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March 17, 2009 10:05 AM PDT

House of the Dead: Most profane game ever

by Dave Rosenberg
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Winner of most profane video game

Winner of most profane video game

(Credit: Headstrong Games)

Sega's The House of the Dead: Overkill for the Nintendo Wii console has broken into the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition for the most swearing in a video game, with a whopping 189 uses of the f-word.

"It is a dubious honor to receive such an accolade working in an industry where so often, the fruits of your labors are derided and dismissed for being puerile or irresponsible," said Jonathan Burroughs, the game's writer. "But in the case of House Of The Dead: Overkill, a little puerility was the order of business. Parodying the profane excess of grindhouse cinema was Headstrong's objective, and I am flattered that this record acknowledges that we not only rose to that challenge, but entirely exceeded it."

Clearly, this game is geared toward an adult audience, though you probably don't want to show your grandmother how to play the Nintendo Wii with House of The Dead as your example game.

Follow me on Twitter @daveofdoom

Dave Rosenberg dishes up "Software, Interrupted" with nearly 15 years of technology and marketing experience that spans from Bell Labs to multiple start-up IPOs to open-source enterprise software companies. He is co-founder of MuleSource and currently serves as the general manager of Hardy Way. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can contact Dave via e-mail at softwareinterrupted@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @daveofdoom.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register) (19 Comments)
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by homercles82 March 17, 2009 11:45 AM PDT
Wii is for kids lulz
Reply to this comment
by pentest March 17, 2009 12:12 PM PDT
Go play with your 360 or PS3, they aren't toys.

Oh wait, they are.
by kelmon March 17, 2009 2:15 PM PDT
lulz?
by Nataku4ca March 18, 2009 2:02 AM PDT
@pentest

lol nicely put
by umbrae March 17, 2009 12:23 PM PDT
This actually put me off. I have always played HOD with my kids, and other than gore it was not that "mature". However, this one is out of the question so I will never own it. Its a shame because I was really looking forward to some light gun gaming on the Wii since it is totally suited for it. Personally, I think it was a bad move. They could have used another license to make a grindhouse shooter.
Reply to this comment
by daverosenberg March 17, 2009 12:53 PM PDT
I wouldn't be surprised if they make a kid-safe version.
by alangerow March 17, 2009 3:29 PM PDT
So violence and blood splatters are a-ok, but the use of a bad word! That's what's going to bring the downfall of the world. As long as people use nice language while shooting other people, then the world would be a much better place. Politeness has its place, and it comes before violence. I'm sure you're like my mom was when I was a kid ... I could watch Friday the 13th, but as soon as a pair of breasts came on-screen, I had to shield my impressionable eyes. It's the hypocrisy that gets me.
by thelemurking March 17, 2009 12:46 PM PDT
F*CK YEAH! Guess I know which f*cking game I will be buying next :D

Then after I am done, I can go play RE5 for the racism ;) </sarcasm>
Reply to this comment
by tacit March 17, 2009 1:04 PM PDT
Do we as a society REALLY still care that much about "bad" words?

C'mon. Seriously, there's no such thing as a "dirty" word. Words have only the meanings we choose to give them.
Reply to this comment
by dcphotoal March 17, 2009 2:14 PM PDT
Actually most morally conscionable people do care about "bad" words. It is simply a matter of respect. A word that it seems some were never taught as a child. You don't use foul language in public, in the present of a lady or anywhere that others might be offended. R e s p e c t... I find that those that rely on foul language are the most ignorant, uneducated of the populous that lack any other way to communicate.
by DigitalFrog March 17, 2009 2:49 PM PDT
Absolutely agree with dcphotal. Profanity is the escape route for those with a poor language and interpersonal skills.
by DigitalFrog March 17, 2009 2:51 PM PDT
*apologies for the grammatical mistake of the extra 'a'
by BnBGobo99 March 18, 2009 1:26 PM PDT
As a full-time linguist I agree with your "words have only the meanings we choose to give them", but I really don't like the bad language in my games/shows. Funny thing is though, I don't have much of a problem with violence (unless it's sexual then that's some of the worst). I guess we choose for ourselves what offends us. It would be nice if in every game they had a code or option to remove the cussing.
by kelmon March 17, 2009 2:16 PM PDT
@dcphotoal

Totally agreed.
Reply to this comment
by AlternateRoute March 17, 2009 3:16 PM PDT
@dcphotoal
It is interesting what people regard as foul language. Years ago you couldn't say 'damn' on television now people don't give a damn. I was bleeped on TV for saying 'stuff' (as in 'I couldn't give a stuff'). The 'c' word was used in Victorian English as an acceptable word for that part of the anatomy (though often in the form cunny). Somewhere between then and now it has become the 'worst' word in the English language.

It is a strange situation where parents are happy to let their kids sit for hours playing games where the sole object is to kill as many people as possible, but get upset if their vocabulary strays a bit.
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by Dalkorian March 18, 2009 9:15 AM PDT
Hey, you have to train your kids for the coming apocalypse somehow and society doesn't want your kids practicing on the neighbors. So violent video games have their place.

But the mutant zombies won't be eliminated with excessive profanity. That's just purely unnecessary. Besides, they call them "curse words" for a reason.

;-)
by sanjayb March 22, 2009 10:54 AM PDT
Yeah. It wasn't too long ago that ***** just meant cat. :-P
by Dalkorian March 18, 2009 9:22 AM PDT
Freakin kewl. Me freakin wantie.
;-)
Reply to this comment
by W1gglesnarf March 18, 2009 11:52 AM PDT
Sadly i grew up in the same situation as "alangerow" did... violence and swearing was fine but nakedness was not... as for the game... If I was being pounded by horde's of zombies / mutants i would be swearing too!
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About Software, Interrupted

In "Software, Interrupted," Dave Rosenberg discusses disruption in the software market, as well as the products and services that keep business technology norms in perpetual flux.

With nearly 15 years of technology and marketing experience spanning from Bell Labs to multiple start-up IPOs, Dave co-founded open-source software company MuleSource and now serves as general manager of Hardy Way. He also happens to be a U.S. patent holder and a workaholic. Technology is his best friend and mortal enemy.

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