Violent Video Games

Just picking up on what you said Muss.

Two questions for everyone...

1. Should real violent games be banned?
2. Do violent games effect children?

To my first question, I feel games that encourage you to rape and kill a women in the game is just plain sick and is not needed. It dose seem in a very select few games the makers have crossed the line some what. on saying that I believe they are thinking about the money rolling in other than the moral question.

As for my second question yes and no. If there was a clear cut case then surely there would be a greater number of children being violent? As for my yes part, we are all effected by something or other but a lot more has to be taken in to account as there are so many factors at work here.

 

I think both questions have an answer of yes and no.

1. If (Like you said) the designers make a game that is just plain sick, when you have to rape and kill a woman, then yes it should be banned. However, if it just fighting hordes of zombies then it is OK. Even if it is possible to blow the guts out of the said zombies, well everyone has guts.
However, this links to Q.2 where it can cause children to pretend they are fighting zombies become violent to other human beings.
2. They do affect SOME children. Some children like to reproduce what they see in video games, which can result in violence. However, most children treat it as just a game and only kill each other in multiplayer matches.

 

Sadly, here in the states, some 10 year old boy (a fan of Wrestlemania) killed a 4 yo girl by mimicking the head slam he had seen on TV so many times. So the problem is for any media really, not just video/pc games.

 

It could not have been said better Mate--I completely concur. Im not sure which game your talking about but from what little I do know about these modern day games-that it sounds like your talking about Grand Theft Auto?

I heard that one version of that game-has a guy actually picking up prostitutes. Now just try to convince me that that kind of crap also needs to be in some game.

Give me the old Atari 2600 game system and its games-I would not need any other gaming system. Or if I have to be a bit more modern, gimme the Nintendo 64 game system. Neither one had the crap in any of their games that im aware of-that these modern games have.

 

Agree with all. What ever happened to creativity? Nothing but destruction nowadays. And they wonder why they don't get the 6 figure job because they can't count that high....too busy with their X-box

 

oh yeah well brothers in arms hells highway has a violence system were if you shoot in the head it takes away some of there skull or if they get hit by a bazooka rocket or blown up by a grenade a leg or an arm comes off or something but in wargames they do that only to try and get the true grit of war into the game say the first call of duty you blow someone up or shoot them there bodys dissapear

 

Now, I would say yes to a game like Grand Theft Auto. In these games you are essentially a career felon committing horrendous crimes while in between engaging in criminal drug and sex scenes.

But, that said, I don't think games make children violent. Rather I would cite first and foremost a society that has largely abandoned male role models, marginalizes boys, and lacks the social fabric to hold society together.
This includes:

A lack of common values
A lack of a common and shared historical appreciation
A lack of common language
A lack of religious conviction
Shared experiances like military or public service
A acceptance of trashy behavior to include
....Tatoos
....Clothing
...."Lifestyle" choices
.... sexual promiscuity (largely brought on by birth control methods and abortion)
.... devaluation of marriage and stable family life

When you add a lack of social and culturial values that allow boys a path to manhood (men are made they just don't happen whereas women have a built in genetic path from being girls to becoming women) what should a society expect but that boys become hooligans and criminals when they have no useful outlets to manhood?

Video games are not the problem for the most part. Leftist values are.

My son is going to the rifle range this weekend (he asked) and we will cap off several hundred rounds. Maybe I'll use the range at work so we have less distractions.

 

Yes, Carl. In the GTA-series you are able to pick up prostitutes, which I think is pretty damn weird since there's nothing to gain from it in the game; no score, no money, no graphic content to watch. The GTA-series is violent, but there's also a very interesting story to play through, it feels more like a movie rather than a game.
Me and my friends, all around the age of 16-18, play video games, some are violent like GTA, some are not. None of us has the problem of not being able to keep the game apart from reality, but I guess some kids do.
I think banning is wrong, but parents should be watching their kids so they won't get any problems with playing violent games. I think the news and media have a bigger responsibility.

 

Hi Halldin, thanks for this info on those type games. I can see that you are wise beyond your years and like how you think. I too cannot see any reason why such a thing as picking up prostitutes in a game(s)? should be there for any reason. If I want to see guys picking up those "soiled doves" I would get a ride to the downtown area of Houston where I imagine there exists such an activity. ;-))

Best regards--Carl.

 

yeah you do have a point there but I don,t play those kind of games I mostly play call of duty and medal of honor so I would not know about that

and the plot thickins

 

Videogames are like drugs for my generation. Kids spending vast amounts of time entertaining themselves but draining their lives away..

 

Thats a interesting point Wolfy has raised, the times I visited my local games store is pact out with kids and soft parents caving in to there kids just because they have seen a game that has caught there eye. Yes games are great but there is more to life like a real good book to read and of course get out the house for some fresh air.

Just a side note here a friend of mine feels us the human race are being enslaved by technology. His argument is yes technology dose make are lives better but are we letting it rule us? A debate for another day.

Back on topic, Kids can not take all the blame as there are poor parents out there who have no meaning of family values and of course the creators of the games are pushing the boundaries back. Makes you wonder what games be like in 10 to 20 years from now.

 

Are they were the days Carl.

Beats pong any day. I had one for many years with a stack of games before I gave it away. I hear they are now becoming collectibles now, blast it I wish I never gave it away I could have been rolling in money by now. :lol:

 

As the Gaming Guru, and avid video-gamer myself, I have a lot to say.

