Parents that don't play and have never played video games don't see it the way we do. They just see toys for kids and are surprised when video games are rated for mature audiences.

You may not like it, but that's the reality.

I believe an 8 year shouldn't play GTA. I don't think it will turn them into a monster, but I believe that kids should be kids and should play kid games. It's up to parents when to graduate their kids into more mature games. I'm so tired of 13 and 15 year old kids complaining that they should get to play what they want. But the truth is that they don't have full rights like adults and their parents should decide with or for them.

I feel like the typical gamer's arguement for how video games affect violence is very poor. It seems to me like the basis of your arguement is that if games influence violence, so do music and movies. I would instead argue all three can influence reckless and dangerous behavior. Games are singled out because they don't tell you about terrible things or show you terrible things, they allow you to simulate terrible things and if you don't understand why people are so cautious and quick to point the finger at them, then you are the ignorant one.

An easy argument against that is that videogames are as popular in other countries, but these things don't happen in those other countries.

If a parent in this day age thinks video games are kids toys, then they aren't doing their jobs. In the 80s and 90s their ignorance, while it wasn't excusable, was certainly understandable. They knew video games as Pitfall, Pac-Man., and Mario.  Mortal Kombat is 20 years old. Doom is 19 years old. Even GTA is 15 years old at this point. We aren't talking about some new abstract concept. The "violent" video game hit the mainstream before the internet boom. Are we to excuse a parent ignorant of the concept of the internet as well?

looking for some one/thing to blame other then stupidity. fox news is a republican news show.

ask your mom when she walks in the room and see the shooter you're playing at the time on tv, does she want to go out and kill? ask her is madden one of those games that make people go out and kill. then ask her, how come you haven't gone out and killed someone. and tell her the parents are usually the first to go.

and ask her what caused shootings before games were made? ask her what happened to being accountable for your actions.

tell her that there are a combined total of 240 million consoles sold through retail, so why haven't more then 40 of those 240m people that own PS3, 360, and Wii haven't gone out and kiiled someone.

P.S. members  of the panel, not the host mad negative comments about games. with one saying "he wouldn't let mass effect in his house."

I'm not excusing them of responsibility. I'm just asking you to put your feet in their shoes. They have kids they want to protect. They would have to take a class to understand all the subtleties of videos games. I'm just saying that you have to understand that these people are not like us. They haven't spent that last 30 years consuming all information about video games. They know as much about video games as I know about quantum mechanics and I can tell you right now that I wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with Steven Hawking.

You know what, I think I probably know more about quantum mechanics then these people know about video games because the discovery channel has documentaries about science stuff all the time but they don't teach the difference between Legend of Zelda and Manhunt. To these people video games are toys and they try to do their best, but they have a hard time reconciling that the same shelf at Walmart contains both Gears of War and Once Upon a Monster.

I'm sure there is a subject that you have as little interest in as these people have in video games. I look at them as the same as people who want to ban guns. They don't know what they are talking about, but I don't blame them for it. I understand where they are coming from even though I don't agree with views.

Wars and killings have been around for centuries/millenias.

I don't think people like Adolf Hitler, General Yamamoto Isoroku or Xerxes ever touched a video game in their life. And they have so much blood on their hands.

When I was young, I played with crickets and snap their heads off.
When I grew up, I snapped everyone's head off I come across.
So, I have to lock myself up and never social to prevent me from snapping people's heads off.

This is the reason I hang out on VGC. I am a serial heads snapper and so are you.

As I understand it now the only games we know the shooter played was World of Warcraft and Mario games. But they have talked about LAN parties, so I think they might be missing something.

I certainly agree that certain games are not appropriate for kids. Just like certain movies, book, toys, art work, clothing, medications, performance pieces and foods and so forth. It's why we try to protect kids so they can have an 'innocent child hood,' before they have to realize so many things about the world. So they have a time to develop, so they can be good adults when their time comes.

The News people are just making drama to get ratings. They have snip-its of information that the weak minded or ill-informed grasp. Just this weekend I got 'the Evils of Coconut Oil' freak out from someone who asked what was in something I cooked. And they refused to eat it, and they really should know better. This is propaganda from the 70's (although they are close to 70 themselves) and I didn't feel like educating them about c-14 and chemistry.

The sad part is this snips of information get repeated like a bunch of coo coo clocks going off at the same time. Just repeating the sound, without applying any real thought to it.

It's always going to be there, so we will always have to keep it in check. And make certain we don't become coo coo clocks ourselves.

Well said.