According to the BBC, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher (left) has suggested that violent video games may play a role in Britain's wave of knife crimes.

Speaking at awards ceremony in London, Gallagher said:

[It's a] pity scumbags are taking over our streets. In my day, status was trying to be somebody, do you know what I mean, not trying to kill somebody?

 

I was up in Liverpool for a week a couple of weeks ago and even on the news there [knife crime is] every single night. I don't even know what [Conservative Leader David] Cameron or [Prime Minister] Gordon Brown are going to do about it...

 

People say it's through violent video games and I guess that's got something to do with it. If kids are sitting up all night smoking super skunk [cannabis] and they come so desensitised to crime because they're playing these video games, it's really, really scary.

When violent video game controveries flare, it's often said that critics are unintentionally increasing traffic to the game in question.

Such appears to be the case with The Torture Game 2.

The amateur, online game has been attracting no small amout of attention lately, including a parental alert from watchdog group the Parents Television Council.

The free game is available at online gaming portals Newgrounds and Kongregate.

But a message posted by Newgrounds guru Tom Fulp documents that the controversy is actually bringing many new players to the game:

The latest controversy has been surrounding The Torture Game 2, a fun little ragdoll physics engine that lets you do all sorts of horrible things to a lifeless dummy. Sensible Erection put together a gallery of all the fancy artwork you can create with TG2... at which point Derek Yu made a post about it on TIGSource and a whole debate erupted.

 

MSNBC picked up on the TIGSource debate and posted their own article about the game, but the real fun came when FOX News weighed in with a Fair & Balanced video, expressing their disgust while showing real-time footage of the person being tortured. Hey! At least we slapped a MATURE rating on the game and made you click a link to view it... Fox just dumped it into every living room in America!

 

As a result of their efforts, many more people are now enjoying The Torture Game 2.

 The Fox News video mentioned by Fulp appears at left.

Dr. David Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, is the subject of an  interview in the July issue of Game Informer.

The politically-connected Walsh, whose organization delivers its Annual Video Game Report Card each holiday season, is described by the magazine as "one of gaming's most thoughtful and reasoned critics." He dishes on a number of topics, including:

• ESRB ratings (watchdog-ish, cautiously supportive)
• his criticism of the Grand Theft Childhood book (disagrees with its premise)
• his thoughts on video game legislation (opposes censorship)
• Jack Thompson (publicly distanced himself from Thompson)

Regarding legislation, Walsh told GI:

I'm not in favor of censorship. Once we delegate to the government what we can and can't say and freedom of expression - and video games are a form of expression - that's a very slippery slope. I think government can have a role. I think the role they've been playing is the "bully pulpit" to raise awareness.

As to Thompson, Walsh said:

Extreme positions create a lot of heat but very little light. Television and talk radio love extreme positions. So there are folks out there who do not hesitate to take positions that they can't defend. You get the these food fights going on that talk radio loves, but don't really advance our knowledge and understanding whatsoever. It got to the point where I had to publlcily distance myself from Jack Thompson. 

Distance himself, indeed.

The high-profile split with Thompson came in October, 2005. The story was broken by GamePolitics, and set Internet tongues wagging for days. Read Walsh's letter breaking ties with Thompson here.

Last week GamePolitics reported on the controversy surrounding The Torture Game 2, an amateur online offering in which players inflict injury upon a defenseless human-like figure.

One News Now reports that media watchdog group the Parents Television Council has issued an alert to parents about the game. The site quotes PTC exec Gavin McKiernan:

The Internet can be a great resource for kids...  [But] parents need to be aware that there's [sic] so many negative things they can be doing – from chat rooms, where they expose themselves to sexual predators, to violent and depraved games and so-called entertainment like this.

 

 ...any kid who's sitting around playing the Torture Game or whose parents are allowing him to play Grand Theft Auto at home, is opening themselves up to a lot of potential negative repercussions that they may not realize for years.

While Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson's recent book Grand Theft Childhood has given cheer to video gamers (and the video game industry), a longtime media violence researcher strongly disagrees with the authors' conclusion that violent games aren't all that bad for younger players.

In an op-ed for the Detroit Free Press, University of Michigan professor Brad Bushman writes:

Kutner and Olson’s advice to parents is particulary puzzling since their own data suggest that such games are linked to aggressive behavior... Although laboratory experiments can be used to establish cause-effect relationships, they quickly dismiss most lab studies as artificial and invalid.

 

I strongly disagree. Consider a laboratory experiment I recently conducted... Boys about 14 years old were randomly assigned to play a violent or nonviolent video game for 20 minutes... Next, they completed a noise blast task, with the winner blasting the loser with a noise...

