In the wake of recent tragedies, many in the US government are championing irresponsibly violent video games as the cause of real world violence. But is that a fair assessment? We take a look at that today. See what we've got to say and then join the conversation in the comments.

I always find it baffling when something tragic happens that involves mass violence, video games and other forms of media are the first thing that get blamed. After Columbine, people went to Marilyn Manson. After the recent shootings, a following started attacking Mass Effect 3. Of all the games to attack, they attacked a highly fantastical, highly fictional game. Maybe... just maybe I could understand them saying this about Modern Warfare 2, where you go into an airport and massacre tons of civilians, but Mass Effect?

Read more of Hillary Nicole's Pokket Says: The March Against Violent Videogames.

I find it baffling how stubborn Americans are, they continue to put blames on other things rather than themselves.

Also what goes on in their "violent videogames" also goes on in real life overseas in the countries they are constantly deployed in, whats worse, violence in video games or violence in real life on an even larger scale where real lives are constantly lost due to unnnecessary wars.

There's been many studies regarding violent video games relative to gun violence, and no link has been established.  I have killed many npc's and players over the years.  If I was going to guess, I'd say the number's are up in the 1 million range.  Yet I never murdered anyone.  In fact, I've saved quite a few lives over the years.  Just gave cpr to someone who coded last week and she lived, so chalk another +1 in the save category.

Hitler, Stalin and Mao never played video games as children, yet they collectively killed over a hundred million people. 

There is a greater link between mental illness and mass killing, but no one wants to have that conversation because it doesn't fit with the politics of the day.

"Violent video games are only OK  if they are used to recruit your kids to kill people we don't like."

http://www.army.mil/article/12072/army-experience-center-opens-in-philadelphia/

I wish the Government would focus on the real problems instead of diverting our attention to an easy scapegoat.

The sad and stupid part is that the mom of the kid who shot all those children would have had a nearly impossible time haiving him committed. You pretty much have to do something viloent before the governement will take action.

Had he lived, they would have finally said, "You're right, he is a threat to people."

Being a brit i've never understood the fsacination that America has with guns.saying that though.to link video games and violence on the streets is stupid..it really is..has usual they are looking for a scapegoat has always.they never look at the real cause of the problem..and that is years of neglect.by that i mean the politicians have let the guns in america get out of control without laws being put in place to restrict the sales.personally i think its too late.i understand you have your constitution.but its going to take a hell of a job not to just get laws through..but to also get the majority of the illegal weapons that are around everywhere off the streets..in the meantime games industry will get the blame,violence on tv will get the blame ..everything will be blamed apart from the real reason

p.s..its not my intention to offend anyone so please if you feel offended i apologise.

Next thing you know......

It will be easier to get an assault rifle then a video game

I think this is all the work of the NRA and its advocates.  They're mounting a full scale scapegoating campaign, because they're worried about gun rights profits.

Well they blame vidoe games, they blame guns, they blame everything under the sun. However what needs to happens is personal responsibility.  That is something we hear nothing about.  Instead the goverment wants to go about banning this, this and that to protect us from ourseleves.  We don't need protecting.  We just need the current laws to be applied and crazy people to go to jail forever.  Every time you hear about a problem like this you can hear folks say, we knew he was nuts, and nobody did nothing. 

Instead they want to go ban other stuff out of a knee jerk reaction instead of putting the blame where it is, on folks who have a history of mental health issues. That is what they should really be looking at.  

So they blame video games because they are too ignorant to solve the real problem... welcome to america, where people are growing stupidier each and every day thanks to the stupid parents who refuse to teach any of their kids like common sense, being nice to people, and not be a drama queen. sadly the kids of today will become our future problem if they are not educated the right proper way so they won't live a street life and get shot before they even become 20 years old over stupid shit...

This nation grow darker and darker as people just shat out their brains, the people that i know off during my high school years either don't give a shit of what they learn, sleep all day and probably end up getting a refural for it, and starting bullshit. Now welcome to 2012, where most of the high school people are still the same but they had a child, and those children might end up being these same people but worse...

One of these days after i've got the cash to move out and afford an apartment and a better job to help pay the bills, i'm moving away from America and go somewhere else that is more peaceful and contain less bullshit. People who acutally willing to learn and their children becoming more smarter then dumber. people who acutally been giving the choose of freedom instead of indoctrination of a fake reality.

Good post Pokket.

That nonsense of Biden threatening the video game industry is a joke.  The guy makes Dan Quayle look like a genius.

I have yet to see any study with any substance behind it show violent video games breed violence in the real world.  Just a lot of pontificating by people who cannot understand what drives people to violence.

The issue is in the past 50 years we have allocated less and less to mental health facilities.  You want to see where all the people who used to be in all those closed mental institutions are?  Take trip down to your local homeless shelter.   This last incident, the mother was trying to get help for her son and was running into roadblocks.  If you want to blame that mess on someone, blame it on the mental health officials that were reticent to help.

in other news

US government to meet with match box cars toy maker to discuss car safety

Originally posted by Terranah

There's been many studies regarding violent video games relative to gun violence, and no link has been established.  I have killed many npc's and players over the years.  If I was going to guess, I'd say the number's are up in the 1 million range.  Yet I never murdered anyone.  In fact, I've saved quite a few lives over the years.  Just gave cpr to someone who coded last week and she lived, so chalk another +1 in the save category.

 

Hitler, Stalin and Mao never played video games as children, yet they collectively killed over a hundred million people. 

 

There is a greater link between mental illness and mass killing, but no one wants to have that conversation because it doesn't fit with the politics of the day.

Yeah, as I was saying to a friend, I've played a lot of violent video games (though I do have an aversion to some of the more realistic violent video games) and I'm not a violent person, don't extol violence, etc.

I'm not a huge fan of Jim Sterling but here is an interesting (and intense, be forwarned) bit that he does:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/6692-Desensitized-to-Violence

As far as this article, I agree, parents need to start parenting. Having said that, not every child is susceptible to good parenting. There are some people who are just "born wrong". but I don't buy the "oh, it's just how they are" argument when the parent does nothing.

violent video games don't turn people violent. Violent people are violent people and if they didn't have violent video games they would also have (and probably do) other outlets to express their violence. Like torturing animals/people, or lord knows what else.

There is no maybe. I've played the CoD series since Call of Duty 2.

I would never hurt anyone.

People are eithe rmental or too wrapped up in what society thinks.

Originally posted by vandal5627
You can't really blame the games entirely but you can't really deny that they do play a small roll in which it effects the minds of the persons that play them.

Of course I can deny your statement, because what you are saying is based on your own opinion rather than any evidence.

Its not like this blame game is new. In the 1930's in was "dime novels are corrupting are youth!"  More recently there has been things like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazes_and_Monsters

Let me give my own unsupported opinion and say given the number of people who play video games compaired to the number of mass shootings, I'd have to come to the conclusion that video games don't play a role.  If they did and given how easy it is to get ahold of a gun, we'd have a heck of a lot more mass killings.