I'm glad EA knows the difference between slander and libel, because a couple of game sites reporting on this don't. Slander is spoken, libel is written. Whether Fox actually slandered Bioware's Mass Effect in this shameful report is debatable, because in order to slander I believe you have to be lying maliciously. While it's tempting to view Fox host Martha MacCallum and guest Cooper Lawrence's comments as malicious, I'm more inclined to view them as clueless. The distinction is open to question. Whether Fox should apologize and immediately correct the record (they should), of course, is not.
Sadly, no correction is forthcoming, and as far as Fox is concerned, Mass Effect absolutely and without question allows "players to engage in graphic sex" and "see full digital nudity." You get to decide what's going to happen between the two people, "if you know what I mean," says MacCallum. "Pandora's box is open."
Would Martha MacCallum care to be known as the new Dan Rather? With all due respect to Rather (and MacCallum), waiting to see if this achieves critical mass (no pun intended) only heightens the ineptitude. It's what you correct when no one's pressuring you to that counts, not what you correct after a million angry bloggers burn you in virtual effigy.
It get better. EA's vice president of communications Jeff Brown isn't playing along, and according to BusinessWeek, sent this letter to Teri Vanhorn, a Fox News Channel producer in charge of the odious segment. From Brown's letter:
EA is under new management and our CEO John Riccitiello has made it clear that we?re going to stand up for our people, studios and products. We?re not looking for a fight but if someone is telling lies about our products and maligning our creative teams, we?re going to step up and correct the record.
Cooper Lawrence is ignorant. She doesn?t know anything about Mass Effect but there are 100 people in Edmonton, Alberta who dedicated years to making that game. They?ve got names, faces and reputations ? and they?ve been slandered.
Indeed, and this blog fully endorses EA's statement.
Why EA? Because while Mass Effect was published by Microsoft Game Studios, EA just purchased Bioware owner VG Holding Corp -- announced October 11, 2007, and official this month.
The latest rumor: Fox invited EA to appear on MacCallum's show but has "received no response." Sounds like we've got a case of the empty chair defense going. Regardless, Fox screwed up big here, and it's increasingly shameful that they're not taking the initiative to correct the record first before even attempting to profit off a live appearance (and presumably chance to yell loudly at whomever EA sends over) by one of the world's largest game publishers.
UPDATE (1/26/08): The New York Times' Seth Schiesel reports that Cooper Lawrence has rescinded her comments about Mass Effect after actually seeing the segments at the center of the so-called controversy. From the article:
In an interview on Friday, Ms. Lawrence said that since the controversy over her remarks erupted she had watched someone play the game for about two and a half hours. ?I recognize that I misspoke,? she said. ?I really regret saying that, and now that I?ve seen the game and seen the sex scenes it?s kind of a joke.
?Before the show I had asked somebody about what they had heard, and they had said it?s like pornography,? she added. ?But it?s not like pornography. I?ve seen episodes of ?Lost? that are more sexually explicit.?
Fox will correct the lie only when EA and Microsoft threaten them with legal action. The media doesn't care if a story about a video game is false. Look at one of their expert panelists who asked "what happened to games like Pac-Man". They're so detached from the industry they have no idea how far reaching the story goes.
wellllll.... i hate to say i told you so... because all of the worlds problems seem to boil down to *cough* *cough* CONSERVATIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *cough* *cough* *hak* excuse me, i dont know what got caught in my throat.... uhmmm whats everyone staring at me for? hahaha stupid fox, youll never learn.