Comments: 0 (Go to Comments)
Categories: Commentary
Tags: pc, ps2, xbox
On Saturday, July 9, 2006, a 14-year-old Florida girl was attacked by a shark off Pawleys Island, S.C. The shark, a 6-foot long bull shark, grabbed Caelin Lacy’s foot as she swam 25 feet from the Atlantic coast barrier island. Caelin quickly kicked the shark with her right foot, causing the shark to release her left foot–but the damage was done. Caelin needed 70 stitches and surgery to repair three torn tendons.
While I empathize with Caelin and her family, and hope for her speedy recovery, what of the other victim of this story: the bull shark? No doubt experts would tell us that the shark was following its instincts, mistaking Caelin for a natural food source and attacking her. But that doesn’t explain the attack’s similarities to a video game released by Majesco Entertainment earlier this year.
How dare they!Jaws Unleashed (PC, PS2, XBOX), a “Great White Simulator,” is based on Universal Studio’s popular movie franchise (except for Jaws the Revenge–that movie stank) and Peter Benchley’s novel. Basically a murder how-to for sharks, could this game be behind the attempt on young Caelin’s life? I think so.
What were they thinking?Consider the game’s elements: the game-shark is rewarded for killing humans. The shark stalks its prey, lashing out at the last minute, unleashed (if you will) from morality. I’ll tell you who’s really at fault: Majesco Entertainment for shamelessly publishing a game centered around sharks killing humans. Caelin was lucky, but what about next time, Majesco, what about next time?