UK TV presenter delivers 'chilling verdict' on violent games
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Mar 28th 2008 at 2:30PM }
Call it a hunch, but we're not convinced that UK television presenter, Anne Diamond, is an ideal choice to "review" games which she says make her "hair stand on end." Though she brushes off several titles which are "so mindless it would be hard to see them as a destructive influence," the ones with "gratuitous use of violence and bloodthirsty imagery" really draw her ire. Honestly, we'd be bitter too if we had copies of Dead Rising LODGED IN OUR SHOULDERS.In a response to Thursday's publication of a Dr. Tanya Byron-led review of video game violence, the UK's Daily Mail has delivered a one-two punch of sensationalist misinterpretation ("allowing children to play on computers unsupervised is as dangerous as letting them play outside on their own") and misguided scaremongering, offering the task of analyzing and rating already-rated violent video games to Diamond. Her "chilling" verdicts are all neatly assembled below a snap of kids playing the infinitely sinister Mario Kart 64.
After glossing over Dead or Alive 4 (she wasn't keen on playing as "a martial artist in the fantasy Ninja-style mode"), she becomes truly horrified by a game that "wallows in violence for violence's sake." This dubious honor goes to Resident Evil 4 which, in case you forgot, is about "a cataclysmic chemical attack" spawning legions of zombies which "don't stop until you shoot them in the face or slash their arms off."
"This game shouldn't be allowed to be sold, even adults," says a Diamond in the rush to pass judgment. After being "stabbed to death with pitchforks amid fountains of [her] own blood," she calls it quits and declares, "This kind of violence can only be bad for you." Well, that's what the healing herbs are for, Anne.
[Thanks, Duncan]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Zertoss @ Mar 28th 2008 2:36PM
That pic looks shopped. Probably by the same guy that did that basketball pic from a while back that had half of a player missing.
You can tell by the fact that Assassin's Creed is still sealed.
Nigeria: Cody ChesnuTT Defense Force @ Mar 28th 2008 2:42PM
That pic definitely looks shopped. There's something of about it, I just can't tell.
Jerk Face @ Mar 28th 2008 2:45PM
How about Dead Rising going through her fucking right arm? Ha ha... : )
Cal @ Mar 28th 2008 2:47PM
Never mind playing games being dangerous, just the cases are razor sharp =S
Roto13 @ Mar 28th 2008 3:53PM
The other games she's holding are sawed in half.
James @ Mar 28th 2008 4:02PM
You wouldn't believe how many 8 year olds play COD4 and when I tell them to pick up the game' case and read the ERSB for me, they get all defensive as if it's OKAY for them to play it just cause they're mommy let's them stay up late at night.
It's shit like that that fucks the rest of us over. retarded parents that buy them and then complain that it's desensitizing their children.
Geist @ Mar 28th 2008 6:15PM
It's shopped. I can tell by the pixels, and by having seen many shops in my day.
A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Mar 29th 2008 7:00AM
Well, thank God that it's Byron's review which will be taken seriously, and not some silly bint with an undeserved tv show. Besides, on that review of Resident Evil 4, did it sound to anyone else like she didn't like it 'cus she got pwnd? In which case, isn't that the stance of, well, a child? And also, not even sold to adults!? It just threw whatever semblance of an argument she had out of the window.
I will make sure angry letters are sent to the dailymail. Might even have to quote the Byron report, not that these idependent reports mean a great deal.
Zarim @ Mar 28th 2008 2:37PM
As always, thankyou, ignorant sensationalist, for deciding for me what I should and should not be doing with my free time.
Si @ Mar 28th 2008 3:50PM
Never read the Daily Mail, have you? That's their lifeblood. They scare Middle England senseless with tales of violence and immigration, and then control them with adverts for stair lifts and electric beds.
Anticrawl @ Mar 28th 2008 10:51PM
Seems the US and UK aren't so different after all..
fischju @ Mar 29th 2008 2:36AM
The US doesn't have sensationalist media about how stupid and fat all the people in it are (like the UK does)
LaughingTarget @ Mar 30th 2008 7:17AM
No, our media just drives them insane to the point of suicide because it is a more civilized way to handle human sacrifice. Our corn crop must grow.
thenino85 @ Mar 31st 2008 11:30AM
@ fischju
Is that a joke? American media has at least one "everyone (INCLUDING YOUR CHILDREN!!!! AHHH!!!!) is fat in America" story a week, and I'd say a "All those foreigners are smarter than YOUR CHILDREN" story about once a month.
Parsnipzilla @ Apr 8th 2008 7:05AM
Sacrifice in March, Corn have much starch.
For once one of my South Park quotes was fitting with the topic....
nmezib @ Mar 28th 2008 2:38PM
what the hell is going on in that picture? it's like those games she's holding up are... passing... right... through her...
OH MY GOD, she has noclip turned on!
Cheater!
upz @ Mar 28th 2008 4:41PM
idspispopd!!!
arrrgh @ Mar 28th 2008 4:42PM
wtf h4x
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Mar 28th 2008 8:27PM
idkfa
You already took the obscure one.
MikeStan28 @ Mar 29th 2008 2:36PM
How do you confuse a Daily Mail reader?
Tell them aslum seekers kill peodophiles...
ComradeTrotskii @ Mar 28th 2008 2:38PM
I can't get over the picture. Surely some sort of editor must have noticed that half of the game boxes had been 'shopped out/not shopped in.
As for the actual article, it frankly doesn't deserve any sort of comment.
MasterInsan0 @ Mar 28th 2008 4:10PM
I think the picture speaks volumes about the quality of the article itself.
