German "Killer Game" Culling Fails to Set the World on Fire

[IckleMissMayhem]

Once again, Games don't kill people, Stupid people kill people.

True.

Looking at the group's site, one of their main aims is to get parents to take an active interest in what their kids do, and, you know, actually parenting. I'm 99% expecting to get flamed for saying this, but I know I've been shocked by seeing parents buying games like Condemned, GTA and Saints Row for kids as young as 8-10 years old. There's a ratings system for a reason. Some games just aren't appropriate for some age ranges, yet when I pointed this out to one parent in a shop, who was marching towards the counter with a bratty 10 year old and a copy of GTAIV, they didn't seem to have a clue, or care that much. Go figure.

I'd say that poor parenting is a more likely cause of school shootings like Winnenden and Columbine, rather than violent games or films, for that matter. In fact - this excerpt from the wiki article on the Winnenden massacre:

Kretschmer did not have a criminal record. The press reported that in 2008, Kretschmer had received treatment as an in-patient at the Weissenhoff Psychiatric Clinic near the town of Heilbronn and that after being discharged, Kretschmer was supposed to continue his treatment as an out-patient in Winnenden, but ended his treatment. According to police and clinic staff, he had been treated repeatedly for clinical depression on an out-patient basis in 2008. His family rejected these claims and maintained that he never received psychiatric treatment. According to a psychiatric report prepared for the prosecutor's office, Kretschmer met five times with a therapist and talked about his growing anger and violent urges; the therapist then informed Kretschmer's parents.

 

[Tonimata]

I wonder if somebody thought of looting the games that were tossed in there.

Why do you think there's so few?
Because I can call someone slut in their face and they fail to notice
(Proving I'm ninja, 'tis all)

 

[Captain Pancake]

I'm pretty sure I saw a copy of halo 3 in there.

Games don't kill people..... GUNS DO!

Just kidding.

Guns don't kill people either.

BULLETS DO....

wait, thats not either

THE SPEED OF THE BULLETS DO!!!!

i think...

To wit, It's truly the exchange of energy and the unblanced force acting upon the target that kills them.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

Well, shows how willing people are to give up games. Probably because they're FUN. Do people not realise that?

Perhaps even fun enough to distract you from your violent urge to go on a killing spree?

OMG PARADOX!!!!!!

 

[Numb1lp]

Violent games don't kill people, violent people kill people. Just like guns; Guns don't kill people, bullets do: Guns just get the bullets going really fast.

 

[orangebandguy]

That is where the term:"Epic Fail" truely applies. Blaming video games for everything is pointless, try blaming dysfunctional families instead for change. They make psychopaths who shoot people into what they are.

 

[Amnestic]

Looking at the group's site, one of their main aims is to get parents to take an active interest in what their kids do, and, you know, actually parenting. I'm 99% expecting to get flamed for saying this, but I know I've been shocked by seeing parents buying games like Condemned, GTA and Saints Row for kids as young as 8-10 years old. There's a ratings system for a reason. Some games just aren't appropriate for some age ranges, yet when I pointed this out to one parent in a shop, who was marching towards the counter with a bratty 10 year old and a copy of GTAIV, they didn't seem to have a clue, or care that much. Go figure.

Hold up a second. Every child is different. While some parents may be purchasing games for their underage child because they "haven't got a clue" it is just as likely that the parent does understand what is what and recognises that their child is emotionally capable of handling the themes depicted in the game they want. I've played 18s as a wee child, what few of them were out there that appealed to me. Grand Theft Auto, for example was one of my favourite games and we bought GTA: London and GTA2 way back when. My parents watched me play, they saw what was going on and they didn't stop me because they saw that I wasn't unhinged with reality and I can tell the difference.

Point is, when a parent is buying a game for their kid and it's got a high rating: Don't instantly dismiss them as a terrible parent who doesn't care what their kids are doing, but rather because they know their child to such an extent that they can make an informed decision of what is and is not suitable for the child to play. In the particular case you brought up, yes, it seems the parent didn't have a clue. You shouldn't hold that as truth for every case however.

Edit: But I'm 19 now, so it doesn't bloody matter to me \o/

 

[Doug]

What if you held a "killer game" destruction rally and nobody came?

Well, at least it shows most Germans aren't stupid. And I sort of feel sorry for the organisers, in a bizzare way. Its not like it was low attentance, it was virtually zero attendance. I think this might prompt them to get the pyschological aid the seem to need.

 

[Doug]

Games don't kill people..... GUNS DO!

Just kidding.

Guns don't kill people either.

BULLETS DO....

wait, thats not either

THE SPEED OF THE BULLETS DO!!!!

i think...

The kinetic energy and mass of bullets kill people! And probably there softer metal designs increase that killing power.

 

[Doug]

Well, shows how willing people are to give up games. Probably because they're FUN. Do people not realise that?

Perhaps even fun enough to distract you from your violent urge to go on a killing spree?

OMG PARADOX!!!!!!

Yes, damnit. Without games, I'll go the shining route! "Heeeeereeee's JOHNY!"

 

[Obrien Xp]

The only games in there were probably ripped from some 12-year-olds room by an angry mother.

