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Game Makers Could Be Liable For Violent Games
Christopher Reimer writes "KOMO 4 News of Seattle, Washington, is reporting that state law makers are considering a bill that would make video game companies liable for illegal activity that players under 17 are responsible for. From the article: 'Should the people who make and sell "violent video" games be held accountable if someone commits a crime because of playing them?'"
Lets blame anyone and everyone but the kid and his parents... After all, why should the parents have any involvement in what their kids are doing? Blame it on those damn games!
Give me a break, just more stupid laws.
- AMW
This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard.
Sweet! I'm going to Washington.
"What?? I only stole cars because I play [insert video game here]."
Too bad I'm not 17 anymore....
What happened to personal responsibility? Also, how do you determine if kids were going to break the law whether or not they played the video game? It's just ridiculous.
Try eMusic. DRM free, legal, MP3 downloads.
If they clearly label a game "Mature" and some fool sells it to a kid. The one responsible should be the seller, because the company clearly made the game for an audience that was old enough to understand the implications of doing such things in real-life. Same thing can be said for kids who sneak into R-rated movies. Or kids that smoke underage, or drink, or get porn. Would you seek penalties against the movie production/tobacco/alcohol/porn company that made the material in those cases? No!
The problem here is that there is no strict enforcement on the game maturatiy rating system, not with the developers for making mature and violent games.
Hero of Allacrost, a FOSS RPG for *NIX/*BSD/OS X/Win
"Should the people who make and sell "violent video" games be held accountable if someone commits a crime because of playing them?"
If you can PROVE that they committed the crime BECAUSE of playing the game, then yes. I'd be really impressed to see that proof though.
From the article: 'Should the people who make and sell "violent video" games be held accountable if someone commits a crime because of playing them?'
k for the last time - no one commits a crime because of playing a video game. no one. not anywhere, ever, under any circumstances. if you commit a crime after playing a video game, you were going to commit a crime anyway. i've played a LOT of very, very violent video games and never once have i ever even considered reproducing the game in real life. if you do, you have issues beyond any video game or television program...
its basic psychology. you are either inclined to commit crime or you're not, and if you are, its usually because you were psychologically damaged as a child.
lets do something about parents who abuse their kids and raise murderers instead of trying to create a law that criminalizes a harmless video game.
law makers are considering a bill that would make video game companies liable for illegal activity that players under 17
What happened to the parents??? I have a 4 year old, and I am involved in everything he does. I plan on that staying like that til he's 18~25 or whenever. I need to protect him from propaganda like this crap. (and, not the games, the lawmakers).
"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." -- Sigmund Freud
(sarcasm) ...but only if you can prove to a reasonable degree that the person has absolutely no control over their own life and if the gaming company misrepresented the game as a happy non-violent game.
Although, if a person proved they had no self-control, they should be locked in a sensory deprevation chamber in case something happens in the world to influence them. We wouldn't want them to think that things like advertisements, spam, or games had anything to do with real life.
A good test for easy-to-influence would be to force the person to play pac-man for 8 hours straight, place white pellets around the room, then observe.
(/sarcasm)
Blame TV, Movies, Video Games, Rock and Roll, baseball bat manufactures, or the Bible - anyone but the person who actually commits the crime.
If only there was a "-1 Troll" mod for proposed laws...
-- Should you believe authority without question?
I can't wait until a case arises that cites this law and sets a precedent that can be applied to all other forms of media, including television, movies, and music. After all, they are forms of entertainment that often show violence, right? They could possibly show/tell their audiences how to kill people in new and creative ways.
This law needs opposition and a counter-law, or an industry-wide EULA (people do read those, right?) amendment that says something to the effect of "we believe that violence belongs only in video games. we cannot be responsible for the actions of those who play our video games." Running with Scissors did that for the Postal series of games, and they are the most violent games that I have ever played.
Colin Dean Go a year without DRM
This has gotten out of hand , the scape goating and Buck passing mentality of these people is truely juvinile . ...). . ,Run around shooting each other and playing dead ,they have played these types of games in the plagrounds for years and will continue to , and these games simulat just as violent situations , yet we view them as more holesome.
First off , if you want to blame anyone for your children commiting crime , i would take a long hard look at yourself.
Sure they may immitate a game , but if it had not of been the game it would of been a movie , a cartoon or even a book.
I have played games like Grand theft auto , Counter strike, Manhunt , Eternal darkness and DOOM , I dont worship satan , i have a clean criminal record and have no urges to go out and car jack someone , paint Pentegrams on my forehead or blow people to bits(although if i had a rocket launcher and a clean sight at the RIAA offices
Infact non of my freinds have , Im well beyond that age range now , but even when i was 12 or so , i used to play games that were just as violent , they were fun and still are
Children still play cops and robbers , or cowboys and indians
nothing new here , just some politians trying to ride there way to greater office on the back of a whitch hunt
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
I agree with this law because video games actually *do* make children commit crimes.
