Poll: Violent Video Games
- Thread starter Osirisgod16
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If we ban violent games, then we must also ban everything that contains violence and sex. Therefore, we must ban reality! Kill all humans, then there won't be any violence, death, or fun.
So many things wrong with banning M rated video games. I don't understand why this is still an issue. If books and movies are protected as freedom of speech, games should be to. I blame it all on stupid parents not paying enough attention to what their kid asks them to buy.
Also, all tests on violent video games causing violent behavior have pretty much been disproved. Of course, violent kids like violent video games and movies, so you know.
Go to G4TV.com and do some digging. They've done some informative stuff on it. Sorry I can't post them for you.
Also, all tests on violent video games causing violent behavior have pretty much been disproved. Of course, violent kids like violent video games and movies, so you know.
Go to G4TV.com and do some digging. They've done some informative stuff on it. Sorry I can't post them for you.
The stimulation or desensitization that comes from violent video games is no different than that of violent movies. If you start banning it where does it end?Osirisgod16 said:
What you may want to look into is cancer. Human beings are designed with fight or flight responses. But you can not attack or flee from work at a job. You may find arguments that games and movie provide a safe, socially acceptable outlet for such stresses. Internalization of the stress has been linked to cancer I believe. But go get the recent information on it. You may be able to take a health tack with your paper that doesn't always get covered.
Moreover, if no one desired the games, then they wouldn't get made. However, most people know the difference between fantasy and reality. Just because you enjoy shooting zombies in a game does not mean in any way you want to hurt people in real life. Those who don't understand the difference have a medical problem already.
And as stated before, the argument about "kids playing these games" isn't very valid when the original video game kids are in their 40's-50's now. Should we only have kid safe programming for everything? No movies depicting war or death or even funerals? No books or radio programs, blogs or games? Of course not! Thus we have rating systems. I wouldn't have a young child see the movie "Titanic" as it depicts a baby and its mother freezing to death in the water. That would be shocking to a child. But it depicts a part of our history, a disaster that we should remember in order to avoid having it occur again. But any person with a brain should know by the rating they should leave their child with a baby-sitter when they want to see it. (Although people do not always seem to use common sense.)
And likewise, you don't BUY your kid games that you don't think are appropriate. Neighbor kid has them and your kid plays them there? Have the other kid come over to YOUR house all the time. If it's that important to your child's mental well-being you will do it or only let the child go over to the house of other parents who agree with you and keep the mature content games out of their reach.
Video games are a type of media. As such they run the gamut of ages just as books, television shows, and movies do. But unlike television, adults have the ability to regulate games easier than any other medium as they have to CHOOSE TO BUY THEM. We can't pick and choose which stations we receive nor what programming will be on with television but we can choose our games. It is up to the parents to educate themselves and choose what is best for their children with games. And that should not be a choice thrown to the government. And freedom ultimately is about choice. Okay, enough from me before I meander as I have Star Trek on and it will start distracting me. Heh.
Is your school a catholic school? If so, tell them that if you ban videogames, ban the bible. And Greek mythology. And movies. And books. And fairy tales. If not, tell it anyway. For a case in point, the biggest grossing movie of last year is Avatar, which is about war. Also, the best picture last year is The Hurt Locker. Also about war. See a pattern?
I feel that these 'many adults' referred to are parents who buy violent games for their children who are too young to be the target audience for the games. These parents can't say no and just want the industry to take the choice away from them.
As for the adults who are not parents, I wouldn't be surprised if they are just parroting the media who is constantly alluding to bad things happening because of video games.
As for the adults who are not parents, I wouldn't be surprised if they are just parroting the media who is constantly alluding to bad things happening because of video games.
Video games are protected under the First Amendment too, so if they want to ban violent games, make the government ban everything else violent. Even books. Sounds awful to me.
Statistics.
Violent video games are quite prevalent nowadays. If they really caused players to exhibit significantly higher rates of aggression and violence then there would have been an increase in crime, youth crime in particular. However, this is not the case. In fact, rates of youth crime have been steadily dropping in the past couple of decades.
Violent video games are quite prevalent nowadays. If they really caused players to exhibit significantly higher rates of aggression and violence then there would have been an increase in crime, youth crime in particular. However, this is not the case. In fact, rates of youth crime have been steadily dropping in the past couple of decades.
Excellent, I must agree.Stalk3rchief said:
Now, allow me to list all of the mature-rated (or equivalent) games I have played:
Doom 1, 2, & 3
Wolfenstein 3D
Marathon
Blood
Duke Nukem 3D & Manhattan Project
CoD 3 & 4
Brothers in Arms
System Shock 2
Bioshock
Halo 1, 2, & 3
Fallout 1, 2, & 3
Half-life 1, 2, and Episodes
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress Classic
Counter-Strike (Source)
FarCry 1 & 2
F.E.A.R. and Expansions
Deus Ex 1 & 2
Splinter Cell 1, 2, & 3
Quake 1, 2, 3, & 4
Prey
Mass Effect 1 & 2
Now, consider this:
I have never been in a fight in my life; I have no criminal record; I am social, out-going, and kind; AND I am a RESPONSIBLE owner of MANY firearms.
From Mr. Jack Thompsons' viewpoint, I ought to have taken over half the world by now with nothing but a potato gun.
No way. Once you ban a violent video game, then you ban a violent movie. Then a violent book, then a violent show. Next thing you know you can't speak without getting the ban hammer!
But yeah, if you don't want your kid to play a violent video game, tell him he/she can't play it. Same with movies
But yeah, if you don't want your kid to play a violent video game, tell him he/she can't play it. Same with movies
There is an old saying a friend of mine said, "You can't stop a thief, you can only slow him down". With that in mind even if we did somehow find a way to ban Video Games children and adults alike would find ways to get indie created games.