 

The boys were told that inflicting higher noise levels could cause “permanent hearing damage” to their partners... These boys were even willing to give another boy noise levels loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage...

 

Violent video games are not the only risk factor for aggression, or even the most important factor, but they are definitely not a trivial factor...

Bushman was among the authors of the American Psychological Association's 2005 resolution which held that there is an increase in aggression following violent video game play. Bushman also participated in a 2007 study which found correlation between violent Biblical passages and aggression. He is also one of controversial Miami attorney Jack Thompson's expert witnesses in an Alabama lawsuit alleging that an 18-year-old's murder of two police officers and a dispatcher was motivated by playing Grand Theft Auto.

Last week, GamePolitics was the first game-oriented site to report on a New Haven Advocate story detailing Connecticut State Senator Gayle Slossberg's controversial remarks about Grand Theft Auto IV.

The newspaper reported that Sen. Slossberg, a Democrat, was concerned about a possible rape scene in the game and was considering introducing game-oriented legislation in the upcoming session.

The following day, however, Slossberg issued a statement to the effect that her comments were "misrepresented" by the Advocate. 

Despite the Senator's protestations, the paper is standing by its story. Following an inquiry by GamePolitics, we received the Advocate's statement a short time ago:

The Advocate defends its reporting on this story. Sen. Slossberg was clearly speaking about stricter video game labeling in her capacity as a lawmaker, rather than as a mother or a private citizen. Also, our story said nothing about the senator wanting to restrict video game content, only video game labeling.

 

While we are sympathetic to the senator's concerns, there is no privacy protection for public speech. It is misguided to assume a conversation between an influential state senator and a reporter, or reporters, occurring in a public place, is off-the-record. The Advocate is happy to talk on background, if it's requested. In this case, it was not.

On Wedneday GamePolitics reported on comments attributed to Connecticut State Senator Gayle Slossberg (D) regarding an alleged rape scene in Grand Theft Auto IV.

No such sequence exists, however.

PSXextreme now has Sen. Slossberg's response to the furor created by the earlier report, which appeared in the New Haven Advocate. Slossberg's statement reads:

The article in the New Haven Advocate misrepresented my off-the-record-comments during an informal conversation about parenting. I was in no way announcing a legislative proposal, announcing intent to introduce legislation or taking a public position on restricting the content of video games.

GP: It's unclear what Sen. Slossberg means when she says that the Advocate "misrepresented" her remarks. Her insistence that her comments were "off-the-record" would seem to indicate that she may have indeed made the remarks, but did not anticipate that they would be reported. We can't help but notice that the Senator has not issued a denial of what the Advocate reported.

GamePolitics has requested comment on the issue from the Advocate. We will report that when it is received.

The Lyndon LaRouche organization has thoughtfully collected all of its wacky attacks on video games on a single page.

The chronology dates back to 1996 and contains some real classics. Here is a sampling:

May14, 1999: EIR publishes an article by Anton Chaitkin and Jeffrey Steinberg, “Unnatural Born Killers: Video Brain-washing and Littleton,” accompanied by an interview with Colonel Grossman, “Video Games Teach Children To Kill.”

July 2, 1999: EIR cover story leads with Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., “Star Wars and Littleton,” in which he emphasizes that “this murderous rampage will persist . . . whether or not the producers and distributors of cult-films and Nintendo-style video games intend that specific effect.”

Feb. 20, 2000: Helga Zepp-LaRouche gives a speech on “The Mark of the Beast: American’s Children Are in Mortal Danger...” She reviews the influence of Pokemon and Anime videos, as well as violent movies, on young minds, pre-teen as well as teen.

April 8, 2000: At a town meeting in New York City, Lyndon LaRouche urges the formation of a National Commission Against the “NewViolence.” (GP: LaRouche was running for president at the time)

Oct. 2, 2006: An adult gunman kills five girls and himself at an Amish school in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

April 16, 2007: Mass killing at Virginia Tech. Cho Seung-Hui, a student and violent-video-game afficionado, kills 32 people, before taking his own life.

As GamePolitics has reported, LaRouche representatives repeatedly testified before the Virginia Tech review panel in an attempt to push the video game theory (see: VA Tech Panel Witness: Violent Games Should Be Banned Like Heroin).

As far as the 2006 Lancaster schoolhouse massacre, this is the first time that a video game linkage has even been suggested, as far as we know.

Connecticut State Senator Gayle Slossberg (D) is eager to do something about the rape scene in Grand Theft Auto IV, she told the New Haven Advocate.

