4 ms·

Let's assume the absolute worst: video games have caused mass shootings. Do we ban video games?

by maqr 14y ago

taligent 14y ago
I personally don't think so. But it could just mean adjusting ratings and making sure that proof of age is required when purchasing classified content. I think everyone would agree that certain types of content should not be available until you have reached a certain level of maturity.
- dinkumthinkum 14y ago
  We already have such a system. The reality is that these people are not going on rampage shootings, which is what is at issue, because they played Max Payne.
- mistercow 14y ago
  >But it could just mean adjusting ratings and making sure that proof of age is required when purchasing classified content. For the government to do that would entail amending the constitution, since SCOTUS has already ruled that doing so violates the First Amendment.
  - TheMiller 14y ago
    Various exceptions to freedom of speech have been upheld by the Supreme Court; this constitutional right is not absolute. If significant new research results appeared, it would not be surprising if the court to revisited the issue to consider whether another exception is warranted.
antihero 14y ago
We should probably ban cars and unhealthy food also, of course. Lest we go into how the pros/cons of said bannable things - one could argue that shit food is the only option of the poor, and cars allow people to travel, but then, games are another piece of the puzzle that distract people enough that they don't need to think about the fucking delusion they buy into.
- grannyg00se 14y ago
  If we are going to ban violent games (and movies?), then I suggest we go ahead and ban refined sugar. And HFCS. ...oh..And cars.
caseysoftware 14y ago
That's a really good question. I think right off the bat, we'd have hundreds if not thousands of lawsuits flying. Most game companies would simply cease to exist.. remember, Sega and Nintendo even had a gun! The next steps would be interesting.. would they want registration of our games? Would there be "buy back" programs? Unlike a physical object, I can go ahead and give you my dvd or cd, but is the game really gone? And that's not even considering the backlash. Many of us - like myself - grew up with video games. (Kid Icarus ftw!) And now many of us are technology professionals with massive platforms, discretionary funds, and near legendary stubbornness. I think it would make the SOPA reaction look like a fart in the wind.
- dromidas 14y ago
  Yeah, lets ban violent video games. That way I'm forced to pirate them instead of buy them on Steam sales. I haven't had to pirate anything since I was a poor college waif.
thoughtcriminal 14y ago
Do we ban violent video games to prevent the mass slaughter and permanent traumatization of school children? You find that a difficult question to answer?
anigbrowl 14y ago
Going with your assumption, I'd say the correct approach would be to mitigate the problem, eg make the ratings systems stricter or require gamer education in some fashion similar to driving education. Obviously, it depends - I'm sure nobody expects Pacman to drive people to violence, but I can see how some super-gory games combined with very repetitive gameplay could have potential ill-effects on vulnerable minds (say, someone with latent schizophrenia). It's hard to deal with hypotheticals like this because you haven't been very specific about the nature or degree of the (hypothetical) causal link. It's not beyond the bounds of possibility that the repetitive and constrained context of video games were a risk factor, as opposed to the depiction of gore - so that Pacman or Space Invaders could indeed have an impact on the small number of vulnerable minds, in similar fashion to the small but real possibility that video games can trigger epileptic seizures in some people.
tjtrapp 14y ago
i dont understand how a video game can cause a mass shooting. is there some undocumented feature of the disc? or the case the games is sold inside? ultimately, guns are the only things which can shoot.

Let's assume the absolute worst: video games have caused mass shootings. Do we ban video games?

by maqr 14y ago

Let's assume the absolute worst: video games have caused mass shootings. Do we ban video games?

I personally don't think so. But it could just mean adjusting ratings and making sure that proof of age is required when purchasing classified content. I think everyone would agree that certain types of content should not be available until you have reached a certain level of maturity.

dinkumthinkum 14y ago
We already have such a system. The reality is that these people are not going on rampage shootings, which is what is at issue, because they played Max Payne.
mistercow 14y ago
>But it could just mean adjusting ratings and making sure that proof of age is required when purchasing classified content. For the government to do that would entail amending the constitution, since SCOTUS has already ruled that doing so violates the First Amendment.
- TheMiller 14y ago
  Various exceptions to freedom of speech have been upheld by the Supreme Court; this constitutional right is not absolute. If significant new research results appeared, it would not be surprising if the court to revisited the issue to consider whether another exception is warranted.

antihero 14y ago

We should probably ban cars and unhealthy food also, of course. Lest we go into how the pros/cons of said bannable things - one could argue that shit food is the only option of the poor, and cars allow people to travel, but then, games are another piece of the puzzle that distract people enough that they don't need to think about the fucking delusion they buy into.

grannyg00se 14y ago
If we are going to ban violent games (and movies?), then I suggest we go ahead and ban refined sugar. And HFCS. ...oh..And cars.

caseysoftware 14y ago

That's a really good question. I think right off the bat, we'd have hundreds if not thousands of lawsuits flying. Most game companies would simply cease to exist.. remember, Sega and Nintendo even had a gun! The next steps would be interesting.. would they want registration of our games? Would there be "buy back" programs? Unlike a physical object, I can go ahead and give you my dvd or cd, but is the game really gone? And that's not even considering the backlash. Many of us - like myself - grew up with video games. (Kid Icarus ftw!) And now many of us are technology professionals with massive platforms, discretionary funds, and near legendary stubbornness. I think it would make the SOPA reaction look like a fart in the wind.

dromidas 14y ago
Yeah, lets ban violent video games. That way I'm forced to pirate them instead of buy them on Steam sales. I haven't had to pirate anything since I was a poor college waif.

thoughtcriminal 14y ago

Do we ban violent video games to prevent the mass slaughter and permanent traumatization of school children? You find that a difficult question to answer?

anigbrowl 14y ago

Going with your assumption, I'd say the correct approach would be to mitigate the problem, eg make the ratings systems stricter or require gamer education in some fashion similar to driving education. Obviously, it depends - I'm sure nobody expects Pacman to drive people to violence, but I can see how some super-gory games combined with very repetitive gameplay could have potential ill-effects on vulnerable minds (say, someone with latent schizophrenia). It's hard to deal with hypotheticals like this because you haven't been very specific about the nature or degree of the (hypothetical) causal link. It's not beyond the bounds of possibility that the repetitive and constrained context of video games were a risk factor, as opposed to the depiction of gore - so that Pacman or Space Invaders could indeed have an impact on the small number of vulnerable minds, in similar fashion to the small but real possibility that video games can trigger epileptic seizures in some people.

tjtrapp 14y ago

i dont understand how a video game can cause a mass shooting. is there some undocumented feature of the disc? or the case the games is sold inside? ultimately, guns are the only things which can shoot.