Unfortunately at the entire core of this imitative violent problem is really bad parenting. If a child wants to kill everyone in school because he was picked on to much and decides to "train" on Doom 3 then why the fuck aren't the parents consoling the brat? Also, this may insult some people, but the only way to deal with a problem is to call it to light. Imitative behavior is a result of insecure people who don't feel well equipped enough in to reveal their true selves.
This whole thing also comes down to another factor, I will provide an example. If a man walks into a chainsaw store without intention to kill anyone and walks out with one, that doesn't mean he is going to go out and kill everyone. But when he finds his wife sleeping with his (fill in the blank), he goes out tot he shed and grabs the chainsaw, he walks and and turns both persons to meaty chunks. It wasn't the chainsaw sellers fault or Grand Theft Auto 4's fault, it was his own damn fault for getting angry and acting without thought.
But personally I do believe that if there was a way to only let 18+ adults play M rated games then I would enforce that. Children aren't mature enough to know or understand why our dashing and European friend Nicko Bellic needs to take his car and chase down a laundry store owner so that the local mob can get enough money for some blow. My basic principle to this is that if you can't understand it, why the fuck are you imitating it?
There ya go.
Unfortunately at the entire core of this imitative violent problem is really bad parenting. If a child wants to kill everyone in school because he was picked on to much and decides to "train" on Doom 3 then why the fuck aren't the parents consoling the brat? Also, this may insult some people, but the only way to deal with a problem is to call it to light. Imitative behavior is a result of insecure people who don't feel well equipped enough in to reveal their true selves.
This whole thing also comes down to another factor, I will provide an example. If a man walks into a chainsaw store without intention to kill anyone and walks out with one, that doesn't mean he is going to go out and kill everyone. But when he finds his wife sleeping with his (fill in the blank), he goes out tot he shed and grabs the chainsaw, he walks and and turns both persons to meaty chunks. It wasn't the chainsaw sellers fault or Grand Theft Auto 4's fault, it was his own damn fault for getting angry and acting without thought.
But personally I do believe that if there was a way to only let 18+ adults play M rated games then I would enforce that. Children aren't mature enough to know or understand why our dashing and European friend Nicko Bellic needs to take his car and chase down a laundry store owner so that the local mob can get enough money for some blow. My basic principle to this is that if you can't understand it, why the fuck are you imitating it?
There ya go.
I think the biggest misconception is that video games are marketed towards minors. While some definitely are, I can't think of any example of one that didn't have an appropriate ERSB rating system, like EC, E, OR E+10. To prove this point, show the add campaign for a game and compare it to that for a movie with an equivalent rating. For example, the trailer for F.E.A.R 3 with let's say the American version of the Grudege, or Little Planet with that movie with the cats and dogs that talked. The trailers for both mediums really don't differ that much. Thus how can it be said one is marketed towards children when the other is not, especailly since most video game consumers are adults. Or better yet, explain the rating system, then show a few trailers for variously rated video games (without identifying their rating) then make people assign what they believe to be the appropraite ERSB rating. It's really easy to guess which games would be E and which would be M because the ERSB rating system follows common sense. Now I know, people can counteract this arguement with " Children emulate adults, therefore adult content is always more intriguing to children then content made specifically for them" To which you could use various arguments that have already been stated like but movies, t.v etc.... Or point out how none violent wii games are murdering their more violent XBOX and playstation counterparts (the Wii fit, 22.61 million compared to 8 million for Halo 3 on XBOX 360). This shows how pervasive non violent video games are (to expell the misconception it's an overtly violent medium).
Of course all this doesn't directly apply to the topic of video games increasing agressive behavior, but there points I'm surprised I haven't seen more people make. Plus the evidence to suggest video games increase long term aggression is weak. Just point out that for every 1 school shooter that may have played video games there are millions who do that have never committed a violent crime.
Of course all this doesn't directly apply to the topic of video games increasing agressive behavior, but there points I'm surprised I haven't seen more people make. Plus the evidence to suggest video games increase long term aggression is weak. Just point out that for every 1 school shooter that may have played video games there are millions who do that have never committed a violent crime.
Shortest Answer: People are idiots.
Short Answer: Society is run by idiots.
Long Answer: People will find reasons and ways to f*ck thing ups. Doesn't matter what it is, they'll find a way (Malcom was right). Just because some ignorant twit at the news station chose to run a story with video games as a scapegoat, or someone's longtime history of violence and isolation went unnoticed and unchecked but was then blamed solely on the existence of poorly understood media, does not give good reason to ban it.
Short Answer: Society is run by idiots.
Long Answer: People will find reasons and ways to f*ck thing ups. Doesn't matter what it is, they'll find a way (Malcom was right). Just because some ignorant twit at the news station chose to run a story with video games as a scapegoat, or someone's longtime history of violence and isolation went unnoticed and unchecked but was then blamed solely on the existence of poorly understood media, does not give good reason to ban it.
You forget about a phenomenon very similar to the Animation age ghetto.LHZA said:
For a lot of (particularly older) people, games are for children. So when they see an M-rated game, for example, they don't see "game intended for adults", they see "violent/pornographic filth peddled to children". And thus, since they see games as "for children", and game advertising is automatically seen as "marketing to kids", and there's practically nothing you can do to rationally argue them into seeing the truth.
They're the same kind of people as those who see Heavy Metal (Rated R) and Fritz the Cat (rated X) not as animation meant to be seen by adults, but as naughty cartoons meant to corrupt our children, or who considered Joe the Camel to be "advertising to kids" simply because has was a "cartoony" character.
Just ask them if they'd be OK with any and all other forms of media being banned due to levels of violence. If they say no, then they're being hypocritical.