This post is by guest blogger Jamie.
Comments: 0 (Go to Comments)
Categories: Interview
Tags: wii
Do Wii have a problem?
Lots of mud is being slung around the inner circles of geeks and the rightist fundamentalist Christians. Mike Foster, a writer for ThePornTalk was kind enough to answer some of my questions about the concerns people have had with the Wii and his organization.
Mike FosterGame Couch: You continue to mention that the Wii is a “Portal to Porno” yet you completely fail to mention that the same capabilities are available for Sony’s PlayStation 3. Why are you only addressing the Wii?
Mike Foster: It would be an incorrect assumption that we are only focusing on the Wii. In fact in the press release we mention Sony’s PlayStation Portable and refer to all Wi-Fi devices. Our site, www.theporntalk.com focuses on many aspects of technology including cell phones, computers, iPods, game consoles, etc. The issue lies in wireless technology, not in a particular device. I have a suspicion that most folks who took offense to the focus on the Wii missed what we were really trying to accomplish. We wanted to educate parents of Wi-Fi capabilities with a new and popular device like the Wii and for parents to utilize the parental controls. This was also stated in the press release and throughout our site we urge parents to be more involved in their kids’ lives especially when it comes to technology. We started ThePornTalk because unlike the gaming community, most parents are clueless on these issues. The knowledge that the gaming community takes for granted is “breaking news” to many parents. That’s our target audience.
GC: You have stated that Pornographic websites are now changing the look and feel to match that of the Wii’s homepage. After some amount of research, I can’t seem to find any websites that actually do that. What websites are you referring to?
MF: Well what is sort of funny and ironic about this nugget of news is that we found that information on Kotaku. So based on the fairly incorrect piece they did on us and our goals as a website, it is possible that the story about websites becoming Wii friendly was incorrect. I will leave it at that.
GC: You have asked “have gaming consoles made the list of technologies fallen to Porn?” One of the first pornographic games released for a game console was Custer’s Revenge for the Atari 2600, made in 1982. Leisure Suit Larry has been around since 1987. Pornography in video games has continued since they were introduced, so how does this change the nature of the issue at hand?
MF: Again, the issue at hand that we were trying to bring to light was the issue of Wi-Fi capabilities of the Wii. and making sure parents were aware of parental controls. The device can access porn as can wi-fi devices in general. however, parents aren’t clued into this fact. Again what is obvious to a highly engaged community like gamers is not so with the general parent. We cover parental controls extensively on our site about how parents can utilize the parental controls to restrict the Wii’s internet and news channels, Wii messages, the Wii points, here is the link to the page which is found by clicking on the big blue main banner on our homepage. I have a feeling most never even saw this on our site or took the time to read much of the content on our site.
People read on Kotaku “Christian Group Preps To Attack Wii” and “secretive faith based ministry” (with a link to Ethur) and that were “hiding our ties to religion” and just went from there. From that point any objective analysis of what we were actually saying went out the door. I know this firsthand because much of what has been discussed in cyberspace has been focused on these erroneous statements. We probably were a bit sensationalistic in our press release and maybe should have been more clear but you read a lot into what we actually wrote to come to this conclusion.
On a side note, how can we be secretive if were linking Ethur on ThePornTalk website ourselves on our about us page. In the write-up it said it was leaked to Kotaku.com which gave this information an even more salacious and sinister feel to it. The press release wasn’t leaked to anyone. I’m not sure how a press release we sent to 2000 media/news agencies through a press release service is now called a leaked press release. Again, I’m not upset, but at least for the sake of your many loyal readers - get the facts straight. Kotaku did their thing and we had the opportunity to have a very vigorous dialogue on the topic of Wi-Fi and the Wii. In my opinion, that’s a great thing.
GC: You’ve been called a “religious nutjob” on several occasions. Among geek circles, the statements made have been labeled as ignorant, typical of Fundamentalists, piggybacking on Nintendo’s renaissance of popularity, and inductive of FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.) What do you say to these people?
