With the advent of WiiWare (downloadable games available for the Nintendo Wii) many developers are focusing on creating games that are easy to produce, affordable to create, and a blast to play at any party. Remember, there are only two types of party games that fit that last criterion: drinking games and whatever else there is.
Remember, there are only two types of party games that fit that last criterion: drinking games and whatever else there is.The Wii has already garnered a reputation as a console with games that can easily be adapted into drinking games. There is even a Web site – Wiiaredrunk.com – dedicated to sharing the rules of such games. But Vince Valenti and Jag Jaeger of JV Games didn't think that was enough. They merged the real and the virtual drinking experience in their game “Frat Party Games – Beer Pong,” which simulates a popular college drinking game.
For those of you unfamiliar with beer pong (which is properly referred to as “Beirut,” according to me and a bunch of people I went to college with), the game entails setting up cups filled with beer on either side of a ping pong table. Players then overcome increasing drunkenness as they try to throw ping pong balls into their opponents' cups. The game ends either when the beer from one team's cups are gone (read: ingested) or a member of either team passes out.
As you can tell, the game is designed to get people drunk, plain and simple. Anyone who tells you that beer pong is an art rather than a drinking game has probably been ingesting more than just beer. On the other hand, it isn't easy to get that ping pong ball into the cups at the other side of the table. And that's the very reason that “Beer Pong” is a perfect game for the Wii.
Except for a couple of things.
Anyone who tells you that beer pong is an art rather than a drinking game has probably been ingesting more than just beer.First, the Wii is a family-friendly console. Though there are several mature-rated titles for the Wii (notables include the new “Alone in the Dark” and the gruesome “Manhunt 2”), its reputation is that of a console that can be enjoyed by all ages – a console that can finally bridge the video game generation gap. That being said, it probably isn't a good idea to put the word “beer” in the title of your newly developed Wii game (in fact, the game has since been renamed “Frat Party Games – Pong Toss,” according to the Las Vegas Sun).
Knowing your audience just isn't enough when it comes to making video games. To create a profitable video game, you have to know (and play to) the intended audience of the console you are designing for. I have no moral objections to a game like “Beer Pong” being created, marketed and distributed. But while the idea of being able to throw a virtual ping pong ball into a virtual cup using the Wiimote is attractive, the Wii probably wasn't the best place to debut this game.
Second, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) really dropped the ball here, because they rated the game “T (suitable for ages 13 and older)” even with the initial title, according to KSFY.com. Who would think it appropriate to rate a blatant simulation of a drinking game that encourages excessive (and often ridiculous) levels of alcohol consumption as suitable for teens? Slicing people up in an obvious fantasy world: “Mature” rating. Participating in a simulated drinking game: if you can get into PG-13 movies, you're good to go.
Participating in a simulated drinking game: if you can get into PG-13 movies, you're good to go.I've said it once, I'll say it again: we need a complete overhaul of the game ratings system. If we're going to have a ratings system in the first place, let it at least involve an informative review process. We need more thorough reviews of all the games available – reviews conducted by dedicated gamers and video game neophytes alike. But when a game featuring a substance in the title that is not legal for teens to consume receives a “Teen” rating by the ESRB, it's obvious that something is wrong with this system.
I'll admit: Valenti and Jaeger made a poor choice in naming their game given the Wii's reputation as a family-friendly console. In the end, however, any uproar or criticism about their game should only illuminate the significant problems with the ESRB ratings system. If parents are to make wise decisions about what video games their children play, they need a ratings system that will inform them accurately, as well as one they can trust.
Now tell me – do you trust an organization that says it's fine for a teenager to play a virtual drinking game? If your answer to that question is “yes,” you may have played a few too many games of beer pong during your college days. [Wiiaredrunk.com, Las Vegas Sun, JV Games, ESRB, KSFY.com]
Branden Hart, a TheSequitur.com assistant managing editor, works as an editor in San Antonio.
Morning Coffee is a collection of top-fold news, oddities, observations and wisecracks, peppered with financial advice, movie reviews and more gathered by TheSequitur.com contributors and editors.
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