12 Responses

1. Kris

   17|Oct|2005 1

   Personally, I am appaulled with the gruesome effects and the violent actions that are contained in video games. Yes, there have been cases (Beavis and Butthead, Wrestling, Shoot-them-up games, etc.) where people imitated moves or stunts with friends that resulted in injury and death. I could see how it could lead into it - I have tried it already. Why is violence, blood, and guts make it more enticing? Some people are sick! Would you let your kids play these games? Besides you are missing the point if you think that people can’t see the reality that video games don’t hurt people. In actuality the video games are not the issue…it is the content in them. Some people also don’t pay attention their surrounding also when copying moves too.

2. Kris

   17|Oct|2005 2

   Duplicating moves does not always lead to injuries or death; however, there have been cases that occurred. Let me rephrase my last comment. “I have already tried replicating moves and I could see how it could result in injury and death.”

3. ryan

   18|Oct|2005 3

   Why would people replicate moves that are fiction? Its utterly ridiculus. Playing a spiderman game doesn’t make me spider man.

   Some people are sick, but that doesn’t give anyone else the right to limit what video games I play.

   Telling your kids what they can play is totally a different concept. If parents just looked at the video game rating for a particular video game, then they shouldn’t be surprised by the content within the game.

4. Kris

   18|Oct|2005 4

   Younger kids playing video games are more likely to replicate moves of their favorite characters. One of the reasons can be that they just want to be like them or do the same stunts thinking that they could them. Haven’t you ever wanted to be someone else, like Superman or Robocop, when you were younger?

5. ryan

   18|Oct|2005 5

   No, not really. I knew they were fiction.

6. Jeremy

   21|Oct|2005 6

   The problem is that the current generation that currently holds political office do not understand video games, so they fear them. Video games and films are almost identical when it comes to the topic of mature content; it is the responsibility of parents to actively decide what their children do and don’t see in both media. Politicians understand movies because they grew up seeing them. Governor Schwarzenegger isn’t signing any bills that fine movie theaters when a minor buys a ticket to a Restricted feature. He did, however, do exactly that for video games. Seeing Doom, the film is no more or less likely to make anyone a killer than playing the video game, yet there are a bunch of ignorant people saying Doom caused Columbine.

   Some kids jump off their roof because they think they can fly like Superman. This doesn’t mean the Superman movies are warping their minds, it means the parents need to properly teach their children the difference between fiction and reality, and they need to make sure that the fiction their children are exposed to is age appropriate for that specific child. Demonizing video games is stupid, and it won’t work. If anything it simply makes them forbidden fruit, and gives adult gamers a headache from having to listen to Jack Thompson.

7. ryan

   21|Oct|2005 7

   Nicely said Jeremy.

8. Kris

   21|Oct|2005 8

   I disagree with your statement that the current generation that currently holds political office do not understand video games and that they fear them. Most likely they had already played video games or their own children have them. From the invention of video games until now, these games have gotten more sophisicated, violent, and sexually explicit. Of course these games are fictional; however, the graphics and sounds have made them so vivid. Some of the games that have strong violence and mature content have gone farther than they should. What happened to the days when there was less violence and sexual content in the video games? At least those games were more decent to play and good to learn from. What about the teenagers who know that the video games are fictional but they still want to show off some moves to their friends? Backyard Wrestling or Boxing games are good examples of that. The contents in the video games do play some role in today’s society whether or not the kids understand the difference between fiction and reality.

9. Kris

   21|Oct|2005 9

   In addition, not all video games that are out now have this type of mature content and violence. I do like some of them. My motto for this topic is: Less is better!!

10. Kris

    21|Oct|2005 10

    Another thing, there are more games out there that are based on real life events and actions. The only thing that is fictional about these games is how virtually it can be.

11. Jeremy McCarthy

    22|Oct|2005 11

    It is true that games these days are more realistic, in both style and subject. This realism doesn’t make it any less fictional though, just as ultra violent films like Kill Bill or Sin City are fictional, even though they are very realistic (albeit highly stylized). Personally, I don’t want minors buying M rated games any more than I want them seeing R rated movies. They are inappropriate for certain ages, which is why there is a ratings system. However, our government needn’t regulate the business of either industry. We’ll never see a bill proposed which fines theaters for selling R rated tickets to children. The film industry does a pretty good job of handling this problem on their own, without legislation. The games industry, in my opinion, does as good if not better, yet some politicians refuse to see this.

    Government interference is problem number one. Number two, which is at the heart of the original post, is the issue of people blaming games for crimes, or people claiming games are “murder simulators” that train people to kill. Whenever someone commits incredible acts of violence that reflects a game they obsessively play, a group of folks claim it was the game that trained them to be a cop killer. When John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Reagan, no one tried to shut down Hollywood because Taxi Driver made him do it. No one sued Martin Scorsese or Columbia Pictures. The majority of Americans and particularly those in power understand movies as they relate to our culture, otherwise they might foolishly blame the film. The crazy, homicidal maniac is to blame. The same is true when the subject is video games. Video games do not hurt people. They do not lessen the inhibition to kill. If someone is imbalanced enough to allow a game to make them violent, clearly the person’s inhibition to kill was pretty low from the beginning. They just aren’t very creative, and copy something stupid they saw in a game.

    The fact that you don’t enjoy many violent games (which do seem to be the majority these days) is completely understandable. Everyone has their preferences. I’d trade some blood and guts for a little design innovation, myself. This issue goes much deeper than that. Hillary Clinton, Leland Yee, Jack Thompson and their supporters all want to stigmatize games, and treat them like alcohol and cigarettes, instead of like music and movies. They do this out of their ignorance for the medium, as obviously games fall into the art/entertainment category, not the controlled substance category.

12. Gabor

    24|Oct|2005 12

    Video games are the way they are because it sells? People want to be able to do something they can’t do in real life, and that’s what sells. If violence and sex didn’t sell, there’d be no violence in movies and games.

    Back in the day, computers were slow and games looked like total crap. Not many people enjoy moving a snake around the screen eating one pixel objects. Games were so unrealistic that only nerds would play them, and it’s difficult to make a violent game when you have 16 colors to work with.

    Today, games are played by everyone. You no longer have to be a nerd, and the reason you see games become so popular is due to the added realism. Games are not what you should be attacking if you don’t like the trend. People make and buy the games. Games are not here to change society. Society is changing games to fit what people want.