August 30, 2007 -
The final report of Governor Tim Kaine's Virginia Tech Review Panel has been made public, and video games are NOT identified as a factor in the massacre.Quite the opposite, in fact. The only game cited as being played by Cho is Sonic the Hedgehog. An overall non-involvement with games is detailed by his college roommates.
In Chapter IV, Mental Health History of Seung Hui Cho, video games are mentioned several times, but not as any type of causal factor in the April 16th shootings:
Sun and her parents recall that Cho seemed to be doing better. He was enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do program for awhile, watched TV, and played video games like Sonic the Hedgehog.
None of the video games were war games or had violent themes. He liked basketball and had a collection of figurines and remote controlled cars. Years later when he was in high school, Cho was asked to write about his hobbies and interests. He wrote:
I like to listen to talk shows and alternative stations, and I like action movies…My favorite movie is X-Men, favorite actor is Nicolas Cage, favorite book is Night Over Water, favorite band is U2, favorite sport is basketball, favorite team is Portland Trailblazers, favorite food is pizza, and favorite color is green.
...Cho’s roommate never saw him play video games. He would get movies from the library and watch them on his laptop. The roommate never saw what they were, but they always seemed dark. Cho would listen to and download
heavy metal music...
...Cho went to bed early and got up early, so his roommate just left him alone and gave him his space. The only activities Cho engaged in were studying, sleeping, and downloading music. He never saw him play a video game, which he thought strange since he and most other students play them.
The report will be well-received by the gaming community, which over the past few months has endured supposed video game links to the shootings as espoused by Jack Thompson, Dr.Phil, and the Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee.
Comments
Re: Official VA Tech Report: Rampage Killer Not a Player of ...
Pretending evidence does or does not exist does not help your argument, Jack.
And the last sentence supports my point that should be made whenever such tragedies occur. The gamers are the ones getting shot, not the ones shooting.
By the way, although I'm relieved by this final report, I don't like how the term "war game" is being used.
Not a fucking chance.
Sigh.
It pretty much leaves the people who blamed video games with egg on their faces. Unless of course we now need to ban Sonic the Hedgehog... Or it might be the fact that the Virginia Tech Review Panel are in cahoots with Blank Rome, Rockstar, Take Two, the ESRB and the Florida Bar! Damn industry stooges!
"But the New York Times and the Washington Post both said he was an avid agamer. Clearly Gov Tim Kaine and this review panel are in cahoots with the game industry to hide this fact. Hooah!"
I will preemptively quote the Lyndon LaRouche Movement:
"Games are the source of all evil. They even corrupt high profile investigations. Games are a factor and they should not have released this report until they found Cho's hard drive."
These people will not change their stance with the release of this report. They will just accuse them of covering the facts up.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
Well, of course. The VATech Review Board is filled with a bunch of avid gamers. I personally know that instead of investigating this, they sat around, smoked some pot (gamers do drugs, remember?), and played GTA while fabricating this story.
Actually, the LaRouches will probably scream that it's a coverup by the US military. That Cho played CS and the government, at the behest of the video game industry, paid off or assissinated anyone who could "prove" that Counter Strike was to blame.
John Bruce might voice a similar opinion, though just barely more sane. He'll just blame the conspiracy on the video game industry and leave out the US government/military conspiracy.
Nightwng200
NW2K Software
JT vs Portland Trailblazers
JT vs Pizza Hut & Dominoes & Papa Johns
Please let me get what I want. Please let me get whaI want . . .
HA HA.
Don't forget:
JT vs All things Green
JT vs Marvel (That would be a cool game by the way ;) )
JT vs Cage
Etc. :)
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
As for Jack, I imagine he'll do one of three things. (He's that predictable)
1. He'll deny the report and accuse the writers of covering up the 'real' facts.
2. He'll continue to assert that games caused the VTech incident, report be damned.
3. He'll let it go quietly and redouble his efforts on some other incident.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
Does that mean model kit otaku are now branded as potential terrorist threats? Methinks the feds will start clamping down on all the Perfect Grade Gundam kits in circulation.
After all, it teaches us how to build a weapons of mass destruction...
