Monday, September 29, 2008

Wall Street's Kids love games

Yep, its THAT fucking fun.
Ditto
You know there ARE probably better screens than this but since I didn't play this game, this is what you get.


I’m no financial analyst, nor political analyst and you don’t have to insult me with it ok! I’m not very smart. There is one thing I am sharp on and it knowing bullshit when I hear it. A prime example is when the word ‘recession’ was being used when describing our economy a few months back. Everyone was asking “are we headed towards a recession?” People at where I work threw the phrase around as well - and asked me as if I was the kind of guy that reads a newspaper (I don’t need a newspaper I got the web). Some days I can’t remember what fucking day it is, now I have to remember the Word of the Month- screw that. Even in the haze of my first few awake hours at work before my tasks were at hand and the the only thing that keeps me from collapsing is a Mcdonalds iced coffee, I had an answer for the “Do you think we are heading into a recession?” pop quiz- and my answer was quite simple:

“I thought we were already in one.”

The fact is, in the last 8 years and even before 911 our economy was circling the drain and the terror attacks and the subsequent war in Iraq that followed didn’t help. Gas shot from $1.50 and then climbed to 2 bucks in less than a year ( now it nearly costs your damn blood). Stocks dropped like a stone in an empty pool. Then to add more insult to injury, jobs did a vanishing act. The poor bastards that made 10 and hour in a factory is forced to work now at wal-mart for way less because his old job got shipped to China. Ironically and painfully he is now stocking the very goods he once made (only now its made shittier and with lead). Wall Street and the biggest banks in the world had a damned party during these terrible times- giving out loans to people that had no earthly way of paying for them ( ‘Oh, yeah I had to HAVE money to PAY that mortgage and I needed a JOB to do it). Now the US gov has to pony up 700 billion to save their Harvard asses. That’s BILLION folks with a ‘B’.

How does this relate to video games? It doesn’t. Well… maybe it does. People are going to be paying for this- not the banks that fucked it all up but people like you and me. The video game market might take a hit for this. A new x box 360 isn’t going to fuel your car or heat your house and the latest installment of Mario isn’t going to make your upcoming higher taxes go away. It’s a damned shame because less than a decade ago the industry was at its highest and video games finally were outselling the music business. Mind you, back then the economy was WAY better when you compare it too now. Its like comparing apples and turds.

You even might think “Gee, at least this is a social and economic problem you CAN’T blame on games!”. Sorry it kind of is. Every time a stupid asshole storms into a school or building with a shotgun and plays Duck Hunt with classmates or co-workers- the video game industry takes a hit from Joe Lieberman, Hilary Clinton, Bush’s wife and also most of the conservatives on Capital Hill. Many of these blame flamers go on rants about how these games train and influence people to commit violent acts on others- while millions of others play these games and never hurt a soul. Meanwhile there are plenty of non violent games that really don’t influence anyone. Except maybe Tetris- I think of that game anytime I stack boxes at work.

Here is where I make my point after 4 goddamned paragraphs of my banter. Back in 1990 a video game was made for the NES called “Wall Street Kid”, a simulation game about the stock market that only about 3 people owned and 1 person liked (and that person probably wore a helmet indoors). I’ve never played this game because I care about the quality of my sanity but I can only imagine that it is an abortion in a NES cart. Based from what I’ve read- in this game you play a young investor that inherits $500,000 and is now trying to make more of that money by investing it into the stock market. While this sounds pretty educational and rewarding, it falls short. Along with the simulation of the stock market, you also have a girlfriend that you have to take out on dates, and buy things for so she’ll stay with you. You also have to make time for the gym and buy a yacht. I wish I was making all this up. In this game you can’t just make an honest and reasonable living and enjoy your life- you also have to maintain a relationship with a gold digging cunt and blow your cash on a castle that once belonged to a family. I don’t know why but I suddenly care about that family that just lost their castle to a pig.

I’d love to be able to trust the stock market a little more. Then if I ever inherit 500 k I can buy an old NES off eBAY and a copy of WSK. Then after learning all I can from the game I can then move to New York and spend some time on the trading floor- dressed in one of those suits or those stupid day glow vests. Raising my hand, yelling out numbers, looking at computer screens of symbols with numbers and at the time the closing bell rings I can find out that Adelphia took all the money I invested and gave it too the 2 sons and 1 father that owns the company so they can buy a 10,000 dollar umbrella stand. Then I can take the remaining 5 bucks and buy myself a McRib on my way to my new job at WalMart. Thanks Wall Street Kid. The McRib was good and the vest makes me look like a douchebag.

Now if every school shooting gets blamed on games why can’t this pile of shit be blamed for this crisis with the economy? Because it was made back in 1990? Hell most of the people work for these banks were in their 20s in those days and might have owned a Nintendo. The seeds of insane financial decision making were sown in those years. Then suddenly when the time was right BAM they became an insider with the NYSE and using the ‘Nintendo Logic’ they crippled the market.

Ok- Now that I’ve failed to convince you that (unless your dangerously retarded), then why are video games blamed for violence in our society? I don’t think that the Lehman brothers played Wall Street Kid. Washington Mutual’s heads are too old too be playing video games that are almost 2 decades old. But still, Wall Street Kids played games with us. It was all a damn game to them.

“I never understood why the people of France chopped off Marie Antoinette’s head- NOW I FUCKIN’ GET IT!” -

LEWIS BLACK
(BLACK ON BROADWAY)

To check out an even more ‘Not so nice’ review of Wall Street kid check out Seanbaby.com HERE and look at other horrible ideas to base NES games on.