“Well this just proves that violent video games have no effect on someone’s behaviour. If they did, the guy would have used a missle launcher, or done a drive-by shooting.”

Back when the Xbox360 and the PS3 were released and in short supply, there were reports that people were being mugged right after buying them. Does this mean that the Xbox360 and PS3 are evil influences? Or does it mean that some people are just greedy and have no conscience?

As for the kid who supposedly stabbed a woman because voices from the game told him to; That’s a load of crap. The kid killed someone and then realized that he was in deep s***. He needed some excuse to keep from being tried as an adult and ending up on death row. So his lawyer probably came up with the idea that he heard voices. After all, hearing voices is a sign of mental illness and you can’t punish people for being ill. Someone facing a murder charge will say or do just about anything to avoid being convicted because they really have nothing left to lose.

I’ll grant you that SOME kids might be inclined to try imitating what they see in the game. However, rather than being upset with the game, I’d be more upset with their parents who have failed miserably at teaching their kids the difference between fantasy and reality, or the difference between right and wrong.

If games like this turn people into killers, how is that millions of people have played these games, but yet only a handful of people have been turned into psychos because of it? Doesn’t it make more sense that there was something wrong with these people to start with and that drew them to the game, rather than the other way around?

I’d even go so far as to say that the rise in violent crime by young people is a direct result of America’s (and the world’s) move toward permissiveness. Parents are told it’s wrong to spank their children and that they should give them a time-out instead. They’re not even supposed to tell children that whatever they did is “wrong” because that might “damage” their self-image. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in favor of beating kids, or screaming at them, but it’s gotten to the point where any “discipline” that makes a child feel unahppy or ashamed is now considered cruel. Of course kids aren’t going to respect authority. Why should they when they know that the consequences will be a slap on the wrist. (a figurative slap of course, not a literal slap, because that would be sending the message that hitting is ok…)

The game attracts a number of different players, some of whom happen to be real scumbags. They most likely would have committed this crime regardless of which “popular release” was being sold at the time.

However, the fact that this game happens to emulate their particular crime cannot be ruled completely out, as an influence, even if it was a slight influence.

No doubt they laughed afterward that it was just like in the game. The influence is like a vicious circle, going back and forth. This bit of news will probably spread like wildfire in the American gaming censorship community.

/sarcasm

The teenager may have been on drugs which opens the mind to even worse influences than from the game.

This game involves maximum slaughter and mayhem in order to play it properly and advance in the underground crime ranks. There’s no nicety about it. You can’t be a hero. Only a villain.