The "Freeola Customer Forum" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
There's a program on about Vice City, apparently some top American lawyers are blaming it for the increasing amount of teenage murders. I personally think the guns may be the problem though, of course I could be wrong.
In the small clip I saw, the kids were only about 14 years old, my question is: WHY WERE THEY PLAYING VICE IN THE FIRST PLACE, IT'S AN 18! That's the whole point of age restrictions, christ.
In the small clip I saw, the kids were only about 14 years old, my question is: WHY WERE THEY PLAYING VICE IN THE FIRST PLACE, IT'S AN 18! That's the whole point of age restrictions, christ.
i get BBC kiltland on cable.
i may or may not watch this, to judge the guy who's playing the game.
i may or may not watch this, to judge the guy who's playing the game.
It was so blatently obvious that this lawyer was only after money, he tried to say it was his moral duty to sue Rockstar but he was so obviously talking crap. He said that all copies of the game should be withdrawn from stores and all copies already sold should be recalled, that just shows how clueless he is.
Then there was another lawyer who was upset about the killing of the Haitians in the game, and he said that soon kids could be flying F-15's and they could decide to bomb a Haitian community. Seroiusly, if that isn't a load of crap then I don't know what is.
The presenter asked many people their opinions on the game. Parents and children alike all said that it was just a game, and the boys in America that killed the guy were simply trying to pass the blame on. They were certainly old enough to know the difference between right and wrong and there was no way a game was to blame for their actions. The parents of the boys were supposed to do an interview, but other boys in the prison said they would kill the boys if Vice City was ever banned, so they didn't appear. So for the time being it looks as though Rockstar and the GTA series are safe.
I know that a man has been killed by these idiotic boys and it may seem ignorant that people care more about whether a game will be banned or not, but at the same time it isn't correct to blame a game when that obviously isn't the problem. Maybe if people would address the real issues here, like how did these boys manage to get hold of a .22 rifle, then maybe killings like this could be avoided.
Then there was another lawyer who was upset about the killing of the Haitians in the game, and he said that soon kids could be flying F-15's and they could decide to bomb a Haitian community. Seroiusly, if that isn't a load of crap then I don't know what is.
The presenter asked many people their opinions on the game. Parents and children alike all said that it was just a game, and the boys in America that killed the guy were simply trying to pass the blame on. They were certainly old enough to know the difference between right and wrong and there was no way a game was to blame for their actions. The parents of the boys were supposed to do an interview, but other boys in the prison said they would kill the boys if Vice City was ever banned, so they didn't appear. So for the time being it looks as though Rockstar and the GTA series are safe.
I know that a man has been killed by these idiotic boys and it may seem ignorant that people care more about whether a game will be banned or not, but at the same time it isn't correct to blame a game when that obviously isn't the problem. Maybe if people would address the real issues here, like how did these boys manage to get hold of a .22 rifle, then maybe killings like this could be avoided.
why do I get fobbed off with a crappy family docu-drama, when I could see a programme about vice city, containing brainless scumbags who've never played a computer game in their life, procrastinating about how people who play these games immediately get up, go outside and garrotte old ladies and drown bags full of kittens.
pathetic. to quote the simpsons : "I found out an interesting fact - there was violence before TV/Computer Games were invented." Anything can spur someone on to being violent, anything at all. Someone may forget to put the right numbers on the national lottery, and miss out on 8 million pounds. Then they get a samurai sword and get medieval on the congregation of a local church. What do we do? ban the national lottery?
*seethes*
*plans killing spree*
pathetic. to quote the simpsons : "I found out an interesting fact - there was violence before TV/Computer Games were invented." Anything can spur someone on to being violent, anything at all. Someone may forget to put the right numbers on the national lottery, and miss out on 8 million pounds. Then they get a samurai sword and get medieval on the congregation of a local church. What do we do? ban the national lottery?
*seethes*
*plans killing spree*
ßora† §agdiyeV wrote:
> The programme has access to the court and reveals the final verdict as
> Bobby's lawyer argues against Northern Ireland as a place for a child
> to be brought up
It isn't that bad..
> The programme has access to the court and reveals the final verdict as
> Bobby's lawyer argues against Northern Ireland as a place for a child
> to be brought up
It isn't that bad..
