The Wii is a console designed for all to play, from young children to old people and everyone in between. Therefore it’s got a reputation as being a family-friendly console made by those nice guys at Nintendo. But according to a British tabloid newspaper, Sega are about to besmirch that reputation with a game called MadWorld.

I hadn’t actually heard of this game until I read what amounts to a hatchet job in the Daily Mail, a British newspaper known for its sensationalist headlines intended to grab readers (maybe I should get a job there). The title of the article should tell you all you need to know: ‘Parents horrified as most violent video game ever to launch on ‘family friendly’ Wii’.

The game in question is MadWorld, a brutal but strangely good looking game from Sega. It’s not due out until sometime in 2009, but that hasn’t stopped the newspaper from writing a load of old bollo vitriol about it.

Even the first line of the article is laughable. Despite the newspaper claiming MadWorld is “a new computer game tipped to be the most violent ever”, there is no indication of who billed it as this, so I can only assume it was the Mail itself.

The article then goes on to claim that “Nintendo will dramatically transform Wii’s image with the release of ultra violent video game MadWorld”. Well, firstly it isn’t made by Nintendo, and secondly, isn’t the journalist behind the article, who it must be noted chose to remain anonymous, forgetting about the plethora of other violent games already out on the Wii?

As a commenter on the article states: “Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, Resident Evil: 4, House of the Dead 1, 2 & 3, Alone in the Dark, Dead Rising: Chop Til You Drop. But of course they’re not violent are they?” Then there is a little game called Manhunt 2 due out on the Wii by the end of 2008. So rather than MadWorld ruining the Wii’s family-friendly reputation, it would merely be another game in a long line to do so.

As Spong notes, the developers aren’t helping themselves deflect this sort of attention. The official website explains the nature of the game in the following morbid light.

Often times, brutality is expressed in a spiteful nature. There are already plenty of games out there that hit this mark; however, we decided that MADWORLD’s brutality should be aimed at providing the user with a sense of exhilaration during play.

The game actually looks quite good, and it’s now on my list of releases to watch out for. So the Daily Mail has done some good with its article - brought the game some obviously much-needed publicity. I bet Sega are loving the attention.

Related:

Sega boss claims Wii is full of crap - will MadWorld change all that?

Gamers hit back at Wii MadWorld ban merchants - deservedly so

Sega injects Unreal 3 engine power to next-gen market

Sega Boss: Most creative games to be on the Wii and better than Xbox 360 or PS3 titles

Is Sega really returning to the hardware market with the Vision?

Entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 3:13 pm under Games, Media, Nintendo, Opinion, Wii.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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