German ratings board refuses to rate Crackdown, sales to minors illegal

[Lazzer408]

It's society not games ruining kids. When I was young my Mom stayed at home and my dad worked. When he got home we all went out to dinner together then to a movie. Having a kid myself I found both of us (my wife and I) needed to work to pay the bills and the baby sitter wound up being a heroine addict. Lack of parenting leads to currupt youth. Parents not spending time with there kids ruins them. The xbox becomes the babysitter. How many divorced families are out there now. How many dads beaten to the ground or in jail because there wife cheated on them but they still have to pay child support? Now the fatherless child rebels against society for putting his father in jail and it's the game's fault? I don't think so Tim.

 

[mout12]

So basically, you're telling me that I feel scared to walk through Compton City (I'm white) because of video games?

 

[lemonadesoda]

No. We are not blaming video games for your fear of getting mugged. What we ARE blaming video games (and films) for is the glorification of gore and human cruelty, and encourging us to find it entertaining, even "funny".

So the parallel is, that WE laugh at you when you get mugged in Compton City... and we think it is EVEN BETTER if you are first mugged, then have your hands chopped off, then get your leg slowly sawn off, then laugh again while your wimper as your blood spurts out of your body... and then we think: that was fun, let's find your wife, brother and kids and do the same to them. Only this time, we'll video it and show it to you so that you suffer psychologically as well as physically.

This is the concern. And the proposed ban in Germany is not about games like COD, or films like Black Hawk Down, but games like Punisher, (and worse that may come in the futre), and films like Hostel and Crank, (and worse that may come in the future).

Remember that 10 years ago such games and films didnt exist (except maybe black market snuff videos). Now they are becoming commonplace and if not stopped, the genre will only get more extreme.

I personally think that the world is becoming a sick place when society "enjoys", or is at least entertained, by watching people getting hanged on TV.

 

[xylomn]

No. We are not blaming video games for your fear of getting mugged. What we ARE blaming video games (and films) for is the glorification of gore and human cruelty, and encourging us to find it entertaining, even "funny".

So the parallel is, that WE laugh at you when you get mugged in Compton City... and we think it is EVEN BETTER if you are first mugged, then have your hands chopped off, then get your leg slowly sawn off, then laugh again while your wimper as your blood spurts out of your body... and then we think: that was fun, let's find your wife, brother and kids and do the same to them. Only this time, we'll video it and show it to you so that you suffer psychologically as well as physically.

This is the concern. And the proposed ban in Germany is not about games like COD, or films like Black Hawk Down, but games like Punisher, (and worse that may come in the futre), and films like Hostel and Crank, (and worse that may come in the future).

Remember that 10 years ago such games and films didnt exist (except maybe black market snuff videos). Now they are becoming commonplace and if not stopped, the genre will only get more extreme.

I personally think that the world is becoming a sick place when society "enjoys", or is at least entertained, by watching people getting hanged on TV.

In my experience I really havent heard of a massive number of people to genuinely do enjoy of what you speak in a real life situation... sure we hear bout the odd 1 or 2 people on the news from time to time but these are a very very small percentage of people... my mates got mugged a few months back, I didnt find it amusing or entertaining.. and most people I have talked to didn't agree with for example the bbc showing footage of saddam being hanged (disgusting if you ask me)...

Its still shifting blame, all this stuff that is produced in video games is no where near as bad as what can be found on tv and especially on the internet (and with relative ease)...

I do agree with making some of the more extreme things harder to access like having to prove your over say 18 to purchace a certain game... and having a worldwide rating system like the one zekrahminator mentioned would be fantastic (although personally i prefer the way pegi does it by actually printing the age requirement rather than some group like mature or teen etc.)

Banning these things overall wont make much of a differance though... anything that is banned only generates more interest in it and the people who would be influenced by violent video games will only go and get violent media from other widely available sources like TV or the internet...

Like always happens we are looking for a single cause to a problem when we really need to look at the bigger picture, and banning media has been proven time and again not to work...

I agree that society in general has become more accostomed to seeing this kind of media and yes some are entertained by it which I don't agree with entirely (in the case of games I think differently because a game is just that, a game, its not real and has no baring on real life), but this trend in society is generally fueled not neccissarily by more people doing bad thing rather our access to the information that people are doing these things.

I play on a point you mentioned... Remember 10 years ago, and compare the difference in how much easier and quicker we have access to information now than we did then, is it not also a posibility that it simply seems like more of certain crimes have happened because we find out about more of them thanks to better flows of information, many figures (in the UK anyways) show many crimes to actually be falling nationally.


PS. Sorry for any bad spelling/grammer or if i repeat myself I've just got home from work and I am quite tired...

 

[Casheti]

You can write me an essay anyday.

 

[xylomn]

You can write me an essay anyday.

I never used to write things that long till I went to university I'm surprised myself how much I wrote there lol

 

[lemonadesoda]

I think University homework assignments should be based on writing efficient, structured, tables, bullet point lists, or concept charts. ESSAYS SHOULD BE BANNED.

Also please think about your logic:

"In my experience I really havent heard of a massive number of people to genuinely do enjoy of what you speak in a real life situation..."

But at the same time you are defending that these types of games and films SHOULD be produced, and SHOULD be avaible, and SHOULD be available to impressionable people. So people dont like it in real life, but they DO like it as entertainment. See how fxxked up things are getting? Do you want to encourage a society that encourages pandering to this?

There has been a lot of recent criticism in the news broadcasts associated with the murders of the prostitutes in the UK before Christmas. The way that the whole "live" situation was turned into media voyeurism. At some point you have to make a judgement: do you care, or not? If you don't care than you have become de-sensitised, and this is one of the reasons that the German legislative is taking action. If you do care, than the whole point is moot.

 

[prime95]

Something to blame the actions of others on... another scapegoat for violence... do you care? Do you cry for dead prostitutes? Do you pray for them, their families? Do you care.

 

[Casheti]

I never used to write things that long till I went to university I'm surprised myself how much I wrote there lol

What did you study?? And how much did it burn your pocket?

 

[xylomn]

Well I'm currently still studying it lol

I'm about half way through a degree in Computing Science Software Engineering BSc/Hons

If I calculate everything I'm probably atm in about £10,000 of debt.... why did you make me think about that lol

and the government wonders why people are reluctant to go into higher education

 

[Casheti]

I don't want debt

 

[cdawall]

Good to see at least someone recognizes the influence on kids of violent games. In America good judgment never stands in the way of the almighty dollar...

it has no influence i have played GTA since it came out and i was 10 i didnt steal a car and kill anybody i think the rating crap is BS. the only thing that makes any diff is upbringing not playing violent games

 

[Casheti]

I saw a thing about a kid who went on a rampage with a shotgun after getting bored playing on GTA.

 

[xylomn]

it has no influence i have played GTA since it came out and i was 10 i didnt steal a car and kill anybody i think the rating crap is BS. the only thing that makes any diff is upbringing not playing violent games

exactly we've had all this violence/crime/etc before video games were even invented so how can they be the root cause

 

[cdawall]

exactly we've had all this violence/crime/etc before video games were even invented so how can they be the root cause

and crime didnt exactly go up when GOW, GTA, and Halo came out did it

 

[zekrahminator]

And Casheti's ppd continues to increase .

 

[Casheti]

And what are you implying?

 

[cdawall]

Lazzer408

65 PPD stop posting post whore