Brief Commentary on Electronic Arts' Resopnse to Fox News "Mass Effect" Smear.

Earlier this week, the XBox 360 game "Mass Effect" was unfairly slammed and defamed by author Cooper Lawrence and Fox News. In a debate on the midday show "The Live Desk", guest Cooper Lawrence and host Martha MacCallum sensationalized the game and its tastefully done love scene. They claimed the game featured full nudity and graphic sex. The segment was even titled "'SE'XBOX? New Video Game Shows Full Digital Nudity And Sex". Spike TV's Geoff Keighley did a tremendous job defending the game, but was not given much time to give his response. In all, it was a sad and disgraceful display from Cooper and Fox News. Cooper, Martha, and the "A-List" panel slammed "Mass Effect" unfairly. Adding to the disgrace and the lack of credibility on the issue is that Cooper Lawrence, during the debate, said she never played the game. Just sad, but not suprising from Fox News. Yesterday, Electronic Arts, parent company of "Mass Effect" developer BioWare, called out Fox News and demanded them to correct themselves about the game. VP Jeff Brown also called out Fox for their hypocrisy, pointing out that Fox Television Network shows like "Family Guy" and "The O.C." have more sexual content than "Mass Effect".

It is about time.

It is about damn time that someone in the industry called out Fox News on their lies. When games are slammed, it is not the game itself that feels the heat. Game companies are painted as those who push porn on kids. They are portrayed as sick individuals, smut peddlers, those who target law enforcement. Gamers themselves are portrayed as perverted, twisted, and violent. Brown finally did something that should have been done a long, long time ago. He fought back against Fox News and Cooper Lawrence. He took a stand. The rest of the industry need to follow suit when a game is unfairly slammed.

Fox News as well as the rest of the mainstream media needs to take more responsibility and to check their facts. Back in 2004, former CBS Evening News host Dan Rather ran a story about President Bush's National Guard service record. When he reported the story incorrectly, Rather lost his job and an accomplished jounalist had his reputation wrecked. If Dan Rather gets fired for not fact-checking, then Martha MacCallum and Cooper Lawrence should be admonished and disciplined for their lies about "Mass Effect". This is a sign that the game companies are not going to be slanderized and bullied around anymore.

Good night and good luck.