I have been watching teasers for Fifa 11 on YouTube for over a month; every night dreaming about scoring the first goal and writing about it in this blog. However, I have been delayed way too long to write it. Not because I was too lazy, but actually because it was sold out wherever I went to get it. But finally…I got it!
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| Fifa 11: A player entering the stadium |
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| Movie : A gladiator entering the Colosseum |
After the class discussion on Chapter 8, I felt that I could look at this game through a different perspective. Was the message that the makers of the game wanted to communicate to its audience really communicated, or was the audience interpreting their own meaning of the messages? When I first saw the trailer ( as seen above), the first thing that came to my mind was Russel Crowe walking into the Colosseum from the movie Gladiator. Then I saw the other trailer (as seen below), where players were fighting with each other to get the ball. I could not understand if the makers wanted to portray this violent message or was it just my thinking that this game was violent. Even many of the Nike Soccer ads (below) have a similar portrayal. They too depict the game to be aggressive and fierce. Having seen the World Cup live, I don’t remember any match that was this violent. I remember some intense tackles and conflicts, but never such continuous violence.
Earlier this semester, we had discussed that a lot is tolerated in sports, however according to me violence in such sports game might be too much. When I actually played the game, the violence was nothing close to the amount they showed in the trailers. Inf act, this game is very docile and supports fair play and penalizes players who foul too much. I just feel that the makers showing violence was only a marketing gimmick used to increase sales and create demand.
i agree that violence in the trailer was only a marketing gimmick used to increase sales. Without these violence sense the trailer will just look like other soccer video games; they are just trying to differentiate themselves from others. Although it does not portray the reality in real a real soccer match, it creates an eye catching ad. I wonder will people play more aggressive in real life if they constantly watch ads like this.
ReplyDeleteHey Akash I have to say I really enjoyed reading your blog especially all those videos even though I have seen alot of them already. But it is interesting how you linked even violence in sports games (when it is normally rated as G) to violence in reality. Does that mean in the next FIFA game, players should not be allowed to push around? That's not realistic either. I think what I am trying to say is that people can interpret these in different ways and it is completely up to the individuals.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought of soccer as being one of the more tame sports, so I was surprised to see it depicted in such a violent way. I agree that the violence was just a way for the company to generate sales. But, this made me think of what that says about society. Because the video game company is using violence as a selling point, that just shows that society today is generally violent. Sure we're not all running around the streets fighting each other, but it's quite obvious that violence attracts us; we find it to be entertaining. This brings us back to the chicken and the egg scenario we talked about in class a bit ago: Did violence in society attract the media, or did the violence in the media attract society? I don't think we'll ever know for sure.
ReplyDeleteI do not think the first video shows violence. I do think the videogame producers are trying to sell by attracting soccer fans but not buy showing violence in soccer. Instead they are showing a GOOD soccer match. In where each player tries their best.
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