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Games Had Nothing To Do With V. Tech Shooting

Posted by Zonk on from the don't-you-love-that-they-have-to-specify dept.

GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that an inquiry into the Virginia Tech shooting in April of this year has revealed no connection whatsoever to videogames. The shooter's lack of interest in violent gaming was widely reported among game news sites at that time in the year, despite the exploration of the idea on cable television news. The official report, filed with the governor of the state, lays that 'motive' to rest. From the article: "The report, which includes a mental health history of the shooter, Seung Hui Cho, notes that during his childhood he had 'played videogames like Sonic the Hedgehog,' yet 'none of the videogames were war games or had violent themes.' This flies in the face of statements made on Fox TV news by Jack Thompson in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, which laid the blame for the incident firmly at the door of videogames."

7 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Video games DID cause a senseless shooting... by SimHacker · · Score: 4, Funny

    Video games WERE responsible for Jack Thompson senselessly shooting his mouth off.

    -Don

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    1. Re:Video games DID cause a senseless shooting... by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Funny

      He did? For real? Or just ... oh.

      C'mon, do you have to get our hopes up?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  2. Even worse!! by MooseMuffin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Jack Thompson now has all the proof he needs to show that non violent video games are just as dangerous as violent ones!

  3. Re:*surprise* by MoonFog · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Problem is, off course, that this wont be reported in media. Blaming video games is a much more "sexy" headline than "video games NOT to blame". Its a sad state of affairs..

  4. wtf people. by Pojut · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There was one thing and one thing only that caused this horrible event to occur...Cho was a crazy fuck. There is no reason to dip into his past, no need to point the finger at anyone...it was no one's fault. The ONLY thing that could have been done to prevent this is if he were under lock and key in an institution. Short of that, this was going to happen. Why? Because he was a crazy fuck. In the words of Chris Rock, "Whatever happend to crazy? What, people can't just be crazy no more?"

    Look. This is past. Cho is dead, the unfortunate people who were in the right place at the wrong time are dead, let their families and friends mourn in peace.

    --
    Living With a Nerd
  5. pointing the finger in the wrong direction by Loosifur · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The bottom line is that people go on shooting sprees because they're batshit. But if you want to make a desensitization argument, I'd look at the news, frankly. Look at an hour of CNN or any other cable news outlet. You'll see much more in the way of realistic depictions of violence than from an hour of Battlefield 2, or what have you. Having grown up watching horror movies and playing Mortal Kombat I can tell you that neither of these things prepared me for seeing an actual dead body in real life, and I can safely say that I would have to be off my rocker to look forward to killing someone.

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    This unbiased moderation brought to you by the Porcine Aviation Group!
  6. Re:*surprise* by Ozwald · · Score: 4, Informative

    I remember one of the roommates being interviewed the next day:

    "Did he ever play any games?"
    "No"
    "Did he ever play any violent games?"
    "Um, no"
    "Are you sure?"
    "Um, pretty sure. He mostly surfed the web"
    "So, no games?"

    Then they interviewed another and asked the same questions. Sorry, media, you'll have to stick with the real news.

    Oz