Boy's murder linked to Rockstar's Manhunt, retailer drops title

Leave it to the media (this time British) to spark another frenzy over videogames causing real-life violence.  To make it clear, I am in no way undermining the tragedy that has occurred here, but for Dixons (the British electronics retailer) to drop Manhunt from their shelves is only further obscuring the real problem.  In truth, what we're dealing with here is extremely abnormal/antisocial behavior (perhaps a diagnosable mental illness), and/or neglect on the part of any authority figures to identify these signs of abnormality.  Undoubtedly, a game like Manhunt raises questions about how far certain taboo fantasies should be carried into entertainment.  But let's face it, these sorts of games/videos/books are there to be accessed, and I doubt they'll be going away any time soon.  What we should be focusing on is how to educate people to use/view these materials safely (by forming a proper context and separation between fantasy and reality), while at the same time watching carefully for signs of abuse (i.e. evidence of a deeper, psychological issue).  On top of that, we should make more of an effort to keep these kinds of games out of the hands of children.