13 Comments Add your own

• 1. Ed  |  December 5th, 2007 at 8:59 am

  There seems to be this perception that because they’re “games”, they must be for children.

  But, all the games on the list are rated “M”, and clearly are not for children, any more then “Saw 4″ or “CSI” is.

  If they simply said, “Depictions of violence in the media are destroying the fabric of our nation”, I might agree with them.

• 2. Joe - fourhman.com  |  December 5th, 2007 at 11:03 am

  Dear Santa:

  Please let video games get through this societal mistrust phase and be allowed to become as vital, diverse and accepted a media as film, music or television. Let’s all move on to the next straw man that’s killing our nation and leave gaming alone. May I suggest text messaging, MySpace, and/or the White House?

  Thank you.

• 3. Rob  |  December 5th, 2007 at 11:52 am

  Please, oh highly-paid staffers of the National Institute on the Obvious, please bestow upon us another pearl of your infinite wisdom.

  Here’s my nuggest of wisdom for you, the purveyors of the press release: Video games are a multi-bazillion dollar industry that your family-friendly think tank isn’t going to stop from producing games for the masses. Why not put the responsibility on the parents for managing what their kids see, do and play? Gee, wouldn’t that be a novel concept?

• 4. Steve  |  December 5th, 2007 at 11:53 am

  Did we ever figure out if comics books led to the destruction of our nation’s youth? Rock-n-Roll music??

• 5. Anthony Darveaux  |  December 5th, 2007 at 12:52 pm

  Not ANOTHER anti-video game blurb out there…god, there are so FEW to read. I’m so sick of hearing all the baby-boomer cry babies that say that games are too violent and that they have a direct result on how kids grow up. Give me a break people. This debate will go on for about 20 more years and finally it will dwindle off once Gen-X starts becoming the middle-aged demographic. Video Games are a form of art and I understand that some parents do not want their kids seeing or playing these games. If this is the case…be a parent and DON’T LET THEM. It’s a work of fiction not real life. I met a lady the other day at Wal-Mart while I was picking up my copy of Assasins Creed and this lady started trying to give ME, a 25 year old adult that’s in the military, a lecture on my moral fiber and how she would never let her kids play a game like that. I simply responded that I am an adult and I enjoy video games for their story and history. They’ve been a part of my life since my early years as a child. My mother never sanctioned me much on what I watched, read, or played as long as I acted like a human being when I was going about my daily business. I would never hurt a fly and I think real life violence is pointless and absoultely disgusting, but I enjoy playing games with it in them for sheer entertainment and that is it! Oh my, I’m so ready for the straight laced right wingers to get a life and worry about something that’s actually worth worrying about.

• 6. Amanda E.  |  December 5th, 2007 at 1:15 pm

  I love how parents whine about “violent video games” and the next day you see them in the local Wal-Mart buying those very same games for their kids.

  If some bible-beater wants to lecture me on the social morals of buying an M-rated video game, they need to first sit down and read the bible cover to cover. There’s more violence in that book than in anything sold in the M-Category

• 7. Safran  |  December 5th, 2007 at 1:37 pm

  What about the rap music? Is it still violent?

• 8. Jeff V  |  December 5th, 2007 at 2:13 pm

  Yes, please add violent video games to the list of instruments for destruction of the entire human race, along with rock and roll, Elvis’s hips, the Beatles, the Da Vinci Code, the Golden Compass, along with too many others to list.

  I must say my 10 year old boy, as a result of playing such perceived “violent” video games, like Civilization, Medieval War, Lord of the Rings, has become quite the history buff. Every other question out of his mouth is about the real Middle Ages, and why did England want to conquer France, etc. etc. It has made me pull out my college history textbooks to beef up on those questions.

  Obviously, as in all things, there will be some that use this new kind of media/entertainment as inspiration to do bad things. 99% of adults, and kids, really, know how to handle such depictions. Now, with games like Leisure Suit Larry - well, that’s a whole other story >.

• 9. Jeff V  |  December 5th, 2007 at 2:15 pm

  The Leisure Suit Larry reference in my post above, by the way, was in jest! It got cut off.

• 10. Joe Lieberman  |  December 5th, 2007 at 2:28 pm

  Mr Safran,

  Yes Rap music is violent, and Rock ‘n Roll is indeed destroying our country’s moral fiber. I would suggest some Perry Como instead. And yes video games are violent. I would suggest a nice game of Chutes and Ladders instead.

  Sincerely,

  Joe

• 11. Gorman  |  December 5th, 2007 at 3:37 pm

  I disagree, Mr. Lieberman. If you go down a chute and someone is at the bottom, then it becomes quite violent.

  I prefer Sorry. It at least teaches manners (”Sorry!”) you you land on someone.

• 12. David Johnson  |  December 7th, 2007 at 8:01 am

  wow, i missed all these comments while i was watching hyper violent looney tunes cartoons as i was photoshopping cigarettes out of disney films.

  anywho… fun to see how a troll headline and blurb like this can engender such comments. in some ways, it got me thinking about how good reporting gets the story told through the quotes and interviewee’s perspective. maybe certain posting can touch some of that mojo to get the story told through comments?

• 13. Jeremiah  |  December 23rd, 2007 at 1:14 pm

  What video games did Tony Soprano play? He was a pretty violent cat…..

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