Video games.

[molly]

Are 'Rockstar North' really to blame for the shootings in America, and are the lawers right to take legal action against the company?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3680481.stm

[sft42]

Nope....there are load of violent games out there....this follows on from the same pattern of attempted lawsuits in the 80s after all the "chucky" films.....Perhaps America would do far better to look at their own gun totting culture and parenting than trying to sue software developers who are only reflecting social structure.

[darth vader]

yes. it's about time the makers of violent toys, games, movies etc. were tackled and brought to rights about these issues. To say there is no link is hypocrisy - we know that violence on tv promotes violence in youths, why are video games any different? This said there is so much wrong about this story anyway - the parents are clearly using the s/w company (and Walmart) as scapegoats when they should be taking some of the blame themselves and on this part i agree with sft that America should start looking at the way it's gunlaws are handled, and the way parents bring up their children (and the way it is a suing nation! but don't get me started on that one....)

[darth vader]

sorry, i was answering yes to your second part. don't know enough of the case to blame it totally on Rockstar North

[Greedyfly]

I don't think companies are to blame for the violence in our society - the parents are to blame for letting the children view such violent games/films - the have age restrictions for a reason!

[IggyB]

Its a real problem violence as entertainment... just the other day I was watching a play called Macbeth by a fella called Shakespeare and then the very next day I found me and the missus plotting to kill the king ' steeped in blood so far etc etc. Oh horror, horror ' What is this?! Is this a dagger I see before me? Am I going mad? '

[molly]

I think it's all too easy to shift the blame on outside influences such as entertainment whether it's video games, films, music or good old fashioned books and plays as IggyB suggests.

The point is, there always has and always will be some violence expressed in the name of entertainment. As Greedyfly suggests, there are usually age restrictions involved.

Ultimately it's the parent's responsibility to veto what children can and cannot see. Ok, not always possible all the time, but then it's the parents responsibility to teach the kids the difference between right and wrong, and for the kids to know they will be held responsible for their actions.

It would be incredibly rare for anyone not to know the difference between what goes on on the screen in front of them and real life. Anyone who commits these atrocities, I believe, are deranged enough to do these things anyway, whether or not they have played a particular game (or watched a film or whatever.)

I think the Americans are far too trigger happy (after all it's guns that kill, not games), and they find it too easy to shift the blame to wherever they can get the most compensation. Ultimately it's those who commit the crime who are to blame, no-one else.

[scatman]

How can Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt be blamed? They both have 18 certificates, they are adult games. If anyone should be blamed it's the parents for letting their kids play that sort of thing. I know it's nigh on impossible to shield kids from that kind of thing, I did it myself.. But if you are going to blame games then you have to blame everything else that depicts violence. Countless movies, music, paintings, books.. where will it stop? People will generally blame what they do not understand. In ten years, games will be accepted and something else will be blamed. Regarding the court case, if an 18 cert. film was at the centre of it do you think it would get anywhere near court?

[tracymort]

I'd say ultimately it's the parents fault. for having guns and allowing them to play such games! To act out the game they obviously aren't mature enough to handle it and should know right from wrong by now. I don't allow my boys to see any violent programmes/games and won't allow toys of the same nature like guns or action man etc

[coemgen]

My kids watch my husband play Grand Theft Auto etc, they are intelligent enough to know it's not real, however I would have grave concerns about them watching soap operas, ones that appear before the watershed too, they look very realistic to a child. Regarding the argument do violent programmes/games cause violence in real life, I doubt it very much, in fact I think shooting someone in a game is a very good reliever of stress and has even been proved so in some research cases (Can't remember the name of the researcher). There has always been an element of violence in children's programmes, Tom and Jerry for example, it most certainly didn't inspire any violent behaviour in me. On the other hand there have been some horrifically violent crimes committed by people (Jack The Ripper, Ian Brady, Myra Hindley,Hitler to name just a few examples) who had no access to any violent computer games or films. I don't think watching violent films/playing games will corrupt a decent, reasonable person and turn them into an axe wielding maniac any more than making a violent thug watch "songs on sunday" will turn them into a sensitive peace loving person.