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Brass Knuckles Shipped to Some Reviewers  (Source: Kotaku)
Brass knuckles are considered illegal weapons in many states

One of the most famous and critically acclaimed movies of all times and considered by many critics to be among the best films ever made was The Godfather. The original Godfather movie spawned two sequels and you can see the film’s influence in other media types like video games.

EA produced a video game based on The Godfather, which played much like Grand Theft Auto, called simply enough The Godfather. Earlier this month EA launched the second game in the franchise called The Godfather II.

As part of the promotion for the original video game, EA tossed a bunch of oranges onto the streets of some major cities. For The Godfather II, EA did something different and shipped some reviewers of the game a set of brass knuckles. You may be wondering what exactly brass knuckles have to do with the game.

The game gives players upgrades as they take over crime rings that vary from armored cars to bullet proof vests; one of these upgrades is a set of brass knuckles. EA's press core soon realized the error in sending out brass knuckles which are considered in many states to be illegal weapons. Even shipping the items to same states is illegal.

Kotaku reports that EA is contacting reviewers that received the brass knuckles and asking them to return the brass knuckles for disposal. If shipping brass knuckles in some states is illegal on its own, asking that they be returned would appear to be asking some reviewers to break the law as well. For example, Kotaku reports that shipping brass knuckles in California, where EA is based, may be illegal.

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By Boze on 4/13/2009 11:11:54 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
Kotaku reports that EA is contacting reviewers that received the brass knuckles and asking them to return the brass knuckles for disposal. If shipping brass knuckles in some states is illegal on its own, asking that they be returned would appear to be asking some reviewers to break the law as well. For example, Kotaku reports that shipping brass knuckles in California, where EA is based, may be illegal.


They want people to possibly commit a crime by mailing back illegal contraband to them... looks like EA is making them an offer they can refuse...




By Fanatical Meat on 4/13/2009 11:46:40 AM , Rating: 3
This is such a foolish item from our laws, its perfectly fine to buy many different types of pistols and assult rifles but we all fear the guy with brass knuckles. Fools....


By smackababy on 4/13/2009 11:54:43 AM , Rating: 3
You can easily hide brass knuckles. It might be a little more difficult to conceal an AK-47. Nonetheless, it isn't the weapon itself that is dangerous, but the individual who posseses it.


By Mojo the Monkey on 4/13/2009 12:18:07 PM , Rating: 3
You know whats even easier to hide? A knife. Legal everywhere if of the appropriate length and without switchblade springs. I fail to see how brass knuckles are more dangerous than a knife.

Yes, there is the arguement that a knife can have a nonviolent purpose whereas brass knuckles are made just for fighting, but come on...


By smackababy on 4/13/2009 1:05:27 PM , Rating: 4
But, have you ever been punched in the face? It hurts. Now imagine getting punched with brass knuckles in the face. Reason enough for them to be illegal if you ask me. But I might just be an advocate of not getting punched in the face.


By slashbinslashbash on 4/13/2009 11:32:45 PM , Rating: 4
The banning of weapons of any sort is stupid. Ever been hit in the face with a hammer? Me neither, but I bet it would hurt. That's reason enough for hammers to be illegal if you ask me! How about bricks? Two-by-fours? Stones? Pointy sticks? It's been found that most people drown in water -- we should ban that, too!


By cerx on 4/14/2009 12:14:42 PM , Rating: 3
Tobacco is legal. Alcohol, too. But not other drugs.
Our government has been known to be hypocritical.


By 91TTZ on 4/16/2009 3:10:50 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
But, have you ever been punched in the face? It hurts. Now imagine getting punched with brass knuckles in the face. Reason enough for them to be illegal if you ask me.


That's some pretty weak logic. It also hurts getting stabbed but knives are legal. It also hurts getting hit with a baseball bat, also legal. Or getting hit with a rock, or a tree branch.


