Industry Execs Discuss Video Game Violence With Vice President Biden [Update: Video Inside]

I think a lot of it is people not getting adequate mental health issue, though parents are pretty stupid about these things sometimes (I'm referring e.g. to those who let their twelve-year-old kids play Call of Duty). In the case of e.g. the Sandy Hook shooting, that person was mentally ill and did not receive proper care. The games industry cannot and should not be blamed for that.

Also, most parents are incompetent.

I used to play violent video games as a teenager growing up and when my father would see me playing them he would ask "You do know this is just a video game right? and that violence and murder is not ok in the real world" and I would say "Yeah Dad"......Im a perfectly healthy individual now. WOW the power of good parenting.

See, and I don't think it's that hard to do that, either.

(And I'll grant anyone who says I'm over-extending in certain areas here.)

You can have my video games when you pry them from my cold dead hands!

Go Seahawks!

I agree!

With the Seahawks comment. I would probably give up my videogames if threatened with a wedgie.

OK Doc, send me all your video games or I'll give you a wedgie and a swirly.

I don't understand how people who think video games make people violent deranged don't think about it for a second like "Hmm, maybe people who are violent deranged are DRAWN to violent video games..." The Columbine killers played a lot of Doom. Does it make more sense that they were normal until playing Doom or that part of why they enjoyed playing Doom was because they already had violent and murderous thoughts and they were drawn to a game where you could shoot things? One of these scenarios makes so much more sense, yet the media and public always assume the scenario that is the least likely and makes the least sense.

Once again lets start looking at our country and reality. The country that is in perpetual war. That invades other countries. That kill civilians and even children in drone strikes to get "terrorists". That spends a $1.030

$1.415 trillion on military while fellow Americans loose their jobs, become homeless and drug addicted and cannot seek medical help without going bankrupt. Infrastructure outdated and crumbling. Public schools that pressure parents to put their kids on Ritalin and then doctors who put them on Antidepressants at the same time! A younger generation that has to put on giant student loan debts just to go through college and then 80% move back in with their parents and cant find a job in their career field, Most taking minimum wage just due to debt. A country that ranks below the top 10 countries in the American Dream. The things we are doing to each other in reality have a far greater effect on our psyche than the things we are watching in entertainment.

People seem unusually attracted to the idea of one effect, one cause. Probably since a politician standing around trying to explain the complexity of a situation sounds less decisive than a politician who "knows" the real reason why something happened. Thus the problem is either "violent media" or "gun laws" or "crazy people" or "bad parents".

I would like to think that the idea of multicausal events is just hard to get a grip on in general. The other option on the table is that people are just being pigheaded. Look at how hard it is to get someone who thinks the American civil war was about slavery and nothing else to see that it was more of a lightning rod that magnified and made intractable other longstanding issues.

The effects of "bad parents" actually seems to cause quite a bit of trouble. However, no politician in his/her right mind would go anywhere near that one. At least, not in an election year.

Or any time of year for that matter. The minute a politician says something against the norm, they are thrown into the spotlight while people cry for impeachment.

So true. If Spore is any indication, though, soon we'll be a peaceful, space-faring world.

Violence existed before video games. Murder existed before guns.

People with violent tendencies may be drawn to both of these things, but the things themselves are only things. They don't cause anything. They are inanimate objects.

I think we're pretty tame compared to when we, as a species (the most culturally advanced society, at that), threw slaves and tigers in a sand pit and watched what would happen. We called it entertainment.

Also, and I like to point this one out in any "we're a crumbling society" argument, and mention that violent crime across the world is at the lowest point it's been. Ever.

I've learned from reading your comments that I like you. This isn't related to this comment, just in general (I'm also drunk).

That said, England has very little gun violence, but they have a sh!tton of stabbings. The US, given our fairly massive population, has very little gun violence. Of that, about 3/4 is inner-city gangs. That doesn't tell me we need more gun laws, it tells me we need outreach programs and JOBS that will offer a kid a better future than posting up on the corner.

Im from the UK and to be fair knife crime is only really an issue in large cities, and especially in the areas of the cities that suffer from high levels of unemployment (mainly due the fact that our government pays people more for sitting on their asses doing **** all than a lot of jobs pay). Surely the main reason for the awful tragedies regarding gun crime in your country is more due to the fact that nearly anyone can get hold of a gun? And not just any gun, AR-15 assault weapons and the like, I mean these guns aren't really designed for shooting a deer are they?

I think that one reason that video game get such a bad rap is maybe that people are trying to lure others' thoughts away from the real issues? I mean the manufacture and sales of these things are pretty big business and it's much easier to attack games than try and persuade people that they don't need a semi automatic assault shotgun/rifle to 'defend' their home.

I don't really understand this whole meeting between Joe Biden and video game representatives. I think it's nice that VP Biden isn't acting like your stereotypical old man politicians and shaking his fist at those newfangled gizmos the kids are a' fidgeting with these days, but what would there have even been to talk about? What video games were supposedly responsible for warping Adam Lanza's mind? The biggest question I have though is what they would even hope to do to prevent future mass shootings? Here's the thing with violent, unpredictable people: their (spoilers) UNPREDICTABLE! (end spoiler) There is no possible way to predict what will give form and motivation to the deranged mind that would even contemplate these actions in the first place. Even taking at face value that various media can cause violence in real life (which I don't buy, the idea that violent people are attracted to violent things makes much more sense) what can you even do about it?

Banning all forms of media you consider objectionable (another problem this raises is who gets to consider what is inappropriate) will not solve the problem. Charles Manson claimed a Beatles song inspired him, Mark Chapman was apparently inspired by Catcher in the Rye, countless others have been inspired to murder based on completely warped interpretations of the various holy texts of numerous religions. Would you ban these as well? Would it have ever even crossed anybody's mind that these works might inspire violence? You cannot undo the horrific actions of these twisted minds, and you can never predict what the next one will point to (either from sheer delusion, their inability to separate fantasy and reality, or simply as a scapegoat) as their so called "motivation" or "inspiration". Censorship will not fix this problem. Only parents taking a much more vested interest in their children's lives and revamping this country's piss poor mental health system will be able to do that.

Children enact violence in imagination. Period.

Before or in the absence video games, there was cowboys and indians - or cops and robbers or whatever pretend game children come up with - but it's always there and always has been. I don't care if it's pretend swordfighting with sticks, paintball, laser tag, or Halo! As disturbing as it may be from a certain viewpoint, violence is a big part of human culture. The dutiful soldier, the honorable warrior, the amazing heroes ranging from Oddyseus to Batman. It's so far ingrained that I highly doubt it could change any time soon. This is the unfortunate truth.

But that does not make "play fighting" some sort of violence training activity. Violent disposition causes violent acts. Almost every case of mass shootings or school shootings is enacted by a disturbed and mentally or emotionally unstable individual. They are the outlier, the minority, and did not become violent from playing games.

He's really good at... Listing things...