Comments on: Venezuela bans violent video games

By: Corwin

Corwin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:42:08 +0000

Games are entertainment. Period.

At worst you can say that games/movies may help condition someone to violence, but then so does living in an area where day to day violence is common.

By: len

len — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:47:36 +0000

It’s a plus for Venezuelan Game Smugglers. The prices will skyrocket.

By: Wolfshead

Wolfshead — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:11:14 +0000

I wonder if Venezuela will also ban the violent movies created by the Hugo Chavez fan club of Oliver Stone and Sean Penn?

By: Yukon Sam

Yukon Sam — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:14:35 +0000

I see video games as a social barometer; I don’t think they’re a cause or useful predictor of violent behavior, but observing which games are most popular at any given time can give insight into the society that produces them (if not the individual playing them).

In this view, the popularity of The Sims series is in part a reaction to the uncertainty of shifting roles within the traditional family structure — the game gives people a degree of control over a household and relationships that’s not possible in real life.

Conversely, Grand Theft Auto gives the player permission to act in transgressive ways, and its popularity may suggest a society in which people are too repressed in their ability to express rage and rebellion.

And the World War II games have two edges — they can reduce the conflict to a simplistic battle of good vs. evil, reflecting a discontent with the many moral ambiguities of modern life, or they can explore more deeply the nuanced ethical dilemmas of the war, reflecting a frustration with the contemporary tendency to oversimplify complex conflicts.

Banning violent video games is like smashing a barometer in hopes of preventing a thunderstorm.

By: Rik

Rik — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:45:53 +0000

I’m going to have to disagree, I think games have a big impact on the human condition.

By: We Fly Spitfires

We Fly Spitfires — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:47:44 +0000

Oh boy… that’s just insane. When will people stop being idiots about stuff like this and realise that things like computer games have no affect on the human condition. We’ve barbaric since the dawn of time, it didn’t just suddenly happen because someone got hooked on Mario Cart.

By: Ciro

Ciro — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:10:47 +0000

I’m from Venezuela, and we’re having a hard time preserving calm here between gamers and businessmen. We’re trying to contact the deputees to know how are they going to implement such law, and we will introduce a legal recourse to reconsider the law. Sadly, the definition of war videogame is way too broad and that could include a lot of games.

By: Chris EA

Chris EA — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:17:30 +0000

Next step: novels, films, cartoons…

By: Tweets that mention Raph’s Website » Venezuela bans violent video games -- Topsy.com

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:04:38 +0000

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By: Ryan Henson Creighton

Ryan Henson Creighton — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:40:45 +0000

That’s the slipperiest of slippery slopes. What do you do with Pac Man? Katamari Damacy? i’m all for a reduction in mainstream video game gore porn, but my Spidey Sense tells me this isn’t a great solution.

- Ryan