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This is basically the stuff that folks like Jack Thompson are looking for. They've never played these games, and thus do not understand them. Video games are still considered 'new', and as they are getting popular, folks who aren't into them or have never played them become afraid of them, and this fear is greatly magnified by the tripe that people like Jack Thompson put out about Video Games being the source of all evil, or whatever he's saying nowadays. When something like Columbine or the incident in Germany occurs, people want to blame something, so that they can sort of explain to themselves that THIS thing is what made this happen, and if we get rid of it, then it'll never happen again. In this case, it's video games, just as comics and rock 'n roll music have been in the past.

The same thing would apply to anime and manga, but much more of this anger and blame is still aimed at the video game industry. Honestly, I want to slap some of these parents who blame the games for making their children stupid, fat, or criminals very hard. Who was it that bought them Doom when they were in the fifth grade for Christmas? Who was it that bought them that system, that computer, and the whole lots of games with a focus on shooting and violence? The parent. They think that they have the right to blame another organization for all their ills, when it was their own fault for exposing that sort of material to their children. The ESRB was made for a reason, damn it. It's gotten so bad that Xenosaga III, to retain a T for Teen rating, had to have ALL BLOOD removed from the game. ALL OF IT. This has ruined the dramatic effect for some of the more important cut scenes of the story.

I could go on for ages about this topic, but I'll cut it short: Large masses of people are being ignorant, and letting their paranoia and imagination run hand in hand inside their head. Eventually, this'll all blow over, and people will come to see video games as a normal aspect of everyday life, like how people might view comics and music. They'll just find something else to blame in the mean while. confused

And those two kids in Germany? Idiots desperate for attention.

::low whistle:: If these sort of suggestion bother you; I hate to see the reactions to a modern version of "Seduction of the Innocent". It was the book that set the Comic Code in action...

Because I'm bored... here's what the Clomic Clode outlined... now just apply this to videogames...

Standards of the Comics Code Authority*

Code For Editorial Matter

General Standards Part A:

1) Crimes shall never be presented in such a way as to create sympathy for the criminal, to promote distrust of the forces of law and justice, or to inspire others with a desire to imitate criminals.
2) No comics shall explicitly present the unique details and methods of a crime.
3) Policemen, judges, government officials, and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority.
4) If crime is depicted it shall be as a sordid and unpleasant activity.
5) Criminals shall not be presented so as to be rendered glamorous or to occupy a position which creates the desire for emulation.
6) In every instance good shall triumph over evil and the criminal punished for his misdeeds.
7) Scenes of excessive violence shall be prohibited. Scenes of brutal torture, excessive and unnecessary knife and gun play, physical agony, gory and gruesome crime shall be eliminated.
8 ) No unique or unusual methods of concealing weapons shall be shown.
9) Instances of law enforcement officers dying as a result of a criminal's activities should be discouraged.
10) The crime of kidnapping shall never be portrayed in any detail, nor shall any profit accrue to the abductor or kidnapper. The criminal or the kidnapper must be punished in every case.
11) The letters of the word "crime" on a comics magazine shall never be appreciably greater than the other words contained in the title. The word "crime" shall never appear alone on a cover.
12) Restraint in the use of the word "crime" in titles or subtitles shall be exercised.

General Standards Part B:

1) No comic magazine shall use the word "horror" or "terror" in its title.
2) All scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome crimes, depravity, lust, sadism, masochism shall not be permitted.
3) All lurid, unsavory, gruesome illustrations shall be eliminated.
4) Inclusion of stories dealing with evil shall be used or or shall be published only where the intent is to illustrate a moral issue and in no case shall evil be presented alluringly nor so as to injure the sensibilities of the reader.
5) Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, torture vampires and vampirism, ghouls, cannibalism, and werewolfism are prohibited.

General Standards Part C:

All elements or techniques not specifically mentioned herein, but which are contrary to the spirit and intent of the Code, and are considered violations of good taste or decency, shall be prohibited.