BBC1 Scotland (maybe that's the problem eh?)
:)
Vice City - Ross McWilliam presents a report on the best-selling Grand Theft Auto series of video games.
:)
Vice City - Ross McWilliam presents a report on the best-selling Grand Theft Auto series of video games.
The video games industry is a massive one. In 2003, revenues totalled $6.9 billion, and this was just in the United States. In fact, 90% of U.S. households with children have rented or owned a video or computer game, and young people spend an average of 20 minutes per day playing video games. Video games are the second most popular form of entertainment after television.
Although research has pointed to the constructive uses of video games in such fields as education and medicine, there are trends in game playing that some observers find disturbing. A 1998 survey revealed that 80% of the video games preferred by young people have violent or aggressive content; of these, 21% depict violence against women. A survey of 900 eight year olds disclosed similar results: 50% of the respondents chose games with fantasy or human violence as their favourites.
Researchers have raised concerns about the potential link between playing violent video games and subsequent aggressive behaviour. A number of studies have shown such effects, with younger children being particularly susceptible to influence. In fact, recent studies show that after playing a violent video game children can become desensitised to violence or act hostile to others. A tragic happening, the Columbine massacre, which involved two American high school seniors, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. They killed twelve students, one teacher, and the two themselves. Why? Although innumerable causes were named, video games stood out. It emerged that the two perpetrators had been playing a well known and realistic gaming simulator shortly before the massacres, and had displayed a passion in the game beforehand. It was called “Doom”, a somewhat ironic name when one considers what happened in that school on the 20th April, 1999. Although there is no sound evidence that Doom was responsible it is no doubt a realistic game. It is reputed that US Marine Corps use it for combat training, emphasising its realism.
Another so called “vicious and callous” game is "Carmageddon". Originally, players were encouraged to run down pedestrians, including elderly women with Zimmer frames. If a player completes all levels of this game, he or she will have killed a maximum of 33,000 people. However, because of public outrage, the pedestrians were exchanged for zombies in all later editions of the game, and the original removed form the shelves. Although no crimes committed were blamed on Carmageddon, others have caused worldwide outrage and one in particular is currently embroiled in legal debates. It is Grand Theft Auto.
It was originally a “bird’s eye view” game for the Playstation console. It involved the player taking “jobs” from characters, namely criminals, and committing acts of violence against the general population. The player could acquire multitudes of weapons such as pistols, machineguns, flamethrowers and rocket launchers and use them against the populace of the city in which it was set. The police would then attempt to apprehend the player, and would be in turn killed. Such indiscriminate slaughter coupled with the glamorisation of violence and disregard for human life caused enormous outcry and rage against the game and its manufactures, now known as Rockstar. When the game, several years later, was released in a 3D version for the PlayStation 2 console (PS2), similar outrage was expressed. The game allowed more indiscriminate slaughter and the high quality graphics of the PS2 console showed blood in greater detail than before, enabling the player to shoot of the limbs and heads of pedestrians in the game, as well as drive over them in vehicles.
I feel however that such attitudes must be tempered, and by that blaming violent videogames we remove responsibility from young people and allow them a convenient scapegoat. I have had the game for over two years and have not once killed someone or took a joyride in a car, or pot-shots at passers-by, and I am in no way inclined to do so. Whether Rockstar intended for the controversy to abound or not is in question, but it was no doubt a stroke of brilliance. The publicity helped shift sales and paved the way to Grand Theft Auto 3’s sequel, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. At the minute, Rockstar is again under attack for its portrayal of Haitians on Vice City, and its seemingly discriminating attitude towards them.
Another attack on GTA came from a different quarter, two teenagers from the United States. They killed one man and seriously injured a woman when William Buckner, 16, and his step-brother Joshua, 14, decided to relieve their boredom by opening fire on traffic on Interstate 40 with a .22-calibre rifle.
A lawyer, Jack Thompson, has taken up the case and plans to sue the makers of Grand Theft Auto, saying they should bear some responsibility for the death of Aaron Hamel, a 45-year-old nurse and the injuries caused. Mr Thompson said if manufacturers wanted to keep selling violent games to children, they should be prepared for the consequences he believes repeated playing can have on young and impressionable minds.
