Gaming Why can't the world just leave video games alone

[Guest Alchemist]

CA legislator Leland Yee is reintroducing his bill to ban violent video gmes in CA. Come on people just let them be. I have yet to see proof that kids go out and commit violent crimes because of video games. The Girl Scouts are backing it and so is the PTA, along with a few headline republicans. We need to have an international protest of all video game bans. We have got to unite and fight this atrocious acts.

[2010DigitalBoy]

Don't worry, they can't ban them, that would go against fredom of speech, (or one of those freedoms). What they CAN do is make it so no one under a certain age can buy video games.

[TheShinje]

[size=1][color=DimGray][b]I disagree entirley[/b] with those fantatics out there who blame video games for every one of society's ills, it doesn't matter that millions of sane adults can play a mature game without going out and re-enacting the pixelated violence, all they care about is ther one person out of that million who can't distinguish reality, and they should be locked up anyway. This si why I don't condone state-enforced bans like the ban on Manhunt over here in New Zealand, I believe that once you reach a certain age of maturity, you should be able to choose how to entertain yourself and what with.

Having said that, I totally agree with age-enforced censirship, and, while it may not be the greatest meter of maturity, it's the best thing we've got currently.[/color]
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[John]

[quote name='ThatOneOddDude']Don't worry, they can't ban them, that would go against fredom of speech, (or one of those freedoms). What they CAN do is make it so no one under a certain age can buy video games.[/quote]Freedom of speech? Nay, I don't think that would be a very good defense. After all, giving secret information to terrorist groups is excersizing your freedom of speech, but it's also treason.

Even though there's been absolutely zero hard evidence found that video games cause violence (because there's no evidence [i]to[/i] find, lol), the idea has been ingrained for so long that many people just accept it as a general fact. Maybe if the people who will ultimately make the decision actually knew something about this situation, the odds of that bill failing to pass would be that much more in our favor.

[Semjaza]

Comparing giving information to terrorists to what can be expressed in a video game doesn't work and really makes little sense. Sometimes I wonder if people realize exactly what freedom of speech is, as it's not really as simple as one may believe. Freedom of speech is still a strong argument for anything that can be construed as "art" (regardless of what people think of games, if movies can be considered art, games are pretty much alongside it) and it's what has kept games free this long. Movies weren't even included under the act until the 50s or so. There's always a precendent.

However, I've not read much about banning games outright in recent months. The main thing right now seems to be going after those who sell explicit games to minors with fines and jail time. I read something about this involving California the other day, but who knows if it was the same person or not. The Governor in Illinois wants to the same and I have no problem with it as he says once people are old enough (i.e., whatever it says the age group on the rating is), it's their business.

[Lord Rannos]

Jeez, I fricken hate people who think that video games cause violence problems. It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. If they start banning video games, what gets hit next? Movies with violence? Message boards? No, in the words of the immortal Ron White:

It's a video problem, not a parenting problem. You figured it out, congratulations.

[Morpheus]

Banning all games with violence isn't just stupid, it's impossible. Someone could find or make thousands of violent games and simply burn them to CD or DVD. How in the hell do they think they will stop that?

Also, we have a senator like that here in America, too. His name is Joe Lieberman, and he is the direct root of these problems. He is the one that freaked out when Mortal Kombat came out. He is the reason we have ratings, which makes him partially responsible for the problems with the ratings. He scared a lot of people so much that they became idiot activists, causing all sorts of problems. In short, he is full of *******.

P.S. He also blamed Marylin Manson for Columbine.


[URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=45393]Here is my lasting tribute to Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman[/URL]

[BlueYoshi]

[color=darkred]It's not just violence that's the problem, as well. Hitman 2 was banned over here because it showed contempt towards the British Sikh community, as one of the missions in the game was based in India. Really though, I thought the ban was ridiculous; there are many games which give off this sort of vibe to Arab and middle eastern cultures, yet there's no need for those games to get banned. In fact, Hitman 2 involved a mission in Nuristan, where the bystanders were clearly Muslim, and the actual Athan (prayer) was recited every now and then.

Seriously, there was no [i]real[/i] disrespect towards the Sikhs though. All you pretty much did was shoot men who wore turbans. You didn't have to trash the temples, or piss in their holy water.

Manhunt was also banned here in the UK. Apparently, some kid killed his schoolmate by bashing him one on the head with a hammer, and told the officials that Manhunt had influenced him, thus causing the ban. Banning a game due to directly one person's actions is a bit extreme, I think, but from another perspective, it shows that the government is doing what they can in order to prevent anything like so happening again. Heh, if they're going to ban Manhunt, however, they may as well ban every other violent game, because it's more than just the title name that does the damage.[/color]

[Guest Alchemist]

Morpheus I hear what you are saying but I have a little bit more Tolerence for Joe Lierberman, cause he is a democrat.
Anyway guess what "These damned video games made by those damned liberals are stealing children away from christianity and turning them into damned atheist" r :D :D
I know plenty of christian gamers that play the real violent games like City Rape. Now i will admit video games do teach you to question things (i.e. Religon, Politics, School System) but only steals kids away .1% of the time. It did steal me away but, hey I am just one person.

