How low can you go?

[sekiryu]

I wouldn't mind of those games produced by Rockstar (GTA, etc.) were banned; their crap anyway.

[[R-MOD]Bob_Marley]

Originally Posted by TexLax

i forgot where i read this artical, but in it, the guy was comparing some charts from some federal agency (US) and charts of sales of games with violence in them. and the number of real life violent incidents have gone down with the numbr of sales with the number of games with violence in them.

so basicly, violence in video games may be a cause of less violence in the real world.

Indeed.

Here's a graph of it. ('cos everyone loves graphs)

[MajorPwnag3]

*WARNING: This post contains radical ideas whose side effects may include: dry mouth, cravings for chocolate, and exploding penguin syndrome. Do not read while operating heavy machinery. CHOKING HAZARD: This post contains small parts. Keep out of reach of small children. Ages 7+*

Saying we should ban violent games because they make people violent is exactly like when people thought reading comic books about Batman and Robin would make you gay, or when people thought that if you watched Elvis swing his hips you would have underage sex, or when people thought that fluoridated water would turn you into a communist, or when people thought that people who were diseased were cursed by demons. When people thought those things, they were afraid of something because it was a new and radical idea or condition in society. After a while, though, people realized that they had just been afraid of the change in society those things brought, and were simply inventing excuses for why others should be afraid, too. The same is true of video games in today's world. Most anti-video game studies say things like, "62% of teen-aged criminals play video games!" Well, yeah, a lot of people who are criminals probably have played video games, since they have been around for 20 years, but I also bet that 100% of those criminals drink milk. Does this mean we should ban milk? No, but it does mean that, just because you can say that x% of "bad" people do something, doesn't mean that the activity they're doing is also "bad."

I mean, I've played Hitman, Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Company of Heroes, Brothers in Arms, Counter Strike, Manhunt, and countless other violent video games, and yet I'm easily the most passive and light-hearted of all my friends. In fact, the only way video games ever really "influenced" me is in helping me figure out how to use the ironsights on a pistol (thank you, Call of Duty). And before anybody says, "That proves video games could help you kill someone," I would like to point out that people don't exclusively learn to use firearms, knives, and karate to kill people from games. In fact, it's much easier (and safer) to learn how to do that stuff by taking lessons from an instructor. So, unless you want to ban learning and conscious thought, there's really not a way to keep people from doing things similar to what is seen in video games. Not to mention that all this can be said without even mentioning the fact that movies like 300, The Terminator, Pulp Fiction, Rambo, The Last King of Scotland, The Matrix, Kill Bill, and Black Hawk Down are just as violent and even more graphic in their depictions of violence than any video game is currently capable of being because of graphics engine limitations, and yet games with graphic violence are called "murder simulators" by the media, while the above-mentioned violent films are hailed as masterpieces of cinematography by critics everywhere!

The bottom line is: if you don't want to play a violent video game, or watch a violent film, or drink fluoridated water, don't, but don't ban it so that people who want to see, play, or drink said items can't enjoy them, either. Thanks for reading, good night, and good luck. [/rant]

[RikiRude]

interesting points in this conversation. but i think some of you are being too black and white.

i don't think the problem is 100% in the person, people are taught right and wrong. and at the same time you can't break out of the mold without some help.


on another light.
and just because someone laughs at violence doesn't mean there is something wrong. take this for example.

Me and my friend make 9/11 jokes, pedophile jokes, racist jokes, laugh at incest, and hell just about anything you throw at us that most people will find incredibly offensive we find funny. I've laughed my ass off blowing someones head off and watching the rag doll physics, I've seen mutilated bodies (though I don't find them funny, because it's REAL, not a game or something... well depending on the context it could be a little funny)

now have i commited any crimes? raped/hurt/stolen from anyone? nope. car rampage? nadda. I see no lines in video games, if raping is my next mission (which by the way my bands name is Killed by Rape) then I'll get the top score in raping!