By Klober on 4/13/2009 3:25:14 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, not legal everywhere. I know for a fact in Virginia it's illegal to carry a knife of any length if it's concealed. Yes, that even includes your 2" key chain Swiss Army knife. I know because I was once harassed by an officer for having my Boy Scout knife in my pocket. Yes, I was a Boy Scout at the time. Sensible? Not in my opinion, but it's definitely good to know the law regardless.


By Steve1981 on 4/13/2009 3:37:34 PM , Rating: 2
Are you sure about that?

The law on concealed weapons in Virginia is...

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+co...

They mention dirks, bowie knives, switchblades, etc, but nothing about pocket knives.


By Pudro on 4/14/2009 4:26:31 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, whether it is legal or not is decided by the laws, not by some stupid cop who doesn't know what the law actually says. So there goes your argument.


By Steve1981 on 4/13/2009 12:20:40 PM , Rating: 3
I can easily and legally conceal carry my revolver. If I carry my knuckle-knife out of my home, concealed or otherwise, I'm a criminal. Seems kind of asinine on the face of it.


That's a FELONY in my state!
By TheBeagle on 4/13/09, Rating: 0
RE: That's a FELONY in my state!
By smackababy on 4/13/2009 11:03:15 AM , Rating: 5
I am pretty sure no law states it is illegal to recieve, by mail, a weapon you've not requested. If the reviewers were to just turn the items into the authorities, no charges can be file.d Besides that, having brass knuckles is doubtful to land you 'several years in the slammer' in any court. You'd be hard pressed to find a judge that would do that, especially if you got them in the mail from as a gift for reviewing a game. If anything comes of this, EA will be fined. Great press though.


RE: That's a FELONY in my state!
By stirfry213 on 4/13/2009 1:01:27 PM , Rating: 5
Smackababy, you are using reason and logic in the same thought. That is not allowed...


RE: That's a FELONY in my state!
By smackababy on 4/13/2009 1:06:25 PM , Rating: 2
I'll remember that in the future. Thank you for the warning. I should be more careful with all these brass knuckles flying around.


RE: That's a FELONY in my state!
By Boze on 4/13/2009 11:14:34 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
Wait until the blizzard of criminal indictments start landing all over the USA.


While Blizzard has been giving the entire gaming industry a pounding with World of Warcraft over the past four or so years, I don't think they're interested in legal action... unless you make Gliders... :)


RE: That's a FELONY in my state!
By fatedtodie on 4/13/09, Rating: -1
RE: That's a FELONY in my state!
By FITCamaro on 4/13/09, Rating: 0
RE: That's a FELONY in my state!
By jajig on 4/13/2009 12:39:54 PM , Rating: 5
It sure is

Pun
–noun
1. the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pun?jss=0


By Chernobyl68 on 4/13/2009 12:28:15 PM , Rating: 2
waiting for someone to press charges...


RE: That's a FELONY in my state!
By MrSmurf on 4/13/2009 1:33:16 PM , Rating: 2
It's only illegal if you get caught!


wow
By MadMan007 on 4/13/2009 10:45:55 AM , Rating: 4
Seriously EA, retarded much? I don't expect all the people at EA to be versed in the law regarding the legality of weapons but who would have even thought of shipping brass knuckles??




RE: wow
By bighairycamel on 4/13/2009 10:50:07 AM , Rating: 2
They shouldn't have called them brass knuckles. They are illegal in my state but readily available from stores being sold as "decorative paper weights". Some will add tabbed notches to the back and call them "belt buckles". I'm not kidding.

Maybe if they sent them as God Father 2 commemorative paper weights they could have gotten away with it.

On a side note: is it typical for a producer to send gifts to 3rd party reviewers? That sounds pretty shady to me.


RE: wow
By killerroach on 4/13/2009 10:52:52 AM , Rating: 2
For a major title, it's more typical for publishers to send out promotional swag than for them not to. Most of it ends up being either unoriginal or simply bizarre. Put this firmly in the latter category.


