UK Urged to Tax Violent Games

[ExistentialCrisis]

...What videogame teaches you to use a KNIFE? In what Videogame is the knife anything but the shittiest weapon you get before you find a gun?

/thread, IMO


To be fair, now they'll have to tax violent movies, TV shows, and music.

...since, you know, violence comes from all kinds of things. Gotta blame the influences since things aren't like they use to be...you know, rather than just blaming the ones responsible.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Taxing games to reduce knife crime? Can we not just tax knives? Because that seems a lot more direct to me.
Or how about, you know, the parents actually check up on their underage children, maybe see if they're playing/listening/watching/reading stuff that they're too young to do. That'd be swell.

This ^

(Damn I hate people who just give a 'this')

Anyways, no we don't expect parents to watch their spawn 24/7, but if they're 12, coming home drunk, or they have a roomful of car stereos and satnavs, or a lot of money, then you really should be asking questions.

I know if my son got a Xbox 360 at the age of 13, and I hadn't bought it, I'd be asking some damn questions, not just happy that he'd be quiet for a bit.

'old man lecture time'

When I was about 15 or so, back in the 80s, we'd get drunk and mess about, sure, but we'd go to the park, get smashed on cheap cider, and then just mess about and act like idiots. I don't remember a single time where we annoyed other people or attacked anyone. I think back then you'd get drunk, but you'd stay the hell outta the way of police or the public in general, because you didn't want to get reported.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

my cats could run it better.

their platform: 1.kids should be kept under control by parents and far away from me
2. strangers (read: foreigners) should be watched closely and severely punished for any crime
3. food now. (read: more focus on production and safety of food supplies)
4. move the string, now. (read: develop tourism and seek answers to stress driven illnesses)
5. leave us alone (read: the people are smart enough to solve many of their own problems to not need the government to run their lives for them)
6. food now. (they stress this point)

Luckshot's cats for PM!

 

[Filtertip]

i knew we had to get this crap at some point

this guy must be so out of tuch that he feels games a rap music make knife killers? wtf, im no rap fan but if that makes killers then i was born on the moon.

teenagers feel the law can not control them because it dos'nt, our copers are sat behind desks or interviewing people they do smeg all. Round where i live at night there is 1 cop car with 2 officers in side protroling 2 towns and the road inbtween, and half the time theres only 1 coper in that car.

You want to try and stop knife crime try putting more copers on the street, make it harder to buy knifes i know there needed for cooking but there a proven deadly weapon and do more campaigns for knife crime one was ran using bebo as the forfrount and it got a lot of views, comments and people using the services it offerd but taxing games that have the player using guns and knifes (mostly for a quick if im out of ammo defend my self) will only piss people off and rise pirating.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Where the hell are you guys buying your games from? £40-50? £60!? I've never paid more than £35 from a game store and I consider them to be a rip off.

 

[Doug]

While it's not my place to question the workings of the Government, it does seem that having an emotionally charged parent as an advisor may not present a clear view of the problem.

To be honest, you don't know how our government works. Its a 'committee' - these things happen all the time, as they try and convince that, 'really, honestly, we do care and want to help you' before ignoring the outcome of them. In this case, ignoring Richard Talyor's bias, and ill-informed advise would be a good thing. Although he does have my sympathies for his awful loss.

You know, they could have used all the time and money spent on pointless endevours like this doing somthing like improving the NHS or education system.

What, nah, do something useful, like build another milleinium dome, or buy another 10 helicopters with no software to run them...wait...

Here's an idea,

Stop selling violent games which are rated 18 to kids. Appeal to the parents to stop their children playing games underage.

But here's a better one...

DON'T RIP ME OFF FOR MY GAMES BECAUSE SOME FUCKTARD KIDS KEEP STABBING EACH OTHER!

Wheew, I feel better now.

Agreed! Seriously, is it me or is the next generation over here overly voilent and particularly stupid?

How about trying to stop the chronic alocohol problems over here that is crippling the health of nearly everyone? For the USA people, let me explain - over here, every Saturday day, the fucktards of our nation all head uniformly to the nearest town or city centre and proceed to get blindly drunk, many of them drinking the recommended maximum weekly amount of alocohol in one night. Or more! The result is that, if you enjoy having 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 eyes, and all your fingers and toes, you need to keep out of city centres every Saturday night as you have a high chance of getting punched, hit, stabbed (knife or glass bottle) for no good reason at all. Also, we have an increasing rate of people dying of liver disease. In their 30's.

Where the hell are you guys buying your games from? £40-50? £60!? I've never paid more than £35 from a game store and I consider them to be a rip off.

Same - seems pretty steep to me. Although they might be talking about XBox/PS3 games

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Where the hell are you guys buying your games from? £40-50? £60!? I've never paid more than £35 from a game store and I consider them to be a rip off.

Same - seems pretty steep to me. Although they might be talking about XBox/PS3 games

Yeah, I just realised that.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

While it's not my place to question the workings of the Government, it does seem that having an emotionally charged parent as an advisor may not present a clear view of the problem.

To be honest, you don't know how our government works.

TBH, I've a fair idea. I'd not judge others quite so harshly, young padwan. I'd be inclined to say that the Government doesn't work, they just preach; but the civil service does, to it's own tune.

 

[Doug]

While it's not my place to question the workings of the Government, it does seem that having an emotionally charged parent as an advisor may not present a clear view of the problem.