[Morpheus]

[quote name='Bombu']Manhunt was also banned here in the UK. Apparently, some kid killed his schoolmate by bashing him one on the head with a hammer, and told the officials that Manhunt had influenced him, thus causing the ban. Banning a game due to directly one person's actions is a bit extreme, I think, but from another perspective, it shows that the government is doing what they can in order to prevent anything like so happening again. Heh, if they're going to ban Manhunt, however, they may as well ban every other violent game, because it's more than just the title name that does the damage.[/color][/quote]
I read that story, and the assailant said that he wanted drug money. That's it. They blamed manhunt when they found a copy in the [B][i]VICTIMS[/i][/B] HOUSE. How in the world did they come up with that kind of logic?

[DeathBug]

I played violent video games for most of my youth, and I'm not a violent psychopath. These people are just ridiculous; I'd like to saw their limbs off, beat their face in with spiked knuckles, gouge their eyes, and send their bloody torso through a wood-chipper. Then I'd kick their dog.

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='Semjaza Azazel']However, I've not read much about banning games outright in recent months. The main thing right now seems to be going after those who sell explicit games to minors with fines and jail time. I read something about this involving California the other day, but who knows if it was the same person or not. The Governor in Illinois wants to the same and I have no problem with it as he says once people are old enough (i.e., whatever it says the age group on the rating is), it's their business.[/quote]

Basically. From reading a couple of articles on it, it seems to me that the bill is reinforcing what the ESRB ratings system was originally put into place for. It's not really a "ban" of violent games in California, or anything. Frankly, if people were more informed on the ratings system, then we wouldn't be having these problems, or at least they would be a bit less prominent. It's no real fault of the ESRB, anyway, since they've done as much as they can to inform people on the ratings system, really lol.

Anyway, I honestly don't see that much of a problem with this. It's not like the only great games out there are the ones filled with blood, gore, swearing and whatnot. If your parents don't let you play M-rated games, just stop moping about it and play some different games. Lord knows that there are tons of great games available now that [i]aren't[/i] M-rated. But I guess the world will end if children don't get their fix of GTA!! :rolleyes:

In short, buy a GameCube, and you won't have any problems with this. :D

[Annie]

[color=#404142]Seriously, damn. Now, I'm no gamer (Shin can tell you), but I do know for a fact that there are many fun-filled games. I'm an old school person, meaning I love the Super Nintendo and the Nintendo 64. Duck Hunt was great, I think that was the most violent gun game Nintendo came out with XD. Then you have your neverending Mario's and some Yoshi. Oh, don't forget the Zelda's either.

Now, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, that was a kick-*** game. Violent? Not entirely, but it was still the best game to play. I'm not a GC fan, but I've tried a few games on it, and they are amazing.

Don't get me wrong, Play Station is a great console, and they come out with some crazy stuff. But they also have non-violent, and excellent games. Legends of the Dragoon..now that's a hot RPG (well, to me anyway). Sure, it's got violence, it's awesome, and yet, you don't see some guy blowing some other guy's brains out.

That brings me to another point that I have, I personally don't want to play video games because of all of the gore, brain matter splattering, swearing, what have you. To me, that's not creative, and it's boring. Lack of thought. I don't feel that it's a challenge to slice and dice. I would much rather play games that puzzle me, challenge my creativity and imagination.

There's an unbelievable amount of excellent, well-thought out, fancy, bloody, non-violent games out there. Look beyond the materialistic cover of a game, and search for the great games. They are out there.[/color]

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='Annalisse][color=#404142']That brings me to another point that I have, I personally don't want to play video games because of all of the gore, brain matter splattering, swearing, what have you. To me, that's not creative, and it's boring. Lack of thought. I don't feel that it's a challenge to slice and dice. I would much rather play games that puzzle me, challenge my creativity and imagination. [/color][/quote]

To be fair, there are a lot of M-rated games that are worth playing. Resident Evil 4 is one such game, Metal Gear Solid 3 another. Violent, yes, but great games, nonetheless. I don't think that anyone wants to suggest that they aren't worth playing, or can't be challenging, creative games because they are violent.

EDIT: (in response to Annie's reply) Okay then. Just making sure that there aren't any misunderstandings, or anything. :)

[Annie]

[quote name='Shinmaru']To be fair, there are a lot of M-rated games that are worth playing. Resident Evil 4 is one such game, Metal Gear Solid 3 another. Violent, yes, but great games, nonetheless. I don't think that anyone wants to suggest that they aren't worth playing, or can't be challenging, creative games because they are violent.[/quote]

[color=#404142]Well, I wasn't denying that there wasn't, Shin dear. I've heard a great deal about those games, and they sound awesome. I was just saying that there are, indeed, other games--that I'd rather play.

*shrug* Got to love opinions ^_^[/color]

[Guest sizlor]

if i didnt have video games for an outlet for my anger i probaly would be going out on gta shoot outs

[Konami]

Videogames can be banned despite freedom of speech. Comics were banned way back when to follow certain guidelines, (Remember the comic code?

