Yes, this was intentionally posted in this forum.

I am god damn sick of having to defend my hobby my entire life. Since I was old enough to argue I've been caught in this eternal debate with "high society" about the validity of video games. Everywhere I go I see another politician jumping on the video-games-are-evil bandwagon. Everywhere I go, I see another example of a supposedly educated person talking through their ignorance about a subject they don't even care to understand.

Do video games cause violence? No. Plain and simple, the answer is no. Hundreds of thousands of people play video games throughout the world, and only a handful of these people have gone on shooting rampages through their school. The violence is already a part of their lives, the fact that some of them happen to play video games is immaterial to the situation.

Suspension of disbelief allows us not only to enjoy works of fiction, but to accept that real life resumes when we're done with them. The chances of me closing a game of BioShock and turning to find a shotgun with a case of armor piercing shells is unlikely. Again, if I have a weapon next to my computer, the problem is already a part of me.

I've explained already why I don't believe video games cause violence. Now I'm going to explain why violence causes video games. Think about it. Which came first, carjacking or Grand Theft Auto? War, or Call of Duty? These video games are based in part on reality. Violence is a fact of life, so it becomes a part of video games. This is the same reason we find violence in books.

I've never played a video game that had a violence content anywhere near certain famous literary works. If I had a son, I'd much rather cover his bedroom in Grand Theft Auto posters and give him a copy of San Andreas for his fifth birthday than let him anywhere near 120 Days of Sodom or The Songs of Maldoror. Even disregarding these extreme examples, violence is very much a part of the world of reading. If we're going to enforce ratings on movies and video games, why not books? I can go to jail for selling Halo to a 14-year-old, but I can hand out copies of American Psycho to school children with no problem. Yet, somehow, reading is considered the more acceptable passtime?

I hear so often that we need to teach our children to "Be more productive, put down the video games and pick up a book." How the hell is a book more productive than a video game? It's still sitting in one place for several hours drinking in information. Final Fantasy VIII has inspired me and taught me more than most of the "classics" I was forced to read in school.

My point is not that video games are a more legitimate form of entertainment, but rather it should be in equal standing. Both sides have their exceptions. Both sides have their merits and their disgraces. To cast aside an example of either just because of its format is disgraceful.

If video games had been invented before books, the situation would be entirely reversed. Books, not video games, are seen as works of art simply because they're older. How immature is it to say that something isn't as legitimate just because it isn't old enough? If it's beautiful, if it inspires, if it teaches, if it changes lives, that's what counts. Not age.

Video games are going to become more and more a part of society. I'll go so far as to say that in many, many years, people will look at anti-gaming lobbyists in the same way we look at book-burners. Trying to stop or censor an artform is unnatural and indeed ultimately impossible, and some day people are going to realize this. I know I'm going to continue arguing this for the rest of my life. I just wish the world would grow up and realize that art is art, entertainment is entertainment, and video games can be just as valuable as books.

I wouldn't begin to compare books to video games. That's as painfully off the map as comparing books to movies or unicorns to hobos for that matter. They're two different media forms. Video games exist as another form of media. That is all they are.

Now, the issue at hand. I've not heard anyone worthy of paying attention to mention video games as being bad outside of the obvious drawbacks that no one can deny for the most part (lack of exercise, for one). The ones that do say they're bad are so off their rocker that no one gives them any serious attention.

The media (as in news services) has a duty to sensationalize everything. Easiest way to do that is to link something popular to something tragic. People are fat? Blame McDonalds. People are stupid? Blame TV. People go on killing sprees? Blame video games. It's the guilt by association that grabs attention. Until people stop being attracted to lies and misinformation, this will not stop. However, as it stands, it's mostly harmless. Negative press is still attention. Sometimes it works under the Streisand Effect instead of the intended negativity.

I honestly wouldn't ever get worked up over some negative press. It wont influence anything negatively. If you have to defend your hobby, then it's obvious that the people you talk to don't have their heads on straight anyway.

you have to remember that video games is a younger generation thing and the older foaks dont understand them. so what do people do when they dont understand something? they fear it, well atleast stupid people do any way. So all these soccer moms, politicians, church groups and old people have no idea what the fuck is going on and they find something they can "connect" with this new fangled thing. Video games are volient and kids play them so therefore they must be connected to volient children..

It saddens me..Oh well, time to go on a killing spree.. -_-

No argument here, Frozen. I'm sure that in time, video games will become more widely accepted. Until then, we'll just have to defend the point against people who fail to understand.

fuck off this is such a tired argument HURR JACK THOMPSON HURR CENSORSHIP HURRRRRRRRR you're not even arguing with anyone this is just going to become a masturbatory love fest about the same shit we've all heard from everyone
find something important to waste your mental energy on instead please

lol

You know why they do it, because it works. It obviously pissed you off enough to write that essay up there. They can defend themselves well enough. It's a business.

In the future, cows will kill people.

That is all.

It's really hard to have a discussion about this on the internet, because generally everyone who posts on these kinds of forums is going to agree. You're just not going to be able to find anyone here to give an opposing argument so we're just left ranting at a wall. Everyone thinks Jack Thompson is a twat, everyone here thinks games are a legitimate form of entertainment, no one here want to see them banned or censored, and EVERYONE thinks that Ctrl+Alt+Del comic is shite.

In conclusion, I agree.

I want games bAnned.

fuck video games!!!!

Video Games give me the squirts...

...should they be taken orally like semen, or am I doing something wrong?

I jest wanna play vidya games.
Everything else is totally lame.

[b][/b]

Jus' wanna make vidya game...

Young minds are easily molded. Imagine playing WoW from age 8 and getting influenced by 20 year old sociopaths, you'd likely end up pretty fucked up.

haha thats true, then again any parent that allows an 8 year old kid play WoW should be shot.