‘Beer Pong’ Becomes ‘Pong Toss’

Controversy is abundant in the video game world, but rarely does a scandal get resolved quite as quickly as the fiasco concerning the ‘Beer Pong’ Wiiware game. It’s been relabeled Pong Toss and has benefitted from this controversy by getting some increased publicity as well as the reworking getting its rating dropped from ‘T for Teen’ to ‘E for Everyone’.

Some might consider this a victory for concerned parents and conservative groups but I’d say it’s a victory over those groups. What did they sacrifice in getting their game out of the hot seat and an even lower rating? It’s a question of the classic Shakespearian ‘what’s in a name?’. Anyone who knows the game of beer pong will recognize what the game is simulating. Let’s be honest here too, there’s enough influence in pop culture and the media to encourage drinking. It’s been a problem amongst young people long before this game came out.