Dialogue:

1) Profanity, obscenity, smut, vulgarity, or words or symbols which have acquired undesirable meanings are forbidden.
2) Special precautions to avoid references to physical afflictions or deformities shall be taken.
3) Although slang and colloquialisms are acceptable, excessive use should be discouraged and wherever possible good grammar shall be employed.

Religion:

Ridicule or attack on any religious or racial group is never permissible.

Costume:

1) Nudity in any form is prohibited, as is indecent or undue exposure.
2) Suggestive and salacious illustration or suggestive posture is unacceptable.
3) All characters shall be depicted in dress reasonably acceptable to society.
4) Females shall be drawn realistically without exaggeration of any physical qualities.

NOTE: It should be recognized that all prohibitions dealing with costume, dialogue, or artwork applies as specifically to the cover of a comic magazine as they do to the contents.

Marriage and Sex:

1) Divorce shall not be treated humorously nor shall be represented as desirable.
2) Illicit sex relations are neither to be hinted at or portrayed. Violent love scenes as well as sexual abnormalities are unacceptable.
3) Respect for parents, the moral code, and for honorable behavior shall be fostered. A sympathetic understanding of the problems of love is not a license for moral distortion.
4) The treatment of love-romance stories shall emphasize the value of the home and the sanctity of marriage.
5) Passion or romantic interest shall never be treated in such a way as to stimulate the lower and baser emotions.
6) Seduction and rape shall never be shown or suggested.
7) Sex perversion or any inference to same is strictly forbidden.

Code For Advertising Matter:

These regulations are applicable to all magazines published by members of the Comics Magazine Association of America, Inc. Good taste shall be the guiding principle in the acceptance of advertising.

1) Liquor and tobacco advertising is not acceptable.
2) Advertisement of sex or sex instructions books are unacceptable.
3) The sale of picture postcards, "pin-ups," "art studies," or any other reproduction of nude or semi-nude figures is prohibited.
4) Advertising for the sale of knives, concealable weapons, or realistic gun facsimiles is prohibited.
5) Advertising for the sale of fireworks is prohibited.
6) Advertising dealing with the sale of gambling equipment or printed matter dealing with gambling shall not be accepted.
7) Nudity with meretricious purpose and salacious postures shall not be permitted in the advertising of any product; clothed figures shall never be presented in such a way as to be offensive or contrary to good taste or morals.
8 ) To the best of his ability, each publisher shall ascertain that all statements made in advertisements conform to the fact and avoid misinterpretation.
9) Advertisement of medical, health, or toiletry products of questionable nature are to be rejected. Advertisements for medical, health or toiletry products endorsed by the American Medical Association, or the American Dental Association, shall be deemed acceptable if they conform with all other conditions of the Advertising Code.

Never knew there were so many rules. sweatdrop

Hmm...because we own this "killer" game, that makes us associated with the "killing" which in turn makes us the "killers" I would think. *Goes to Germany and waves FFVII around* "I got the killer game!!!" xd

Im german and some of my friends go around pretending that we are characters and beat each other with swords we made in woodshop but real swords and the actually killing of someone i mean us germans have been known for our mass murders but cmon cant they at least use a phoenix down on the person they killed?

Could you rephrase that? I don't think I understood....

that kind of stuff pisses me off

What I wonder is why doesn't the video game industry follow in the footsteps of the movie industry and start releasing the approved version of a game and then two months later release the uncut/unrated version? As far as I understand it, retailers have basically been forced to carry unrated/director's cut movies because of the customer's demand. So why not do the same thing with video games? Unrated movies are usually marked in an obvious manner to make the customer notice that this isn't the same as the MMPA approved version, so why not do the same with video games? Big-time retailers only refuse to stock AO games because of a perceived notion that the customers won't buy it... on the otherhand, unrated movies fly off the shelves.