RE: wow
By mmntech on 4/13/2009 11:21:09 AM , Rating: 2
Or they could have just made them out of plastic and said it was a toy. Or better yet, they shouldn't be buying off reviewers with trinkets in the first place.


RE: wow
By killerroach on 4/13/2009 11:46:42 AM , Rating: 2
If reviewers are able to be bought off by (as you aptly put it) "trinkets", then that might be a bigger problem than the brass knuckles. :)

From the perspective of the publisher, these sorts of things are usually given not so much as out-and-out bribes but as an attempt to curry general favor, especially in terms of pre-release information regarding the game (the theory is that a writer would be more cognizant of an upcoming title if they were sent something about it).

That being said, from hearing from writers, the general consensus is most of what is given is affectionately deemed "crap", and probably pays no dividends to anyone, short of just pissing the reviewer off.


RE: wow
By Regs on 4/13/2009 12:18:20 PM , Rating: 2
Even if it's not illigal, this is really bad PR. Why don't EA include plastic brass-knuckles for every kid who buys the game like a happy meal? The press would have a field day.


RE: wow
By shabodah on 4/13/2009 1:12:06 PM , Rating: 1
I'm pretty sure states like California are run much worse than EA is. Sad to say.

Can anyone logically come up with a reason why "weapons" like brass knuckles and nunchakus are illegal this day in age? I doubt it.


Text of the California law if anyone's interested
By johnnyMon on 4/13/2009 1:46:48 PM , Rating: 2
Possession can be charged as a felony or as a misdemeanor. Felony penalty, because it's not specified, is 16 months in the state prison.

As soon as the recipient opened the package, they had an obligation to not touch the contents and immediately contact the police. If they did not do that, for example if they played with them, they committed a felony.

CALIFORNIA CODES
PENAL CODE

12020. (a) Any person in this state who does any of the following is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison:
(1) Manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, lends, or possesses any cane gun or wallet gun, any undetectable firearm, any firearm which is not immediately recognizable as a firearm, any camouflaging firearm container, any ammunition which contains or consists of any flechette dart, any bullet containing or carrying an explosive agent, any ballistic knife, any multiburst trigger activator, any nunchaku, any shot-barreled shotgun, any short-barreled rifle, any metal knuckles, any belt buckle knife, any leaded cane, any zip gun, any shuriken, any unconventional pistol, any lipstick case knife, any cane sword, any shobi-zue, any air gauge
knife, any writing pen knife, any metal military practice
handgrenade or metal replica handgrenade, or any instrument or weapon of the kind commonly known as a blackjack, slungshot, billy, sandclub, sap, or sandbag.




By johnnyMon on 4/13/2009 1:48:53 PM , Rating: 2
Correction: should read "any short-barreled shotgun." I must have deleted a character when redoing the text wrap.


By smackababy on 4/13/2009 2:05:43 PM , Rating: 2
It is like a law against ninjas... I am no longer a fan of California. Wait, that means I was fan prior and that is a lie. I still am not a fan of California; that is my stance!


By TomZ on 4/13/2009 2:42:08 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
...billy, sandclub, sap, or sandbag .
I guess they are not anticipating they will ever have any floods in California if they've outlawed sandbags!


By Belard on 4/13/2009 3:07:16 PM , Rating: 2
But guns are legal?

Okay... lets see brass knuckles take out 3 police officers.

Wherever EA got those... you'd think the supplier would say "uh... are you sure you want these"?

