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Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                        Robyn Morrow             Chris Elliott                        
                                               John Arterbury       Caitlin Cuppernull

Violent games 

not to blameSome special interest groups, lawmakers and public officials have long been concerned with violence in video games. They've argued that children and teenagers who play violent games are susceptible to losing their grip on reality and committing acts of violence in real life.

The men and women who make the accusations generally are not video game players themselves and base their arguments on conjectures and the opinions of pundits and parents with too much time on their hands.

Those people should read an interesting survey that the British Board of Film Classification, an independent regulator of the film and video industry in the UK, released Tuesday. The BBFC report reveals some interesting insight into the issue.

"People play games to escape from every day life and to escape to a world of adventure without risk which is under the control of the gamer, unlike the real world," the report said. 

The report also said gamers are aware of the difference between games and reality. 

In addition, most of the players under the age of 15 reported being disturbed by the gore in some games, which eventually deterred them from the titles.

Memo to the blue-haired ladies and self-righteous regulators: Only an idiot can't differentiate between a video game and real life. There's never been any proof that violent games make violent children.

When it comes down to it, it's all on parents' shoulders. They should know their kids well enough to decide what's OK to play. If they don't want their sons and daughters to be exposed to video game violence, they should read the mature rating label on the cover and keep the credit card in the wallet.