He files a lawsuit against Sega for publishing Sonic The Hedgehog.
Oh we can only hope. It would be comedy gold.
He probably also wasn't interested in nascar, tea ceremonies, non-euclidean geometry, or 19th century French literature, but there's no point in mentioning any of that because it had nothing to do with the event.
"Clearly Gov Tim Kaine and this review board have been threatened by Dick Cheney and his army of video game trained soldiers to release this report that obviously covers up the fact that Cho was an avid gamer."
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
If he can make bullshit up, then so can I. :)
Nascar, tea ceremonies, non-euclidean geometry and 19th century French literature haven't been consistently blamed for violent acts over the course of the past decade.
Looking at your list, though, the only one that I could say for certain hadn't caused violence would be tea ceremonies. They're nice.
Nascar? Any other DC area GP readers take the beltway every day? Violence!
Non-euclidean geometry? Well, maybe that one's just me.
19th century French literature? I defy anyone to read Proust without getting violent. He's just so boring!
Most students play them?
And they're NOT psychotic killers?
Oh, I would totally play JT vs. Marvel!
Wolverine: "BERSERKER BARRAGE!"
JT: "FRRRRRIVOLOUS LAWSUIT ASSAULT!!! SUPER FABRICATED STATISTIC KICK!!!"
{Thirty seconds later}
JT: "DENIAL OF FACT SHIELD! MEDIA MISDIRECTION!" *tags in Leland Yee, goes off-screen to recovery from Humiliation Attack*
Would totally play that game.
It is nice to see JT shown to be an arse. Too bad no one in the mainstream will remember that he blamed Vtech on video games.
Counter-Strike & Va. Tech
A story that appeared on washingtonpost.com yesterday mentioned that the Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung Hui was a fan of the terrorist-vs.-counterterrorist game Counter-Strike.
Small world. Counter-Strike was co-designed by a Virginia Tech student, Jess Cliffe, who graduated in 2003. Cliffe now works as a designer for famous game developer Valve. I spoke to Cliffe once, back in 2001-- back when he was still surprised that anyone had downloaded his game. These days, Counter-Strike is the most popular online PC "shooter" game on the globe.
UPDATE: The Washington Post spoke with people who knew Cho during high school who said Cho played the video game "Counter-Strike" then, but it was unclear whether Cho played the game at Virginia Tech.
I play violent video games. Have been since I was 8 years old. I am an avid hunter. I have access to guns. I listen to heavy metal music...a lot. I was hazed and picked on in school. Never was popular.
I'm everything the "specialists" would say that makes a serial killer rolled into one, peaceful, passive person.
I've had a friend for the past 8 years, and he has never seen me angry. Not once.
So Jack, Dr. Phil, ect. Why am I not a ruthless killer? Why, in fact, am I more peaceful and passive then I probably should be?
I don't know if there is any truth to what JT claims, but he also claimed to have knowledge of hidden blood, nudity, and killing in Bully (with help from a "hardcore gamer"). He has since never come forward with any evidience of this hidden content. My theory is he was duped by a gamer.
Right, there is that link, but the key there is 'violent people.'
People that are already violent may have those feelings exacerbated by the playing of video games. However, given that these people hardly make up a majority of the population, and that they are already violent to begin with, it's illogical to think that video games are the largest causal factor in their tendencies.
Like I've always said, if a person is already out of touch with reality, or unable to distinguish between virtual and real, then yes, video games will only blur the line further. But that's their fault, not the games'.
My weekends are always amusing.
Specifically I wonder if the sense of community and the 'people like him' he might of been able to find in an MMORPG or other online community might have given him enough of an outlet to just be another sad victim of MMORPG-addiction or depression rather than such an explosive rage.
Chances are probably not but the thought is interesting (and I'm not a psychologist or anything).
Now someone HAS to make a lash game of that, or at least some kind of fighter game with JT in it.
It sounds like so much fun.
And risk a frivolous lawsuit from JT himself?!? Oh yeah!
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
OK Game Devs
Random Tower
So its Sonic the Hedgehog which is brainwashing the youth of America!
Its time to stop the evil blue menace once and for all! Come on People! We have children to protect!