I Play Games, so I Kill People

By Ryan Krause –

Games make kids violent. No, actually that’s a myth.

I’ve played many violent games: Counter Strike, Team Fortress 2, Gears of War, Halo, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Dead Space and many more.

Heck, some games like Dead Space reward you for dismembering zombies with a plasma cutter. In fact, the whole point of the game is to basically be as violent as possible.

Ryan Krause. Image taken by Spencer Barnett and Laura Revelt.

But hey, you don’t see kids running around with plasma cutters chopping people’s limbs off.

These games are rated “M” for mature for a reason.

And yes, of course, there is violence in the world, but it’s not directly related to games.

Some kids have said that the game, Grand Theft Auto, taught them to be violent, but it’s not their fault that their parents let them play these 17+ rated games.

Game stores are supposed to ask for identification if the customer looks underage for a game.

That’s why there is the ESRB rating.

It’s not the game company’s fault that kids buy their games underage and that parents don’t monitor their 12-year-old who bought it.

Some people say that the kids aren’t at a good age for judgment, but isn’t that what parents are for?

Parents are supposed to be guiding their kids. While their kids might be playing Call of Duty, it is their parents’ duty to make sure no overly violent games are in possession of their children.

There was a news story on FOX claiming that games cause rape.

Dead Space 2 is full of graphic violence. Image owned by Electronic Arts.

On the FOX News website, Carole Leiberman said, “The increase in rapes can be attributed in large part to the playing out of (sexual) scenes in video games.”

How can one know what goes on in another individual’s brain?

Another quote – this one is by Dr. Jerry Weichman – on the FOX News website was, “If a younger kid experiences Bulletstorm’s explicit language and violence, the damage could be significant.”

The parents of such a child should not have let their kid play such a game or allow it in their presence.

They should have thought ahead of what their kids could have been up to.

Games like Call of Duty give you a rating for how well you kill people. Does that make kids go around and kill people and act out scores?

Nope.

According to USnews.com, “The average video game player is 35 years old and has been playing for 12 years.”

“According to FBI statistics, youth violence has declined in recent years as computer and video game popularity soared,” they also stated.

Kids have a better outlet with video games because, in short, they’re not real.

Every single head-shot, every stab, every punch and every curb-stomp is simulated.

And all of these actions are performed on virtual characters who have no feelings whatsoever. I promise.

The ESRB ratings. Image owned by ESRB.

For the advertising of the game, Dead Space 2, the creators emphasized on how violent the game is and how your parents would hate it.

It attracts teenagers who need a way to vent their frustration with everyday life, and have fun doing it.

Now, every console comes with parental controls that restricts what games can be played based upon the ratings.

Basically it all comes down to how well parents monitor their kids. It’s not the company’s fault their games are misused.

It’s like blaming Marlboro for giving you lung cancer or McDonalds for making you overweight.

You’re already given a heads up – caution labels, nutritional information. The final decision to lift the cigarette or Big Mac up to your mouth and ingest it is in your hands – literally. And if you can’t control yourself, well, parents are there for a reason.

Games have warnings of their own. They did their job. It’s time for the moms and dads out there to do theirs.

6 thoughts on “I Play Games, so I Kill People”

  1. I’m so confused. The title says one thing, then the text completely turns everything around.

  2. I completely agree with this article. I’m tired of companies being scapegoats for bad parenting.

  3. The thing is, people ~do~ blame Marlboro and McDonalds for cancer and obesity. By the way, Bulletstorm is bleeding awesome.

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