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Feel the hatred: Idiots who blame video games for all the world's problems
pedrovay2003 | 1:33 PM on 09.16.2008 8 comments




No, I'm not going to make a bunch of Jack Thompson-related jokes here. I'm not going to point fingers or insult journalists. I want to take a moment to talk about something that really is important to me, something that gets my blood boiling whenever I hear about it. I want to talk about violent video games, and whether or not they affect how someone can or will act in real life.

Do violent games cause actual violent behavior? No, I don't believe they do. Can video games possibly trigger violent tendencies that may have already been in a child or adult? Yes. The only time a video game can push someone to do something violent in real life is when that person had/has some kind of a mental or emotional problem to begin with, but that's never how it's treated. Now please, don't think I'm trying to pick on people with mental or emotional problems --- I'm not. I'm simply stating a fact. I play violent video games all the time. Gears of War, Dark Sector, Mortal Kombat... Too many to name, really, and most of my friends and people on this website play games with the same level of violence. I've personally never had the desire to go out and act out what I've played in these games. Not even once. That's because I'm not an inherently violent person. However, if someone who had a rough childhood, got into trouble at school, and just had a generally crappy past played those same games, he or she may act differently. Past and present experiences have a huge influence on whether or not what's seen in the entertainment industry is reflected in the actions of our everyday lives.

Take a look at this. Seriously, explain to me how this crime proves video games were involved. Games and knives can be bought at the same time by the same people, and the violence in the games leads to the purchase of the weapons? Give me a break. Where's the proof? My biggest pet peeve when it comes to this stuff is that nearly everyone who says games cause violence don't actually play games themselves. They just see them as a scapegoat. Rarely do you ever read about an actual gamer who attacks violent games. It happens, but not nearly as often. Honestly, after playing Mortal Kombat, do you really want to try to inhale another human being and then spit all of that person's bones out into a pile next to you? It's not even realistic violence. I've only heard of one really serious Mortal Kombat mimicking situation, and the people involved in that were drunk off their rockers. (The story was all over the Internet a while back.)



Another thing that I hate is when parents get involved. Your kid is playing an extremely violent game and you don't want him/her to be exposed to such evil? You're the guardian(s). You're the one(s) responsible. Ratings are on the packages for reasons, just as they're clearly marked on movie advertisements and music CD packages, if necessary. If you send your child to go hang out at a friend's house, then make sure nothing is going on that you don't approve of. You have no one to blame but yourselves, people. Be responsible about it. Of course, when the child gets older, parents don't have as much control over them, but I believe that if problems like this are apparent, they start when the child is young.

Now, I'm not a psychologist. I'm not any kind of professional. But I am a gamer, and one who actually has experience playing these violent games. I suppose everyone's different, and I can't speak for every human being on the planet. But I'd love to see someone who attacks these games and calls them evil be someone who actually knows something about the subject matter. Just once.



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6 comments | showing # 1 to 6

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Benefactor's Destructoid Blog
I'm glad this is up here because I agree with you 100% on all points. I'm 17 myself, and from watching how certain parents monitor their children, I can safely say that some form of responsibility has been lost down the line. I've been playing M-rated titles for years and I don't have violent tendencies either. Some people just need to look at the parents and ask what they're doing to prevent their children from accessing material they deem harmful. It sickens me how easily the finger is pointed sometimes.
Y0j1mb0's Destructoid Blog
Good stuff pedrovay2003! I agree with you 100%.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to a pawn shop, buy some firearms and walk into a heavily populated area and unleash this violent fury I have pent up from playing video games 24/7.
SWE3tMadness's Destructoid Blog
Adolescent violence actually dropped sharply around the 1990's, right when more graphic games like Mortal Kombat and Doom were being released. And it's continued to decline since then.

But people who claim that violent video games have no effect whatsoever on a kid's behavior are just as bad - if not worse. I think it just comes down to people who latch onto the popular opinion without examining all the facts regarding teh issue first. Obviously, this a problem in many other areas of one's life than just the violent-video-games debate.

Good article though. Some people just need common sense to kick them in the ass every once in awhile.
ry mc's Destructoid Blog
@ Heretic: It's "preaching" to the choir. Not singing. ;)

Good post, people are silly out there.
pedrovay2003's Destructoid Blog
@SWE3tMadness

Is that true? I honestly didn't know there was a decline. That's good to know... I probably didn't hear about that because it's yet another thing that never gets mentioned nearly enough.
mix's Destructoid Blog
Nice read dude!

I feel the same way and have been playing violent games since I was around 10 or so with Mortal Kombat being the first...unless you count Mega Man 2 then I started around 7, lol.


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 about me

Name: Peter
Home State: New York
Currently Residing In: Utah
Birthday: October 13th, 1985 (I'll always secretly consider the NES to have been a birthday present to me from Nintendo.)

As far as video games go, I've been a gamer since I was two-and-a-half. I try to play whatever interests me, despite what other people think of those games. I don't consider myself to be a "casual" gamer, but I also don't take games unbelievably seriously. They're games, after all. They're meant to be enjoyed, not obsessed over. I never base whether I buy a game or not on a single review -- I have to try the game for myself to be totally sure.


CURRENT FAVORITES:

Metal Gear Solid Series (PS1, PS2, & PS3)
Fatal Frame Series (PS2, Xbox, Wii)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PSP)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES (PS2)
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (PS2)
Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii)
Dead Space (PS3, Xbox 360)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
Anything Zelda-Related (Various Nintendo Platforms)






My most prized gaming-related possession: A factory-sealed copy of the original Famicom Disk System Zeruda no Densetsu (The Legend of Zelda).





Mario and I were tight back in the day, yo.


I've had a few articles promoted on the front page... Check them out if you want. (Thanks, Hamza! :D)
Good Idea, Bad Idea
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Also, I'm on a crusade to help my paralyzed friend walk again. Check this out to learn how you can help, and here's the Facebook group. I'd like to send a big thank you to all of you who have already donated --- It means a lot to both of us. Unfortunately, this probably won't be a short-term thing --- It may be over a year before Travis can make it to China for the surgery. If any medical conditions should arise before that time (knock on wood that nothing happens), the donated money will be used to help pay for any bills if needed. Again, thank you all.

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