Annual reminder: Xbox Live trash talk is vile
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Nov 28th 2007 at 6:28PM }
After the break we have a video from GayGamer.net where one of their readers created a gamertag of "Gay Boy," went into Halo 3 online, and recorded the effect. The video is not safe for work because unlike the FOX news piece, there isn't a censor. And just to be clear, Xbox Live is a great service, but boy are there a lot of people using the anonymity of the internet and children without parents on there. Don't be surprised when the Halo 3 "mute button" is named the invention of the year in our '07 wrap-up posts.
Update: Xbox's Major Nelson (Larry Hryb) made a statement on the GayGamer video.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Shotgun Steve @ Nov 28th 2007 6:33PM
Call of Duty 4 really needs the mute function that Halo 3 has. The trash talk is as bad as, maybe worse, than Halo 3. Fun game, but now I don't wear my mic now unless I am with friends.
Obie @ Nov 28th 2007 7:07PM
Agreed, the lack of a quick mute in COD4 is very aggrivating.
Rick Astley @ Nov 28th 2007 8:10PM
Are you not aware that you can go to the players tab and mute them?
Shotgun Steve @ Nov 28th 2007 9:00PM
@ Rick Astley
I know, it's just nice to be able to mute multiple people quickly. If you are in a game, you don't really want to waste time muting your entire game thru the XBL blade because they annoy the hell out of you.
Shotgun Steve @ Nov 28th 2007 9:00PM
@ Rick Astley
I know, it's just nice to be able to mute multiple people quickly. If you are in a game, you don't really want to waste time muting your entire game thru the XBL blade because they annoy the hell out of you.
Shotgun Steve @ Nov 28th 2007 9:00PM
Bah, sorry about doublepost.
Pieisgood @ Nov 29th 2007 7:56PM
I like how it only shows negative comments. It's funny because I play XBL everyday and I hear maybe one racial slur every 10 games. and even then they say one thing. I think Fox just had some kids say all that stuff to make it seem worse. I also lol'd that the kids interviewed were like 12, not to mention it was Halo 3. Lololol.
Rubix42 @ Nov 28th 2007 6:35PM
For real. The Halo 3 Mute option is one of the best new additions to the game. Being able to mute fools is the best.
I actually just start muting people immediately before the match starts anymore.
gonk @ Nov 28th 2007 7:03PM
there's a reason halo is rated M
and I just put my headset on my computer speakers and turn music on :)
TomCo @ Nov 29th 2007 11:35AM
Except its not this reason.
"Game Experience May Change During Online Play", is the type of notice that indicates this sort of thing.
Not the general rating.
Lemmiwinks @ Nov 28th 2007 6:36PM
"No r-tard, I'm playing an MMORPG and getting XP with my party using team speak."
If only it were ever as simple as that...
Nar57981 @ Nov 28th 2007 7:01PM
As simple as what? Going into a private chat and only talking to your friends with your team muted, because that takes like 2 seconds and no background knowledge other that it can be done!
Lemmiwinks @ Nov 28th 2007 7:07PM
I think you missed my point. I was commenting that in-games voice-chat is meant to be a way to communicate with allies and enemies within the paramaters of the game. But unfortunately, it's never that simple. It's often used as a means for small-dicked douchebags to feel self-important by verbally trashing other players.
COBRA @ Nov 29th 2007 10:15AM
Umm, do you realize with what you just said, you sounded just like the trash talkers? A trash talker bashing trash talkers. (((rolls eyes)))
Lemmiwinks @ Nov 29th 2007 11:44AM
Oh... I made you roll your eyes, did I?
Gimme a break.
Hashbrown_Hunter @ Nov 28th 2007 6:36PM
Well if parents get worried about this, it's their fault because they bought a game rated M for their kids.
So this is just the media coming up with a topic that isn't new and blowing it out of proportion.
Fox sucks anyways.
RPGJock @ Nov 28th 2007 7:41PM
Uh so Madden, NBA 2k8, Warhawk, Smackdown and few other game that are rated Teen and lower means that they don't get adolescence and ignorant people who hide behind the mask of anonymity to behave in a manner that would get them smacked by their parents and/or people who wouldn't condone that type of behavior in person.
