Star Jones video game violence segment

If I were her producer this is exactly what I would do too. I would have her hit on every topic that we know would get her video clips all over the blogosphere for the free publicity. I can't blame Joystiq for biting but I feel like we've all been played just to make her new show more well known. The best thing we can do is ignore this BS and not let yet another loser with a show manipulate their way into media buzz.

"There is no way in the world that we are going to be able to monitor every single thing in our household."

She completely lost any and all of my respect at this point. First, it's the parents' choice if they want to give the kid a TV or computer in his/her room. If you're worried about the games your kid plays, just make sure that the TV or computer is in the living room or whatever, so you'll always know what types of games your kid is playing.

Secondly, the main culprit of these attacks is of course Grand Theft Auto, a game that has a giant "M for Mature" label on it and (just in case parents missed this small detail) is NAMED AFTER A FELONY. Any parents that have Grand Theft Auto in their house and say "well I didn't know it was bad" are idiots, end of story.

If the problem is from media at all, then it would most likely be from movies. 80 percent of the problem is parenting.
Besides, compare the number of R-rated movies you've watched and the number of M-rated games you've played...

Oh wait... 200 hours of Grand Theft Auto just ruined my point...

Someone please prove my first point!!!!

In Conker's Bad Fur Day(N64)Conker gets drunk and urinates on female rock women. That had a big impact on my childhood......oh wait no I was in my 20s.

Does anyone think this kids parents put him up to it?

How hard can it be ... shouldn't they stop complaining if they just sell games the same way they sell alcohol and pornography then?
Then they can't complain on violent games more than the other two.

And maybe it'd let AO-games on consoles which seems rather silly right now.

Oh, that video game that person played once had some form of weapon, and now they're a serial murderer. Must've been the video game that caused it... Because, you know, it's all video games that put the idea of a gun in someone's head.

I had no idea what a gun was before I picked up Goldeneye... And that just made me want to go out and kill, kill, kill!

/sarcasm

These people are idiots... They have to find something to blame... It's not like not every little kid didn't have a little dart gun, or played Laser tag.

Oh, that must be next. "In Laser tag they give them guns and encourage them to aim it at others to shoot! It's teaching them to be violent! BAN LASER TAG!"

Also, we have an Adult Only rating system, why not use it?

It's not like a 13 year old can't have his mom go in and pick up "Halo 2" if he wanted it...

Star Jones handled that story well. I love how she summed it up in the end... Parents need to monitor their children and watch what they're doing. Those guys from the columbine murders, were making bombs in their rooms. Where were their parents? Teachers? That was an all around failure from the parents and a little from the community.

The ESRB is doing their job, retailers need to make sure that they keep minor children from buying those mature rated games. As long as retailers follow their procedure, and the ESRB rates games appropriately, then there's not a court in America that can do anything about it. Not making violent games is not an option, its not going to happen. Its just a matter of putting rules in place to make sure that children don't get their hands on it, unless their parent approves it for them.

Oh right, so until 'video games, the media, music, movies and tv' were around, these sorts of people found violence unbearable. All people are capable of putting a barrier against reality if they are determined to go through with a certain deed. Not even these crazy people have said that video games motivated the killing, which leaves us with nothing to blame video games for.

You can debate all you want about whether or not violent games are harmful, whether they should be sold to minors, whether doing so should be against the law... None of it matters.

Because: modern game consoles have parental controls. Use them. As soon as you do, all the rest becomes an absolute non-issue.

End of story.

If you think kids shouldn't play games than they might as well not listen to music, read books, watch tv and movies, and ever go near any form of media again.

Ah, blaming video games for society's problems. A great way to look like you're working for a better America without all the pesky negativity associated with blaming our society and culture in general for heinous acts of violence it produces. Ignorance is bliss.

Most Americans simply would rather hear "It is music and hobbies that you don't enjoy or understand that are to blame" than hear "It is the availability of guns, you not spending enough time with your kids, and the fame that murderers get on TV".

Nobody wants to give up their guns to lock boxes, free time to their kids, and their in-depth dramatic coverage of the latest greatest mass murder martyr wannabees. It is so much easier to pin the blame on things you don't care about and move on with your precious lifestyle unchanged.

Kids can see all the violence they want, just turn on the evening News. Besides why don't people stop complaining about the violence in games and actually take an interest in what their kids are doing. Stop buying games to keep your child busy and out of your hair, buy them and play them with them so you know what they are doing.

no new pax info today? this is really the only story? :(

The real problem is that most parents are lousy parents and don't care about about what their kids are doing. Video games are not the sole reason kids go Columbine, but they do contribute. What do you do about it? The system isn't working. Even if retailers sell to adults only there is going to be people who will get the games for kids like they would beer or something. But, if you buy beer for a kid there is legal recourse. Not so with video games. There is definite desensitization that goes with games and not only with violence, but also attention span and other things. Video games did not cause Columbine but it help make it easier for the kids to do it.

"Video games did not cause Columbine but it help make it easier for the kids to do it."

Oh my god... did you just seriously say that GAMES made it easier for two mentally deranged, heavily teased and abused, anti-social people who called themselves the trenchcoat mafia and built bombs in their home feet away from their parents room to grab a gun and kill people?

