Should violent videogames be banned?

[remirol]

*Obnoxious nitpick*

The condition was known at least as early as the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and there is some speculation it goes as far back as the American Civil War.

I sit corrected.

 

[Cuddles]

Early day motion 2427 UK states "that there is increasing evidence of a link between perpetrators of violent crime and violent video games users".

Heh, I like the amendment.

That this House is deeply concerned about the recently released video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, in which players engage in gratuitous acts of violence against members of the public; notes in particular the harrowing scenes in which a London Underground train is bombed by terrorists, bearing a remarkable resemblance to the tragic events of 7 July 2005; further notes that there is increasing evidence of a link between perpetrators of violent crime and violent video games users; and calls on the British Board of Film Classification to take further precautions when allowing a game to be sold.
notes that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) gave the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 an 18 classification, noting that `the game neither draws upon nor resembles real terrorist attacks on the underground'; further believes that the game has an excellent user interface and challenges the gamers' dexterity as well as collaborative skills in an outline setting; and encourages the BBFC to uphold the opinion of the public that whilst the content of video games may be unsettling or upsetting to some, adults should be free to choose their own entertainment in the absence of legal issues or material which raises a risk or harm.

They really did just throw out the entire thing and replace it with the exact opposite.

Of course, it's also worth noting that the original was only supported by 11 out of 650 MPs.

 

[Ambrosia]

Mortal Kombat is the sole reason violence has decreased among youth on a national level.

FINISH HIM!

[tries to complete a complicated maneuver with a small springy joystick with worn contacts and several buttons, gives up and uppercuts the defeated foe off the walkway to land 8493208490328490832042 metres below on a conveniently located bed of long spikes]

RAIDEN WINS!

and now for something completely different.

 

[John Albert]

The Freakonomics authors argued this, showing that the drop paralleled the state-by-state legalization with a delay of something of the order of fifteen years. This is discussed here: http://boingboing.net/2013/01/03/leaded-gasoline-and-the-20th-c.html with further discussion of why the pattern fits the rise and decline of leaded gasoline even better. Strong trends often have more than one cause.

Or both alleged "causes" could be red herrings. Correlation ≠ causation.

 

[Ryokan]

"Most games are also released in France these days, so it shouldn't exactly be a big deal" is what I was going to write before I remembered that Canada is on NTSC.

That shouldn't make that big of a difference... It's still the same media, the same cover, etc.

 

[Irony]

Or both alleged "causes" could be red herrings. Correlation ≠ causation.

Could be, but in the case of lead we actually have a very strong coorelation, in both directions, which holds up after adjusting for a variety of other causes, and there's a known mechanism for it causing that sort of behavior. It's a pretty strong case actually.

With video games it's almost certainly just coincidence, but it's a fun thing to trot in front of people blaming them for the "epidemic" of violence. Correlation is not causation, but negative correlation is a slap in causation's face.

 

[NewtonTrino]

I would say we should ban them but I've never seen a videogame actually assault anyone...

 

[Irony]

I would say we should ban them but I've never seen a videogame actually assault anyone...

Does it count if they assault good taste?