Hooray for parents not taking responsiibility. Someone should make a Sims mod, make it like a parental test for the adults. See who can grow and nuture a normal child through successful parenting and good values. I bet alot of people would fail.

Wait... so, Tony Hawk's isn't being vilified? Even though it involves graffitti for cash purposes? What about Jet Set Radio?

Tell you what, let's just stop playing games. We can't do right by the masses. Next they'll be saying FIFA and Pro Evo are damaging to the youth for some reason, followed by Mario, and so on...

perhaps because they keep people inside using controllers instead of actually playing sports. course they say that about all games... sports games are just the most ironic.
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As much as parental neglect being a factor in many cases, I don't particularly appreciate the quickie stamping of such labels as a fast excuse for gamers to use without considering other forms of influence towards people's behaviors. Media DO influence people's behavior (especially towards what is deemed "cool" - i.e. smoking, drinking, sex, etc.). And let's not forget how one's peers can be especially influential. Ever bullied or teased someone? Well, just because you think YOU can come out of it unscathed doesn't mean everyone can "take a joke." If you were ever relentlessly bullied someone (I'm sure you've seen news reports of how girls can behave towards other girls who aren't in the "circle") then don't be surprised if things can get nasty 'cause you just might deserve what you get (though hopefully nothing as fatal as school shootings). Ever wonder why school shootings seem so common now? Well, personally, I think it's how society "evolved" into, much like how a good neighborhood can turn bad. Society is just a larger version of a neighborhood. If you look at the factors that may have contributed to the rise of a bad neighborhood, well those might be the same things that can affect a nation or world. Think about that. With what we have now (tv, internet, chat site, phones, etc.) we're more connected than ever and we influence behaviors in a global scale (i.e. cyber bullying, flaming, etc.)

Something to think about.

So basically you're saying to outlaw all violent, pornographic, harmful, etc. content. So every movie, video game, tv show, etc. should be banned? How far do we go and what measures can we employ?

If video games influence people so much, and seeing movies or tv shows is much easier (no 300+ price tag), I think the focus is in the wrong place. Start with the most accessible content first and work from there.