Madden gets some competition from OJ

You have GOT to be kidding me. This is just plain wrong.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/48059

Take-Two Football Game Depicts O.J. Simpson and Knife-wielding Mascot
by Nick Breckon Jul 20, 2007 3:05pm CST
Following a lengthy embroilment brought on by its AO-rated title Manhunt 2, Take-Two is again undergoing criticism for the content of one of its properties, and this time due to an old controversial figure: O.J. Simpson.

A new video on GameTrailers.com for Take-Two subsidiary 2K Sports' All-Pro Football 2K8 shows a playable version of Simpson scoring a touchdown, after which a giant knife-wielding mascot makes stabbing motions above a scoreboard.

Take-Two has not denied that the content exists in the game, but argues that the mascot has no relation to the playable Simpson character. The hooded figure is "not specifically associated with O.J. Simpson, and the game does not promote any such connection," said a Take-Two spokesperson, according to TheStreet.com.

In the trailer, Simpson's team--named "The Assassins"--features a logo with a gloved hand holding a knife, which is displayed across the middle of the field during play. There is no indication Take-Two created the trailer itself, as GameTrailers frequently records its own footage.

"This whole thing is just beyond any comment and shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone," said David Cook, lawyer for Fred Goldman, the father of Ron Goldman. Nicole Brown and Goldman were both slain in 1994, found stabbed to death outside Brown's home in Los Angeles, California. The 1995 trial of Simpson for the murders, his acquittal, and the subsequent civil proceeding which found him liable for Goldman's death, is history.

"As to whether Mr. Simpson is entitled to participate in any revenue stream based on the video and other rights, this matter is being studied," Cook added.

Simpson's money has been a point of contention ever since the conclusion of the civil trial in 1997. A recent deal for a book titled "If I Did It"--a supposedly hypothetical tale of how Simpson might have carried out the infamous murders--was at first cancelled due to public outcry, but now is seeing release by Canadian publisher Lifetime Books.

On September 5, 2006, Fred Goldman took Simpson to court over his "right to publicity," with a California state judge ordering Simpson earlier this year to restrict his spending to "ordinary and necessary living expenses."

Also facing its own battles, Take-Two was recently forced to suspend the release of subsidiary Rockstar Games' upcoming title Manhunt 2 after it was rated Adults Only by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

The publisher was adament in its defense of Rockstar's game, with Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick labeling Manhunt 2 as a "a fine piece of art" in a statement to the press.

 

I read elsewhere that Simpson doesn't start the game on that team, but you can trade him to it.

 

I would trade him to this team if I could...

http://crosscutters.com/

The Williamsport Crosscutters.

 

OJ slashes through the defense! No one tries to HEAD him off!

Oooh, he ran of his Bruno Magli (sp?) shoes.

 

Holy crap.

This is not good.

 

The sick thing is, some people will actually buy the game to see the mascot do the knife slashing routine.

 

Sadly, more than just some.

 

Too bad. That game actually looked like it could rival Madden. I'd like to see EA forced to improve its product. But this is classless.