You know what made it easier? Parents who didn't give a damn. And not just the parents of the shooters, ALL the parents of Columbine's students, and indeed America as a whole. These kids were being emotionally abused by their classmates, yet the parents of those bullies blame videogames. The parents of the shooters turned a blind eye to their childrens emotional state, what they were playing/watching, and their access to WEAPONS... do we blame the parents? No, videogames.

The fact is good parenting would have prevented Columbine. If these kids didn't have videogames what would they have had? Guns, bombs, and a grudge. Thats all they needed.

Steve, the second responder in the comments is ABSOLUTELY right.
Schools and students are a big huge part of it. Then parents.

I don't know about video games, but that TV host is the perfect recipe for bubbling up rage.
Could you do an interview any more annoyingly?
She interrupted everyone moments before they could make their points. (Even the people she agreed with!)

Also rather lame that the politician there did not seem to address anything that the other people talked about. Isn't a big part of politics the idea of connecting with people? Frighteningly, I think the host did a better job at that.

If the interview went on for any longer, she could have had "evidence" of media-induced violence right on her doorstep.

Well, I'll agree that the violence in games has grown and has become more life like, but, for them to say that t is the game industries fault that kids are acting these crimes out is a damn shame.

My mom and dad taught me that violence on TV and Movies and Games are fake and should never be done in real life. They taught me the difference between righ and wrong. My teachers taught me the same thing. We had D.A.R.E. that taught us about how bad drugs were, we had the Crime Dog guy come in and the police to tell us about how bad being a criminal is. Do they not do this anymore?

It is not the medias fault, it is the parents fault for not telling their kids what is right and wrong, it is the teachers fault for not teaching their students the right thing, it can even be the police officers fault for not coming in to classes to tell kids about crime. Movies are more violent then games and because you can't "act" out these crimes they don't get blamed? huh, weird, Saw 1, 2, and 3 showed me more ways to torture someone without actually being a murderer than any game I have ever played, yet those torture porns have never been blamed for anything.

Lastly, I know that Best Buy (and other big chain stores) require ID for any game rated M or higher. Without ID they are not supposed to sell the game (if they do they can be fired, I used to work at Best Buy which is how I know). It was easier for kids to buy R rated movies and even the Girls Gone Wild Movies (and basically any CD) then it was to buy a game!

Stop blaming the wrong people and start blaming the parents, teachers, and law enforcement for not educating the kids good enough. And, the lawyer made a great point, parents...just set the game rating on the system!

She actually did a pretty good job with this, the first couple minutes were a little biased (they kept saying he was against violent video games, when he's really against violent media), but it seemed a little better later on.

"We believe there are data..."

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.

i'm with you.. i worked at a local video game store for nearly 3 years and I always told parents about mature content and explained the ESRB to them.. most of the time they had no idea that the descriptions were on the back... it's a good system. and i would refuse to sell mature games to kids without parental consent.

i'd tell parents.. GTA=drug deals, prostitution, etc
i had one guy that let his kid play GTA but only with him present and he made the kid follow laws.. no prostitutes, no randomn killing... it was kind of interesting.. at least the dad took an interest in what the kid was doing...

I dont know why people are so obsessed with columbine. "How could this happen?", "Why?!", etc. Its pretty obvious to me. A couple a kids, socially undeveloped, weak, and ugly, and tortured by their lives, the peers, and the adults in their lives who no doubt treated them with as little respect as their peers did, snapped and did something insane. Honestly, I'm surprised it doesnt happen more often.

What can be done? Unless theres a way to encourage social development, some sort of program for teenagers who are weird as hell, I dont know that anything can be done.

Damn the lawyer was really on to a valid point that all next gen consoles come with Parental controls like the Vchip. I wish she was not cut off when she mentioned that. This Lee guy is another glory hound looking at a industry that is bigger than movie to vilify and make a platform for his tenure as a politician.

like the way the senator had to "go back" to make his point and ignored the question about is Pranetal Controls being enough. :rolleyes:

The fucking Box says M parents are to fucking lazy to take care of their kids.

Don't try to pass laws to "save the children" enforce the laws that are already there.

Surprisingly balanced interview... and the host seemed to have a pretty good approach in trying to get both sides views in. (shame she was kinda long winded, and spent way more time talking than anyone else).

I thought everyone came across as sane and rational.. no jack thompsons here..

..though i was a bit annoyed with the way that the senator ignored the presence of age-controls in all the games consoles.
(and its a shame the lawyer didn't get the chance to point out that each time the senator "swings" at this, it costs the taxpayer a fortune... still.. not bad.

" I'm sorry, can someone clarify - in which game do you 'urinate on women?' "

That would be "Pro Urination: The Sorority Chronicals". You play the hero Jac Koff, a misunderstood introvert, who must clense the demons of phi beta capa with just his nerves of steal and his over filled bladder. Its rated E for everyone. Its done in a cel-shaded way... very artsy.

Or atleast he seems to think this game exists

Remember that video of Star Jones getting hit in the face with a football?