Video games - A cause of violence?

[omfg hax!]

A man called Jack Tompson Wants to ban violent video games, as he believes that video games are one of the causes of violence in and out of schools for kids. I personally think this is :pshh:, for two reasons:


If the game is violent, then it is the parents responsiblilty to make sure that the child does not get/uses the game responsibly. Only the parent or guardian can buy 18 games for their kids.
You have to be physcologically wrong in the head to even consider killing someone.

Agree? Or disagree?

[Kaze]

Can it be a single lone cause? No.

Can it aid in the provocation of violence? Yes.

Saying Games = Violence is just stupid, but you cannot rule out the fact that running around an island with a high powered rifle shooting cops won't exactly calm the mind.

[Brendon]

I tangled with ol' Jacky Boy for the better part of two years before I got involved with GN. (I used to run a site called StopStopkill and work with GP every now and then.) He's honestly just a real life troll trying to piss gamers off enough so he gets popularity and can charge to speak at places. He REALLY doesn't believe half the stuff he goes on about, but people are always so enthused with thoughts of pitchforks and Frankenstein's monster that they let their rational judgment get away.

[Killer_Within]

Bscly, I think hes an idiot.


[/thread]

[Stanhead]

A little off topic but, "You have to be physcologically wrong in the head to even consider killing someone"? I disagree with that. In extreme circumstances many otherwise normal people have deliberately killed another person.

On topic: Violent games only really influence those who are already violent. But these people are also influenced by other media, and not just games. I don't see Jack Thompson trying to get violent films banned.

[Sersoft.corp]

like I alreadry said, I don't want to kill people for real, but sometimes, I get angry(I don't mean I'm dangerous, but yeah I just want to kill somebody) and I had that long before playing a violent video game, and my point is, that most video games tend to help me and I just relax after I've played the game till I get bored. Especially GTAIII/Vice City, sometimes I get pissed off at ppl in the city, or school. Then I play some GTA, ride around the city with my tank, and the anger quickly goes away.

tl,dr: video games help me calm down

[Mad Scientist]

I think it is obvious why jack Thompson really hates videogames. (http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20050808)

[Garcian Smith]

I don't even need to click that, Mad, to know which CAD strip it is :P

You have to be physcologically wrong in the head to even consider killing someone.

Really, this should be altered to "You have to be wrong in the head if you think 'If it's OK in a video game, it's OK in real life'". One of the major reasons for these video-game 'related' murders/acts of violence is that the perpetrator is mimicking the actions of a certain video game. One must have some kind of problem if they can see virtual violence and think it's cool or acceptable to do in real life.

It is, therefore, where we run into a problem. Is it the industry's fault (primarily the B.B.F.C. or the E.R.S.B.) for allowing said material to get into the hands of young people who shouldn't be playing an 18-rated game, for instance. Or is the fault of the parents for not recognising/dealing with potential mental problems? Or is the individual?

Personally, I think that the individual should always be brought to task as the primary reason for violence. I think that anything that can be possibly attributed or blamed towards the crime should be held as secondary evidence.

Of course, people are always looking for a reason. A tangible reason that they can blame on the crime. We cannot deal with the perpetrator simply being murderous, we must have a direction to vent our anger and pain (rather understandably), and hopefully change something that can benefit possible future prevention.

It's a touchy subject...

[Psyborg]

I once played Mario and took a baseball bat to the head of an infant.

Go figure.

[MaxTheLimit]

I think that Jack Thomspon as Ahnonimous has states is simply a press whore willing to say anything to stand at a podium.

As for what people have been saying about the relation between violence and video games any real evidence that exists doesn't address the source of the violent behavior. Are potential "risk" individuals influenced by video games in a negative way, or are those more prone to such behaviors simply drawn to violent activity in general (including video) games. This is an important distinction. This would be the difference in being an influence and being a warning sign when juxtaposed against other signs.

[TheTaxidermist]

A video game forum is not a place to debate violence in video games. You will only get one side of the debate.

[jackattack502]

Video games make people kill each other. Did you ever hear about the guy who lost his high score in Pong to another guy, and murdered him?

/lies

[Dr.Aaron]

I play video games, and I murdered 133370345 in my life time. :P

[Atomic Waffle]

Wouldn't it make sense that virtually killing people would relieve you of any violent urges or stress in reality? Works for me. That's why I always liked sandbox games, because it was so easy to just go out and kill someone.

[BahamutBBob]

In my opinion, video games can make someone want to kill people in reality. Of course, the people that are affected in that way are already crazy. Hell, I'm crazy sometimes, but video games don't drive me towards violence, and I play some of the more violent games.

[jackattack502]

I think its sad that the world can blame video games for violence, and that ambulence chasers like JAck Thompson just hate them. :(

[Mercer]

Well, sometimes video games drive me to throw the controller across the room (kinda a problem when one gets pissed at a PSP game), but that's about at far as it goes, and it's all about me being a baby about dying/losing anyway.

[Sersoft.corp]

Thank god my cell phone is unbreakable and made from 50% win and 50% god, because if it wasn't, it would have broke when I threw it out of a balcony of a 10story building last week, instead, it had a small scratch on the back and the battery flew out(like a passenger ejects out of a falling plane).