BenKenobi88 said: as long as parents keep track of their kids.

 "Why the hell would i keep track of my kids if I ain't getting paid for doing it?"

No, I have a weird idea that somehow being able to put what you want in videogames is necessary for freedom of expression. Not that I enjoy ultra-violent games that much.
Pretty much the same way I support 4chan for its freedom of speech and expression yet I wouldnt become a /b/tard for love nor money.

There should be more Adult rated games... mmm... I can just see a FPS game based on rapeing women...
Oh wait >.>

Kwaad said: There should be more Adult rated games... mmm... I can just see a FPS game based on rapeing women... Oh wait >.>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custer's_Revenge

Close enough? 

Video games have always been based on violence, even back to the late 70's. When the NES came out its first games had you killing people and noting else, what do you think mario was doing, he was shooting fire at poor little turtles, lets try that today with GTA have him go around and burn animals with a flamethrower. That would never happen, and the NES's other original game had you killing ducks just for the hell of it, no story just killing, just because graphics get better doen't mean we all have to play wii sports now.

I also remember hearing back in the day that the average owner of the PS2 was 23.

PS3owner said: Video games have always been based on violence, even back to the late 70's. When the NES came out its first games had you killing people and noting else, what do you think mario was doing, he was shooting fire at poor little turtles, lets try that today with GTA have him go around and burn animals with a flamethrower. That would never happen, and the NES's other original game had you killing ducks just for the hell of it, no story just killing, just because graphics get better doen't mean we all have to play wii sports now. I also remember hearing back in the day that the average owner of the PS2 was 23.

/Agree

VG have always been about violence : wipe out thousands of aliens/Zombies/animals/humans or whatever ennemies you can find from the very begining.

This hasen't really change. Only the way things are pictured change. It's more realistic, so yes, it looks more violent. Whether you want or not to see blood and such is, AND SHOULD REMAIN, a matter of personnal taste.

Horror movies, comics and books aren't condemned. Why games should be ?

Cyroakira- Actually those things are condemned. Hell even the Harry Potter books are in some places.

Video games are a recent development compared to other mediums, it'll die down in a bit. Much of it is the shock value for the parents when they find out that their kid is killing hookers on his playstation in the game they bought him.

Custards Revenge
Mortal Kombat
Doom
Slaughterhouse 1-3

Exactly how are games becoming more violent? They've always been pretty bad. The differences is the graphics are becoming better and more realilistic. It's not more violent, the violence is just more real.

It should not be the responsibility or burden of the public at large to help parents raise their children. Nor should anything but the profitability of the game determine how violent is too violent. People need to start taking responsibility for their own lives, their own actions, and their own children.

There are two arguments that I have heard used on curbing VG violence...

1) People are killing each other as a result:

If you buy a video game like GTA and go on a killing spree then you are in the vast minority. For instance I believe the GTA franchise is somewhere are 40+ million sold units, and probably twice as many people have actually played the game. But based on 40 million, if we say 200 people have gone on a rampage as a result of ANY violent video game, then that would be 0.0005%, in other words five ten thousandths of a percent. And thats being conservative with the number of people who have played these violent games and probably pretty liberal with the number of rampaging maniacs.

This entire concept that video games are causing this is complete and utter BS. People don't become violent because of a video game, they are already violent and even if the game triggers them to act out it would be like banning lighters because some kid blew his hand off with an M-80...you wouldn't ban the lighter you would ban the M-80 (something else I would disagree with), but my point is that killing is already illegal, if that is not enough to deter someone from doing it then he is going to deal with the consequences. Part of human nature is that sometimes people are unstable, or just irrational and you aren't going to change that by getting rid of video games.

To use a phrase from the medical industry.."You don't treat symptoms, you treat the problem.".

2) we should not be desensitizing ourselves to this kind of violence:

The point we start making decisions for other people just because we feel we know what is best for them is the probably around the point we need to rethink our system of government. I think we are already going to far in the US when places like CA outlaw smoking bars. This is a slippery slope and its a steep slope at that. Just a little quote for some of you folks who may not have read it in a while....

"....Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it..."
                        -United States Declaration of Independence - Preamble

My point here boils down to this, if people don't want this kind of game then they will not buy it, and the genre will collapse and cease to exist. By banning or outlawing this type of stuff you are telling your people "we don't trust you to make informed intelligent decisions". And honestly if we are allowing people who would vote for this kind of ban into office I don't know that I could disagree with that sentiment....

Let the markets determine what is acceptable, by letting the customer decide what they want. Its as simple as that.

mrstickball said: Custards Revenge Mortal Kombat Doom Slaughterhouse 1-3 Exactly how are games becoming more violent? They've always been pretty bad. The differences is the graphics are becoming better and more realilistic. It's not more violent, the violence is just more real.

 I'd agree. It confusesme how the first AOE was a Teen/13 rating, when it had a bit of blood, and the graphics left a lot to desire, and shooters on the PS2 (such as James Bond games) were a 12 rating, and there you actually were killing people, and punching them etc. It just seems contradicting. It seems people are confusing, the complain about violence being more realistic, but don't give games a higher rating. :S