Category Archives: Politics

During a panel discussion on the correlation between videogames and acts of violence, ex-FBI profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole has stated that while games are used during the agency’s threat assessment of potentially violent individuals, it does not consider games to be a direct catalyst for violence.

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Last month Connecticut senator Toni Harp introduced a bill intended to keep minors from playing what he described as “violent point-and-shoot” video games in public venues such as arcades. The loose definition of such games takes in any which include the “facsimile of a firearm as an essential component of play” – so anything with a light gun, no matter how innocuous. On the brighter side, the bill also calls for further research into the effects of violent games on young minds.

Thanks, Joystiq.

In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shootings, two Newtown residents have opened a non-profit arcade that is geared towards bringing families together.

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Detectives in Connecticut are investigating alleged links between the Sandy Hook school shootings and the killer’s love of violent videogames. A new report has suggested that the shooter owned thousands of dollars worth og violent titles, and that the shooting was his way of emulating them.

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Californian Democrat and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has said scientific evidence suggests violent media is not at the root of the US’s disproportionate rate of gun crime.

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Microsoft and Apple, along with Adobe, have been summoned to appear at a public hearing as part of the ongoing parliamentary IT Pricing Inquiry. Kotaku reports all three companies failed to voluntarily answer questions about international price discrepancies, and are now legally required to do so on March 22. The IT Pricing Inquiry is designed to dismantle the “Australia Tax”, which has Australians paying up to 60% more than US consumers for technology and software, despite near-equal currency values, encouraging a flourishing parallel or “grey” import scene.

UKIE has made its final recommendations for UK tax credits to the government, with the trade body’s CEO stating that there are further areas on the scheme which still need addressed.

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This old thing again. Staff members have successfully petitioned to block the playing of shooter on computers at the Paterson Free Public Library in New Jersey. The petition comes over fear that violent titles are teaching kids bad behaviour. Let’s get on with then shall we?

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Tennessee Republican senator Lamar Alexander has said that “video games is a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people”. He was responding to a question from MSNBC about the possibility of background checks when guns are sold in the US. You can watch the whole segment through the break.

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The Massachusetts Department of Transportation decided to remove arcade games it deemed violent from rest stop in the state earlier this month, which has caused the National Coalition Against Censorship to cry foul.

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Hackers operating as part of Anyonymous have responded to the suicide of SOPA activist and programmer Aaron Swartz by embedding a game into several US websites, accessible by inputting the fabled Konami Code.

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This morning we reported on a rumour that the Chinese government is looking to lift its 13-year ban on videogame consoles. As a result of speculation surrounding the alleged move, Sony and Nintendo’s stock has risen sharply thanks to their proximity in the East, and their interest in the region.

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China’s ruling bodies are said to be reassessing the country’s blanket-ban on videogame consoles, some 13 years after the ruling was first made law.

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California state senator Leland Yee , who tried to pass a bill banning the sale of violent video games to children – a move blocked by the US Supreme Court in 2011 – is back in the news, adding his two cents to President Obama’s decision to have the CDC study whether there’s a ink between violent media and gun violence.

After various sites reported on his comments, Yee took to Twitter to admit he “didn’t use the best words” to covey his opinion on the matter.

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Senator Jay Rockefeller reintroduced his controversial bill to US congress yesterday – which calls for further research into the impact of violent games on children – after it failed to pass earlier this month.

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US VP Joe Biden has said while there’s no definitive proof violent games and media cause people to go on shooting rampages, the public shouldn’t be afraid of “facts” which may come from research on the matter.

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US President Barack Obama announced during a press conference today that he has tasked the Center for Disease Control to study the causes of violent behavior, and that Congress “should fund research into the effects violent video games,” on “young minds.”

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US vice president Joe Biden has presented 19 executive actions to president Barack Obama as part of a plan to reduce gun crime – and none of them mention video games in any way, according to a Politico report. Games were, as usual, highlighted by media and interest groups in the wake of the tragic events at Sandy Hook last year, but after meeting with games industry representatives the politician apparently decided to turn his attention to other potential causes for the US’s disturbingly high gun crime levels.

Thanks, GamesIndustry.

The US’s National Rifle Association has released a free iOS game for ages four and up. NRA: Practice Range boasts gyroscopic and touch controls, nine weapons and three target ranges, and also provides tips on gun safety and updates from the organisation. The release has attracted political attention as NRA spokespeople blamed violent video games for gun crime in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre and subsequent calls for tighter US gun control.

Thanks, Shack News.

Aaron Swartz, programmer and Internet activist who helped scrap the Stop Online Piracy Act bill from passing in Congress through his Demand Progress group, has died.

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