| |
| Apology
'Not Good Enough'
Haitian groups demand
recall of Rockstar's video games By
Merle English
Newsdays
|
|
Leaders
of the Haitian-American community yesterday called an apology from the makers
of a video game "a small step in the right direction" but demanded recall of the
11 million games already sold and said a Monday demonstration would go on.
Haitian organizations have denounced the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video game,
saying characters call for the killing of Haitians, Cubans, Colombians and Jamaicans,
and portray them as thugs, thieves and drug dealers.
The organizations
and elected officials said the video is racist and plan legal action to ban such
games.
In a Tuesday statement, Rockstar Games Inc. and its parent company,
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., said they wished "to express our sincerest
apologies to the Haitian people and government of Haiti for any offense ... in
the video game."
Objectionable remarks would be cut from future copies,
the statement said.
The companies said "it was not our intention to target
or offend any group or persons or to incite hatred or violence."
"We have
strived to create a video game experience with a certain degree of realism, which
we believe is our right," the statement continued. "Nevertheless, we are aware
of the hurt and anger in the Haitian community."
In a letter to the companies
yesterday, Sanford Rubenstein, an attorney for the Haitian Centers Council and
Haitian Americans for Human Rights, demanded that production and sales of the
game stop and that it be recalled.
At a news conference yesterday, Henry
Frank, executive director of the Brooklyn-based Haitian Centers Council, said
the apology was "a good move but not good enough. This is to pacify us. It does
not eradicate the wrongs done to us."
Rep. Ed Towns (D-Brooklyn), said
he will ask the Justice Department if civil rights have been violated, and introduce
a bill to outlaw games that violate such rights.
Brooklyn Borough President
Marty Markowitz said, "We need videos that enhance children's respect for diversity
and life."
Frank suggested the companies make a video on Haiti's history,
noting that the Western Hemisphere's first black republic will mark 200 years
of independence next year.
King Keno, a popular Haitian singer, said
in a telephone interview, "We have historical value as a nation. What have we
done to deserve this type of treatment?"
The demonstration is planned
for 10 a.m. Monday outside Rockstar Games at 575 Broadway in Manhattan.
| New
Zealand Bans Take-Two Interactive's 'Manhunt' Video Game |
New
Zealand Bans Take-Two Interactive's 'Manhunt' Video Game WELLINGTON,
New Zealand -- A computer game that encourages players to kill all in sight in
ever more gruesome ways has become the first video game banned in New Zealand.
In
a 12-page statement issued Friday, New Zealand's Office of Film and Literature
Classification said the game "Manhunt" depicts horror, cruelty, crime and violence
in such a manner that its availability was likely to hurt the public good. Chief
censor Bill Hastings said that computer games generally appear to be getting more
"edgy" -- but that "Manhunt," for the PlayStation 2, goes further than any that's
been referred to his office. "It's a game where the only thing you do is kill
everybody you see," he said. "You can choose to kill 'mild,' 'medium' or 'hot.'"
Full
text Copyright
© 2003, Newsday, Inc. |
|
Contact
Us - We'd love to hear what you have to say about
our website.
Copyright
© 2000-2001 Heritagekonpa® Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved.
Heritage Konpa Magazine, Inc.
PO BOX 1362
Valley Stream, NY 11582 |
| |
