Potential legislation against violent gaming in the EU.

[Dreadnought]

Exactly.

The same way you COULD rip someones head off and shit in his neck, after you played a violent game... or after you didn't... or you play violent games and stay normal. It doesn't matter.

Violence is in our genes. They can't change that by banning violent games.

[VasikkA]

But think of ze children!

[vx trauma]

save the children from useless games and send em to the eastern front. :panzer_faust_kommando:

[jetbaby]

Youth Brigades. Yes.

[PsychoSniper]

And the girls go to porno facrtories, right ?


Donkeys!

[vx trauma]

ja. und the really really small ones can go to the sweat shops to produce t-shirts and toys with 'child labor' seal of quality certificates on the boxes. and assembling ze little paper decorations for my colorful drinks.

[aries100]

Again, we have to hear this ---- this time from an Italian member of the EU-commission.

Commisionar Frattini (justice) has seen ONE (1) example of a videogame, like Rule of Rose.

And then he calls a meeting --- just because of this
"Frattini thinks that this sort of violent games encourages violence."

However, there have been no scientific or sociological studies which have proved a causal link between violent games and violent behaviour in real life. (people are violent for kinds of reasons).

The PEGI info board does their job properly and correctly. They play the games before they rate them, and they correctly gave Oblivion a 16+ as well as Hitman: Blood Money an 18+; the same rating as *condemned* got.

As for the games portrayal of the physical and mental abuse of young girl inside the game (the rule of rose), the good Frattini totally seems to forget that he can se much worse in reality and read much worse in books, and even watch movies with this theme, the mental and physicla abuse of children.

No one seems to care about movies or books. But, however, as soon as it is a game, every one is in uproar and want to ban this --- just because they think that if you do in a game, then you are liable (or clearly) wants do it a reality.

I'm afraid that there's more to Frattini's saying than just what have been qouted here. In a Danish newspaper, I saw him qouted for saying that
'the children must be protected - and there's is no boundaries when we're going to protect the children.'

Apparently, Frattini thinks that most people who plays computergames are children, and that most children play violent videogames (how that is to be defined :-? ).

This is far from the truth -- the average gamer is now about 30+, and the average gamer plays all kinds of games, ranging from say Fallout, to adventure games, to Battlefield 1942 or Prey. (and why is it OK to shoot monsters in Prey and not depict the abuse of children in a videogame ???? ).

Of course, the Germans are interested in a EU-rating for games. This means that their USK, the German rating board, will decide everything in Europe, when it comes to rating games, banning games, the USK doesn't like or thinks has too much violence in it. [In Germany, the USK and another another authorithy called the Federal something IS the arm of the German government, IIRC, which means the gov'ment in Germany censors videogames, and ONLY videogames, afaik].

Germany is, of course mad because when a game is banned in Germany, it just means that people go to Denmark or The Netherlands (or France) to get the games, which have been banned in Germany. Luckily, Germany can't stop this, since the EU is a free trade area.

[aries100]

As for Frattini's wish of getting a EU-rating, good luck. There already is an EU-rating system, it is called PEGI, and it works! (I'm just thinking that
this would be hard to agree on as there a vast gap between the Nordic countries and say Italian, Romanian, and Greece's values, both when it comes to attitudes towards sex and video games).

In Denmark, the PEGI rating is (only) advisory, there is no legal actions taken against people
who buy games not suited for their age group.
(at my local eb games shop, I'm pretty sure that at least one of the clerks would stop a 10 year old from buying say condemned or hitman: blood money).

However, most 10-12 year old boys tend to play games suited for their age group, like World of Warcraft, and the like.

In the end, i do think, that it is the parent's
responsibility, not the state's nor EU's to parent what games their children are playing.

And the info on the gameboxes from PEGI is really useful. The icons used to describe the content of the games pretty much displays what inside the game.

As for the investigation showing that 1/3 of the children in EU unwillingly have been witness to porn or violence, this is probably true. In a similar investigation, in the USA 1/4 of the children were reported having seen 'porn'. Porn here being described as 'naked people' or 'people having (voluntary) intercourse'.

However, I have seen varius porn internet-sites where the URLs are very close to to the real sites.
To me, this is shame and outrage, and should be dealt with accordingly.

I really don't think that Frattini wants to ban
say Battlefield 1942, Halo 2 or Counter-Strike etc.

He wants to ban games in which the (pixelated) children are hurt, be it physically or mentally.

Maybe he just has listened to much to the POPE,
who also has spoken out against violence in videogames ??

All good people (that's you & me etc.) should now
act together to hinder that Frattini's vision gets real.
(next Frattini will want an EU rating for movies, if he gets away this... and then maybe the newspapers aren't allowed to report violent crimes anymore --- just because teh kids could see or read about them ?)

OK, the last point was a bit overdone, I'll admit that, but you DO get the point, I hope.

[Kashluk]

It's the catholic playboys who fuck around with these populist speeches, begging for a few more votes. Italians, Poles, you name it.

[Thor Kaufman]

Is that game for console only or is there a PC version? If so, torrent plz

[aries100]

Here are some info on the game ----


http://ps2.ign.com/objects/772/772135.html

To me, it actually looks pretty good, dark & gritty and sinister - a very mature game.

It seems its for the PS2, though...

And apparently to this review, the game is not very good.

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/747/747834p1.html

What makes me even madder about this Fratini thing is that if this intriquing story was presented either in a novel, a graphic novel or
a tv-series, no one would care. But just because the story is presented
as a game --- everyone seems to think that this game, Rule of Rose, is
just ---- too much.

Generally, you should be able to make the games you want. And then
if the games are that violent, you should just slap a 18+ label on them.
(as the pegi board does today).

Here's a promo vid you can download --


http://www.atlus.com/ruleofrose/

Just click on the movie part of the website

Let me just finish this post by saying that the main character IS not a young girl; she's a young adult, a young woman, who

is

19 years old.


Ok, one final comment.

After seeing the video (which must have been the one the German Minister of Justice was showing ??) at the meeeting, I can't really see
any reasons whatso-ever to ban this game, in Germany or in other
countries, like the UK.

[Thor Kaufman]

Don't worry, mate, the 1984 Ãœberwachungsstaat is sure to come.

Also, don't expect any contra from the Italians, they don't even mind that many of their telephone calls are under surveillance.
Same for the germans, we even got a law recently that allows for the government to hack into people's computers. It's under revision, but it's unfortunately not very surprising such a law even got through.

[Dreadnought]

Faschismus entsteht im inneren.

[Dogmeatlives]

I'll tell you what- If I can't kill kids in Fallout 3 I might just have to act out my sinister desires on real CHILDREN!! Violent video games keep me sane.( and marijuana)

[Dreadnought]

Same here. Also, I sometimes focus myself on strange fetishes.

But weed and violence is allright.

[VasikkA]

we even got a law recently that allows for the government to hack into people's computers. It's under revision, but it's unfortunately not very surprising such a law even got through.

Perhaps it gives you that special element of uncertainty next time you download dubious porn.

[Thor Kaufman]

yarr government horse porn