They could have shipped plastic Knuckles. (with orange tips so that we know its not real)


By johnnyMon on 4/13/2009 4:05:01 PM , Rating: 2
Plastic knuckles probably would have been okay so long as they're not for commercial sale:

California Penal Code

12020.1. Any person in this state who commercially manufactures or causes to be commercially manufactured, or who knowingly imports into the state for commercial sale, keeps for commercial sale, or offers or exposes for commercial sale, any hard plastic knuckles or hard wooden knuckles is guilty of a misdemeanor. As used in this section, "hard plastic knuckles" or "hard wooden knuckles" means any device or instrument made wholly or partially of plastic or of wood, composite, or paper materials that is not a metal knuckle as defined in paragraph (7) of subdivision (c) of Section 12020, that is worn for purposes of offense or defense in or on the hand, and that either
protects the wearer's hand while striking a blow or increases the force of impact from the blow or injury to the individual receiving the blow. The plastic, wood, composite or paper products contained in the device may help support the hand or fist, provide a shield to protect it, or consist of projections or studs that would contact the individual receiving a blow.

Incidentally, I should have said above that if they played with the brass knuckles, they were exposing themselves to felony charges. But 12020(a) is a "wobbler," and can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor. In this circumstance they would have most likely been charged with a misdemeanor.


By Belard on 4/13/2009 7:09:54 PM , Rating: 2
I was thinking more of the kind of plastic that is soft, breakable - obviously useless for causing physical injury to another person (the breaking plastic would most likely hurt the person wearing it).

Or NERF Knuckles... ;)


All this shows...
By killerroach on 4/13/2009 10:46:16 AM , Rating: 2
...is how ridiculous our laws are, and how mixed up our priorities are.

As it stands, it makes it sound like the weapons are the problem. In reality, there are no bad weapons (short of unexploded ordinance like land mines or dud bombs), just bad people who want to do bad things with them.

Besides, I somehow doubt the gaming press would be the most likely candidates to start a crime wave of bloody fisticuffs.




RE: All this shows...
By jajig on 4/13/2009 10:56:41 AM , Rating: 3
lol I bet Jack Thompson would have disagreed :)


RE: All this shows...
By Steve1981 on 4/13/2009 11:00:42 AM , Rating: 2
Clearly, brass knuckles are evil. I know I've turned into a violent, blood thirsty brute ever since I obtained a knuckle-knife a few years back.


RE: All this shows...
By bldckstark on 4/13/2009 12:44:11 PM , Rating: 2
Brass knuckles actually don't help all that much unless you surprise your victim. You have to be able to hit accurately and in a damage sensitive location (face, head, neck, ribs) to do real damage.

I just counted 9 items within my reach on my desk that are more dangerous than BK's, and I didn't even open the drawers.


RE: All this shows...
By wetwareinterface on 4/16/2009 2:17:54 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Brass knuckles actually don't help all that much unless you surprise your victim. You have to be able to hit accurately and in a damage sensitive location (face, head, neck, ribs) to do real damage.


what??????
are you chuck norris?
i only ask because unless you are you won't see much difference between hitting someone wearing brass knuckles or not.
when was the last time you were in a fight and hit someone in the face, bareknuckled, and shattered bone? and i mean theirs not your own hand's.

brass knuckles will allow you to hit someone with enough force (mass * velocity) to crack or break their forehead bone at the point of a single impact. the thickest most re-inforced piece of bone on the body i might add.

the reason brass knuckles are outlawed is they simply only have one purpose, and that pupose is one of maiming or seriously injuring an individual. same goes for shuriken or nunchaku. no one goes shuriken hunting for ducks, or uses the nunchaku for threshing wheat these days. they only have one single purpose in modern society and that's to injure or kill a person. therefore they are outlawed.

guns and knives while quite a bit more effective at killing or injuring an individual are also useful for cutting cardboard boxes up or string, and hunting or are protected in the clause "right to bear arms".


Note to EA PR dept.
By SublimeSimplicity on 4/13/2009 4:34:39 PM , Rating: 2
EA PR dept... I'm one step ahead of you.

I'm going to advise you against the idea of sending horse heads to the reviewers that don't return the brass knuckles.




Who needs these?
By ggordonliddy on 4/13/2009 11:08:12 PM , Rating: 2
My knuckles are hard as steel. Fear me.




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