Winman2000 @ Nov 28th 2007 6:50PM
I really want to play that "Xbox" online game.
andrej @ Nov 28th 2007 11:16PM
si. es muy comico
Winman2000 @ Nov 29th 2007 12:14AM
ich auch.
thehunter1320 @ Nov 28th 2007 6:40PM
wow.... fox is a bunch of fucking assholes...
"Even if they did know how to use the parental controls... first they have to learn how to use the controller!"
Maybe they should learn how to be parents and not buy their twelve-year olds Halo 3
DWells55 @ Nov 28th 2007 6:54PM
I know, whose fault is it that they don't know how to do it? The parents and the parents alone. The information on how to set parental controls is readily available and fully explained. And anyone can use a controller. You move the stick up and down to go up and down on a list. It's easier than a mouse is.
kip @ Nov 29th 2007 8:30AM
There's a big difference between Fox News (24 hour cable news network) and the local Fox affiliate in Milwaukee. This kind of stuff could really be aired on any local news network.
Ryan de michigan @ Nov 28th 2007 11:00PM
been playing Xbox for years, heard my share of this, but never as bad as fox portrays it. If they were seriously concerned, it would be a 2 minute walkthrough on how to set the parental controls on your kids' xbox. Love that all of the slurs came from one player and they made it sound like an every-game occurence.
Chris @ Nov 28th 2007 6:40PM
that poor guy (2nd video), serious whats with these dumbass intolerant twats - Im sure hes done nothing to them accept own them.
Hope he reported all of them.
generic @ Nov 28th 2007 6:41PM
I'd rather make use of a "boot" button.
Really now, there has to be a better way. I closed my Live account because the negative experiences far outweighed the positive ones, as I'd much rather my online gaming be about building relationships and experiences within the gaming community than be told I'm gay a million times over.
I love the idea behind Live, and while it's arguably the best of the console-based online services out there, I really don't see it as being executed that well.
sheppy2.0 @ Nov 28th 2007 10:24PM
Wow, a kindred spirit. When I called to cancel my Live, the guy was floored that I had all three and loved playing online and still canceled my Live before the time was up. I finally told him simply put, I don't want to play a fighting game while someone is telling me to fuck my mother up her ass like a good n***** jew just because I countered his combo. Most of my friends don't play the same games I do and even with the voice on PS3, it's a hell of a lot better community than random Live. I mean, it's still pretty bad but of most Warhawk matches, we only get a couple bastards.
arrrgh @ Nov 29th 2007 1:08PM
funny, almost all of my gears and skate matches have had MAYBE one douche-mouth in any given match. Maybe one, because most times it was 0. Live seems to be more like those vids on halo3 and cod4....seems like gears is old so all the "hardcore" live users (read: always have the new games and always whine and bitch and hate on other players because they got their asses handed to them...or even worse if they actually did well) have moved on to halo3/cod4...and most of the players left seem much more laid back
sTEVE @ Nov 28th 2007 6:42PM
not as bad as fox's report on Pictochat on the DS...which was total BS...that at least had truth in it....in all fairness he did name is gamertag "gayboy" he was kinda asking for it.
aggrocrag @ Nov 28th 2007 8:31PM
No, he was not asking for it.
victor @ Nov 28th 2007 6:59PM
and I guess you'd say to the rape victim, "well, her dress was pretty short. She was asking for it."
Lemmiwinks @ Nov 28th 2007 7:01PM
Yeah, he was asking for it... in order to make a point.
Make no mistake, there's no "fairness" in denegrating others like a fuck-tard.
Chris @ Nov 28th 2007 7:02PM
nobody asks to be bullied, made fun of, ridiculed. No matter what or who they are.
Killswitch On @ Nov 28th 2007 8:46PM
In that case, yeah, he was asking for it. He knew what was going to happen. Does it excuse being bashed like that? No. But in a way it was provoked. He knew beforehand what reaction he would get.
