Video game playing to be illegal?
Engadget there is a report that the Germans are overreacting:
Late last month, an 18-year-old man went on a shooting spree at his former junior high school in western Germany, killing himself and injuring 11 others. According to reports on the German news site Tagesschau, the man spent a fair bit of time playing "Counter-Strike," which some say may have led to his inspiration to conduct the killing.
Now, there has been a lot of controversy here in the States about how media and gaming has had a desensitising effect on our youth (and society in general). Frankly, I do not believe the spin that Hollywood et al put on their comeback that they merely reflect society and that their product(s) must be judged as "art". All one has to do is to do a little investigation, and you can easily see how many "artists" and actors say that this, that and the other thing is "groundbreaking" or "pushing the boundaries". Well, you cannot have it both ways (both merely reflecting and pushing boundaries) at the same time.
Media and gaming does have an impact on society, and at different levels within different demographics. That said, however, this is a bit over the top for an "anti-reaction":
As a result of this tragedy, two state governments in Bavaria and Lower Saxony have drafted legislation which, according to the Financial Times, would "subject developers, distributors and players of video games whose goal is to inflict 'cruel violence on humans or human-looking characters' to a fine and a maximum of one year in jail." If the measures pass, German gamers, amateur and pro alike, will have to lay off the FPS games for quite a long while and stick to more traditional non-violent games, like, you know, "Pac-Man."
This COULD have ramifications in a number of different areas. As a mature person, I think that critics are right when they say that media / gaming do shape society's outlook in violence et al (I think that there is some desensitising going on and a more relaxed attitude towards violence). However, I do believe this is like a replay of Prohibition here in the States - will this even work?
Where the German states could ban the sale of these games in their local stores, can they prevent the mailing of such to the users? Are they willing to committ the massive resources that would be needed to monitor such?
Add to it, the Internet - it would not take much to simply sling the game code around and homebrew the hardware / connectors that would allow the more highly motivated / entreprenerial among them to create new solutions to the "law" (not that I would be advocating doing such).
This all said, I think that while the German legislators may have their hearts headed in the right direction, the solution goes too far indeed.
