Some stories, my friends, are too good to pass up. Even though I have gifts to wrap, friends to call and last minute gifting to deal with, this had to be shared with the good people of Destructoid. I think it's supposed to anger me, but instead I can't seem to stop shaking my head is disbelief at the pure idiocy of the whole thing.
Recently in Beijing, a 17 year old boy had a fight with a classmate and lost. A few days later, he decided to retaliate against the classmate and did so by dumping a bottle of gasoline on him and setting him aflame. The victim ended up with 55% of his body covered in burns. When asked about why he did it, the boy said that he had transformed into a Fire Mage from World of Warcraft in order to get the job done.
This is terrible and sad and insane somehow all at the same time. My first impression is that the kid is nuts, but if you think about it, the media is in a position where I could go shoot someone in he face and say I thought I was Lara Croft and it would be believable (not to mention, it places games in an ideal situation to take the blame.) If you don't think there are kids out there twisted enough to do something terrible and use games as a scapegoat, you're wrong.
We may be ramping up into a trend that could seriously damage our industry and give people with an anti-game stance more ammo than ever. I feel a little helpless in the face of it, but I can only hope to see people judging these situations as objectively as possible. While I'm wishing for impossible things, I'd also like a sequel to Rhythm Tengoku and a pet that's somehow a hybrid of Chad Concelmo and a unicorn.
[Via Wired -- Thanks Jonathan]
Contest:
7:10 PM on 12.21.2007
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That's definitely a problem though. It's strange, you don't hear people saying that they murdered someone because they watched Natural Born Killers or The Devil's Rejects......
I wonder why it is that games are more subject to this kind of attention than movies are.
I guess it could be because we get to interact with games and take part in "killing" virtual people, but to me..... I just can't comprehend the people who claim that games are to blame for all this violence.
I am one of the most mellow, non-violent people in the world.... yet I've killed millions of virtual enemies.
I guess like you said, there's people sick enough out there that think putting their violence off on video games will get them off the hook. That really is the sad part though, every time some nutjob does something like this, it's another step backward for games as a legitimate form of entertainment in society's mind.
Mostly error.
Also, flaming cock.
The Concelmocorn.
Mostly error.
Also, flaming cock.
this is funny yet sad. It reminds me of the Box cutter murder in Japan years ago. cept it didn't have anything to do with games.
though if this was america, Games would've already been accused and somehow stopped something in WoW. Over there, i'm sure they understand it's not always the game's fault, but someitmes influence things like this. (this being one.)
Seriously, I want to see someone kill someone else using the Bubble Bobble method. If someone does that, then I will switch sides and shine Jack Thompson's shoes.
I take it you mean the movie '15 Minutes'?
give people with an anti-game stance more ammo than ever.
Now to pair this with the school shooter who thinks he's only helping evolution (which makes him the opposite of this guy, "well-intent" but exactly as nuts, if not worse), and you have got a stupidity bundle with two opposite for the price of the gaming industry.
[insert sad clown face of choice]
Also, Communism!
I lold
I took my dog for a walk. I blame Pokemon for my desire for animal companionship behavior.
I played basketball. I blame Mario Hoops 3 on 3 for my basketball playing behavior.
Feel free to take any of those to court too... them video games thar are so dangerous, and look at what they made me do!