Lee take the game off its server, in part because of a proscription against commercial software being run on the servers, but there was also some concern over the game's content. "There's absolutely nothing fun about it, nothing "The drug trade, the drug culture, kills and maims thousands of people a year in this country, wrecking families, hurting people," Ms. ![]() Brown of Queens, who has prosecuted many drug dealers, agrees. Mary DeBourbon, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Richard A. "It is sad that an industry with as much talent and creativity as the video game business shouldĬhoose to profit by stooping to such a level." "Glamorizing violence and lawlessness is a dangerous thing to do," Senator Brownback said in an interview. Senator Sam Brownback, Republican of Kansas, has spoken out against the game in Commerce Committee hearings. "But the explosion in recent months is astonishing." "The game came out at a time when there were relatively few good games for the Palm so I expected at least some feedback," Mr. Matt Lee, the graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology who programmed the Palm version, estimated that more than 500,000 people had it, which would make it one of the top three Palm games available. A version for Windows (developed by a British programmer, Ian Wall, in September 1999, has been downloadedĪlmost two million times, according to figures at CNET's Web site. Has been on CNET's list of the top 10 programs that can be downloaded for the Palm. But for nearly a year and a half, DopeWars Since DopeWars for the Palm was released in February 1999, more than 180,000 people have downloaded it free from It is impossible to say how many people have the game because other sites have offered it and many users pass games along by beaming them through the Palm's infrared ports. The popularity of the game, one of the first developed for the Palm, is striking. "I get to lead a lifestyle I don't normally lead," she said. Other passengers on her bus when she discusses her virtual drug deals with friends. She admits that she gets strange looks from the Marlinda McPhail, a former employee of Wheelhouse, a marketing company in San Francisco, estimated that about a third of the people in her former office played the game. Say they like to play the game, though few are willing to admit to it in print. That includes business and financial professionals, for whom it combines the adrenaline of the trading floor, a vicarious Bonnie-and-Clyde lawlessness and the latest in mobile gadgetry. But that has not kept it from developing a following The game has come under fire from politicians and law enforcement officials for glamorizing violence and the drug trade, and it has been removed from some software sites. Like the earlier versions, DopeWars lets the player adopt the role of an urban drug dealer,īuying and selling a wide array of narcotics. They're playing a game called DopeWars.ĭopeWars for the Palm is the latest incarnation in a series of drug-related computer games that emerged in the 1980's. ![]() THE person sitting next to you on the subway or train the one who seems to be busily rearranging a business calendar on a hand-held computer could very well be selling crack, buying Ecstasy and getting Newspaper in Education (NIE) Teacher Resources The exponential growth in popularity of our products led to a huge influx of customer e-mail requests for support and information, which quickly swamped us.DopeWars Game Finds Offers Furtive Thrills as It Raises Hackles Time spent servicing customers is time spent away from developing and enhancing our products. “For a company like ours with limited people resources, providing good customer service can be a doubled-edged sword. Says Wall, “It’s easy to overlook and hard to justify spending resources on when there’s a million and one other seemingly more important things to allocate it to. In the software industry, lack of adequate support staff is a common problem-and one that ironically is aggravated by success and rapid growth. It’s not surprising that the irreverently named Derby, England-based company, with the irreverently named game product called Dope Wars, would have an irreverent approach to press releases.
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