Computergames age-rating

[No72]

One thing ahead:
I do not know if this is the right sub-forum to discuss this, so if not please move this thread.

Now to topic:
In Germany a recent school-shooting has occured, and now the blame is laid on computergames and heavy metal.

Imo this is wrong because it is used by politcans to gain support as keepers of the morals. Strictening the rating system only would adresse the "symptomes" and not the causes. I also have to comment, that the youth-protection in germany is one of the strictest in the world, as it is compulsory and often forces publishers to make special "german versions" witch are cut extensively e.g. replacing human enemies by robots.

I would like to have some opinions on this and thank you in advance for participating.

 

[Lynden1000]

One thing ahead:
I do not know if this is the right sub-forum to discuss this, so if not please move this thread.

Now to topic:
In Germany a recent school-shooting has occured, and now the blame is laid on computergames and heavy metal.

Imo this is wrong because it is used by politcans to gain support as keepers of the morals. Strictening the rating system only would adresse the "symptomes" and not the causes. I also have to comment, that the youth-protection in germany is one of the strictest in the world, as it is compulsory and often forces publishers to make special "german versions" witch are cut extensively e.g. replacing human enemies by robots.

I would like to have some opinions on this and thank you in advance for participating.

I think it is completely ridiculous. People have to learn to be responsible for their own actions, not matter what they see on the boob tube or read in books.

 

[joey444]

Even if it were the video games, it's amazing that the parents who should be watching their children get no blame at all.

 

[bammertheblue]

No videogame, book, or song ever walked into a classroom and shot anyone.

It baffles me that these kids could be so disturbed as to do something like this, and their parents seemed to have no idea. I don't like to criticize other people's parenting abilities, but really, come ON!

 

[Code-Monkey]

I believe in free will, and as such I don't think external things like that determine our actions. But if our actions are strictly determined by our environment, genetics, and so forth, then I'm afraid they're partly right. Although I don't know why they'd stop and just blame the video game. It's like a row of dominoes that have just fallen and the last one blaming the one previous to it for all it's problems. It's true the previous dominoe was the one that knocked it over, but it in turn was knocked over by it's previous domino. We might as well all blame the big bang for everything we do.

 

[Gardenia]

I'm sorry, but I think it's just dumb. I play computer games. They're mostly fantasy, but I still don't feel the need to pick up my sword and go chop someone. I do play games with guns as well, and I do know how to use guns thanks to my grandfather. I've never shot anyone. I also listen to heavy metal and goth music, but that's never lead me to violence either. (In fact, I'm a pacifist and vegetarian.. so figure that one out! )

Those who did the shooting, and to an extent their parents, are to blame - putting the blame on games and music is just stupid. A lot of people play games and listen to metal, and they don't go about killing anyone. So something here was wrong other than games and metal.

 

[joey444]

I'm sorry, but I think it's just dumb. I play computer games. They're mostly fantasy, but I still don't feel the need to pick up my sword and go chop someone. I do play games with guns as well, and I do know how to use guns thanks to my grandfather. I've never shot anyone. I also listen to heavy metal and goth music, but that's never lead me to violence either. (In fact, I'm a pacifist and vegetarian.. so figure that one out! )

Those who did the shooting, and to an extent their parents, are to blame - putting the blame on games and music is just stupid. A lot of people play games and listen to metal, and they don't go about killing anyone. So something here was wrong other than games and metal.

Maybe you listen to very happy metal music.

 

[sister_maynard]

Blaming a video game for someone's actions conveniently makes it easier to avoid putting the blame squarely where it belongs. Making everything the fault of music or games reduces it to a bloodless condemnation of society at large.

 

[tocis]

Imo this is wrong because it is used by politcans to gain support as keepers of the morals. Strictening the rating system only would adresse the "symptomes" and not the causes.

I don't know about everyone else here, but this fellow German agrees 100 %. Blaming the games for the killers, eh? Strange how I like to play such games too, yet I didn't feel any real urge to kill a real person, ever.

Could it be that something was wrong with the person and not with the games? Aaaah, but then, we'd have to ask ourselves what went wrong... maybe the parents et cetera did a bad job raising that person? Naaah, can't have that, let's blame the games, that's much easier - ban them and you can tell yourselves that the problem got solved.

Sickening.