However, the GTA series are all marked with an “18” certificate and therefore should not be supplied to anyone under that age. Rockstar do not willingly sell the game to under 18’s, that is the responsibility of the gaming stores. Furthermore, the gaming industry (more accurate Rockstar) should share no blame. The two boys, 16 and 14, had possession of a .22 rifle, a very deadly weapon and perhaps more deadly in the hands of the inexperienced. How they managed to get hold of the rifle is not mentioned, but it was obviously from a family member. This negligence puts blame on the part of the family and no one else. The fact that the family are willing to accuse in my eyes a blameless gaming producer is ridiculous. The two shot at cars of their own free will. If they possessed a sound mind they would know what they were doing was wrong, but they now have the audacity to do it and place a pathetic excuse against a totally unrelated company, simply because they cannot hold the responsibility on their shirking backs. The blame should be placed firmly with the boys and those who supervise them.
In my view, video games should not technically influence peoples behaviour. They have graded age certificates and officially they should not be sold to anyone below the given age but of course, are. Therefore, and because of this, young children will unfortunately be influenced and their impressionable minds indented by video games. There is no possibility of a closure in the video games industry, and therefore it is up to parents to supervise and be observant of their children’s activities. There is no doubt that video games and indeed, the newer generation of interactive games has changed radically in their sophistication, graphics, realism, interactivity and level of violence and gore, allowing players to participate in more realistic violent action than ever before. However, whether this new level of realism will breed new forms of killers and influence people for wrong remains to be seen.
Although research has pointed to the constructive uses of video games in such fields as education and medicine, there are trends in game playing that some observers find disturbing. A 1998 survey revealed that 80% of the video games preferred by young people have violent or aggressive content; of these, 21% depict violence against women. A survey of 900 eight year olds disclosed similar results: 50% of the respondents chose games with fantasy or human violence as their favourites.
Researchers have raised concerns about the potential link between playing violent video games and subsequent aggressive behaviour. A number of studies have shown such effects, with younger children being particularly susceptible to influence. In fact, recent studies show that after playing a violent video game children can become desensitised to violence or act hostile to others. A tragic happening, the Columbine massacre, which involved two American high school seniors, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. They killed twelve students, one teacher, and the two themselves. Why? Although innumerable causes were named, video games stood out. It emerged that the two perpetrators had been playing a well known and realistic gaming simulator shortly before the massacres, and had displayed a passion in the game beforehand. It was called “Doom”, a somewhat ironic name when one considers what happened in that school on the 20th April, 1999. Although there is no sound evidence that Doom was responsible it is no doubt a realistic game. It is reputed that US Marine Corps use it for combat training, emphasising its realism.
Another so called “vicious and callous” game is "Carmageddon". Originally, players were encouraged to run down pedestrians, including elderly women with Zimmer frames. If a player completes all levels of this game, he or she will have killed a maximum of 33,000 people. However, because of public outrage, the pedestrians were exchanged for zombies in all later editions of the game, and the original removed form the shelves. Although no crimes committed were blamed on Carmageddon, others have caused worldwide outrage and one in particular is currently embroiled in legal debates. It is Grand Theft Auto.
It was originally a “bird’s eye view” game for the Playstation console. It involved the player taking “jobs” from characters, namely criminals, and committing acts of violence against the general population. The player could acquire multitudes of weapons such as pistols, machineguns, flamethrowers and rocket launchers and use them against the populace of the city in which it was set. The police would then attempt to apprehend the player, and would be in turn killed. Such indiscriminate slaughter coupled with the glamorisation of violence and disregard for human life caused enormous outcry and rage against the game and its manufactures, now known as Rockstar. When the game, several years later, was released in a 3D version for the PlayStation 2 console (PS2), similar outrage was expressed. The game allowed more indiscriminate slaughter and the high quality graphics of the PS2 console showed blood in greater detail than before, enabling the player to shoot of the limbs and heads of pedestrians in the game, as well as drive over them in vehicles.
I feel however that such attitudes must be tempered, and by that blaming violent videogames we remove responsibility from young people and allow them a convenient scapegoat. I have had the game for over two years and have not once killed someone or took a joyride in a car, or pot-shots at passers-by, and I am in no way inclined to do so. Whether Rockstar intended for the controversy to abound or not is in question, but it was no doubt a stroke of brilliance. The publicity helped shift sales and paved the way to Grand Theft Auto 3’s sequel, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. At the minute, Rockstar is again under attack for its portrayal of Haitians on Vice City, and its seemingly discriminating attitude towards them.