To be honest, you don't know how our government works.

TBH, I've a fair idea. I'd not judge others quite so harshly, young padwan. I'd be inclined to say that the Government doesn't work, they just preach; but the civil service does, to it's own tune.

Appologies, didn't mean to seem so forward - TBH, I did mean to edit that before I posted, but got distracted in my rant . And yeah, pretty much - random policies they think we want to hear, whilst the civil service do what they do. Basically, "Yes, Minister" or "Yes, Prime Minister" (the TV programs) with different ministers in power now but the same civil servants and bull-poo.

EDIT:
Oh, got distracted again! What I meant in my first post was "Advisor == someone they'd actually listen too and act on" whereas this is a committee

 

[Skrapt]

What a clever idea, take one of the few industries that has any chance of growing in the UK and tax it into the ground...

 

[Osherai]

I think people should take more notice of whats going on in the world around them then they'll realise its the wrong thing to do to give life influence from a game.
Does anyone remember the kid in thailand killing a taxi driver and robbing his car because he wanted to know if it was as easy as it is in GTA?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_7540000/7540623.stm

Said games are ridiculously fictional, we don't live in a fictional world and these people who commit these crimes based on gaming are the the worlds biggest idiots, video games are a form of escapism, to escape reality, if your inviting game reality into your own your destroying both of them as we're noticing already.

This problem has been in circulation for centuries if you look at the evidence, you take anything that can influence people which is nearly EVERYTHING; Religion, Music, Television, Games, other peoples infamy and you just say "Oh (insert excuse here) made me do it."
I mean for god's sake the Son of Sam claimed that his neighbours DOG told him to kill people!

 

[Osherai]

Why don't they just ban knives? Much easier.

~Srry to post again without editing
But knives have already been banned in the UK, your not allowed to carry them in the street unless they're in a secure box, then the police can assume its a decoration piece you intend to take home.

 

[Spirultima]

well, while people are gaming, they can't knife people, when people are out on the streets they CAN knife people, explain that "you one eyed scottish moron" - jeromy clarkson

 

[fix-the-spade]

There is a problem in the logic that has just occured to me.

Taxation does not affect crime in any meaningful manner.

Taxing knives to stop teen knife crime won't do anything, they've most likely taken the knife/knives from the kitchen, or bought it for £8.50 from a scally store. Unless tax on knives is 5000% it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Also, the sort of people who would stab someone, might not be crippled by guilt from the idea of shoplifting a knife to do it with.

More scary than any amount of knives however, is the fact that people feel they can stab people, I know I just couldn't end someone's life like that, whereas it seems some of our society is fully sociopathic, not seeing other people, just cattle wandering around waiting to be farmed for their ipod and phone.

 

[Stabby Joe]

Erm... how many games and rap songs involve knives? Fewer than he thinks, its all about guns with both.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Knife crime in Britain is an entirely British phenomenon, American violent media normally has guns portrayed as the smart choice for violent acts, with beatdowns and blades reserved for humliations.

Besides, taxing games will only make more angry kids, which will increase theft, which will increase the amount of money spent by police trying to keep order.

 

[LisaB1138]

On the other hand, I have actually seen a woman in a Game branch refused a copy of a GTA game because she had a young child with her. Funnily enough, when being told that the game had some fairly adult content she basically said, "I thought it would be okay anyway, because it's a game". So maybe the shops that do so could stop selling these kinds of games to little kids and those parents that actually try and buy them for their kids look into things a bit more beforehand...

Am I the only parent who actually made their kid wait until he was seventeen to get GTA?!!!! I feel so alone.

This is just another example of politicians doing something just so they can say they "did something" at election time. The fact that the "something" won't do anything is immaterial.

And more tax revenue is always good, particularly when the ones being taxed aren't the voting type.

 

[Zer_]

On the other hand, I have actually seen a woman in a Game branch refused a copy of a GTA game because she had a young child with her. Funnily enough, when being told that the game had some fairly adult content she basically said, "I thought it would be okay anyway, because it's a game". So maybe the shops that do so could stop selling these kinds of games to little kids and those parents that actually try and buy them for their kids look into things a bit more beforehand...

Am I the only parent who actually made their kid wait until he was seventeen to get GTA?!!!! I feel so alone.

This is just another example of politicians doing something just so they can say they "did something" at election time. The fact that the "something" won't do anything is immaterial.

And more tax revenue is always good, particularly when the ones being taxed aren't the voting type.

Taxing a work of art is infringing on freedom of speech. Fuck off with this crap.

I personally wouldn't ban any mature games from my kid, but it all depends on your kid really. You have to remember that completely censoring your child from anything violent or sex related will end up harming them more then helping them. It's good to educate. That's a different matter, though.

 

[LisaB1138]

Taxing a work of art is infringing on freedom of speech. Fuck off with this crap.

I personally wouldn't ban any mature games from my kid, but it all depends on your kid really. You have to remember that completely censoring your child from anything violent or sex related will end up harming them more then helping them. It's good to educate. That's a different matter, though.

I think I misrepresent my point about taxes. Politicians love tax people who don't vote. Most gamers tend to be of the young demographic that don't pay much attention to politics or vote. Hence they're an easy tax target (as are tourists.)

I would never censor anything simply because of a rating. My children have plenty of games, including rated M ones (most of which I've played.) I do have issues with what I call "man on man violence" in a realistic setting though (like GTA.) So he had to wait for that one.