But she faces a major hurdle: There is no rape scene in the controversial game.

From the newspaper story:

[Sen. Slossberg] wants confirmation of the rumored rape scene in Grand Theft Auto IV—but she can't reach that level of the game. The Milford state senator's never played GTA, but she fears it's corrupting the youth and thinks a law requiring better warning labels might be the fix. She told the Nose as much at a Capitol press conference last week...

 

Slossberg hints she'll... introduce legislation next session calling for clearer labeling of depraved video games like Grand Theft Auto...  Slossberg's a bit unsure of how the warning labels might read: "I mean what would it say? 'This game will make you a sociopath'?"

Moments ago the New York State Senate voted 61-1 to approve a bill proposed by Sen. Andrew Lanza, a Republican from Staten Island.

Sen. Lanza is seen arguing for passage in the photo at left. Sen. Thomas Duane (D) of New York City cast the lone dissenting vote.

The video game bill mirrors that passed yesterday by the State Assembly, a Lanza staffer told GamePolitics that the measure will now go to Gov. David Paterson for consideration. If Paterson signs the bill, it will become law in 2010.

Prior to that, however, the video game industry is likely to sue, arguing that the measure is unconstitutional.

UPDATE: We've got an mp3 of Sen. Lanza's final three minutes of argument in favor of the bill. Here's an excerpt:

If you look closely at this bill, [concerns expressed by Sen. Duane] are not valid. Let's start with speech. There's all kinds of speech. If we take an old-fashioned pinball machine and plunked it down here in the middle of the chamber, no one would call it speech. But when we put that up on a video screen, it does become speech and I acknowledge that. And it deserves protection under the Constitution... There is some confusion with respect to what this bill actually accomplishes... The word prohibition was talked about. I want to be clear. This bill does not prohibit the sale of any video to anyone...

 

This simply says that every video game sold in the state of New York simply should have a rating consistent with what the ESRB does presently in a voluntary way... it does work. But the problem with "voluntary" is that tomorrow someone can change their mind. Someone could decide tomorrow to no longer place ratings on these games. So this is not about prohibiting the sale, this is simply about providing information to parents...

 

Last year's version... that included a provision that would have made it an E-felony to sell these games, we all thought it was wrong. And we took that out. We worked with the [video game] industry. We worked with the Assembly and we do have an agreement here on a piece of legislation that I think will go a long way in allowing parents to make good decisions in regard to what is and what isn't appropriate for their chidlren...

The New York State Assembly unanimously passed a video game bill yesterday. A similar measure is now under consideration in the State Senate.

A11717 was proposed by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (left), a Brooklyn Democrat. If signed into law it would require new console systems to be equipped with parental controls, would create a 16-member governmental advisory council and would mandate that ESRB ratings be displayed on game packaging.

The proposed advisory council would examine the potential impact of violent media, make recommendations regarding the ESRB rating system, and establish "a parent-teacher violence awareness program to identify and appropriately assist students who  may  have  a  propensity toward violence."

The Senate version is sponsored by Republican Andrew Lanza. Given that the New York legislative calendar wraps up at the close of business today, it's likely that the Senate will pass the bill. If not, it may be revived in a special session.

Should the Senate bill join the Assembly version in passage, the measure will then proceed to New York Gov. David Paterson (D). If the Guv signs the bill into law, it is scheduled to go into effect on September 1, 2010. Of course, if the Governor signs the bill, there is little doubt that the video game industry will file a federal lawsuit to block the law from taking effect on constitutional grounds.

GamePolitics readers may recall that New York seemed destined to adopt a video game law in 2007 but the measure was ultimately derailed by bitter political infighting between then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Senate Republicans.

The ESA, which represents the interests of US video game publishers, has urged New York-based members of its Video Game Voters Network to contact their elected officials in opposition to the bill.

MCV reports that London Mayor Boris Johnson has mentioned violent video games in relation to a wave of knife crime plaguing Great Britain.

Former Parliamentarian Johnson, never a friend to video games, has previously linked games to illiteracy. In his latest rant, Johnson writes:

We must show young people that knives are not cool, and for that we need positive role models. I want to counteract the damaging influences drug-addled celebrities and violent video games and the lure of the life in the gang by providing opportunities.
 

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has become the latest group to call out Grand Theft Auto IV over the game's edgy content.

As reported by The Telegraph, the NSPCC charges that the game trivializes pedophilia via an in-game spoof of an underage site.

