So I'm starting a research paper and I would like to know some peoples opinions on like if they think that video games are bad or what. I've found lots of articles talking about how bad they are but don't believe it myself. There is a reason the ESRB people or what ever they are called rates the games. Enjoy and please help ^_^

Personally I believe that people are using video games as a scapegoat for this issue. I think the problem mainly stems from bad parenting. I'm not saying video games can be completely ruled out, because children are very impressionable.Then again the parents let their kids play games that are way to mature for them, and it's also the parent's job to correct the bad behavior of their children.:heh:

thats pretty much my belief to and lots is to blame the parents for not raising them well enough to tell games from reality.

Does this have anything to do with the German School Shooting of yesterday?

I don't think video games inspire violence. It does introduce ways of violence, but so does movies. Violence has to do with the emotions of the person him/herself. When events of violent nature occur, its not because of wanting to reenact a scene from a video game, but of exasperation and despair. Of course, there are some occasional cases of violence dealing with video games.

video games aren't all that bad parents should try to teach their kids that the stuff that happens in video games and in movies aren't real and that they shouldn't renact them.

Oh, very nice topic for a paper. This might be a good site for articles if you need them. (http://www.gamepolitics.com) :P

Bad parenting is the #1 reason games are being regulated, IMO. Parents just buy GTA or some other M-rated game for their 5 year old, without bothering to research the game online, or even to ask the clerk at the store. When they realize what the game has content wise, they then freak out at all the violence and sex references, even though it said it right on the fucking label when they bought it in the first place. Instead of parents admitting they were wrong for buying their kid a M-rated game, they run to their senator and demand these games be banned/regulated.

The problem here is not video games; it is lazy parents who don't check the ratings before buying the game. I mean, there is NO excuse for this bullshit! The ESRB just released this thing where you can go to their website (esrb.org), type in the name of any game, and see why it got the rating it got. The resources are out there to prevent your 5 olds from obtaining these games, parents just need to stop being so damn lazy and get off their ass and go look at them! :bleh:

Seriously...one time at my cello lessons, this lady noticed I had a halo sticker on my case, and started talking about how her two 7 year olds love that game. She also said how their kindergarten teacher was concerned when one of them wrote about how he likes to kill his brother on halo, and was mad that her son did this. Well, WAKE THE FUCK UP! If you never bought your 7 year old an M-rated game in the first place, this would have never happened! <_<

Sorry if this seemed like a rant, but this really is an issue I can't stand when handled the wrong way. :heh:

:lol2:

games as part of culture in general are influence. denying it is like saying your dad owns a casino in las vegas. 'Get that shit outta here'

violent games obviously cause a degree of bad influence. it tends to make the dumb susceptable children ever so vulnerable to brainwashing believe violence is cool, and cause them to emulate it. All the more if it is completely pointless violence, like fragging that random dumbass with a random dumbgun in a random dumb person shooter.

Look at what gun loving generation of kids we have now. Growing up on doom and unreal tornament does that.

Not everyone who plays violent games become violent for the most obvious reasons, but you fight generalisation with generalisation. average dumb child IS highly susceptable to game induced behavioural problems.


There is a reason the ESRB people or what ever they are called rates the games

Exactly. there is a reason excessively violent games are R16-8.

Look at what gun loving generation of kids we have now. Growing up on doom and unreal tournament does that.

No it doesn't. <_< How the fuck do you learn to use a gun, and reload it from playing FPS games? Cause last time I checked, you don't reload a real gun by pressing x on a controller. And that wimpy little rumble coming out of the controller? Doesn't even come CLOSE to what recoil on a gun will feel like. Plus, you can even cut/break your hand if you don't know how to handle recoil...but no game I know of ever shows the person you are controlling getting hurt by recoil, even though it's possible to do.

The ESRB does rate games appropriately, but most of the time, parents do not check them! (sometimes I even see this happening when I'm buying my own games) Every time I play gears of war 2 and hear a 5 year old cursing and laughing at all the kills they get, I wonder why their parents didn't bother to read the ratings...

To say video games are killing simulators is just a retarded statement IMO. Button mashing on an xbox controller is nothing like using a gun. Someone would have better luck training on a nerf gun than a video game. XD

Uhhh, why did you create a thread about 2 totally different topics? :P

To say video games are killing simulators is just a retarded statement IMO.


never said its a killing simulator, although it is in a way.
and it definitely does get you used to violence and in way which idolise it.
and I keep coming back to saying.. 'just cuz you are big enough and were smart enough not to be dumbfounded by the whole violence in games crap doesn't mean the other half of the population is immune to its stupidity'

ah and allow me to correct myself. yeah its not UT. its more of a GTA thing to jump into a class full of your mates and hose them for fun. it doesn't exactly teach you how to, it just makes the concept less alien. that's enough as an influence.

never said its a killing simulator, although it is in a way.
and it definitely does get you used to violence and in way which idolise it.
and I keep coming back to saying.. 'just cuz you are big enough and were smart enough not to be dumbfounded by the whole violence in games crap doesn't mean the other half of the population is immune to its stupidity'

ah and allow me to correct myself. yeah its not UT. its more of a GTA thing to jump into a class full of your mates and hose them for fun. it doesn't exactly teach you how to, it just makes the concept less alien. that's enough as an influence.

