U.S. Vice President: Games Are Not Being "Singled Out"

[Andy Chalk]

U.S. Vice President: Games Are Not Being "Singled Out"

​

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said he's asked "a whole lot of people" for help dealing with the problem of gun violence.

Not everyone was happy with the videogame industry's participation in U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's task force investigating the causes of - and, one would hope, potential solutions to - the problem of gun violence. The feeling among some is that by taking part, the industry is effectively admitting that in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, videogames may in fact play some role in mass murders like that in Newtown, Connecticut last December.

But in a video posted on YouTube, the VP said that the game industry is not being specifically eyeballed as a causative factor in mass shootings. "We know that there is no silver bullet, there is no, as one of my friends said, no seat belt we can put on to ensure we will not be in this circumstance again," Biden said. "We know this is a complex problem. We know there's no single answer, and quite frankly we don't even know whether some of the things people think impact on this actually impact on it or not."

"So I want you to know you have not been 'singled out' for help," he added, patting Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, who was seated beside him, on the shoulder. He then rattled off a lengthy list of other agencies that had taken part in the process, ranging from various law enforcement and medical associations to "at risk groups," civil rights organizations, gun safety advocates, interfaith groups, the NRA and many others.

"I come to this meeting with no judgment," Biden said. "We're looking for help. I understand that a few of you here are researchers, assessing the impact, if any, on behaviors... we're anxious to see if there's anything you can suggest to us that you think would [help]."

"There's no measure that I'm aware of to be able to determine whether or not there's a coarsening of our culture in a way that is not healthy," he continued. "I don't know the answer to that question, [and] I'm not sure what kind of impact it would have or wouldn't have on the kind of events we're looking at."

Biden said he hoped to be able to deliver his recommendations to U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

Source: YouTube [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLMIb-oNoRM&feature=player_embedded]


Permalink

 

[Rainboq]

Huh, looks like Crazy Joe is one of the most level headed people in the USA government right now.

 

[[email protected]]

I can understand wanting to look into the love of games like those that catch the violence flak. What makes these types of games so attractive, and so on. My worry is the fact that EA (who can't seem to go a week without making a statement and then backpedaling on it only to make things worse - see Medal of Honor "Taliban vs US Soldiers" controversy) is in on this.

My only hope is that this becomes actually helpful and not a political soapbox.

 

[roushutsu]

Well I'll be damned. It's interesting to hear that several government officials, including the Vice President, are admitting that there are multiple things to carefully consider and that there is not one easy answer. That's so drastically different from the articles we've seen about average joes going, "It's all the games!" or "It's all the guns!"

Here's hoping that all goes well.

 

[OZAuCkn7J28sHLCv]

Who better than the guy behind MoH:Warfighter to prove that videogames aren't just about violence.

They're about money, duh.

 

[bz316]

You know what the real problem is? The problem is that when a horrible tragedy occurs, the first thought of so many isn't "Oh my god, those poor unfortunate people." It's "Oh shit, lets hurry up and make sure no one takes our guns."

 

[snagli]

John Riccitiello... was he the only big name present? Why not some people who aren't the antichrist?

Oh well, at least he's not blaming video games for the violence and stuff, yay for that.

 

[Jyrik]

You know what the real problem is? The problem is that when a horrible tragedy occurs, the first thought of so many isn't "Oh my god, those poor unfortunate people." It's "Oh shit, lets hurry up and make sure no one takes our guns."

That is half of the problem, the other half is people, who, instead of saying "Oh my god, those poor unfortunate people" instead say "Oh shit, let's take advantage of this opportunity to attack games and guns and anything else we don't like."

 

[risenbone]

I have the first part of a solution. How about instead of the media white out where the killer is plastered all over every news outlet for most of a month thus getting their 15 minutes of fame they so desperatly want we have a media blackout. Maybe a short throw away like "in other news some loser shot up a school and some people were hurt in some town" the end.

 

[jackpipsam]

People do need to remember that even though you might hate EA, EA is a major player in our industry.
Let's be honest here, John Riccitiello isn't going to be all like 'You know what, I hate money, You can just take away our freedom and force us not to make games and market them how we want'.

However I did find it amusing how bored John Riccitiello looked throughout all this.

 

[disgruntledgamer]

There is a silver bullet it's called Gun control/regulation, or it's at least 90% of the bullet. Seriously the US has one of the worlds worst gun regulation policy's and it wonders why it has one of the highest gun related crimes/murder rates?

Look at other first world countries stricter gun laws, and than look at their lower gun related crimes and murder rates. They have the same violent movies and games you do it's not rocket science to figure what the problem is. You don't want to regulate your guns better, don't expect gun related incidents to go down.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Okay I know nothing about Joe Biden, I dunno his policies or what he stands for other than he is a democrat. But...

John Riccitiello?!?! John FUCKING Riccitiello?! One of the most disgusting money grubbing lying pieces of shit currently in the industry... I mean... FUCK!

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

I can understand asking CEO of the largest Games Company conglomerate to join but why not other influential figures as well such as Gabe Newell who might not be in charge in as large a company as Riccitiello but is nonetheless equally if not more prominent.

Perhaps it was simply ignorance which tells me that this conference is not planning on addressing video games as much as the other representatives.

 

[SacremPyrobolum]

People do need to remember that even though you might hate EA, EA is a major player in our industry.
Let's be honest here, John Riccitiello isn't going to be all like 'You know what, I hate money, You can just take away our freedom and force us not to make games and market them how we want'.

However I did find it amusing how bored John Riccitiello looked throughout all this.

Okay I know nothing about Joe Biden, I dunno his policies or what he stands for other than he is a democrat. But...

John Riccitiello?!?! John FUCKING Riccitiello?! One of the most disgusting money grubbing lying pieces of shit currently in the industry... I mean... FUCK!

It might also simply be due to ignorance as to the figures of authority found in the gaming community. Inviting other, more well liked and known figures who are also industry leaders such as Gabe Newell would give more validity to the supposed changes the government might wish to enact as a result of the hearings.

 

[Jacco]

There is a silver bullet it's called Gun control/regulation, or it's at least 90% of the bullet. Seriously the US has one of the worlds worst gun regulation policy's and it wonders why it has one of the highest gun related crimes/murder rates?

Look at other first world countries stricter gun laws, and than look at their lower gun related crimes and murder rates. They have the same violent movies and games you do it's not rocket science to figure what the problem is. You don't want to regulate your guns better, don't expect gun related incidents to go down.

There's also this little thing called "culture." Perhaps you've heard of it.

The US is much, much larger than those other countries you speak of in terms of both land mass and population.
Partly because of that, we have different problems. Poverty rates, education rates, gang rates, all of it is a direct result of trying to manage a population equivalent to 40% of everyone in Europe combined. We also have different history than Europe and had to deal with things while developing that Europe did not. Regulation is is not "90% of the bullet." To simplify it to that extent is at best ignorant and at worse, offensive.