Now I honestly don't know what this proves, people will also tell you I'm one of the nicest funniest people they know. maybe im desensitized? maybe i just don't take the world seriously enough. im not sure. but as far as gaming goes, its a GAME, do whatever the hell you want in it.

heck, to further prove my point my little brothers (about 10 and 8 ) love to play GTA vice city amoung other games (like pokemon and other kid oriented games) and as violent and horrible as the media says GTA series is, my little brother punched a kid who was making fun of his brother, and you know what he did after he punched the kid in the face and defended his brother? he cried, he felt so horrible for hurting someone.

Ok so maybe i DO know what my argument proves.

GOOD PARENTING FTW!!!! I grew up in a crappy mexican ghetto in a big city when i was little, my middle brother grew up in kind of ghetto area then in military housing in a smaller city, and my youngest little brother grew up in nice military housing in a tiny town.

Granted they aren't in there teens so it doesn't really prove too much. I would say we went from lower middle class to living nicely middle class. We have 2 cars, 2 bikes, and can probably afford a house in the next 10 years. but just to give you guys an idea, of the non-effect of video games.

another thing, video games make me happy, laugh, smile, and think. what's so wrong with that?
Games are not serious, so we should not take them serious.

[Ghostrider]

Originally Posted by ArmedDrunk&Angry

NO.

People killed people in all sorts of horrible ways before computer games, TV and rap "music".
Using a video game as an excuse is just that, an excuse.

I started playing war with toy rifles in 1st or 2nd grade and have been playing war-type video games for years and I have yet to shoot anyone.

I am not known for my placid demeanor or reluctance to engage in confrontation, either online or in real life but I know the difference between fantasy and reality.


Do violent video games have an effect ?

I'm sure they do as studies have shown but that doesn't mean we need to dumb down the society because some people are too busy or too stupid to raise their children to know the difference between right and wrong.

Agree. Parents and politicians should learn to raise their kids responsibly and stop looking for excuses and other things where to place the blame. There're many other factors that have more influence in a person's actions than video games, but those studies leave those out.

Some of those can include:
friends/peer presure
'music'
drugs/alcohol
movies (?)

Its just easier to place the blame on video games...


-Ghost

[RikiRude]

Major Pwnage you just won the 0wn Button!!!




check the lower right-------^

[MajorPwnag3]

Why have I won the Own Button? I've already got Counter Strike's dreaded F10 key, and the proverbial roundhouse kick of all keys, the deadly Alt+F4 combo! Also, what did that have to do with violent video games, besides the fact that video games "own"? Then again, I'd love to play Mortal Kombat on that phone and have the finishing move button be the Own Button...

[El_Vikingo]

Unemployed Alcoholic Crack Addict Single Teenage Mother + Unattended GTA Playing Cigarette Smoking Child = Bad habits.

[RikiRude]

Originally Posted by MajorPwnag3

Why have I won the Own Button? I've already got Counter Strike's dreaded F10 key, and the proverbial roundhouse kick of all keys, the deadly Alt+F4 combo! Also, what did that have to do with violent video games, besides the fact that video games "own"? Then again, I'd love to play Mortal Kombat on that phone and have the finishing move button be the Own Button...

You gracefully summed up pretty much the same thing I was thinking as I read through this thread. You pretty much owned the thread in my opinion, and I would love to see a valid counter argument against what you said.

And as for the 0wn key, it's real, I was at work doing some tests on the Nokia E62 (the phone pictured) and noticed that button. I honestly don't know what it does, and I can't figure out what it does, but my co-workers and I were joking around and I was like "Damn testing _NDA_ would be a heck of a lot easier if I could just use this button in game!" I agree with the Mortal Kombat thing hehe.

This has been one of the more enlightening threads we've had

[ArmedDrunk&Angry]

Saying we should ban violent games because they make people violent is exactly like when people thought reading comic books about Batman and Robin would make you gay, or when people thought that if you watched Elvis swing his hips you would have underage sex, or when people thought that fluoridated water would turn you into a communist, or when people thought that people who were diseased were cursed by demons


Ummm....I don't know so much about demons and all but we have more gays and more flaming gays now than before batman, we have more underage teen sex and the attendant teen pregnancies than we had before Elvis and we sure as hell a lot closer to communism now than we were 50-60 years ago ....so ...maybe you didn't "own" quite so much as previously estimated.