Welcome to Gamers Talk

StayPuft

I heard Germany will soon be banning shooter games. Or at least, those shooters wherein you have to kill "people".

Personally I don't think there's a direct correlation between video gaming and shooting crimes. A lot of people are so quick to judge the connection that any murderer that plays GTA or CS, they're so quick to blame video gaming. I mean, just this week on gamepolitics dot com, Colorado police all of a sudden started pointing fingers at GTA and even WoW for a shooting crime committed last year.

So when they've run out of evidence, they use video games as scapegoat? :mad:

Reptar

I for one believe that any form of new media will always suffer from the blame game. During the dawn of television, this medium was believed to hypnotically alter the thought processes of viewers. As if people were mere sponges that readily absorbed anything on TV.

Gaming now suffers the same fate. I am ready to believe though that extremely violent games can have a lasting effect on a players' perception of reality. I mean, traversing Azeroth for weeks get me to dream of questing in Stranglethorn Vale. The same might be true if I was fragging counter-terrorists for hours on end.

Eventhough, I believe that society, more than anything, is responsible for these real-life shootings. Ban the real guns, I say, not the virtual ones. Gaming has only been around for a little over 3 decades, whereas crime, violence, and murder have been a problem since the beginning of society.

Bismarck

The problem lies in the people who are unable to distinguish the "made-up" reality of video gaming from real life. Play video games as much as you like, just don't get addicted and maintain a healthy normal life as well.

Tarush

Or seek a "Gamers Anonymous" program like in Korea XD To "cure" yourself of gaming addiction

Lancer

I don't think it has any effect whatsoever. If anything, humans are more civilized now than ever! Did we play video games back in roman times when your hand was cut off for stealing? When people fighting to death was a official sport? When law enforcement was even more corrupt? When public death penalties were common-place, and in some places rape wasn't even against the law?!

Na, ever since the dawn of humans these problems have existed. The introduction of video games has no effect.. IMO it allows people to do things they couldn't do irl, like hold up a bank, run over a random or shoot cops/terrorists.. if anything it's good :)

Beano

Wow, if this is true about murders being connected to games, I wonder what Hitler played xD.

But being serious, I don't think that games can really be connected to people commiting crimes. Yes, it is funny when you go around running down random people on GTA and acting like a gangster in a game, but as soon as you turn that console off, you go back to living your life and just carry on.

The only thing though, is that age ratings should be seriously enforced, as games like GTA and Saints Row can make such an impression on young kids, but today most kids get these sort of games for Christmas! I'm not sure if they could really enforce this but when people are shown guns and murder and robbery from a young age, they usually think this is what happens in real life and behave this way when they are older.

Lancer

I agree with the kids thing, I think it could contribute to lots of kids acting 'gangsta' and thinking they're all cool and stuff. Which can later on turn to drugs and alcahol if they follow down that path...

They're still learning whats right and wrong at such a young age, not to mention I hate little kids voices on xbox live! lol XD

Elektrisk

I've always hated how some people say that video games make people murderous/psychotic/whatever they are saying these days. It's just so ridiculous. They should quit trying to make excuses for it. The truth is, if a guy goes and shoots someone for no reason, then it IS possible that it's just for that; NO REASON. It's my opinion that not everything happens for a reason.. people shouldn't be so quick to slap on an explanation to anything and everything.

and

I don't see a problem with shooting games in general. I actually think they are helpful. For example, if someone was crazy, and they wanted to go on a shooting rampage, maybe they could go on the shooting rampage in MW2 than in real life? Save a couple lives, amirite?

Mercenary

Very very true indeed.