 

[Kaymish]

i think the whole rally was to get gamers or parents of young gamers to toss out these wonderful games that in 9 out of 10 cases prevent all kinds of violence occurring and have a massive positive on the development of the minds of children teenagers and adults and a marked decrease of any crime when compared to others of similar age groups who do not play violent games as shown by a recent study conducted the Aperture Science Foundation

but gamers know about games (it would be pretty silly of us if we didn't) and therefore didnt buy into the politicians bullcrap

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

Looking at the group's site, one of their main aims is to get parents to take an active interest in what their kids do, and, you know, actually parenting. I'm 99% expecting to get flamed for saying this, but I know I've been shocked by seeing parents buying games like Condemned, GTA and Saints Row for kids as young as 8-10 years old. There's a ratings system for a reason. Some games just aren't appropriate for some age ranges, yet when I pointed this out to one parent in a shop, who was marching towards the counter with a bratty 10 year old and a copy of GTAIV, they didn't seem to have a clue, or care that much. Go figure.

Hold up a second. Every child is different. While some parents may be purchasing games for their underage child because they "haven't got a clue" it is just as likely that the parent does understand what is what and recognises that their child is emotionally capable of handling the themes depicted in the game they want. I've played 18s as a wee child, what few of them were out there that appealed to me. Grand Theft Auto, for example was one of my favourite games and we bought GTA: London and GTA2 way back when. My parents watched me play, they saw what was going on and they didn't stop me because they saw that I wasn't unhinged with reality and I can tell the difference.

Point is, when a parent is buying a game for their kid and it's got a high rating: Don't instantly dismiss them as a terrible parent who doesn't care what their kids are doing, but rather because they know their child to such an extent that they can make an informed decision of what is and is not suitable for the child to play. In the particular case you brought up, yes, it seems the parent didn't have a clue. You shouldn't hold that as truth for every case however.

I don't have a problem with parents who know what their kids are exposed to, it only makes me angry in cases like the one I mentioned where the 'responsible adult' didn't have a clue, and had caved to their kid's whining/demands.
I wonder if the parent would have let that same child watch Pulp Fiction, given that it's a film sharing many of the same themes, and the same classification rating as GTA IV.
Maybe I'm just too old-fashioned, or was brought up differently to you (as an example, my parents, and many of the parents of my friends at primary school wouldn't allow their kids to see Jurassic Park when it first came out in '93... we were 8-9 at the time) - maybe that's why I do have strong feelings on the subject, and believe that young children should be shielded from certain things, like violence, drugs etc, until their old enough to cope with the truth about the subjects.

Aaaaaanyhow, to drag this wall of text back on-topic, raising publicity about the content of certain videogames isn't a bad thing, if it makes parents think about what they should be letting young children play.

But blaming the content of games for violent acts in real life isn't sensible. After all, people were murdering each other a loooooooong time before games were invented.

 

[Deleted]

This feels familiar... Germans burning what they hate, its on the tip of my tongue... man if I can just remember... Eh whatever.

On another note, imagine your parents stole all your games and chucked them. Haha I don't know what I'd do I have at least 500 dollars worth of games.

 

[Monkeytacoz]

hey guys we have a great idea, make people waste money by tossing games in a bin totally good idea right? RIGHT? AM I RIGHT HUH? HUH? SRSLY COME ON THIS IS BRILLIANT YOU GUYS.

 

[The Cake Is Annoying]

So the plan was for people who didn't shoot anyone but did play games to turn up and throw games in a bin to make sure they don't shoot someone.

That does not strike me as a good plan.

 

[johnman]

I wonder if somebody thought of looting the games that were tossed in there.

It'd be like fishing, except with an actual reward!

Then you find you hooked Wii Sports Restort

 

[Pillypill]

Just goes to show that hardly any one blames games for that shooting, and the few people who do are obviously a bit dumb, as they were willing to dump 50 odd euroes worth of game (per game) into a bin.

 

[Green Ninja]

Man, I can't tell you guys how..well...relieved I am, that this went downhill. German gamers have to take a lot of crap for their hobby but this was the high point so far. Or low point.

There is more to this story btw.: a day after it was announced, the leader of the group talked to the press, appearantly being "surprised" about the negativ reaction. He got a lot of angly letters and commented that "dogs bark" and "the gamer's intelect is not very high". But it gets better.
After the emberrasing failure that was this event, they claimed it to be a success, because they got talk to the gamers and that they "should work together". I can tell you this, gamers in Germany TRIED to talk to them before this "Spiele-Verbrennung", but they wouldn't listen and were "not interested in discussion about the topic". This went so far, that parents actually leaving the organization because their leader, Hardy Schrober, is going to far.

And some more info on the games in the bin: the two PS2 games were used several times by several news station, everyone filming the young boy wearing a sweater of the Aktionsbündnis Winnenden throwing them in.
The Gameboy game was meant as a joke by a guy in his mid 20s and the "Open Arena" game was actually a donation by the Pirate party, so that the AAW could take a real look at these games.
German press still holds onto the false fact of "mostly minors" and games "like Counter-Strike".

And it gets even better! Germany now has, thanks to the people of the AAW, an official definition of the word "killergames". They are: "games produced by the US-Military to reduce the inhibition of violence".

It may not have quite reached the media or the politicians, but the failed game-burning certainly can be seen as a victory for German gamers.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Do they not realise pressing a button is very different to pulling a trigger?

Really? Are you sure?

Spoiler

The shocking truth..dun dun duuuun!

Turns out the Wii has been systematically turning the young 'uns into killers. Who knew?