and what does that say? It teaches children its ok to have sex or swear a lot. So don't blame everything on video games. Its also up to the parents to know what their children are buying. If they don't work and have the money to buy the games then it should be mom or dad who buys them right? I saw a mother buy her 12yrs old son GTAIV for the 360 so what does that say?

Its easy to blame something then admit the real issue of the matter.