How does this happen? Well, they thing is, these people don't consider videogames art, and may not even consider them expression; they think of videogames are merely entertainment, or a toy. Yes; it's false but this is how people who seek to ban videogames think.

If they didn't, they'd be banning books.

Some videogames do have a violent influence.. many things have violent influences... many things have positive influences; but this isn't the point! People play video-games under their own will and accept to commit violent actions under their own will, the whole issue falls under a greater problem: There is no personal accountability in the world, we blame culture, the media, religion, mental illness, but never the individual. It's a state of affairs that won't go away unless there's a lot of changes in the ways people think.

[Sora]

I vote we send them a gameboy with Tetris and after a week of making them play it on and off ask them if they feel like hurting some of the d*mn shapes, heh.

But really that's rediculous. To me, I play exessively violent games only when I'm pissed so I kill the creatures instead of the people I'm pissed at. Forgive my spelling too, I'm not good at it, heh.

[liam mc]

If violent games were to be banned, then the less we see of them the more violent they are. i hope that makes sense. Plus there are more violent movies than there are games. i'm not complaining, i'm making a point :D i love games with action and violence, it's like an anger release, you can take your anger out on computer characters.

All that i know is that Manhunt has been banned in England. I havent even had a chance to play it :animecry:

[Erika]

[size=1][color=royalblue]The Girl Scouts are also backing this up? And here I thought I couldn't hate them any more than I already do. Now they're on my hit list by default.[/color][/size]

[SunfallE]

[quote name='Sepiroth']CA legislator Leland Yee is reintroducing his bill to ban violent video gmes in CA. Come on people just let them be. I have yet to see proof that kids go out and commit violent crimes because of video games. The Girl Scouts are backing it and so is the PTA, along with a few headline republicans. We need to have an international protest of all video game bans. We have got to unite and fight this atrocious acts.[/quote]

It never fails to amaze me how people will try to force responsibility for someone's actions on something besides the person who chose to act the way they did. I think that the people who are trying to ban video games have forgotten or tried to get us to forget the stark reality; violent crimes have been committed for thousands of years before "video games" even existed. Violent games may give people ideas on how to commit crimes, yet the person doing the crime still ultimately made the decision to do the crime. A video game can't make decisions for you. It's like parents want our society to be responsible for raising their kids. Instead of wondering if they neglected their kid, or if their child made bad choices they say it's someone else's fault; whether they chose to blame video games, movies, tv, or the influence of other kids.

I do think it's a good idea to regulate games with ratings like they do movies though. That way parents can chose whether or not their kids are playing violent games at a young age. I have some mature games and I know if I had kids I wouldn't want them playing them until they were at least 18 years old.

[Manic Webb]

I'm gonna go out on a limb, here. Try to follow along, because this is gonna get a little complicated...

How about we blame the actual criminals?

The videogames? The music? Leave them alone. Millions of people around the world listen to the same music, watch the same movies, and play the same videogames as these teenagers and kids who've killed and maimed their peers. Are they out committing random acts of violences in the streets? Nope. It has to be another factor; something that we haven't considered.

Maybe they were just plain crazy. Ever think of that? Any 6 year old can tell the difference between real life and fiction seen on TV. That's not an exaggerration, either. My sister is 6, and she has no problem seeing stuff on TV as being fake-- especially when the people on the screen aren't even real.

Parents not doing their job? I don't think so. I'm not even gonna blame the parents. Some of these parents grew up watching action and horror films all the time, and they came out well-adjusted enough not to shoot up their high schools. Hell, some were in the military and have killed people in combat, but they know better than to take out their fellow patrons at the supermarket.

These kids who commit violence and [i]just happen to own[/i] violent videogames are nothing more than disturbed, sad, crazy mofos who would've killed their peers if they listened to bebop jazz and played Tetris.

[James]

[color=#B0251E]I think the parents do need to face blame in some situations though.

For instance, the Columbine situation. In that case, there were reports that the two kids who committed the massacre were actually on powerful ADD drugs during that time. Some reports have suggested that these drugs can cause significant chemical imbalance in certain people.

So, in the case of the parents, what have they done? Rather than saying "Geeze, maybe we should have held back on the pills and paid a bit more attention to the sawn-off shotgun sitting under our son's bed", they went out there and blamed everyone from Marilyn Manson to Nintendo.

I think that the bad parenting isn't always to do with how they raise their child -- it's how they respond to these incidents. Parents can choose to scapegoat and remove the responsibility from their children, or they can try to do something constructive about it.

I agree that fundamentally, the problem is with the individual who has a mental instability in the first place. Anything could "push them over the edge", whether it's a product or something someone says. So in that sense I would not blame the games, or the music, or the parents.

But there are cases where parents have been incredibly unhelpful and ignorant, which has further contributed to the problem.[/color]

[Musashi189]

i do get they bann games for reasons, what i don't is that why is only america is banning games, Japan makes any kind of game they want and nobody says anything this is so scew up.

[Yotama]

Because little kids are running around bashing eachother on the head, people are becoming concerned that children now are being corrupted by them.