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Apologies if this has been posted before - got it from a link off hardocp... It's a well-written and researched article (american based) on the media frenzy of game violence. Gamers have needed something like this for ages.
http://gr.bolt.com/articles/violence/violence.htm
nice article
though,
if someone really professional and respected would come forward and write something like that it would make people think harder about whether or NOT games do in fact make us more violent
which would be ace
the thing about the media pointing out that there is always an xbox or ps2 within 50 yards of a murderscene is TOOOO true
thanks for the article
Pete
Just goes to show really. I bet a lot of people let their anger out on a nice rampage on San Andreas, instead of blowing up the town you live in.
This is kind of a tangent to the topic, but I was watching the O'Reilly Factor last week and he had a representative of the California legislature as a guest who was talking about how parents can't be trusted to raise their children properly and that it is the government's jobs to raise them. His purpose was to promote a bill he was drafting to heavily restrict video game sales in California. I think that this highlights a large problem in the U.S. and likely abroad--politicians think that they know how to raise children better than parents. It's a shame that these types of insincere initiatives are made law by politicians seeking incumbency. *spits*
IMO, its a breach of our human rights to stop us playing violent games, and the like. It doesnt hurnt any one, so they cant stop us.
That's the problem really. A litigious society, where everyone is to blame but yourself for how you turned out, how you broke your leg, or just how your life is worse because of your own damn stupidity is going to breed this sort of legislation.
The problem is that the words 'video game' are not perceived by parents as being anything other than equalling the words 'kids fun'... kids play games after all, don't they?
So of course, when little Johnny hollers for GTA:SA because his mates have it, Mum will pop off and buy it for him, blithely ignoring the rating on the box, becuase after all, it's a game, isn't it?
So then it all kicks off when Mum walks into Johnny's room to see him running over pedestrians, or worse still, she see he's downloaded the Hot Coffee mod and she gets angrily indignant and writes a raving letter to her MP or Senator or whoever. She won't stop for one second to actually think about the fact that this isn't a game intended for 12 years olds and even if she did, there's no way she'd admit it to anyone because she'd see her own idiocy staring back at her.
Once the general public realise that just like music and movies, games can be targetted at a mature audience and just because it comes under the heading of 'games' it doesn't mkae it a childs plaything, then the wailing about games affecting our youth will subside.
In fact, as the games playing generation grows older and has kids of their own, we'll gradually have more and parents aware of what video games are like and how strong their content can be... and hopefully as responsible adults, those older gamers will be responsible with what they let their kids play.
The argument that violent games make people violent has always been a flimsy one at best, but people will always look to someone or something to blame... and its easy to point the finger at an inaminate piece of plastic produced by a faceless company rather than turn around, hold your hands up and admit that you must've screwed up as a parent and didn't take better care of your kids.
Well said Nick. was about to write something rather similar ;)
Which would be great if everyone could handle it and leave it at home, but i don't trust everyone to do that. And as you've seen, there are some that can'tQuote:
Originally Posted by Trippledence