Journalist demonises video games in article criticising the demonising of videogames. Inception!

[ResonanceSD]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/technology/gaming/police-commissioner-andrew-scipione-under-fire-for-video-game-comments/story-fn6saqys-1226443975410

I have literally no words to describe just how dumb this piece is.

So let's have some quotes. From her "Top 5 most violent video games" list

"Saints Row
A game that makes a sport out of beating prostitutes with sex toys. Players spend the game killing people, blowing stuff up, swearing, selling and buying drugs and robbing people."

"Max Payne
Shoot drug gangs dead with a spray of bullets, take drugs to keep your health up. Shoot enemies with a grenade launcher from a helicopter. Violence is as common to this game as breathing."

"Assassin's Creed III: Liberation
Bloody, violent 16th century video game where gamers play assassins. Use a machete and blowpipes to destroy your enemies."

And this comes literally 5 centimetres below

"Mr Reilly said adult video games that feature vehicle theft and killing as part of their stories do not seem to be persuading more people to steal cars and kill each other.

?But we?re supposed to accept that they are to blame for an increase in knife crime?," Mr Reilly said. "It makes no sense. You can?t just apply this lazy reasoning to wherever it suits the figures.""

Mr Reilly, is the Games Editor of, wait for it, IGN Australia.

When IGN, of all people, have the moral high ground, you know something's up. This whole thing stems from a quote from a police commissioner blaming games for higher rates of youth violence.

This article purported to correct that with quotes from people who actually have a clue about gaming.

Instead? No, we get a picture of max payne with the caption "Max Payne is non-stop violent and it even depicts the "kill shot" in slow motion."


Barrier to entering journalism is at an all time low, apparently.

 

[yuval152]

I dont' even....what? the guy/woman who made this obivously never played video games for more than half a year.

 

[ResonanceSD]

I dont' even....what? the guy/woman who made this obivously never played video games for more than half a year.

I didn't get around to asking her. I'd like to know where she got her top 5 list from XD

 

[yuval152]

I dont' even....what? the guy/woman who made this obivously never played video games for more than half a year.

I didn't get around to asking her. I'd like to know where she got her top 5 list from XD

Probably from soccermoms.com but jokes aside, seriously? blaming video games for causing people to use violence? they need to start blaming schools or kindergartens and dumb parenting.

 

[Phasmal]

Eh.
I propose we stop getting pissy when people suggest that we might all be murderers and murderesses because we play games, instead, let us look at said people like they have just dribbled all down their shirt and maybe they'll realise how silly they sound.

 

[Nouw]

Those quotes, out of context, are actually true. Also, this piece is pointing out the error of the police commissioner that 'demonized' videogames. The title is called 'Police commissioner Andrew Scipione under fire for video game comments.' I'd say this is a good thing rather than bad, although rather unnecessary. The 'actual' article is here. [http://www.news.com.au/technology/gaming/violent-video-games-incite-kids-to-crime-says-scipione/story-e6frfrt9-1226443402160]

 

[ResonanceSD]

Those quotes, out of context, are actually true. Also, this piece is pointing out the error of the police commissioner that 'demonized' videogames. The title is called 'Police commissioner Andrew Scipione under fire for video game comments.' I'd say this is a good thing rather than bad, although rather unnecessary. The 'actual' article is here. [http://www.news.com.au/technology/gaming/violent-video-games-incite-kids-to-crime-says-scipione/story-e6frfrt9-1226443402160]

Read the captions under the pictures, now read the top 5 list. Now tell me that it's a helpful article.

 

[Ruzinus]

...every caption under a picture in that article is true.

She is literally just reporting on a situation. It isn't an opinion piece, it's just a factual report of the opinions put forth by other people.

The only dumb thing about the article is the inclusion of a top 5 list, because who the hell is she to know what video games are the most violent?

But there's no denying that the games listed are violent... you're damning some random reporter for providing pictures and facts about exactly what the article is about: Video game violence. The pictures simply say that the games are violent, not that this is a problem.

 

[SycoMantis91]

They wouldn't be wrong if the lines were part of a paragraph or two on the games, not a "complete" analysis of said games. But yea, as much as I hate this "video games make you violent, but Saw and Necroscope are good for you" bulllshit, most people who say that just won't be convinced otherwise. At the very least, they're not likely to be convinced by us spouting our displeasure on an internet forum.

