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"Well, the inevitable headlines are flooding in..."

Another year, another knee-jerk reaction from the media. "Evil Game", and "Murder By Playstation" are two of the headlines I've seen this morning, on TV and in a paper (can you guess which one?) - both have given inaccurate descriptions of the plot and manner of the game. For crying out loud, when are these people going to realise that violence in computer games is nothing in comparison to the realistic violence we see portrayed on TV? Whilst you're banning violent games, you'll have to ban films, books, the Internet, television, news, the Armed Forces, etc. The psychologist ITV interviewed even said it takes someone who is already mentally unstable to react to these images. In the same newspaper were images of a burnt-out car used to kill 70+ Iraqis - can I acuse the Daily Mail of inciting someone to use a car bomb the next time it happens?

Ironically, it sickens and outrages me that we have to defend the industry we love, and part our culture, for no reason other than there are a few parents ignorantly lashing out at something they don't understand, and allowing themselves to be stage-managed by elements of the media who can turn it into an attention-grabbing money-spinner. Maybe it's the parents that should be persecuted for allowing their child access to material unsuitable for his age range? I'm sure they wouldn't buy him hardcore Dutch porn, so how does that differ to a computer game? Of course he nearly 18, and may have looked old enough to buy the game from a shop, but stay up after 9 and you're exposed to the same level of violence and swearing on TV, so the rating system is practically useless in this case.

One of the examples of hypocrisy being touted around today is that New Zealand banned the game. The same New Zealand that happily promotes itself as a tourist destination on the back of the violent hack 'n' slash Lord of the Rings movies. Enjoyable films, no doubt, but the amount of gruesome death on screen was surprising and graphic for the ratings they received.

But the most worrying aspect of this whole debacle, is how much control the media do have over the public. Not once in the Daily Mail article were there any official Police statements - it was all quotes from the parents, who are understandably upset and feel the urge to find someone, or something to blame for the loss of their son. Now in the next few days we're going to experience the fallout from a lazy example of sensationalist journalism. The fact that it took two people to write an article that covered less than a page, once pieced together from an overlap and a huge picture, shows just how little effort went into it.

Expect to see more of the outraged parents, outraged Government representatives, and celebrity TV-psychcologists, giving a one-sided view of this isolated incident in the next few weeks, until David Beckham get a new haircut. Rockstar have already expressed sadness and offered their condolences to the family, but removal of the game (or games of this nature - there are far worse games out there) should never be considered. They say we live in a 'nanny state', but maybe it's just us being a 'pushover nation'?

Someone at work has a copy of The Daily Mail, I think.

Anyhoo, it has the headline Death by Playstation. Nice.

There's an article in the Sun today, with the headline

The PlayStation Killer

I despair.

Edit: Daily Mail 'website' article
[URL]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=312008&in_page_id=1770[/URL]

The bit that gets me? That this entire furore comes from this one quote:

Mrs Pakeerah, 36, said: "I think that I heard some of Warren's friends say that he was obsessed by this game. If he was obsessed by it, it could well be that the boundaries for him became quite hazy."

Maybe not, locla radio station has gone out into Nottingham and surveyed a 100 people at random - 64% said that the game was not to blame and should not be banned. Local station has also had two university professors on saying exactly the same, that the game is not to blame and other factors are - including the fact that the kid's parents obviously allowed him to watch and play 18 certificate stuff.

It's a long running war between news corporations, the videogames industry, and other parts of the electronics world (how much do you think newspaper sales have gone down because of the Internet?), and this is just the latest shot. Unfortunately, the level-headed people seem to be on our side only.

The kid was planning to mug the other kid to pay off a drugs debt, but got out of control.

Very peculiar how the accusation falls on a videogame rather than the f*&kin DRUGS.

Stranger In Paradise wrote:
> Of course this will probably give Manhunt a much needed sales boost,
> most places seem to have plenty of secondhand copies.

i'm certainly getting a copy :)
couldn't afford it when it came out at first but it looked like a right laugh :)

Taken from an old rant...


Umm...did I miss something here? I had no idea that computer game companies had as their secret agenda the wholesale slaughter of western youth. And so cunningly done as well (What on earth must their board meetings be like? "Okay, our tech division reports that we're way ahead on development of the latest instalment of the Quake series! Graphics are improved by 22%, sound by 30%, gameplay is 10% faster, and most impressively, the projected casualty rate among American youth alone is up 38%!"). It's good to see that the forces of evil are up to date with technology; it doesn't seem that long ago since subliminal messages on records were the bugbear of choice amongst the slightly hysterical curtain twitchers of the Daily Mail.

The choice of words in the artivles alone should raise a few eyebrows. They seem to be saying that but for the fact that this boy was addicted to playing violent games, oh, and the fact that he was disturbed in the first place, then none of this would ever have happened. Funny how they barely refer to that second point isn't it?

So then, why is nobody asking the question "What disturbed the personality of this boy so much?" If it was the computer game itself, why haven't they said as much in the articles? They've quite clearly separated the two elements, so we must assume that it was something else. If that is the case, doesn't it follow that the computer games are only half of the story and, as a mass produced media, why should a company have to modify all of it's outlay to meet the needs of a staggeringly tiny percentage of the world's populace who are so disturbed that they can only deal with their raging hormones and attendant adolescent problems via the use of the rage of an inadequate virgin? What's next? Will someone on the extreme left wing blame Full Spectrum Warrior for the latest Gulf War?

It's far easier to blame a company, because then one doesn't have to blame the parents for allowing their kid access to a violent game that was for over 18's only. Blaming a faceless company is simple. Blaming parents is far more difficult, especially when they only live along the road from you and are already upset and deeply apologetic at the actions of their son.

In the meantime, we (and the rest of the western world) will continue to delude themselves that (insert computer game of your choice) are responsible for whatever tragedy has robbed families of their loved ones. I wonder if they're at all familiar with the concept of doublethink...

Of course this will probably give Manhunt a much needed sales boost, most places seem to have plenty of secondhand copies.

I agree that it's all over the top blaming computer games. But there's a bit a of a difference between seeing violent images on the news and in the paper, and actually controlling a character and making him carry out those actions.

Having said that, I've been blowing things up on my computer since Wolfenstein 3D and all that lot, and I haven't killed anyone yet....

The wording is just so bias and annoying.