“You get rewarded for killing people, raping women, stealing money from prostitutes, driving cars crashing and killing people,” says NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.
In an article in the Telegraph (or at least the Australian version), Scipione said that the prevalence of people that are “not just prepared to carry a knife, but prepared to use it” has “increased significantly” and that there is “nothing more potentially damaging than the sort of violence they’re being exposed to, be it in movies, be it in console games they’re playing.”
“How can it not affect you if you’re a young adolescent growing up in an era where to be violent is almost praiseworthy, where you engage in virtual crime on a daily basis and many of these young people (do) for hours and hours on end,” he said.
“You get rewarded for killing people, raping women, stealing money from prostitutes, driving cars crashing and killing people,” he added, presumably referring to the usual scapegoat of the Grand Theft Auto series, although the second point he raised is absent from the games.
Killing people is mentioned twice in the quote.
“That’s not going to affect the vast majority but it’s only got to affect one or two and what have you got? You’ve got some potentially really disturbed young person out there who’s got access to weapons like knives or is good with the fist, can go out there and almost live that life now in the streets of modern Australia,” he said.
“That’s concerning.”
As VG247 correctly state, here in the UK PEGI is now law, so at least clear ratings are shown for our videogames. Perhaps that should be a clear focus for those responsible?
Izorpo
for a start I don’t think there are more paedophiles than in the past unless we are making that assessment based upon the massive population increase of the world as a whole – what we do have is a global society and anytime it occurs its front page news. I live a 10 minute walk from a park but parents seem to think the kids playing in the street is a safer alternative than getting up from the sofa and taking their kids to play in a park. These are the same type of parents that don’t monitor the media their children interact with nor do they take responsibility for the upbringing of their children. Children are for life not the minute of conception when birth control (if used) failed followed by a 9 month gestation period.
for increase in crime…take a look at the social problems affecting society as a whole, the haves vs the have nots has increased exponentially…even now on the news in between Olympics nonsense they keep talking about communities affected by the riots and how the very same problems these communities were facing last year are still prevalent.
I play violent video games – I love playing violent video games as it is a refugee from that vacuous world I live in that makes me incredibly angry – world where stupidity and corruption are rewarded and people that actually make a difference, a positive difference are ignored. I’m not going to go out and systematically kill a lot of people in reality when its far more fun writing my name in cursive with bullets in a crowd in a video game. Attempt to take away my video games and that may well change.
Crazy_Del
Hmmm…… let me think. Played Sega, PS1, N64, PS2, Xbox 360 and PS3
Also mobile games and PSP, PSP Go and PS Vita.
20 years of gaming…….
Why haven’t I got ‘the urge’ to go and commit a crime? Oh wait because I can control myself. Yes that is the answer.
The rest……. NONSENSE!!!!!!
THERE’S VIOLENCE ON THE BLOODY MOVIES AND THE BLOODY NEWS!!!!
The caps got stuck on keyboard… ahem.
Crazy_Del
Dammit I forgot SNES… How the hell did I forget that.
Damn!
Izorpo
well you know no one really likes to talk about the multiple genocide attempts on Bowser now do they?
I was thinking more about Bezerk on Atari 2600 shooting lasers at stick men were extremely useful in planning assaults on movie cinemas, shopping malls, post offices.
so what video games did angry mobs with pitchforks play – you know back in the day when they burned women at stakes and built torture devices for all types of good ole nefarious fun
mcphatty
Games, huh, they’ll be the end of civilisation. You lot need to take up knitting and kitten breeding! I jest of course… or do I?
Forrest_01
I hope you are breeding those kittens with other kittens, rather than with something else!!
Omac_brother
Great. Were discussing this again? Great. Games dont kill people. Poorly raised people kill people. Dont sell violent games to impressionable youngsters, and if the parents do.their job, problem solved.
Sympozium
….but if they explode?
they kill you.
