"Murder by Playstation"

[Meow]

I hadn't shot a gun for at least 2 or 3 years. During that time i played alot of counterstrike, and when I went out to shoot again a few years later for the first time, my skill level had increased tremendously. I also felt a hell of a lot more comfortable holding the gun, aiming the gun, anticipatng when to fire at a moving target, etc.

Correlation is not necessarily causation. i'm not aware of your specific age, nik, but i'd imagine you're in your teens and as such a couple of years can be a good span of time in terms of development, mentally and physically. To hold a gun of any sort was probably an inherently different experience back then, from the physical heft of the weapon to emotional comfort with wielding it to limits on your physical ability as a younger person. Even without having touched first-person shooters in the meantime, you probably would have returned to shooting with at least some sort of increased maturity thanks purely to having aged. And then there's your personal perception of your ability then relative to your ability now, which (from one human being to another) isn't likely to be picture-perfect. Now, i'm not saying that any of this necessarily applies, because i know nothing about you or your experience with ballistics. But just because you shot a gun before and after a period during which you played Counter Strike and noted an apparent improvement in no way means the game necessarily improved your ability with firearms.

[DMKA]

I've shot a lot of guns in my life, and no amount of combat simulation games can help, neither in aim nor handling, it just doesnt come anywhere close to the feel of handling a gun. And, even after all those games I've played, I cant bear to have my gun pointed at a human being.

All too true. I too have shot many guns(yes, Sailors DO shoot guns, despite those lies you hear from Army soliders ) and playing those(rather boring) Tom Clancy games don't help a damn thing.

I remember hearing a similar blame placed on Doom when the whole Columbine thing happened, and I'll say the same thing now that I did then: Parents want to blame everything in the world but themselves...they bitch and whine about any little bit of sex, violence, drugs, or "immorality" they see on television, in films, or hear about through music. All it boils down to is "the world should raise my kid for me", when in realitry they need to shut the hell up and raise their own damn kids...its their job, and everyone else shouldn't have to suffer for their neglegence, especially people like me who are avid fans of the material being attacked.

Call me a thoughtless bastard, but thats how I feel.

[nik0tine]

I agree with you 100%, People can't take responsibility. Face it mom, your kid is a murderer. Period.

[DMKA]

I agree with you 100%, People can't take responsibility. Face it mom, your kid is a murderer. Period.

Yeah...and don't go blame it on PS2 and HBO afterward.

[Mr. Mojo Risin]

If I kill terrorist can I thank Metal Gear for helping me win the war on terrorism? :rolleyes2

[DMKA]

Yeah if I go wipe out a bunch of fanatical religion mongers I should blame FFX.

*picks up doll*

[Odaisé Gaelach]

The major flaw in the Manhunt arguement is that Manhunt was not found in the attacker's home, but rather the victim's home.

However, the media had already blown the story out of such proportion that only game websites and magazines stated the development.

New developments may stir things up in the recent allegations that Manhunt had inspired the murder of a 14-year-old boy in the UK. Local police announced today that they had indeed found a copy of the action game, but it was found in the victim's bedroom.

The development could raise several questions concerning Mr. and Mrs. Pakeerah's claims, such as how did their son come into possession of the "M"-rated game and who bought it for him. However, such questions are probably irrelevant to the case, according to police. “We haven’t connected the game with the murder...the motive was robbery," said local police spokesperson Narinder Pooni.

The games-cause-violence story sent the UK media into a frenzy last week. The Daily Mail lead the charge, running the headline "Murder by PlayStation" and starting a sensational campaign to ban violent games. Pooni stated that the police had already announced that the game was not involved in the murder, but that "some sections of the media chose to ignore it."

On the other topic, I do believe that playing an FPS, especially with a mouse, does improve your performance with a gun in real life. Though, as for increasing the urge to attack a person, I don't believe that.

[Remnant]

*sigh* and here I was hoping someone had been blugeoned to death by a PS2. Maybe next time...

This is the old trap of shallow minds who simply need a catalyst for their blame. Much like rock music, dungeons and dragons, and other such things, it will go away when the current generation of gamers grows a little older and notes in hindsight that they managed not to kill themselves or anyone else.

So, until then, think of the issue as a litmus test- it lets you sort out fools with one easy question.

Oh, and a quote from "Acts of Gord" (to a newspaper reporter writing a story on the topic no less) - "Video games don't cause violence, and I'll KILL anyone who says otherwise!"

[Venom65437]

Imagine if parents parented their kids...

[RSL]

Playing shooting games isn't going to make you a better shooter in real life. Same thing applies to driving games, sports games, etc. I don't even understand how people can think this. I've made hole-in-ones in golf games before, but I can't hit the ball 10 yards in real life. I've won many a race in video games, but the one time I got to try out a real race car, I almost spun out and almost crapped my pants (though it was fun!). I have never shot a gun. I've played plenty of games where I have. I don't even pretend to think I could pick one up and start hitting targets. There is just no substitute for picking up the gun and using it.

As for the main topic at hand, I basically agree with the general opinion. I refuse to believe that someone got the idea to murder their friend from a video game. Murder isn't something an average person can do. Someone who commits a murder already had several things wrong with them.

EDIT: I didn't realize this topic was a month old. Oh well.