December 27, 2005

Game inspired by a tv show is released, so of course people write about how horrible videogames are...

Associated Press reporter Nathaniel Hernandez has written an article about Blitz: The League. It has gotten picked up by lots of papers. The version in the Chicago Sun-Times seems to be the most complete. Here's the first paragraph of that version of the article:

In a gritty new video game about a fictional football league, players cripple their opponents, gamble and use performance-enhancing supplements.
The article goes on to make some comparisons between the game and some current accusations brought against some players. The article isn't too bad, but it still mentions Mortal Kombat since that was known back in the day as a very controversial game.
The irony is, of course, that while the Blitz franchise has been around a long time, this version of "controversial" and "gritty" game was not originally going to be called, Blitz: The League, but Blitz: Playmakers, after the controversial ESPN show, Playmakers (warning: web site plays a stupid sound clip). Blitz was going to be called that, because one of the writers for the tv show worked on the game. So this controversial game is really an unofficial adaptation of a controversial tv show. Funny how the article spent all this time talking about the various and sundry aspects of the game and didn't mention that...

Posted by Bryan-Mitchell Young at December 27, 2005 11:57 AM
Posted to rants
Comments

I wonder if they decided not to name the game after the show because a) it was cancelled after only one season or b) it was cancelled after only one season because the NFL leaned on ESPN and ESPN caved. The NFL thought the show tarnished the reputation of football, and told ESPN that they may not retain their broadcast rights to football if they kept airing the show. I wonder if the company that makes Blitz was worried about the same thing, or do they not have any access to the NFL anyway?

Posted by: meredith at December 31, 2005 02:36 AM