Thursday, December 14, 2006

Jail Time for Acts Done in Video Games?

Gamers in Germany could face jail for violent acts done in games on human or human-like characters. Current drafts say the punishment could be up to 1 year in jail.

Why the sudden uproar? A fan of the game Counter Strike went back to his former school and shot and injured 37 people before killing himself.

Naturally, minister Günther Beckstein placed the blame for the violence upon the horrible effect of the games.

Jack Thompson, meet your German counterpart.

I am so tired, as many gamers are, of authority figures placing the blame of violence on something they don't understand: video games. I'm just hoping that as gamers get older, they'll find themselves in positions of power where they'll be able to defend what they know to be harmless.

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