Aran Suddi
It’s like the people who make these comments believe violent crime wasn’t around before the invention of video games. I bet Jack The Ripper loved the GTA.series.
Forrest_01
Only the one in London.
Izorpo
yes and Albert Fish who killed and cooked Grace Budd (back in the 30’s) who then shoved 60 something needles in his scrotum must have been really frustrated at his poor score of pick up sticks
enigma_flex
things like this make my blood boil. Video games arent to blame, parents who let their children do what they want and do not discipline their children are to blame. Furthermore, since when have you been able to or even encouraged to rape women in games. This Police Commissioner is obviously someone who has no interest in video games and is blaming it so that he doesnt have to point the finger at parents. Every generations creates escape goats, in the 90’s it was movies, before that it was music, now this generation video games are getting the blame.
Origami Killer
Video games don’t make me angry, or have the urge to attack someone or change things. The world as a whole does. I’m fed up of this country and the rest of the world, it makes me angry everyday reading about yet another scandal to do with MP’s, the people who should be respectfully running this country and failing to do so. Hearing about yet more cuts to benefits for those who need it and allowing others to unfairly claim them by fraud. Seeing thousands of students coming out of Uni, working hard for their degrees to find they are useless at getting them a good job, instead it’s unemployment with a £21,000 loan looming above their head. Or even worse listening to news about our shoddy justice system letting criminals back on the street, sex offenders getting nothing for their disgusting behaviour. Now we have the Olympics and Jubilee year, they feel almost as though they are cover ups for the failure of a country this is. Where do video games come into this? they dont. All of the above mentioned is enough to fuel someone to attack and break the law – not the video games acting as a refugee for some.
Apologies for the rant, it was completely off topic but you get the idea.
Origami Killer
Oh i forgot to mention the people who should be helping us the police – instead of doing so they talk out of the arse with bullshit like this.
Origami Killer
Imagine if I said this on twitter, i’d probably be arrested by now, that’s how pathetic everything has become
Izorpo
no that’s precisely why people actually go out and take vengeance on the world – because sometimes people just snap and it has nothing to do with the media we distract ourselves with and everything to do with how our society functions. people feel powerless to change things and that is probably true to some degree in the west….look at the governments and how they function…a battle between the lesser of two evils and the evil always wins.
so you numb yourself with drugs and alcohol, lose yourself in a virtual reality where you actually can make a difference or you go and systematically shoot up the world – seeing how we are all gamers I guess you can see the choice we’ve all made
Narayan11
Yes, its called a computer game. You also play cops sometimes, and you end up actually bringing some criminals to justice!
Forrest_01
Funny how things like that aren’t even touched upon in statements like this, isn’t it?
Aran Suddi
What’s also worrying is that as a Police Commissioner this guy didn’t bring any evidence forward for his claims. What kind of police work is that, Commissioner?
zakwhorules
I do agree that it’s the parents responsibly to restrict there children from playing video game that are violent or the child does not meet the age requirement. However it’s not possible to control your child to that degree sometimes. I am the perfect example, i only turned 18 two weeks ago and my mum had not allowed me to play or own any 18 rated games and also “tried” to limit my time playing games. But it can’t be done without going to extreme lengths. I had friends buy me 18 games and then scanned the covers into a computer and just changed the 18 to a 15 rating, simple as that, she had no idea i was playing these games (At one point i had a friends mum who offered to help me change the covers :0). A few times she caught me playing games at 5-6am having been up all night playing, but out of the 100s of times i was caught about 4 maybe 5 time. Even after she took my PS3 away from me i upgraded my PC with out her knowing and started playing PC games. Now my brother has a xbox 360 (he’s 14) and he has bought 18 games of his mates, like SR3 etc. and he hides them in plain sight. He puts a piece of white paper over the age symbol. But he’s still time restricted, but it shows how easy kids can be playing these game without there parents even knowing, and it’s not hard at all. What parent is going to search there teenagers room from top to bottom.