Another attack on GTA came from a different quarter, two teenagers from the United States. They killed one man and seriously injured a woman when William Buckner, 16, and his step-brother Joshua, 14, decided to relieve their boredom by opening fire on traffic on Interstate 40 with a .22-calibre rifle.
A lawyer, Jack Thompson, has taken up the case and plans to sue the makers of Grand Theft Auto, saying they should bear some responsibility for the death of Aaron Hamel, a 45-year-old nurse and the injuries caused. Mr Thompson said if manufacturers wanted to keep selling violent games to children, they should be prepared for the consequences he believes repeated playing can have on young and impressionable minds.
However, the GTA series are all marked with an “18” certificate and therefore should not be supplied to anyone under that age. Rockstar do not willingly sell the game to under 18’s, that is the responsibility of the gaming stores. Furthermore, the gaming industry (more accurate Rockstar) should share no blame. The two boys, 16 and 14, had possession of a .22 rifle, a very deadly weapon and perhaps more deadly in the hands of the inexperienced. How they managed to get hold of the rifle is not mentioned, but it was obviously from a family member. This negligence puts blame on the part of the family and no one else. The fact that the family are willing to accuse in my eyes a blameless gaming producer is ridiculous. The two shot at cars of their own free will. If they possessed a sound mind they would know what they were doing was wrong, but they now have the audacity to do it and place a pathetic excuse against a totally unrelated company, simply because they cannot hold the responsibility on their shirking backs. The blame should be placed firmly with the boys and those who supervise them.
In my view, video games should not technically influence peoples behaviour. They have graded age certificates and officially they should not be sold to anyone below the given age but of course, are. Therefore, and because of this, young children will unfortunately be influenced and their impressionable minds indented by video games. There is no possibility of a closure in the video games industry, and therefore it is up to parents to supervise and be observant of their children’s activities. There is no doubt that video games and indeed, the newer generation of interactive games has changed radically in their sophistication, graphics, realism, interactivity and level of violence and gore, allowing players to participate in more realistic violent action than ever before. However, whether this new level of realism will breed new forms of killers and influence people for wrong remains to be seen.
Aha. I checked as well but I didn't wanna be the weakling that said it though. :D
I think you're mistaken, I checked 2 separate tv listings sites, and both had this description :
Tuesday 04, 22:35, BBC1 England
Documentary series. This programme follows a transatlantic tug-of-love court battle between an estranged couple for custody of their six-year-old son. Dylan Gunn's mother Cara is from Derry, Northern Ireland, and his father Bobby is from Florida, USA. When relations between the couple soured while living in Florida, Cara secretly booked a flight and took Dylan back to Derry where he had been registered as a US citizen living abroad when he was born. The programme has access to the court and reveals the final verdict as Bobby's lawyer argues against Northern Ireland as a place for a child to be brought up and Cara's witnesses question Bobby's suitability as a father.
Tuesday 04, 22:35, BBC1 England
Documentary series. This programme follows a transatlantic tug-of-love court battle between an estranged couple for custody of their six-year-old son. Dylan Gunn's mother Cara is from Derry, Northern Ireland, and his father Bobby is from Florida, USA. When relations between the couple soured while living in Florida, Cara secretly booked a flight and took Dylan back to Derry where he had been registered as a US citizen living abroad when he was born. The programme has access to the court and reveals the final verdict as Bobby's lawyer argues against Northern Ireland as a place for a child to be brought up and Cara's witnesses question Bobby's suitability as a father.
There's a program on about Vice City, apparently some top American lawyers are blaming it for the increasing amount of teenage murders. I personally think the guns may be the problem though, of course I could be wrong.
In the small clip I saw, the kids were only about 14 years old, my question is: WHY WERE THEY PLAYING VICE IN THE FIRST PLACE, IT'S AN 18! That's the whole point of age restrictions, christ.
In the small clip I saw, the kids were only about 14 years old, my question is: WHY WERE THEY PLAYING VICE IN THE FIRST PLACE, IT'S AN 18! That's the whole point of age restrictions, christ.