December, 16 2009, 09:43am EDT
CCFC to Nickelodeon: "Naughty" and Violent Games Are Not for Children;
Links to AddictingGames.com featured on Neopets, Nick Jr. and other websites for kids.
BOSTON
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has launched a letter-writing campaign
demanding that Nickelodeon stop promoting violent and sexualized
videogames to children as young as preschoolers. Nick's popular gaming
website, Addictinggames.com, features games such as Sorority Panty Raid, Bloody Day ("Back alley butchering has never been so much fun. . . . How many kills can you rack?") and the Perry the Sneak series, where gamers take the role of a Peeping Tom trying to catch revealing glimpses of scantily clad or naked women. Nickelodeon
promotes, and links directly to, Addictinggames.com on its Neopets,
Nick.com, and even on its Nick Jr. websites for preschoolers.
"Nickelodeon's
websites for young children should not link to games that celebrate
gratuitous violence and the objectification of women," said CCFC's
Director Dr. Susan Linn. "Parents who think that their children are
safe on Neopets, Nick.com or NickJr.com should know that truly
disturbing content is only a click away. "
After some of the games-and the links to them on Nick's websites for children-were featured in this YouTube video,
Nickelodeon pulled a few (e.g. Vanessa Naughty Pics and Whack Your Ex)
from the Addicting Games website.But Nick.com and NickJr.com continue
to link directly to AddictingGames.com, which boasts about its large
collection of "naughty games" and "shooting games."
"Nick
is clearly more concerned about protecting its brand than actually
protecting children," said Dr. Linn. "If Nickelodeon executives cared
about kids, they would have removed the links to Addicting Games
completely from their children's sites, not just eliminate a few of the
games. Their disrespect for parents and disregard for children is
staggering."
AddictingGames.com
continues to features many games with sexual and violent content,
including the following. All descriptions are taken directly from
AddictingGames.com; screenshots of the games are available at https://www.commercialexploitation.org/actions/nicknaughtygames.html.
- Stick Figure Penalty Chamber 2
- "Small, black, stick figure death can happen in so many different
ways! Do you choose shotgun to the face, or acid in the lungs?" - Naughty Classroom
- "Hot for teacher? . . . Here's your chance to fulfill your ultimate
childhood fantasy. Naughty Classroom will leave you begging for more
homework." - Dark Cut 2 - "More macho surgery! No anesthetic. No antiseptics. Just rusty knives, corn whiskey, and lots of blood!"
- Foxy Sniper
- "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. Fear me, because I am a crack
shot! Assassination isn't just a job; it's a way of life."
This
isn't the first time that Nickelodeon has exposed young children to
inappropriate content. Last spring, over 10,000 parents wrote the
company to protest a SpongeBob SquarePants/Burger King ad featuring Sir
Mix-A-Lot's 1990's hit song, "Baby Got Back" with the new lyrics, "I
like square butts and I cannot lie." The ad showed The King singing in
front of women shaking their behinds for the camera intercut with
images of SpongeBob dancing along.
Fairplay, formerly known as Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, educates the public about commercialism's impact on kids' wellbeing and advocates for the end of child-targeted marketing. Fairplay organizes parents to hold corporations accountable for their marketing practices, advocates for policies to protect kids, and works with parents and professionals to reduce children's screen time.
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