War crimes should be disallowed in video games - just like they are in books, movies, and TV.

The BBC presents a thought provoking article, assuredly brought on by the controversial mission "No Russian" in Modern Warfare 2. In the mission, which the player can select whether or not to partake, the player is depicted joining a terrorist organization undercover and features mass civilian slaughter.

[Witty Comment]

mainstream media paints a picture of video games being such a different medium for entertainment to be released on. I read this news story from the aggregation site fark.com. How many movies are released every year that depict horrific rape scenes or murders? If a video game were to offer a scene like that in the level of detail Hollywood shows, our community would be absolutely vilified for creating such a horror accessible to our children.

So here's a news story about it. :D

[Bubbles_Kitty_Cat]

Maybe the BBC should focus a little bit less on video games and a whole lot more on how England is making George Orwell's "1984" look far more real than anyone ever imagined.

[Darkstorn]

Kids under 17 shouldn't be playing uber violent games anyway, especially ones with content related to sick war crimes.
We have content regulations for this already: The ESRB. And it works. Leave it be.

[jadenkorri]

like cmon, to me its just a video game... but talking about humanitarian laws in a video game, we all have shot or run down that innocent civilian in GTA, I certainly hope noone ever is sick enough to do it in real life. Even the new MW2 scene is horrific in sense if someone ever really did it, but it was the precursor to the whole story, not as if it was just there for entertainment value.. Its fantasy, and its good developers are thinking and going beyond.

[nix]

i've read 1984. it's a nice book.

yeah.. freaking gov/media... stop acting as if movies and games are different. the whole freaking James Bond series (who is a british agent) thrived on Russians as villians. Rape, murder, horror, sex, war scenes - the freaking movies/tv shows have them all too. BAN THEM FIRST!

[rambi80]

To be fair movies and books don't put you in the role of a war criminal which is what MW2 does.
I looked at the video of the stage and could not help but feel somewhat perturbed.

To each his own.

[coolfool]

I agree, in the game you are actually playing the role. You are the terrorist, the torturer etc. In films you just watch the action on screen but don't take part.

The article states clearly that it is the "interactivity" that makes games different to movies. And whether you agree with it or not, games really ARE more interactive and that is why media will hit on it in a different way to movies.

You guys need to realise that there IS a difference, the question is whether that difference should mean different standards for games.

[Swiftfox]

Video games are not real. That's all anyone has to remember, that is all anyone has to say to this tired argument. They are not real. Seems everyone confuses the interactivity with "realism" and that is simply not the case.

Even the interaction is all based on context of what the creator wants to convie. It can be badly created or well created but video games themselves, as a whole, are not evil, and are no different from books and movies in this regard.

[Christopher]

Super Mario Bros supports the idea of mushroom eating, which in most areas of the world is illegal drug use. There's also violence towards turtles on a disturbing level, where the player jumps on top of them and even uses them as projectile weapons to kill other creatures.

Did they have the lawyers review this as well?

The issue with video games isn't the content, it's that certain people who are inclined to develop bad and possibly violent behaviors are more likely to develop them. Then again, this is why there's supposed to be something we call 'parenting' happening that will enable parents to see how their children are affected by video games and take the appropriate measures to prevent such behavior. The other 99.999% of the population is just as affected by video games as they are by books and movies.

[thewhoopimen]

That's easy for you to say right now, but as game graphics will no doubt outstrip even Crysis in the future, that distinction may get more and more difficult to differentiate. Couple that with new upcoming immersion technology like 3D, haptic technology, digital scent, technology etc, and you might not be so comfortable.

[nycredude]

People need to learn to chill out and place their energies where it is needed. Go find out a way to control illegal guns, drunk driving, curing cancer all of which causes more death than everything else combined! How about worrying about terrorist, and sleeper cells instead. Censoring video games is retarded and should/is a violation of the freedom of speech/expression!

Try doing this in movies and see what happens! Would Shindler's List be the same movie? What about blood diamond, or any number of movies that depict war crimes?

And please don't use that stupid cop out excuse but but but video games are interactive. If you have trouble determining video games from real life then you have WAY BIGGER issues to deal with.

[ReBurn]

War crimes are disallowed in books, movies and TV? Where does this censorship occur?

[Witty Comment]

That's kind of the point of the headline, to basically call BS on anybody questioning that kind of thing. It draws a parallel between the other entertainment media and video games.

