Recently, a gamer named R.J. created a self-important petition on the White House’s <i>We The People</i> website. Now, if we’re being honest, the majority of these petitions aren’t being created for rational reasons. For example, last November someone wrote a petition that asked President Obama to force Ohio to give the city of Toledo back to the state of Michigan. If they failed to comply, Ohio would be compelled to pay 10 trillion dollars in compensation. Also, there are secession petitions for all 50 states, and potheads file a constant stream of semi-legible marijuana legalization petitions. But even with the stupidity of these petitions at the forefront of our minds, R.J.’s petition seems particularly idiotic.
Here it is:
Dear Mr. Obama: As a consumer to the Video Game Industry there is one Video Game that has caused a lot of controversy over the past few month’s.
The name of the game is DmC: Devil May Cry made by Ninja Theory and Capcom. A majority of gamer’s are aggravated that this game has changed so much from it’s past predecessors and the game actually insults the consumers in-game.
We, as consumers did not want nor need this reboot and we believe it violates our rights to have a choice between the original’s or the reboot. This game is violating our rights as a consumer and we believe it should be pulled off shelves from game stores due to it’s insulting nature and the fact that it violates our rights.
Please Mr. Obama, look into your heart and make the decision that will please us Gamers.
The petition has already been removed from the White House website, but the fact that it ever existed in the first place bums me out a little.
Many gamers have become so self-obsessed that they think they can force publishers into complying with their petty little whims. They’re not content to simply complain about a game if they think it sucks; they try to muscle the developers into agreeing with them.
I understand that R.J. was most likely joking around, but there’s obviously a thread of truth in his humor. Plus, the fact that this same tactic was used on Mass Effect 3 and gathered 13,000 signatures (ME3 haters even raised $80,000 for charity ) disappoints me a little (well, the charity work doesn’t disappoint me).
Game development is not a democratic process, and the moment that it becomes one is the moment that games start following a generic, lifeless pattern, like episodes of Law and Order. Titles like The Walking Dead and Journey don’t have a place in that world. Even Activision, who took some big risks in Black Ops 2, will just end up spoon-feeding consumers exactly what they want.
If you want to complain about the quality of your favorite games, please feel free. A critical dialog is how artistic mediums progress, but stop trying to force everyone to have the same opinion. The White House doesn’t care. The publishers don’t care. Your friends don’t care. I don’t care. Even your parents don’t care.
So, stop annoying everyone around you, or we’ll all start a petition about you.
 | By Josh Engen News Director Date: January 22, 2013 |