Scandalous Games

Historian Kevin Impellizeri usually shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends. However, we're taking a few months off for the second annual Scandalous Games Summer, where we offer syncable audio commentaries for video game related movies.  Join Kevin, Andy Hunter, and Kate Lynch as they talk over the 1989 coming of age tale/100-minute Nintendo commercial The Wizard (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098663/). Together, we tackle some aggressive product placement, reminisce on Nintendo video games from days gone by, and contemplate why several main characters do not end up dead in the Utah desert. For more on the history of The Wizard from some of the folks involved in its creation, check out: Anthony Maurizio, “Interview: The Wizard Director Todd Holland On Everyone's Favourite Nintendo Movie Turning 25,” Nintendo Life, June 18, 2014, https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/06/interview_the_wizard_director_todd_holland_on_everyones_favourite_nintendo_movie_turning_25 Damien McFerran, “Ninterview: The Wizard's Luke Edwards,” Nintendo Life, October 21 2011, https://web.archive.org/web/20140319061639/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2011/10/ninterview_the_wizards_luke_edwards  Damien McFerran, “The Wizard - An Oral History Of Nintendo's Hollywood Debut,” Time Extension, May 11, 2024, https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/05/the-making-of-the-wizard-an-oral-history-of-nintendos-hollywood-debut To sync the movie, queue up the film to 00:00:10 and wait for the countdown. If you want to cut through the intro and get right to the commentary, head to 00:05:35 in the recording. Theme Music: Occam's Sikhwee by Sikh Knowledge (Free Music Archive: https://bit.ly/33G4sLO), used under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US (https://bit.ly/33JXogQ)  More info, including show notes and sources at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Kate Lynch and Andy Hunter. We bring you the thrilling conclusion of our look at John DeCamp, the disgraced former politician/conspiracy monger who sued the games industry following the Columbine shooting. We look at John's associations with some very fine people and how he tried to get to the bottom of a bunch of other conspiracies leading into his massive suit against violent video games.  Topics discussed include: John's nigh infinite supply of secret information on essentially every conspiracy, the surely gripping conversations between John DeCamp and Dave Grossman, and video games gain free speech protection thanks to an unlikely hero.  On the relationship of Qanon, the militia movement, and the January 6, 2021, insurrection, check out: Gia Kokotakis, "Into the Abyss: QAnon and the Militia Sphere in the 2020 Election," George Washington University's GW Program on Extremism, March 28, 2023, https://extremism.gwu.edu/into-the-abyss-QAnon-in-US.   Some resources on identifying conspiracy theories and what to do if you or someone you care about is falling into conspiracies: "Conspiracy Theories and How to Help Family and Friends Who Believe Them," Anti Defamation League, August 23, 2022, https://www.adl.org/conspiracy-theories.  Stephen Lewandowsky and John Cook, The Conspiracy Theory Handbook, March 2020, https://skepticalscience.com/conspiracy-theory-handbook-downloads-translations.html. We'd also be remiss if we didn't recommend Natalie Wynn's March 24, 2025, video, simply titled "CONSPIRACY" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teqkK0RLNkI.  Also, the two podcasts we mentioned today: Knowledge Fight: https://knowledgefight.com/.  QAA Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6qAmVJsQW0k51ZJ9bDZyZd.  More info, including show notes and sources at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Kate Lynch and Phil Thomas. As a new wrongful death lawsuit levied against a video game company looms, we take a closer look at Sanders v. Acclaim, the 2001 lawsuit filed against the video game industry alleging games like DOOM, Redneck Rampage, and Final Fantasy (?!?) trained the Columbine High School shooters to kill. To that end, we examine John DeCamp, an eccentric Nebraska politician, lawyer, and conspiracy monger who filed the suit on behalf of one of the Columbine victims. Along the way, we untangle the life of a man who went from soldier to senator to the whistleblower in an alleged Satanic child sex trafficking ring that provided a preview of the likes of Pizzagate and Qanon.   Content warning: accusations of child sexual assault. Topics discussed include: Kevin's increasingly eclectic book collection, a wild LaRouche appears, Kevin sets the record straight on whether he's a cannibal, and what's Jack Thompson been up to?  For more on the upcoming lawsuit against, gun manufacturer Daniel Defense, Meta, and Activision, see: Brandon Drennon, “Uvalde families sue Meta, video game creator and gunmaker,” BBC, May 24, 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8449dxw23do [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8449dxw23do].  More info, including show notes and sources at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.

In today's installment of Scandalous Games Theatre, Dr. Kevin Impellizeri, PhD, recites Jack Thompson's "A Modest Video Game Proposal," delivered via open letter on October 10, 2005, in which the self proclaimed "only certified sane lawyer in the State of Florida" offered a $10,000 charitable donation in the name of then Take-Two CEO Paul Eibeler if a game company developed and distributed a game in which all Jack's personal enemies were brutally killed. However, when a company came forward to develop the game, titled I'm OK: A Murder Simulator (Thompsonsoft, PC, 2006) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_O.K_%E2%80%93_A_Murder_Simulator), Thompson reneged on the deal. When the makers of Penny Arcade, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, made the donation in his name to the Entertainment Software Association Foundation (on a check with the memo, "For Jack Thompson Because Jack Thompson Won't"), Jack faxed the Seattle police department on October 18, 2005, accusing Penny Arcade of instigating “criminal harassment of me by various means.”   For more on Jack's antics, including how his mad crusade against video games led to him getting permanently disbarred, check out our two-part series on Mr. Jack Thompson. Sources: "Paul Levinson vs. Jack Thompson on videogames and violence," Paul Levinson on YouTube, April 17, 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XtWV-tIeVg. Bach - Violin Concerto in A minor - Complete - BWV1041, by GregorQuendel via Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/music/classical-string-quartet-bach-violin-concerto-in-a-minor-complete-bwv1041-289529/).  JackThompson.org: http://jackthompson.org/archives/index.htm#10_10_05_01. This is also a useful source for a bunch of Jack's other open letters and public correspondence. All other sound effects in the public domain via Pixabay's license: https://pixabay.com/service/license-summary/. More info, including show notes and sources at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Kate Lynch, Phil Thomas, and Elford Stephens. We finally wrap up our look back at the year of controversies that was 2024. This time around, we look at a whole bunch of weird and wild Pokémon related stuff that came up during the previous year. Topics discussed include: the potential murder related implications of the number 286, Kevin gets scammed, Nintendo goes after Palworld, and uncomfortable allegations against Typhlosion. More info, including show notes and sources at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.