[DonCorneo]

same reason why there are no cuss words in sesame street.

LMOA!!1!

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

I wouldnt actually care if a game came out where you played as full blown terrorists... Truth be told if the game was good I would buy it...

[-Alpha]

As a gamer I entirely agree that video games are made the scapegoat for political prestige.

However you guys have to understand that there is a difference in portraying something in a video game which is a physical means of interaction compared to watching a movie, or reading a book. I'm trying to be fair to both sides, so the way I see it:

First of all, it's harder to get access to movies that are rated R than it is to partake in a video game. You also don't interact in a movie as much as you do in a game. And who the hell reads a respectable book featuring blood, violence, etc. when your a kid?

I can somewhat see why the media doesn't do the same with books and movies, but really, if a kid is going to get influenced by a video game, it's his own damn fault or his parents. Because if a kid does something harmful because he saw it in a video game then I sure as hell am sure he shouldn't be playing that specific game to begin with.

Again, we all know how ridiculous the accusations are, and though we all have our gaming bias we also have rational reason to see how silly the video game bashing is.

It's funny that many people here are divided by their console allegiance, but when general gaming is attacked you guys all somehow manage to get a long rationally.

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

When we are attacked as a community we have to forget about the fact that the PS3 sucks and unite to deal with the greater threat for the good of the industry

[XsteveJ]

Go back to your bridge troll, nobody wants you here.

Idiot...

[A LIVING LEGEND]

War crimes SHOULD be disallowed in games,a "war crime" isn't a trivial matter of press 'X' or read paragraph '2' or watch at '8' and witness a true failure of man.
Education takes many forms yet casual detachment shouldn't be one of them.WE LEAD BY EXAMPLE,let our example be sound.
It's only a game and we are only human.......

[Shotgun_Roamer]

How idiotic do people believe the gamer demographic is? I know the difference between a tv screen and reality.

[kirazxm]

shift!
push up

[ZombieAutopsy]

I was a terrorist in a game so i wanna be one in real life /sarcasm

HEY BBC CRY MOAR!!!

[A LIVING LEGEND]

I expected no less.A watched pot never boils but simmers endlessly until looked upon.

[dragonelite]

We fanboys should unite and give the system a big crash.
Or atleast show them that scene from a show in the US where they took a 8 year old boy that played cod 4 all the time in his free time. And let him shoot a gun. If i know the serie who did it i would post it but it was about a young boy with glasses were the host of the show wanted to see if kids that played cod 4 were really trained killers the end of the show should show how games train people.

The boy cried because of the shot and overwhelmed him.

[StuffRokz]

you're thinking of is Penn & Teller: Bullshit. that episode was all about the myth that video games encourage violent behavior. good episode, good show.

[Bloodshoteyz]

You know this humanitarian side to politics have always try to play this crap. You can go to Somalia and get gunned down by a whole army of 13 year old boys and big time free world govt' does nothing to stop this, yet they openly debate how the youth in the free worlds are being corrupted by the use of video games. Is it me or is something horribly wrong with the way they depict us video game fanatics?

[DiffusionE]

I've been watching violent movies and playing gory games as far back as I can remember. Games, movies and music does influence the youth, but only to a small percentage. The rest is dependent on the company they keep and the kind of parenting they've received while growing up.

[devilhunterx]

-GametimeUK- and BBC. Hmm both are BRITISH right?

[bunfighterii]

He added: "Perhaps what this research demonstrates is that the researchers misunderstand what games are, and how they are treated, intellectually, by the people who play them."

here here

[devilhunterx]

It's sad world when people are concerned more about killing virtual civilians rather than real life ones.

[Solans Scott]

I concur. This situation is becoming more and more ridiculous everyday. The people in the airport are virtual. If you reload the level ten times everyone respawns ten times. So how can you be committing a crime?

[kraze07]

Censor my video games, movies, books, and tv shows and I'll show you war crimes.

[Cletus]

I'm at war wit that ol' sow down the way. She ate my apple.

[KR1ST0F3R]

if i was to confuse the real world and gaming to such an extent that i would go commit war crimes, wouldn't the fact that my gun didn't have an L1 button to aim down the sights be a major stumbling block?

remember, i cannot tell the difference between my game and reality so how cold i possibly get past this issue?