While playing GTA IV, players can enter Internet cafes and access parody websites. One of these, www.littlelacysurprisepageant.com triggers a message from the Liberty City Police Department and automatically elevates theplayer's "wanted level" to five stars. The high wanted level triggers a massive police search for the player's character (see video). In real life the URL forwards to Rockstar Game's official GTA IV site.

The NSPCC's Zoe Hilton told The Telegraph:

It is disturbing that it is meant to be funny and that it is glamorising something that is actually really shocking and upsetting. I just think it is in very poor taste and they should withdraw it.

GP: While we commend the many good works of the NSPCC, this seems like a non-issue. The spoof website is part of GTA IV's parody of the online environment, which also includes such faux elements search engines, scams and dating services. Moreover, there's no underage content to be accessed and the high-level police alert triggered by visiting the site makes it an annoyance more than anything else.

While a small Oklahoma town reels from the senseless murder of two young girls, a columnist for the Wichita Falls Times Record News, has alluded to a video game connection.

While Deanna Watson never explicitly blames violent games, today's column is laden with suggestions that the killer or killers were gamers:

To some horrible creature... Taylor Paschal-Placker and Skyla Whitaker were nothing more than target practice. The two young girls... were gunned down as if they were images in a video game...

 

The gunman, or gunmen, never even needed to get out of the vehicle... They never even needed to come to a complete stop.

 

You get extra points for that, right?

 

...I wonder just how this despicable person -- or persons -- received such training. Could it have been with a video game controller? Granted, not every gamer who plays “Grand Theft Auto” goes on to commit murder...

 

Perfectly sane and humane individuals can entertain themselves with... games where one can take on the role of an antagonist and assassin, rise through the ranks through bank robberies and pimping. Voyaging through the criminal underworld could be quite fun to someone who would never, not in a million years, commit such a crime.

 

It’s a game.

 

Could driving up on Taylor and Skyla been the next level of an absurd game?

 

In less than 30 minutes — Game Over.

 

...What we can suspect, though, is the indifference it takes to end these girls’ lives. Indifference that could be the result of hitting the “Quit” button one too many times.

Meanwhile, CBS News reports that police are pursuing several lines of inquiry in the slaying:

Several motives have been explored, including a random thrill killing, attempted abduction, a case of mistaken identity and the possibility that the girls happened upon a crime in progress... it is suspected that a local person was involved because the killings occurred in such an isolated area.

 

CBS has also reported that police are seeking a man of roughly 35 years as a "person of interest" in the case.

As GamePolitics has previously reported, Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) is co-sponsor of HR 5990, the Video Games Rating Enforcement Act.

The measure, currently before Congress, would require game retailers to check the ID of M-rated game buyers.

In today's Salt Lake Tribune, a letter written by an apparent constituent refers to the Congressman as "Silent Jim" and mocks the introduction of the video game bill:

My biggest disappointment in this campaign cycle has been the silence of Jim Matheson. His silence is curious and maddening, especially given the bold results of how his district voted for Barack Obama in the primary. Even if he had supported Hillary, at least it's a stand. 

 

How is Matheson going to have any respect in the Democratic caucus if he continues to act in this way? Oh, I know - maybe he should sponsor a frivolous and unconstitutional video game bill like H.R.5990. That should do it... 
   
 

Reports in The Times and Guardian newspapers suggest that longtime video game violence critic Keith Vaz (left)was offered a knighthood by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in return for securing the votes of two Muslim MP's for an anti-terrorism measure.

Video game site MCV reports:

Vaz, MP for Leicester East , has ‘strongly denied’ the rumour. Mr. Brown’s proposals to extend the maximum time that police can hold terrorist suspects from 28 to 42 days were approved by MPs by a margin of 315 votes to 306.
 

The Fairfax County Times reports that Beer Pong, a soon-to-be-released Wii Ware title, is sparking protests by local advocacy groups.

The game's T (13+) rating has been called into question by Lisa Lombardozzi, chairman of the Greater Herndon Community Coalition. Lombardozzi, who has circulated a petition demanding a re-rating by the ESRB, told the Times:

The game encourages younger kids to emulate the patterns of college-age kids.

Gen. Arthur T. Dean, who heads the Washington, D.C.-based Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, was also critical of Beer Pong. Of the game, Dean said:

Beer pong is an activity that normalizes and encourages heavy binge drinking, shows blatant disregard for the dangers of alcohol poisoning, and can cost lives and result in injury.

 

Furthermore, promoting the video game Beer Pong in the Frat Party Games series under a Teen rating ignores the fact that many youth involved in fraternities on college campuses are not of legal drinking age and that youth as young as 13 can purchase the game under this rating.