Jake11 @ Mar 28th 2008 8:27PM
it could be a real condition
if so she should get that checked out
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Mar 28th 2008 2:39PM
Why am I not surprised that a dried up 40 something female finds violent games offensive, even to adults.
Jack (SFC: 4983 4617 3409) @ Mar 28th 2008 3:32PM
40SOMETHING?!
Damn Crono, you're too nice.
Cal @ Mar 28th 2008 3:47PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Diamond
Try 53, and with a history of stupid opinions and actions
Stoo @ Mar 28th 2008 2:41PM
Its the Daily Mail what do you expect?
Tabloid journalism of the worst kind with out the page 3 girls, that panders to middle class immigrant hating diana worshipers.
Pick a topic start misinformed witch hunt.
Cal @ Mar 28th 2008 2:48PM
They'll probably be running a 'Video Games To Blame For Diana Death' story soon...
baby sea tuna @ Mar 28th 2008 3:04PM
You mean, you don't remember the "Run Dodi's car off the road" mission from The Getaway?
Boy, attention spans these days are getting shorter and shorter...
Cal @ Mar 28th 2008 3:07PM
I don't need to remember (and can't thanks to these dangerous games), but that's what the memory card is for isn't it?
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Mar 28th 2008 3:54PM
No...it was a Polish Immigrant who stole the real Driver's job.
Even though I am ashamed of some Poles who are retards, I can't stand the amount of racist shit tabloids write about us.
Stupidiot @ Mar 28th 2008 2:41PM
Where is there any evidence that violence has any negative effect other than desensitisation, and perhaps invoking disgust in people? How exactly is violence supposed to be 'bad' for people? It's just as much a part of life as love and hugs.
LaughingTarget @ Mar 30th 2008 7:21AM
I tend to get violent when people I don't know try to hug me.
Zarim @ Mar 28th 2008 2:45PM
Actually, why was this even posted? It's obviously a piece of garbage article from a piece of garbage tabloid. As I understand it, The Daily Mail is a running joke in the UK.
ComradeTrotskii @ Mar 28th 2008 2:49PM
I'm guessing it was posted for the lulz. You're spot on with the Daily Mail assessment.
Cal @ Mar 28th 2008 2:49PM
Pretty much all of the English media is a joke, but not on the same scale as FOX...
Robotochan @ Mar 28th 2008 3:47PM
Someone has forgotten BBC :P
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Mar 28th 2008 4:01PM
Fox is far worse than BBC.
And imo Sun is the biggest garbage out there.
ssuk @ Mar 28th 2008 8:11PM
Hey guys, you realise Sky News = Fox... Right? They're owned by News Corp. Which is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Sky News also ran similar scare stories about the video game reports yesterday. It's going to be shit for the games industry until there's some flooding in some part of Britain or some celebrity gets divorced and it dominates the news again...
Cal @ Mar 29th 2008 11:19AM
Never watched any Sky news other than Sky Sports =) But don't worry, GTA IV will be here to catalyse the game hate in the media soon enough.
I remember two weeks after GTA:SA being released Richard & Judy ran some bullshit story about prostitutes in the game and how you HAD to use them and then kill them for a refund + interest...
Nigeria: Cody ChesnuTT Defense Force @ Mar 28th 2008 2:46PM
The Daily Mail would never sensationalise. Never.
MarkHawk @ Mar 28th 2008 2:46PM
I am sure her views on video games cover over to her views on movies right? So lets ban all movies that show violence or skins below the knees or above the thighs
Bryan Young @ Mar 28th 2008 5:11PM
Didnt Tim Buckley (of CAD fame) write something similar to your comment?
Raikage (LDF CRAB BATTLE!!!) @ Mar 28th 2008 4:08PM
"So lets ban all movies that show... skins below the knees or above the thighs"
I want some of those pants!
Chris @ Mar 28th 2008 2:48PM
I love how every single person that has come out with a "review" like this is, at bare minimum, 40 years of age or older.
For a select few of these people, they were offended when they went into a theater so many years ago to hear Clark Gable say, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!"
Of COURSE they're going to be freaked out by this type of content!
You don't see any experts that are around 30 years of age or younger talking bad about the content of today's video games.
colinbell @ Mar 28th 2008 2:53PM
Mme. Diamond, stop telling us what is "good" for us - I find soap operas and reality TV nauseating, they totally sap your brain and have nothing new to offer, but I wouldnt dream of trying to make people stop watching these if they want to.
Funnily enough, I just switched on my trusty old gamecube today evening to play RE4 once again, and my ageing parents (who hadnt seen anything like this before) seemed more keen to see Leon kick ass (wasnt playing well, not that they could tell!) rather than the old movie on TV. Video games are simply good fun, even for people who havent held a controller in their hand before.
Hardcore @ Mar 28th 2008 2:55PM
Games should not be sold to adults like her
Cal @ Mar 28th 2008 2:53PM
Omg just clicked into the article...
They have a pic of two kids playing some kart racing game with the caption:
"Harmful: A Government-commissioned report says that video games can desensitise children to violence"
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/03_03/spoiltkidDM2203_468x326.jpg
nmezib @ Mar 28th 2008 2:57PM
hey, hitting people with turtle shells and banana peels is in fact the worst kind of violence.
ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ Mar 28th 2008 3:40PM
If I were to pretend that I wasn't able to distinguish reality from videogames, I wonder if it'd be worse if I were to be desensitized to violence or still be oversensitive about every single cultural and moral innovation this society progresses towards.