Violent videogames at the center of some Senate discussion.

[Drakul]

On Wednesday, June 14, 2006, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, a subcommittee of the US Senate, held a hearing titled (why do these things need titles?), "Violent and Explicit Video Games: Informing Parents and Protecting Children."

As you may have heard, the outcome of this event was not entirely in the best interest of gaming as a whole. The gist of their conclusion, after questioning the head of the ESA, the President of the ESRB, the Director of the FTC's Consumer Protection bureau, Wal-Mart's VP of merchandising, and three game/health experts, was that violent videogames are akin to pornography in their harm for children and that the ESRB is at fault for letting something like Hot Coffee (which was a terribly isolated incident that would be nearly impossible to reproduce) defile our children.


Full story:http://articles.gaminghorizon.com/media/1150488840.86.html

[Jaded-Dragon]

I'm sorry, I just find it funny that with every problem plagueing our society today that video games are held in such high esteem. I'm in full support of keeping games like GTA out of the hands of minors, but I can only see this going the way of straight out making games like that illegal.

[Blitz]

Just when you think we've crossed the threshold of stupidity, you see a quote like this...
Dr. Kimberly Thompson, a shrill-voiced professor of "Risk Analysis and Decision Science" at Harvard's School of Public Health, has a definite grudge against the ESRB. She and her researchers do their own ratings of certain games and chides the ESRB for how "inaccurate they are." For an example of how this woman's mind works, she has stated before that the gameplay of Pac-Man is "64% violent" and at this very hearing tried to denounce the ESRB's ratings by saying that "60% of games rated E (age six and up) by the ESRB reward players for 'injuring other characters." Yes, this includes Mario, for he jumps on turtles which apparently incites youngsters into fits of carnal rage.

Y'know, I was playing Hitman: Blood Money for a couple of hours tonight, and this article is what made me want to start killing for real.

And of course, thanks to Hitman, I am now a trained killer.

[Drakul]

Yeah a puck with a mouth eating ghosts that resemble thimbles. It screams "Rated R".

[Funky Fly]

Tekken 5 has made me a master of several martial arts disciplines, Street Fighter 2 has taught me how to shoot fire balls (crouch, crouch forward, punch), Soul Calibur 3 has made me a melee weapons expert, The Godfather made me ruthless toward my enemies and Perfect Dark makes me an expert assassin.

And right now I feel like fucking someone's shit up over at Harvard's School of Public Health. They better watch the fuck out.

[Blitz]

Man, as soon as I figure out how to crouch forward, I will unleash a hail of fireballs in the general direction of the Senate.

They will rue the day...

[Funky Fly]

Oh shit, Shinku Hadouken up in here. Crouch, cruouch forward, crouch, crouch forward, punch.

[Kane Knight]

Think this is before the senate for the same reason gay marriages are?

[ct2k]

Its up to parents to be responsible when it comes to this, no 10 year old kid should be playing a game like GTASA just like no kid should be watching porn, it pollutes impressionable minds and warps their sense of reality, hell porn can warp any guys sense of reality when it comes to women.

But unfortunately you can't tell parents how to raise their kids and you can't ban games like this unless you're prepared to ban violent films, tv programs, music and the like too.

As KK has pointed out this is terrific timing, midterms coming up, the reps want to round up support on values and such

[Kane Knight]

Part of that "warping" can happen from any source. Kids could get a warped sense of reality from Lord of the Rings if not for parental guidence (I'm not even saying don't show them the stuff, because there are many things kids watch that they probably don't completely understand) and discretion. GTA:SA and such shouldn't have been in the hands of anyone who wasn't old enough to watch sexual scenes anyway. But again, often characters like Mario are also targeted, and these don't really disillusion kids.

Frankly, I blame the Jews.

[ct2k]

lol

I'd say GTA not for the minor sex content but mainly for the (we forget this) brutal violence of it, its not fantasy gore, You can kill people in all kinds of sickening ways. Not to mention the image it must give a hell of a lot of kids of black people (yes i know its not the only thing doing that)

[Kane Knight]

No.

My point was that GTA is a mature title, and if you're old enough to be playing the game, you should be old enough to handle the sex scene within. I'm saying that, in an M title, a sex scene shouldn't be as big a deal as it is. I mean, immediately, the THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!! Argument should be right out.

...Except, of course, that parents are retarded.

[Kalyx triaD]

If certain games become illegal to sell in the US they'll likey end up the hottest import items since crack.

[Skippord]

From The Punisher I know how to throw someone through an stuffed elephant so I will go with Blitz and Funky to the Senate

[The Diva]

If you read the original San Andreas thread back last year, you know my thoughts on that (and thanks to all the people that gave me props for it!). I don't take kindly to people telling me what I, as an adult, am aloud to do/not to do so these things always piss me off.