MF: I think it is an unfair assessment and I think again was flamed by Kotaku’s take on it. How this got framed as a religious issue is beyond me. Talking to your kids about porn and helping parents be better parents is not a religious issue. It is a parenting issue, a universal issue. It was really disappointing that so many latched on to an idea that this was some Christian right wing Fundamentalist Republican movement to take down Nintendo. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. My friends got a kick off that label because it couldn’t be a more inaccurate assessment of both my religious beliefs and my political beliefs.
You really have jump to a lot of conclusions to arrive at that judgment that this is some Christian conspiracy. For those who say those things I would just once again challenge them to check out our site. Read the content of our pages. Don’t simply react to some web reporter’s completely biased opinion of what he thinks we’re doing. It is no mystery that I am Christian but it’s hardly a Christian website or religious agenda.
The only reason I’m doing this interview is because you have asked me fair questions and you have valid concerns. I appreciate the fact that you engaged in a dialogue with me instead of writing some opinion piece that would only propagate misinformation. I’ve always felt that it’s important to find understanding and common ground even with people you may disagree with on certain issues. The name-calling and rhetoric was pretty disheartening when at the core of what were trying to do is help parents and kids. I understand it, but I just don’t find it all that productive. I would have loved to have answered these charges of being a religious nutjob but never got the chance until now. Trust me, I’m not crying over it or bent out of shape about it. It was just a missed opportunity to find common ground.
GC: In June, Nintendo will cease free distribution of the browser, and will instead charge 500 Wii Points ($5) to download it. How do you think this will affect the “issue” of distributing pornography?
MF: I think that is probably a good step. Nintendo has parental controls that work well. Whether it’s 500 Wii points for the browser or free, parents should still utilize the content restrictions.
GC: Because Nintendo has introduced parental controls on the Wii, does it not seem obvious that if a feature is there, it has an intended purpose? Why wouldn’t parents set the parental controls if they knew about them?
MF: The fact that Nintendo has put in parental controls is fantastic. I applaud that. That’s what we’re highlighting. The problem, as we saw it, is that we talked to a lot of parents that didn’t put 2 and 2 together. They didn’t understand the need or necessity for actually using them. Again, to a gamer that seems lame. I can only tell you that this is not so clear for parents. They don’t always know and that don’t see the urgency to get engaged with the gaming unit.
It is like sort of like this: My son plays with a lot of toys. I don’t monitor him when he’s playing with his Star Wars figurines. They are fun and safe right? If I found out that my neighbor’s son almost choked on a Star Wars figure, I’m now going to pay a lot more attention. I might tell my son not to put Darth Vader in his mouth. I’m going to be a lot more involved in taking the necessary steps to protect my son. My point is, many parents see the Wii as a fun and family friendly gaming unit, which it absolutely is. However, they don’t realize it has a potential risk (surfing the Internet) and so they don’t take the necessary precautionary steps. I am a big Wii fan and play Xbox on the weekends with my kids. I know the joy of gaming units and how much fun they are. But I should be responsible and use parental controls and make it a safe environment for my 7 and 5 year old.
GC: With about ten minutes of preparation, pornography is generally readily available on most Cellular Phones, iPods, Computers, Libraries, Art books, Television, Magazines, the line at the grocery store, Michael Jackson’s house, phone lines, PlayStation Portables, most new games with “Dead or Alive” in the name, and Wikipedia. Why is the Wii an outstanding issue?
MF: Our site doesn’t just focus on the Wii. Porn is everywhere and can be accessed at a lot of places and in a lot of ways. We highlighted the Wii in the press release mostly because it’s new and it’s popular and in the month of January was the hottest selling gaming console. Was it opportunistic to cover the Wii vs. some porn magazine stand? You bet. The Wii is hot right now. We know that. I’m not interested in addressing old news. We want to cover things that are current.