I remember one time as a child a kid started throwing hammers at me from the top of a table. At first I didn't know what to do, but then I saw a bird in a turtle shell and jumped at the opportunity (no pun intended, I'm being serious here). I took the remaining shell and threw it at the other kid. He paused for a second and then continued to throw hammers at me. I found a second turtle-bird thing and repeated the process. The kid fell through the floor and was never heard from again. I, on the other hand, was hit by a hammer that was still flying through the air.
For the fifteen years after that event I have come to enjoy being a dwarf. It makes it easier to get under certain floating brick walls. I think I would like to one day be big again, but I still have not found the right mushroom, only the ones that make fire shoot out of my arse.
Welcome to the land of the free...pay toll ahead...no photography...please open your bag...
Please do a modicum of research before makings posts such as the parent.
The suit to which zerkon refers was initially dismissed by the district court for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The plaintiffs appealed to the 2nd Circuit, and that court has reversed a portion of the summary judgment. The plaintiffs haven't won at all, unless you count it as a victory that their case will get to trial.
But don't take my (or zerkon's) word for it: http://www.newstarget.com/003994.html
And in the future, this is a pretty useful site http://news.google.com/
Can somebody explain to me why all these law makers are going after the gaming industry so much lately. I don't see why it's so different from other forms of entertainment like movies, books, comics and music. Is it due to the right wing christian groups? Or because it's an easy way to avoid facing the harder issues? Or maybe the game industry doesn't contribute enough to the political parties as opposed to other media. Seriously though, I'd really like to have a serious answer to their motivations.
Lou: Another case of Monopoly related violence, chief.
Wiggum: How do those Parker Brothers sleep at night?
English is easier said than done.
As a Washingtonian, I can tell your our state is majorly fucked up when it comes to personal rights.
When it comes to children, the state would rather you put your kids on drugs than spank. Put them into counseling, and get them a probation officer.
Men's rights are HORRIBLE, if you meet a girl with a kid, you date her for a few months, you could be made to pay child support, even though the kid is not yours.
Then we have State ran liquor stores, where they choose what liquor you can have. They are closed on Sundays, the weekend when you normally do your shopping.
Gay rights is having tough times passing when most of the states believe gays are sinners and shouldn't be allowed near children.
Medical use of marijuana is believed to be morally wrong, so it doesn't pass every time it comes up to vote.
If you have been following the news here, we just had a Police officer under investigation for kissing his girlfriend, while he was in uniform. Her job? A stripper, so it must be something illegal going on. If it was a teacher, nobody would have said anything.
And speaking of Strip clubs, they don't serve food or alcohol, due to zoning laws. WTF?! In Texas, you can go to a nice place, order a big steak, drink a beer, and watch hot women on stage that are of super model quality. Nothing lewd going on, its what mens clubs should be like.
People are even considering splitting up the state into Western and Eastern Washington, so the Seattle side can get some stop having the moral majority pass this RELIGOUS that censor everything we do.
I love my state, I just wish we could get our heads out of our asses and start working on real issues, like roads, schools and internet access in rural areas. We don't need more censorship, all TV's come with Vchips, and Video games have warnings.
Nanny nation is right, stop trying to protect everyone. Freedom has risks, and the risks are worth it.
Basic psychology would also suggest that violent video games can prevent violent crimes, by giving kids an outlet for their aggression and anger.
I think you were asleep when that lecture came up. Psychological researcher Albert Bandura found out in his studies of aggression in children that catharsis (getting a feeling of relaxation after an act of violence) doesn't work.
Say when you feel angry at something, you decide to punch a pillow. When you get more angry, you hit the pillow harder. But eventually, you build up a tolerance and you need to do more to get the same effect (kind of like being on drugs). Eventually you get from punching a pillow to stabbing it. Bandura (and other psychologists) hypothesize that some people (in particular, very young children) might move from imitating that behavior in a video game to imitating that behavior at play, and then in real life. (See his "Bobo Doll" Study).
Now the difference between children and (most) adults is that adults have learned somewhere along the line that committing violent acts does not a)have a big reward at the end of it, and b)there is a consequence to committing those violent acts.
While I might agree with you that violent video games do not cause adults (without a previous history of violence) to act violently, I don't think I can say the same about children. And I definately disagree with you that "basic psychology" says that violent video games reduces violent urges.
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