Banning computer games?

[Tabasco]

Back before video games were out, I remember my cousin almost breaking my knee while applying the figure 4 leglock lol. Me and my cousin damn near killed a friend of ours on roller skates by ramming him into a parked car. How many kids with a pillowcase tied around their necks almost died from impact after watching Superman? Wrestling, roller derby, movies... they were all affecting behavior long before video games.

As for Manhunt 2, I think the game went a bit overboard. I don't think it's that big a deal what happened. It probably was too violent if it trumped the original. If you really reaped in life what you sowed in video games, every single guy would be playing Leisure Suit Larry.

[mosaix]

Obviously some more research needs to be done.

Kids are becoming more violent and at an earlier age.

[Barristan]

As a Father of 3 (3,11 and 13) I do find myself veering to the cause of banning the games that go too far.

However, as an avid gamer of consoles and Roleplaying for the last 20 something years, I can see there is no harm in a lot of the material. Its a tough call, but there are so many influences in someones life, it is impossible to point a finger.

Some people just seem to be born with the capacity to inflict harm, children more so because they dont always understand the consequences of their actions, but this changes as they grow. Its so hard, and as a parent your gut reaction is to lash out and condemn anything that "appears" to be the cause.

If Manhunt 2 was that bad, then why did the censors let it through? If the game had an age rating, why was it given to someone underage? The parents and the shops are the only 2 stages of defence, before the product gets to the child.

I think that as consumers and parents we should be responsible for our childs upbringing.

[Lith]

Well, it's been rated AO over here, which isn't technically a banning but Sony and Nintendo don't want to sell AO games (though I don't see how they could really stop it).

I don't know that kids are any more violent than they ever were. I think we just hear about it more. And perhaps the outlets for violent tendencies have changed. I don't see so many kids with BB guns as I used to. And my grandfather and his friends used to spend their free time throwing ROCKS at each other. All I've noticed is that some have NO attention-span or discipline, which I blame more on sugar and television.

I agree the parents have the most responsibility, but I think we all bear a little responsibility for making sure kids turn out decent. That's just part of being a society, and making sure kids don't end up too messed-up by their parents.

[Joel007]

Heh, i spent my computer-free childhood days hitting my brother with staves, collecting and throwing knives, fashioning weaponry from anything around, and once building a thorn fortress complete with booby traps.
I'd say that violence is a natural tendancy for growing lad
Now controlling and focussing the physical nature into something constructive, there's the key.

[Bikewer]

This has been an ongoing complaint for some time, that "video games" are too violent and cause young people to be nasty. Of course, before that it was Rock & Roll...
When confronted with this issue, I always point out that mankind has a long and rather bloody history, with almost all the major horrors in terms of war, genocide, pogrom, inquisition, etc. being chalked up long before there was any sort of "media" whatever.

We have an ongoing thread on this over at the James Randi Foundation BBS, with one member citing a recent book that claims that man has a strong disinclination to kill, and that such games (and various sorts of military training) can reduce that disinclination.
Still, we have history....
Much as with suicide induced by repetitious listening to heavy-metal recordings, I feel that only those persons already pre-disposed to violence might be effected in any way.