 

[ResonanceSD]

They wouldn't be wrong if the lines were part of a paragraph or two on the games, not a "complete" analysis of said games. But yea, as much as I hate this "video games make you violent, but Saw and Necroscope are good for you" bulllshit, most people who say that just won't be convinced otherwise. At the very least, they're not likely to be convinced by us spouting our displeasure on an internet forum.

Video games, terrible ways to corrupt you.

Human centipede? Nah that's fine. Must be because it doesn't go for very long compared to Spec Ops: The Line.

 

[SycoMantis91]

They wouldn't be wrong if the lines were part of a paragraph or two on the games, not a "complete" analysis of said games. But yea, as much as I hate this "video games make you violent, but Saw and Necroscope are good for you" bulllshit, most people who say that just won't be convinced otherwise. At the very least, they're not likely to be convinced by us spouting our displeasure on an internet forum.

Video games, terrible ways to corrupt you.

Human centipede? Nah that's fine. Must be because it doesn't go for very long compared to Spec Ops: The Line.

More likely because video games are more new. I mean who wouldn't rather their kid watch Jason wrap someone up in a sleeping bag and slam them against a tree as opposed to basically playing through a history lesson where you happen to stab a few shitty human beings in Ass Creed.

 

[LeeArac]

Human centipede? Nah that's fine. Must be because it doesn't go for very long compared to Spec Ops: The Line.

I'll give you a gajillion dollars if you can find me one single person in the world who thinks violent video games are somehow harmful, but violent movies are just 'fine'.

 

[SycoMantis91]

They wouldn't be wrong if the lines were part of a paragraph or two on the games, not a "complete" analysis of said games. But yea, as much as I hate this "video games make you violent, but Saw and Necroscope are good for you" bulllshit, most people who say that just won't be convinced otherwise. At the very least, they're not likely to be convinced by us spouting our displeasure on an internet forum.

The police officer quoted in the article said that there was "nothing more potentially damaging than the sort of violence they're being exposed to, be it in movies, be it in console games they're playing." So at least in this case, the double standard you're referring to is not present.

I realize that's not the point of the article, but it's more or less the point of the post.

 

[CentralScrtnzr]

Old people like to feel vindicated in abhorring the joys, habits, behaviors, and other trivia of young(er) people. Some here may remember a time when D&D was equated with demon-worship; this was even taken quite seriously by some mean-spirited, rule-crazy parents.

You have to understand that old people utterly depend upon the excess labor of young people; and they fear losing control and influence over young people--as most societies are gerontocracies to one extent or another--to unusual and unorthodox, in their minds at least, pastimes.

And to say that Max Payne is mindlessly violent is an utterly flawed argument. Case in point: "I was in a computer game. Funny as hell, it was the most horrible thing I could think of."

And in another sense, video games were, and in many ways continue to be, a men's space. People, in particular--women--don't like the idea of a men's space. So women invade them, they cease being a men's space, and then men move onto broader pastures to invent new men's spaces. If I had to describe why this is the case, women also depend upon the excess labor--that is, the labor which exceeds what a man needs for his own maintenance alone--to allow the production of children and the raising of families. You may say that many women raise children in a fatherless environment, and this is true. However, men still pay taxes, and most of these women depend upon government handouts and social programs. There aren't really any social programs to aid single men. Men's spaces are not only symptomatic of men going their own way, but they also represent time not spent aiding women to produce and raise children.

So female pundits may spend some time developing the lie that monkey see, monkey do, as regards video games. This also helps further the myth that every man is a murderer and rapist in the making. But perhaps men that play video games are not typically men that spend a lot of extra labor to make more money. Perhaps they tend to work just enough to support their lifestyle. This means fewer tax dollars. This also means that mothers have to see themselves as agents, rather than conceive themselves as objects and demand others be agents on their behalf. If every man behaved in this manner, society as we know it would either have to change its system of values or collapse.

 

[Palademon]

...How can an unreleased game be one of the top 5 most violent?

 

[SycoMantis91]

They wouldn't be wrong if the lines were part of a paragraph or two on the games, not a "complete" analysis of said games. But yea, as much as I hate this "video games make you violent, but Saw and Necroscope are good for you" bulllshit, most people who say that just won't be convinced otherwise. At the very least, they're not likely to be convinced by us spouting our displeasure on an internet forum.

The police officer quoted in the article said that there was "nothing more potentially damaging than the sort of violence they're being exposed to, be it in movies, be it in console games they're playing." So at least in this case, the double standard you're referring to is not present.

I realize that's not the point of the article, but it's more or less the point of the post.

Which post, where? I literally do not see such a point being mentioned in any post other than your own.

The OT we're all responding to.