No game has ever been made where you rape a person. If there is such a game, its there on the net next to the games neo-nazis makes where they kill Jews etc. (AKA its not mainstream, and maybe .01% of the population is aware of it).

In regards to question #1 the answer is No. First, it infringes on the rights of every citizen for the government to say what we can and can not have access too. Games have a rating - from G to Teen to Mature - that let the consumer know exactly what they are buying. If you don't want your kids playing violent video games, then don't buy them! Simple as that! Those little warning labels mention that their is Violence, Drugs, Foul Language etc in the game. Simple, really.

If you're going to ban violent video games, then you are also going to have to ban violent TV shows, violent movies, and violence in the news.

Violent TV shows are much more accessible to the masses due to the fact that all you have to do is hit the power button on the TV. You don't need a Computer or Console, you don't to buy a game. Its simply there. Even the most basic cable channels have violence. Shows like CSI, SVU, The Shield, the News Channels, COPS, the countless movies they show, etc.

Violent Movies...well, toss away your WWII Movie Collection. I'm not even going to bother with a list of movies that are violent, but the number would be staggering. There have even been some recent movies involving rape, numerous about Prostitutes, etc. If Violent Video Games are to blame for violence and other criminal acts, are these movies to blame for rape and prostitution etc?

The Grand Theft Auto series has a plot...a very deep plot compared to the majority of video games. It could easily be translated into a book, or a series of movies. While the games aren't connected, they all focus on the criminal underground (the latest involving an Eastern European immigrant who comes to stay with his cousin, who is in trouble, so has no choice but to become a criminal). Picking up a prostitute allows you to revitalize your health. Its something you can do in real life, but it doesn't tell people to go out there and do it.

What it comes down to is bad parenting. If parents aren't around to teach a kid right from wrong then of course they're going to go out there in real life and do violent, criminal things. Its not because 'the video game' told them. Its because they see and hear about it all the time and since no one ever tells them its wrong, they think they can do it.

My friend and coworker has a 4 year old son. Whenever they watch a movie, he tells his song why things are happening, and that he should never do certain things. My friend also owns a gun and his son knows that. His son also knows that they are dangerous, and that he is not allowed to touch them ever. He is also not allowed in the same area as my friend when my friend is cleaning his gun. My friends guns are also stored in a place where his son can't get to them. That, my friends, is good parenting. That is what it comes down to.

If kids were effected by violent video games, then why haven't i gone out and shot places up? I own more games then I can count, have been playing them for as long as I can remember, but you don't see me doing anything violent. Why? Because I know its a video game, I know its not real life, I was raised on a set of morals and ethics, I HAD GOOD PARENTING.

Todays culture makes things more acceptable and accessible. Look at music and songs - kids are having sex at much younger ages now because all the songs they hear are about having sex, slapping that ho, etc etc. That has more of an effect on them then video games - its much more accessible to them and boys and girls both listen to the same music.

The recent shooting in Germany (which is why this thread was started) was not because the kid played violent video games. Millions of people play violent video games, so thats clearly not why he did it. He did it because he was depressed, he wanted attention, his parents weren't there to help him with his problems, and I can almost count on the fact that his parents weren't around when he was growing up and being picked on by other kids. When you leave a kid to do whatever he wants to do, then that kid is going to cause trouble.

Its simple, really.

 

Well said!

 

The problem with these advanced games- especially for kids..is that it's often far more exciting than anything in their immediate lives. So kids- my generation and and even more so the next are getting more and more addicted to videogames as they get more advanced.

This addiction is not mild at all. There are a lot of boys that spend thousands of hours playing videogames a year at a severe detriment to their real life development- learning, social, physical, etc.

The level of addiction is often extreme. I had a college roommate and friend that played videogames five or six hours a night and this habit sucked away his life from real life things.

 

I have never made it past the first level of a combat / action game my reactions are far to slow. Just about manage flight sims .
Having read Mussolini' s post I have to agree with it. Violent scenes are more accessable today but parents can still control what their children watch or play. It is up to those parents to have the grit to do it.

 

I will rep you when I can Muss for your great post.

Video games are only a part of the bigger picture. The games makers are in it for profit which to say fair enough they invented the game and its down to the parents to insure they know what they buying for there kids, or do they? Not all parents will read whats on the box. The kid flashes it at them and dose a number and bingo the game is theres.

So is there evidence that a breakdown in family values is more responsible for kids doing as they please? Yes, if you the parent let it happen its your fault and don't pass the buck.

One game here in the UK hit the headlines was Manhunt and the sequel Manhunt 2, some info.

What dose the rest of the world think on this one?

 

Manhunt is really no different then an arcade game, where the goal is to shoot/kill as many people as possible. The developers accomplished their goal of creating an extremely violent, gory game.

Blaming school shooters because they played Doom and Counter Strike is absurd! In Doom, you don't go to schools to shoot people, you shoot Aliens! In Counter Strike, you shoot TERRORISTS and rescue civilians from a school-type map! Where, in either game, does it say its OK to go to your school and shoot people?

Blaming video games is the easiest way to pass off the blame from society and bad parenting. Its as simple as that. Look at all the copy-cats in Germany right now - several of them - can you blame that on a video game? No!