The Northern Virginia Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving are also said to be looking into the sitiuation. Readers may recall that MADD came out strongly against the simulated drunk driving in Grand Theft Auto IV.

(GP: although, in my mind the performance hit Nico Bellic takes when drunk is a strong motivator NOT to drink & drive).

JV Games spokesman Vince Valenti responded to the criticism:

I think it's kind of funny. The game promotes the sport of beer pong. We are not advocating drinking any more than watching cartoons or watching the TV show 'Cheers,' or even going bowling or to a baseball game... if anything, you're going to be drinking less. Because you are too busy playing the game, trying to beat your opponent, to be constantly picking up a beer and drinking it.

The Associated Press reports that North Carolina State Senator Julia Boseman, who has twice introduced bills to regulate video game sales, smoked pot as an elected official and is in default on the mortgage for a vacation home.

The revelations surfaced in the fallout of a split between Boseman, a Democrat, and her partner.

From the AP story:

During a child custody hearing in December, Boseman testified she had problems with drugs at the tail end of her relationship with her then-domestic partner. Details of her financial troubles... surfaced last week during a different court hearing, when it was disclosed the couple had failed since last August to make the $7,156 monthly payments on their $1.3 million home... The home is scheduled to be auctioned June 25...

 

According to a transcript of the December hearing, Boseman said: "In probably September of 2003, is when Melissa walked in, and I was smoking marijuana. At that point, I went to counseling to try to get help with that and other problems."

 

Boseman was a New Hanover County commissioner in 2003.

As GamePolitics reported, Boseman proposed video game legislation in 2005 and 2007. Neither bill succeeded, although the 2005 measure was passed overwhelmingly by Boseman's State Senate colleagues. The bill eventually died in North Carolina's House of Representatives.

Boseman, up for re-election in November, told the AP:

After deep personal reflection and professional help, those things are behind me, and I've rededicated myself to my family and my work... I have little doubt that my political opponents will once again try to make my private life a public issue... I guess we'll see in November.

UPDATE: The Wilmington Star-News has more on Sen. Boseman's issues.

Watchdog group the Parents Television Council has issued an "action alert" urging parents to rally behind HR5990, the proposed Video Games Rating Enforcement Act.

The bill, introduced in Congress last month by Reps. Lee Terry (R-NE) and Jim Matheson (D-UT), would require game retailers to check IDs of mature-rated game buyers and would also mandate that information detailing the ESRB rating system be posted in view of customers.

From the PTC alert:

The proposed legislation codifies the video game industry’s own voluntary policies and will ensure better enforcement by requiring all retailers to check IDs from any child trying to buy or rent Mature (M)-rated or Adult-Only (AO) rated games. It does not limit adults’ access to any games they want to buy for themselves or for their children – it merely helps ensure that children can only access age appropriate video games if they are accompanied by an adult.

However, the Entertainment Consumers Association, representing video game consumers, has issued its own alert in opposition to HR5990:

The Video Games Rating Enforcement Act, is another Congressional attempt to unconstitutionally regulate the sale of video games.  If it’s passed, the federal courts will find it unconstitutional – and at great expense to taxpayers. 

 

By raising our voices now, we can let Congress know that we, as taxpayers and constituents, would rather they use their time and our money to discuss more pressing issues such as the war in Iraq, universal healthcare and the national economy.

Full Disclosure Dept: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics…

The game seems more like a fantasy and not real events...

Saying those words, a Swiss judge declined a politician's request to ban John Woo's Stranglehold.

As reported by SwissInfo.ch, it was the first time that a court in Switzerland had ruled on the sale of violent video games.

As GamePolitics reported in April, Roland Näf, a politician affiliated with the Social Democratic Party, targeted retailer MediaMarkt for selling the game. From SwissInfo's coverage:

Näf claimed that violent games such as Stranglehold violated Article 135 of Switzerland's criminal code. The court rejected that argument... MediaMarkt had limited the sale of the game to customers over the age of 18, although access to the game was widespread among 14 year olds, according to a report in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper.

However, a statement from the Social Democrats indicates that they may be planning to pursue tougher legislation:

Now we know that the federal government must act [to address violent games].

Allan Guggenbühl, a child psychologist at Zurich University, told SwissInfo that the political concerns were exaggerated:

The vast majority of children can actually distinguish between virtual reality and their own lives. For them, it doesn't really have any negative influences. We don't allow children to be fascinated by violence. But the fascination with violence is something which is paramount in our society... [Adults] participate in a ritual where they on a daily basis expose themselves to horrid scenes...