I still maintain that if people get ahold of this stuff and ultimately commit crimes somehow related to video games than they have a problem to begin with, perhaps a chemical inbalance of some kind. And though I say people I really mean children as anything I've ever seen has been in relation to kids/teenagers that shouldn't even have the games to begin with. And who buys these games? the parents who are fucking complaining about it now because they didn't raise their children right if at all and now need someone to blame for it. My parents have always bought M rated games for us when we were younger(early-mid-teens), we'd show my mom overly violent scenes and the like and she would be like "what the hell, why did I buy that!" and we'd be like "it's nothing worse than in any movie" and she'd continue on her way, because she knows it's true.

Yes that may contradict my point about minors getting the games and parents raising their children right but it actually does not as my parents did raise us right, which is why it isn't a problem. We know the difference between fantasy and reality because our parents took time to teach us unlike so many others and don't believe in censorship, they maintain that regardless of how violent or whathaveyou anything is, the 'real world' has atleast 10 times as much. Now, if they would've ever seen anything they found wrong, it would've been taken away and they would've explained to us why and not taken it back to the store to complain... it's called parenting, people should try it.

Sorry that was long, get me on this subject and I could talk forever, I've been told I should start up an organization to defend videogames lol. Anyway, take all that as you will, point still stands that this is all getting out of hand and if bans do come into effect, it will be just the beginning of such things and these 'freedoms' we all know and love will be dissolved completely.

[Shadow]

From Pokemon, I now know how to train small animals and stuff them in little balls to do battle.

So yeah I think I'll join Funky and Blitz on the march to the Senate.

[Kane Knight]

If certain games become illegal to sell in the US they'll likey end up the hottest import items since crack.

If they become illegal to sell in the US, they'll probably become as illegal as crack, too.

Imagine someone doing more time for playing GTA than if he had actually raped someone and killed her.

[Vastardikai]

You know, these people should quit playing all those video games and enjoy a medium that's less violent, like reading the Bible.

Sure, the Bible has mentions of Rape, Incest, Murder, Genocide, and the most brutal execution on record, but it's no where NEAR as Violent as these damned Video Games. *bangs head against wall*

[Drakul]

I wrote a huge assed reply a few hours ago that would put Alienoid to shame but I decided against posting it because it was so big but The Diva basically compressed what I was going to say in the reply anyway.

[Drakul]

Double post.

BTW, I could talk about this for hours to.

[Kane Knight]

You know, these people should quit playing all those video games and enjoy a medium that's less violent, like reading the Bible.

Sure, the Bible has mentions of Rape, Incest, Murder, Genocide, and the most brutal execution on record, but it's no where NEAR as Violent as these damned Video Games. *bangs head against wall*

Well, God was behind the Bible, so that violence is okay.

[Hired Hitman]

"Protecting Children" my ass, More like finding something to blame all problems on.

[Kane Knight]

But it's always better to say "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!"

The INDUCE ACT, which was designed to hold designers legally responsible for their product's uses (If someone used their software/computer hardware for illegal purposes, or if they COULD be used for illegal purposes, they were guilty of a felony). The INDUCE act is an acronym that includes the word Children, and the preamble or whatever you call it to the law brings up that this law id necessary, because this technology teaches kids to steal (WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN??????). This is a horribly loosely worded law, but again, plays on the children.

Children and terorism. The easiest routes. Now if only we could link Rockstar games to al Qaeda, we'd have a legitimate trifecta.

[Innovator]

These committees are starting to remind me of that mom from The Waterboy

"VIDEO GAMES ARE THE DEVIL"

"SEX IS THE DEVIL"

"CLOUDS ARE THE DEVIL"

[Innovator]

But it's always better to say "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!"

The INDUCE ACT, which was designed to hold designers legally responsible for their product's uses (If someone used their software/computer hardware for illegal purposes, or if they COULD be used for illegal purposes, they were guilty of a felony). The INDUCE act is an acronym that includes the word Children, and the preamble or whatever you call it to the law brings up that this law id necessary, because this technology teaches kids to steal (WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN??????). This is a horribly loosely worded law, but again, plays on the children.

Children and terorism. The easiest routes. Now if only we could link Rockstar games to al Qaeda, we'd have a legitimate trifecta.Well you can shoot down helicopters and planes in GTA: San Andreas...book em KK

[Savio]

Tetris encourages drug use.

[Blitz]

Talking about it on the Daily Show right now.

[Kane Knight]

Talking about it on the Daily Show right now.

Yeah. I loved the quote where the Rep said only the poor kids would be influenced to steal and kill...

[Kane Knight]

These committees are starting to remind me of that mom from The Waterboy

"VIDEO GAMES ARE THE DEVIL"

"SEX IS THE DEVIL"

"CLOUDS ARE THE DEVIL"

Pretty much.