[ginganinja]

For a start the articles actual headline is;
'Games 'permit' virtual war crimes'

and referring to some study. The full article seems to take a fairly balanced approach, and doesn't try and insinuate that games are the route of all evil.
Even those who did the study aren't suggesting the games are bad, as this quote suggests;
The authors said they did not wish to make games less violent, instead, they wrote: "[We] call upon game producers to consequently and creatively incorporate rules of international humanitarian law and human rights into their games."

more that developers maybe ought to try a bit harder to portray such crimes in a more realistic way.

[dannybohy]

Its just a game! So I gladly participated in shooting the civilians in the airport! and wished there was more old people to have shot! doesnt mean i want to do it in real life! ;)

[Feral Gamer]

That Picard image is getting overused. This is like the 5th time in 3 days.

[bjornbear]

a man was brought to realise that he was used to kill his own mother by his father that was a murderer, pedophile, rapist and wife beater, and who in the end was not his real father, but his step father.

He never learnt of this because his real father had been murdered by his step father, who used that to get to his mother, to eventually rape her and then make his "new" son kill her.

He realises all this because his brother (who he didn't know of until now) had tortured and murdered 4 of the co-rapists, murderes and pedophiles that were his step father's friends.

He is then force to shoot his own brother as he puts the gun in his hand and pulls the trigger for him.

War crime's are horrible...but I've read and seen worste,

so no: video games should not be censored more than any media

[fergy9901]

, and although most games are fiction, some are based around events in history. Are we saying then that games should not represent historical events, because they depict warcrimes? Should war games virtually deny events such as the holocaust? - I think not.

I played the 'No Russian' level on MW2, and I felt uneasy playing it, but to me thats a good thing, because it makes you stop and think about how terrible real world terrorist acts are.

[Knightofelemia]

Video game violence, relgious leaders poking there heads in , and now war crimes wow Call of Duty Modern warfare2 has done it all now. Those guys should be stopping real war crimes instead of making the lives of videogamers a living hell. You see war crimes in the movies and no one cares but as soon as a game has it its a witch hunt what a waste of tax paying dollars.

[bennyace]

Back in the 80's it was Heavy Metal music that corrupted young minds, and now it's video games. It's funny how it's never unemployment, lacking social services, real life war or anything political. They have to put the blame on something else than what they've aloud society to evolve into what it is today.

Anyways I said it before. Parents should sometimes do a better job at parenting and read and most importantly, respect the ESRB ratings. It's there for a reason.

[W-k]

War crimes should be disallowed in real life, oh wait.

[gololo]

hey human rights....why dont you just stfu and go do ur job in a real war setting, like Iraq, Afghanistan instead of wasting resources in studying "war crimes" in video games....some ppl just dont have anything better to do

[Enigma_2099]

... they need to SHUT THE F*** UP!

[thefireboy]

For me certainly this is what Games are about. Doing these things without any Consequences because I wouldn't ever even think about doing it in real life. Driving a 1 million pound Bugatti into a wall or into a Ferrari, going on a killing spree in GTA or going to explore the outermost reaches of space are things that are impossible or just plain damn right unthinkable is a freedom I cherish in my games. If people think a game is released that is too violent, don't let children play it, its the parents discretion. I was playing Goldeneye, Zelda and Conkers Bad Fur Day when i was 11 and have it hasn't effected me one bit. One problem could be with advances in graphics and games becoming more realistic but ITS STILL A VIDEO GAME!

[aGameDeveloper]

Their argument is that video games should reflect real life, or the reverse will happen (real life will reflect video games). The two are incompatible as far as war crimes are concerned. Imagine the following scenarios as we try to enforce what they think should happen.

If the game is to reflect real life, it SHOULD always allow war crimes to be committed (kill any civilian, blow up any building, disobey any order). When the gamer launches the game three months or three years later, a simulation of a war tribunal would then occur.

If they are proposing that there should be immediate consequences to war crimes, then I suppose they should be sending one of their own members to the front lines to shadow each combatant (foreign and domestic), to somehow have perfect knowledge of what should and should not be allowed, and have instant communication with home base so that the observers can tattle whenever they see a crime.

[XsteveJ]

How about an article that talks about the decline in parenting responsibility?

I get the argument against offensive material to a certain degree. But I don't want my video games censored because there are parents out there who don't take the time to research games (or, for that matter, books, tv, movies, etc.) before letting their kids play them.

Ultimately, it's not up to the developer to water down the experience, it's up to the parents to take responsibility for what their kids play.