Atkinson: Gamers don't need to impale people

3:00 PM on 12.10.2009   |   Jim Sterling

114 comments

Game hating Attorney General Michael Atkinson has continued to justify his personal censorship of Australia's videogame content by claiming that gamers don't "need" violent games. Addressing the recently banned Aliens Vs. Predator, the man solely responsible for Australia's lack of an adult rating system has determined that since violent games aren't necessary, their censorship is perfectly acceptable. 

"This is a question of a small number of very zealous gamers trying to impose their will on society," said Atkinson of gamers, totally oblivious to the irony of his statement. "And I think harm society. It’s the public interest versus the small vested interest.

"I accept that 98%, 99% of gamers will tell the difference between fantasy and reality, but the 1% to 2% could go on to be motivated by these games to commit horrible acts of violence. You don’t need to be playing a game in which you impale, decapitate and dismember people."

I wonder if Atkinson would stand by his conviction if we banned other things on the basis of whether or not we "need" them. We don't need television, books, or even clothes. Perhaps we should ban football or cricket, since you don't need to watch or play sports games. Atkinson's logic is pathetic, and his statement about a small group imposing its will on society is the most blatantly hypocritical thing he could have said. 

When he stops being the one man responsible for Australia's censorship, he can talk about imposing wills. What a ludicrous little man Michael Atkinson is.