Jakie Chan - New Police Story

Fucking epic xD

good topic. nintendo was sued by angry parents, due to the new light gun that they pared with the wii. games dont cause violence in children. they have the school system to blame for that. lol jk. violent kids are usually messed up in the head to start with. and video games just amp up the anger in them.

like many have said before, parents now and days are so lazy that they dont check the ESRB ratings. mostly they just appease their children by giving in, and buying what ever their kid wants, to shut them up. all fingers point towards the parents

good topic. nintendo was sued by angry parents, due to the new light gun that they pared with the wii. games dont cause violence in children. they have the school system to blame for that. lol jk. violent kids are usually messed up in the head to start with. and video games just amp up the anger in them.

like many have said before, parents now and days are so lazy that they dont check the ESRB ratings. mostly they just appease their children by giving in, and buying what ever their kid wants, to shut them up. all fingers point towards the parents

Actually, the wii zapper wasn't bundled in, it had to be bought separately. So if a parent seriously sued Nintendo for the gun, they shouldn't have bought it in the first place. Doesn't really matter though, since the wii is filled with kiddie games. Only game I have that is close to a real shooter for the wii is ghost squad. XD

Parents these days are lazy though. Has anyone here ever seen Nanny 911? I remember one time there were these parents who denied using video games as a babysitter, and then the show flashed back to footage of the kids playing 6 hours a day. <_< That is just laziness right there. Hell, even a woman on a news show praised video games, calling them "a babysitter in a box". >.<

That is just laziness right there. Hell, even a woman on a news show praised video games, calling them "a babysitter in a box". >.<


oh shit you just gave me a mental vision of WoW for xbox360 or something. and kids being "babysat" for 20 hours straight in front of the TV


:lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2:

I think an xbox would RROD 5 times to hell and over and blow up if someone played it for that long. XD (knowing the way microshit built the xbox, this might not be a false statement)

All jokes aside though, it may sound funny, but the sad thing is that it is true for some kids. :( There truly are parents who just don't give a fuck, so they buy their kids games and other stuff to keep them occupied, essentially being babysat by toys.

Games is like ice-cream it was always meant to be. Most games cause you to use your head and even if, like psyconauts, they send you into controller snapping frustration at least they keep you occupied and out of the way. I don't really see why people hate them so much...

They say that video games encourage you to kill or damage things... but are they really? I've been a gaming chick since the Age of Empires games came out. Geez that makes me sound ancient but it's true. I love a good game and even though I sometimes overdo it at least I have fun.

You can learn things off video games that a lot of TV shows and books can't get across to you. Games for all! :)

-snip-

I'm getting really tired of your posts, heavy gamer.

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/500/mariogg7on6.jpg

That's pretty funny!!!!! XD

I'm getting really tired of your posts, heavy gamer.

Well, they do have a point. You don't learn how to handle an assault rifle or something from pressing a trigger button on cod 4. XD Now, if only assholes like jackass thompson would realize this, the world would be a happy place (lol) and politicians would spend money on educating parents on the rating systems, so they don't buy their 5 year old M rated games, instead of just trying to ban all M games.

It's just his way of posting, with the caps and swearing (that's my job :P)

And I think Kou was being sarcasting anyway.

see thats the thing tho if the parents keep buying the games then how can the even sue the company without reading the rating like "M" in a nice big letter >.< i have to totally agree with you on that zippy

Exactly. Parents buy their 5 year old a M game, then freak out at the game and blame the company, not their poor parenting. I mean, come ON! I'm pretty sure it shows a guy with a gun on the front cover of games like GTA 4 and COD 4; if I were a parent and saw that, I would be able to say "hey, this game isn't for my kid." >_<

i think that people are just blaming it on something that they either dislike or don't understand. For example, my mother blames my "violent nature" on anime and video games. At the same time, she has no problems with me going out and seeing rated R movies like the matrix and etc which tend to be more violent than a lot of the video games i play.... Seriously, if you want to say video games make people violent, then the same arguement can be made for tv, movies, books, even music.

There is an interesting, if not disturbing point I would like to make.

When you heard in the media (which always finds the best news) of a high school shooting, in more than 80% of those cases, the shooter has been or is taking some form of anti-depressant. The fact that they play video games is usually yanked out of the shooters past-time and used by the media to make more of a fuss.

The media simply uses this information in order to have a reaction from parents. If you don't believe that, then think of this. In all the shootings you've heard of, (and you don't need to be old to have read about them) how often do you hear the media say, "The boy/girl had been taking anti-depressant drugs," or "The shooter had some form of 'psychological illness'." Don't get me started on psychologists.

That's right, never. Because that isn't what is going to have a big impact on parents. It sounds much more logical (as blunt as this may sound) that someone taking pills shot up their fellow peers rather than someone playing video games and shooting up their peers.

I know it might sound like I'm taking this out of proportion, but this is the fact of the matter.

Also, all the shooters who turn the gun on themselves after killing, have a blank look on their face. Clearly, they are not fully aware of what they are doing.

To try and even think this all could happen just from playing a video game is highly unrealistic.