Kingpin - A Great Game That Was Released at the Wrong Time

I'm sure there's an extremely low chance that you might have heard of this game, let alone played it. This title was released back in 1999 to warm receptions from critics. 10 years after its release, I played it, loved it and even wrote a review (which I lost). Not only it was a decent game, it was also the atmosphere of the game that really caught me. Each chapter took place in grim but beautiful urban areas. But, if you look at this game today, this is not the most unique thing about it.

So what is it then? Well, do you know that at one point during the installation, you are presented the option to disable animated blood and censor the curses?

See? You should be glad, People Who Always Blame Video Games for Violence. Developers were more "considerate" those days. Most of them are not doing this anymore. Even if they have such options for their games today, those aren't highlighted. But the studio that developed Kingpin, Xatrix Entertainment, gave you this option right during the installation, complete with the CEO's warning message on so-called video game violence.

"In light of the recent acts of youth-related violence that have taken place across America we thought that you should know how Kingpin was initially conceived. Kingpin was never intended for children. This is a game with mature themes made for a mature audience. There was never any attempt to market or influence children to buy Kingpin." 

-Drew Markhman, CEO, Xatrix Entertainment

Ah, my favorite junkyard level. Be prepared to shoot dogs.

This move would be considered "soft" these days, now that we have even more violent games like Manhunt and God of War which developers put no effort at all to convey such messages, but back then, developers such as Xatrix did what they could to knock the sense out of shallow-minded folks who thought animated blood drove players to commit violence in real-life.

Even with that, Kingpin barely pulled through. It was released at the wrong time; the aftermath of the Columbine High tragedy. Society was wildly looking for something to blame, and Kingpin took a hit. Being one of the first violent first person shooters to be released since the Columbine High tragedy, Kingpin received negative attention from the media and parental organizations.

By today's standard, this is not even close to being "violent".

Even though the CEO tried to make it clear that the game was never intended for minors, this did not stop "fully responsible" parents from requesting actions to be taken against the game (geez, it's like they brought their kids to the pornography store and blamed the retailer for putting pornographic materials on the shelves). The game was mentioned and criticized by the National Institute on Media and the Family in their 1999 "report" on video game violence.

This was also the time when politicians stepped in to save the day. The video game industry had always been a stage for politicians to display their "deeds" and "goodwill". In Kingpin's case, the game was not even out yet and it was already blamed for violent crimes that had not even occurred yet. Congressmen and lobbyists were quick to go cock-sucking and ass-kissing, taking advantage of the situation by trying to stop the game from seeing the light of day. This led to the game being debated on the floor of the US senate.

You have got to salute Xatrix for being this bold at that time.

However, the game survived the avalanche and made it into stores alright, but the controversy caused the game copies to be absent from the shelves of retailers such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us. Sadly, it was also the last game that Xatrix developed. The studio had to shut down but eventually reformed as Gray Matter Interactive, the studio who worked on Call of Duty United Offensive and Return to the Castle Wolfenstein.

But hey, those old studios were the ones who took risks and opened the door for newer developers these days. Despite criticism and controversies, the gaming industry still stands strong today. As for Kingpin, it still has a loyal fanbase today, loyal enough to develop a mod for this long-forgotten game. Also, hardcore fans have started several websites dedicated to keep the game alive, including kingpinforever.com which members, at the time of writing, are still actively sharing maps and mods.

Awesome! Now that's the gaming spirit!