It's like a white kid going into the wrong part of town at night. Youre asking for it. Dont do it. Its not right what goes on, but dont tempt fate.
quickshade @ Nov 28th 2007 6:42PM
LOL at those parents. I don't know how. It's only marked on the box dumbass. And you can easily go on xbox.com and get complete directions online. Everyone trash talks a little though, it's part of the game. If I snipe someone with a great shot I'm gonna let you know. It's the 3% of people out there that swear like those people in the video that ruin live. But again if they check the rest of the internet (PC games and PS3 games) you'll see the same thing.
Silent Xenocide @ Nov 28th 2007 6:42PM
I don't generally have a bad time on Halo 3. But then I dont mind racist comments and the like. Now the fox news segment on "Anonymous", that was good.
Sarah @ Nov 28th 2007 6:43PM
Friend codes FTW! :-)
Obie @ Nov 28th 2007 7:09PM
Haha, say whatever you want about Nintendo's online games, at least no one there tells me to die from an IED.
x silence x @ Nov 28th 2007 6:45PM
Fox News, about the "Trash Talk"...
"and guess who's listening?... Your children."
No asshole... you know who is saying that shit!?!
YOUR CHILDREN!
Seriously, its the under 18 demographic that makes those racist, homophonic and whatever else kind of slurs.
Research your work!
fuzzysmith22 @ Nov 29th 2007 1:51PM
Amen to that comment.
Of all the games I've played, the older skewing the audience, the less obnoxious the online chatter is. I've also noticed (being on the west coast), the later you play, the older the gamers get...and on the whole, a whole lot less annoying.
Spartacus @ Nov 28th 2007 7:17PM
Correct sir.
That Fox report had to be the most hypocritical peice of garbage I've seen in a while. Instead of asking the kids how much they've HEARD that kind of language, they should've asked how many times they SAID it.
It's the KIDS that talk 90% of the trash. Shame on fox for painting them so innocent.
B1gC72 @ Nov 28th 2007 8:24PM
thank you. if you listen to those videos you can even tell that these kids balls havent even dropped yet. the ones that make those comments are usually like 12. i dont have that problem much on PS3 though since the majority of kids that age cant afford PS3's and their parents wont buy them at that price. just give it time though lol.
ThornedVenom @ Nov 29th 2007 2:14AM
Truest comment of the day. All I really noticed in the report is how unbalanced position: he asks parents if they know their kids are exposed to racial slurs, and ask if kids have heard the f-bomb. Not at all the same level.
Oh, and seriously though, normal kids don't use bad words when they're at home due to respect for their parents. But they can trash talk all they want when they're outside with their friends, so they're not as "innocent" as Fox wants to make us believe.
Hence, your comment about them saying the damned shit.
Farseer (GDI) @ Nov 28th 2007 6:45PM
I like how the inspector for the Illinois AG office has the balls to say what no other politician can seem to say:
"The best defense for a child is an active parent."
Wow. Too bad this actual nugget of wisdom got buried in the rest of this FUD report.
aaron_k7 @ Nov 28th 2007 6:46PM
Call me a fanboy if you like, but I haven't noticed this with Warhawk.
Fernando Rocker @ Nov 28th 2007 6:54PM
Maybe because theres nobody?
aaron_k7 @ Nov 28th 2007 6:58PM
Zing! Think about it dude...what other game will they be playing on the PSN if not Warhawk? There really aren't that many multiplayer games to choose from in the PS3 library you know?
umm....hello??? @ Nov 28th 2007 7:30PM
agreed. I haven't heard any trashtalk on a PS3 during WarHawk, but that could be because most kids couldn't convince their parents to spend $400-600 on them last xmas...the talk that IS there is ppl that are friends or information/strategy talk about the game being played. unfortunately, I do think that will change as more and more ppl get a ps3.
the only other game I own currently for the PS3 is RFoM. (and soon Uncharted!!).
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 28th 2007 10:20PM
And surprisingly Fernando isn't trolling. HE's absolutely right. Nobody is really using the psn (in comparison to live of course). But when PSN becomes as big as live, expect to see the same 12 year old pricks make their way to the ps3.
The Artist formally known as Jesus @ Nov 28th 2007 10:39PM
from Vegeta
"But when PSN becomes as big as live,"
haha