Computer Games and Violence

[DoST]

What do you think about this issue? Often the school shootings in the USA are related with FPS games. Do you think that computer games that contain violence affect children a lot?

Thanks

[Martz]

Its possible imo. Games, computers and the Internet are all very addictive and plunge you into another world. After a while the 2 can merge in some aspects, but I think you have to be the wrong sort of person to be affected in the first place. If you go to the extent of shooting someone in Real Life because you think it is a game or the answer to lifes problems, then you [they] need help.

If the game caused this, there is no reason why the same results couldn't be triggered by another medium or in another way so I think it is unfair to blame gaming for causing people to be physically violence instead of virtually.

[orca]

I don't think it's only because of the game. I think there was already sth b4. However, I gues if you only play games like this and don't have any sovcial life beside you may are in a higher risk group. It's too easy to put all the guilt to the games.

[chrispadfield]

statistics being used to proove things that only show correlations ... it just probably happens that the teens who do shootings, also are people who play computer games but is their a casual connection --> seems far more unlikely. More likely that they are badly brought up and deeply disturbed children which leads them to play computer games (soletary activity away from dealing with real life perhaps) and also in very very extreme cases committing terrible crimes.

[nemesis01]

Rubbish IMO, people need to blame something or somebody.First it was movies, here in England a young kid was killed by 2 older lads who took him onto a train track and the parents and everybody else blamed the film 'Childs play 3' for it.

The only people who are to blame are the people who commit the crimes, as the saying goes 'Guns dont kill people, people kill people'.

[Valkyre]

I's BS. I've been playing violent video games most my life, doesn't affect me.

[Jake Bunce]

haha, i love it when news stations do reports on violence in video games... and then show DOOM FOOTAGE!!! AHAHAH!!! you think that's bad?1 come check out Unreal Tourney with the gib mod!

[WizyWyg]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/mar02/31536.asp

Read this for some stupidity at its best. This was posted in another forum, so Ill quote my "response" to it here:

Stupid and moronic, and I hope that if these idiots do bring a lawsuit that the JUDGE on the case will throw it out of court.

UNLIKE cigarrettes, where there are documented health risks, the ONLY health risks to prolong gaming is carpal tunnel syndrome and going blind (yes it has happened).

The mother stated she knew her son had "mental" problems before he started playing. SO why is she blaming a game?
He has diagnosed mental problems; so no one pointed a gun to his head and said "you have to play this game or else!" He decided to emerse himself in a game. That's his problem. And those close to him should have intervened.

Looks like again, the media wants to point fingers at the gaming industry again, when they should be looking at the fact that this is just another case of human stupidity at work, and Darwinism at work.

I feel sorry for the mom for losing her son, but there were signs before he started playing that he was mentally ill. Should have seen this coming.


Sorry, I may seem unsympathetic, but I work for the video game industry and spend many a time reading reports like these (done by of course ignorant reporters who interview ignorant people on their ignorance of video games) and this kinda stuff just puts me off. Hell, I beta tested Every Quest before it came out, and that game is NOT addictive to a normal well rounded person. At least they know when to quit. So to the lawmakers and and money grubbing lawyers who think they know everything:

[chrispadfield]

Originally posted by nemesis01
Rubbish IMO, people need to blame something or somebody.First it was movies, here in England a young kid was killed by 2 older lads who took him onto a train track and the parents and everybody else blamed the film 'Childs play 3' for it.

There was a copycat element to it though I believe, hence the blame. However that the kids could watch what is I believe an 18 at age 7 is the other question.

[bigmattyh]

Originally posted by chrispadfield
There was a copycat element to it though I believe, hence the blame....

I think it would be fair to say, though, that the biggest contributor to the "copycat" issue is the endless media coverage when one of these incidents happens. I remember from watching local TV news 15 years ago that national stories made up maybe 2-3 minutes of the broadcast, whereas the rest was local news. Now it's almost the opposite.

What happens when you shift the focus to the national/international scale in a system where ratings are king is that you end up having the news focus on whatever death and destruction is going on in the world. That focus makes a huge difference. Troubled kids see one shooting at one school, and all of a sudden, we have 3-4 more incidents within a couple of months, until school gets out. They see that one sure way to get noticed in their directionless, sad and confused worlds is to be destructive.

That said, you get what you focus on. Focus on FPS-type games, and you'll cultivate some level of desire for or insensitivity to death and destruction. But it happens in the media so much more often than in video games, and the media reach far more people than these video games.

[alien51]

people should know the difference between reality and a video game.

[mdx381]

If anything, the blame needs to be put on one of two groups...

The Children - For thinking that they can do what they see in a video game and not know it's wrong, or impossible to do in real life without getting hurt.

And...

The Parents - If their child is too immature for a certain game, then they should be the parent and tell them no.

"Quick! I'm going to get a mushroom and throw it at someone! I saw Mario do it, so it must be okay!"

[NetherChris]

A highup at Nintendo once said
"If video games really affected people, wouldn't everybody who played Pac-Man be munching on pills and walking around dark rooms listening to repetitive music?"

Sorry, but it's not my fault that john Q. kid has the IQ of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Kids who do these things crave attention... and when they are done in copycat styles, the only attention they get from me is how much of an unorginal unrespectable "copycat" they truly are. Mine as well just kill themselves in their rooms, and save the rest of us the trouble of hearing the parents of victims whining about how counter-strike and unreal and... DOOM.... ruined their child's lives. Wrong place at the wrong time and fell victim to a moron.... psychologically ill as it is it makes me even more sick to see them trying to scrounge money from already suffering software companies in tough times like this.

Not to sound unsympathetic... but... well... I am. Whatever parent raised a monster like that is the one who should be sued, for every cent of every dollar that they have. I am sick and tired of hearing parents blame everything on this green earth except themselves for their kid's troubles. Maybe some sort of mandatory "Your child is a moron and it's your fault" fine should be put into effect for kids who go out and vandalize buildings and shoot people. Blame the kids, blame the parents, but for crissakes stop blaming Duke Nukem. HE DOESN'T EXIST!!!

[yetdog111]

What's even more troubling to me is that we have a Democratic presidential candidate-hopeful who leans heavily on blaming video games and movies for just about every act of sex and violence under the sun. Talk about out of touch with reality.

[CondorZ]

Aren't computer games supposed to be entertaining? What is the appeal to the violence? Perhaps fantasy for those who have never experienced the real thing? I would worry about anyone who has experienced true violence and still gets gratification from these games.