 

[MoonlessNight]

What I think is very interesting about all this is that, to my knowledge, no one ever blames books for violence. Books can apparantly change your religion, or convince you to start having lots of sex, or to become a racist, but to do something violent? I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that (can anyone think of a book that has ever been banned for being too violent?); and yet we leap to it all the time with other forms of entertainment.

I don't know what that says, but it probably says something.

 

[morningstar2651]

One thing ahead:
I do not know if this is the right sub-forum to discuss this, so if not please move this thread.

Now to topic:
In Germany a recent school-shooting has occured, and now the blame is laid on computergames and heavy metal.

Imo this is wrong because it is used by politcans to gain support as keepers of the morals. Strictening the rating system only would adresse the "symptomes" and not the causes. I also have to comment, that the youth-protection in germany is one of the strictest in the world, as it is compulsory and often forces publishers to make special "german versions" witch are cut extensively e.g. replacing human enemies by robots.

I would like to have some opinions on this and thank you in advance for participating.

Ah, yes. The blame game. Politicians love the blame game - it makes them look busy while solving nothing.

Who is to blame when a kid shoots someone? The parents? Music? Television? Games? Society?

You know who I blame? The kid that pulled the trigger.

The stringent ratings system in Germany poses a challenge to game developers when localizing games. The games can't have swastikas in them, even if they are WW2 games.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Seriously, if I were walking down a dark alley at night, I would would count myself very lucky if the other people around were video game players.

Who are we going to demonize next? D&D players? The local chess club?


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[sister_maynard]

Playing video games tends to be good at strengthening your thumbs, not turning you into a killing machine.

 

[Vylo]

Honestly, those violent video games are probably a major factor in why I haven't gone postal in the past. Venting your anger on pixels is much better then doing so on people.

 

[No72]

Who are we going to demonize next? D&D players? The local chess club?

The chess club...? I don't know. Maybe the roleplayers they are better targets. [/irony] But still, it is the same discussion we had 60 years ago about rock'n roll for being "morally dangerous" and driving pleople to do stupid things.

 

[No72]

As i looked into the newspaper today morning, i read: "Stoiber fordert Verbot von Killerspielen" translating as: "Stoiber demands ban of killer-games". Seems to me like Edmund Stoiber has finally found something to save his career. What worries me more is, that this leads to a domination of censorship instead of social competence. On my account I have to say that I am a very avid gamer (I own over 100 original games).
Last comment: koenig/king edmund is a moinker often given to Edmund Stoiber, minister-president of bavaria because he often behaves like he is a king

 

[Silent Bob]

I loooove the blame game. Something aweful happens quick find something to blame, you cannot blame the person who did it that is too easy and produces no ratings/votes. So what do we blame, lets see... we need to find something that we do not ourselves do but people like the perp would do, hmmm kids you say. What are kids into these days? DnD? Heavy metal? Hip-hop? Harry potter? Video games... Ok ppl we have the list lets all shout and yell at these so we do not feel bad for ignoring our own kids which is probably the reason they do what they do.

See? Problem solved. Give it a few months and a ban on a couple of games or records and it will blow over till some other kid shows up in school with a gun.

 

[maniaco]

thats ridiculous, i listen to heavy (and i mean heavy!) metal, and yes it is pretty violent at times but i feel no urges to go out and shoot people...

i think sometimes kids can be influenced by the music they listen to or the video games they play but in order to do something like that they'd have to be pretty unstable in the first place...so the games etc may have been a sort of catalyst but they still can't be blamed, the blame for killing people should be solely on the one who pulled the trigger.

 

[trunks2k]

The local chess club?

I'd like a member of the chess club to attack me, because then they'd only be able to attack me one way. Unless it was the vice president of the chess club. In which case, I'd just have to hide behind someone.

 

[morningstar2651]

As i looked into the newspaper today morning, i read: "Stoiber fordert Verbot von Killerspielen" translating as: "Stoiber demands ban of killer-games". Seems to me like Edmund Stoiber has finally found something to save his career. What worries me more is, that this leads to a domination of censorship instead of social competence. On my account I have to say that I am a very avid gamer (I own over 100 original games).
Last comment: koenig/king edmund is a moinker often given to Edmund Stoiber, minister-president of bavaria because he often behaves like he is a king

I think part of the problem lies in the ignorance of most people about video games. They base their opinions on hearsay.

Here are some things to consider:

Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked by Henry Jenkins

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee

Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence by Gerard Jones