As reported on The Verge.
By BRIAN CRECENTE
The impact of violent video games on society is being reexamined in the wake of the Newtown shooting. One group of gamers called for a one-day online cease-fire in virtual warfare, a sort of gamer moment of silence. Another young gamer, in Newtown, Conn., is asking children to join him in throwing away violent video games. The National Rifle Association partially blamed violent video games and other violent entertainment for the Sandy Hook massacre. And a Democratic Senator introduced legislation in Congress that would direct the National Academy of Sciences to study the impact of violent video games and other content on children. This wave of renewed interest comes just over a year after the United States Supreme Court confirmed video games’ status as a protected medium under the First Amendment. In the majority decision, Justice Scalia dismissed any evidence of a connection between violent video games and aggression, writing: “These studies have been rejected by every court to consider them, and with good reason: They do not prove that violent video games cause minors to act aggressively.” The national tragedy at Sandy Hook is sure to ignite debates over many facets of today’s culture, laws and society. Polygon will continue to cover how that conversation impacts video games and how both the people who make and play games struggle to come to grips with the shooting and its implications.
INVESTOR SITE MOTLEY FOOL EXAMINES VIDEO GAME AND GUN COMPANY STOCKS IN WAKE OF SHOOTING
WRITTEN by Alexa Ray Corriea on December 26, 2012
Investors with stock in video game and gun companies may want to keep an eye on prices. According to financial site The Motley Fool, although there is no proven link between violent games and aggression, companies producing media with violent content might still see a price dip after the recent shootingand NRA denouncement.
According to Motley Fool’s Rich Duprey, investors in Electronic Arts, Activision and Microsoft stocks will want to keep an eye on them. Stock for publisher TakeTwo Interactive, parent company to 2K Games and Rockstar Games, has gone down 10 percent in the past week,…
EA REMOVES LINKS TO WEAPON COMPANIES FROM MEDAL OF HONOR WARFIGHTER WEBSITE
WRITTEN by Alexa Ray Corriea on December 26, 2012
A “virtual showroom” linking Medal of Honor Warfighter to real-life products from its gunmaker marketing partners illustrates how the firearms and video game industries have “quietly forged a mutually beneficial marketing relationship,” according to The New York Times.
The subpage on the official website for Medal of Honor Warfighter displayed information for the McMillan Group and Magpul, two weapon manufacturers, and allowed viewers to peruse guns, knives and other combat gear depicted inWarfighter. Magpul and EA have even filmed promotional videos for the game featuring the weapons….
ACLU WARNS AGAINST BLAMING VIDEO GAMES FOR NEWTOWN TRAGEDY TOO QUICKLY
WRITTEN by Megan Farokhmanesh on December 23, 2012
In wake of the shootings in Newtown, Conn., Legislative Counsel Gabe Rottman of the American Civil Liberties Union warns that rushing to place the blame on violent video games leads to “the worst facts, and they will make the worst laws if we let them.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, shortened as ACLU, is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization that aims to preserve individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Rottman’s article, titled “Worst Facts Make Worst Law with Violent Video Games,” urges readers to not move too quicky due to…
NEWTOWN BOY STARTS ‘PLAYED OUT,’ ASKS KIDS TO TOSS VIOLENT GAMES
WRITTEN by Megan Farokhmanesh on December 23, 2012
A 12-year-old boy from Newtown, Conn. is asking kids to join him in tossing out their violent video games in a movement called “Played Out,” the Hartford Courant reports.
Max Goldstein, pictured above, announced his idea on Wednesday at the local public library. According to the Courant, Goldstein came up with the idea after attending a funeral for one of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting — Daniel Barden, 7, a friend’s brother. While listening to prayers and songs, Goldestein realized “how real this was.” He didn’t want to kill in games again.
A bin will be placed outside the…
CALIFORNIA SENATOR CALLS NRA’S REACTION TO VIOLENT GAMES ‘PATHETIC AND UNACCEPTABLE’
WRITTEN by Megan Farokhmanesh on December 22, 2012
In response to the National Rifle Association’s rally against violent video games, California Senator Leland Yee has called their reaction “pathetic and completely unacceptable,” via a statement issued yesterday.
According to Yee (pictured above), when a law against the sale of violent games to children went before the Supreme Court in 2011, the NRA did nothing to help.
“I find it mind-boggling that the NRA suddenly cares about the harmful effects of ultra-violent video games,” Yee said. “When our law was before the Supreme Court — while several states, medical organizations and child…
WHAT IS KINDERGARTEN KILLER, THE NRA’S SHOWPIECE FOR VIDEO GAME VIOLENCE?
WRITTEN by Alexa Ray Corriea on December 21, 2012
In a press conference earlier today, the National Rifle Association’s executive vice president Wayne LaPierre blamed violent video games as a contributor to last week’s Sandy Hook school shootings, citing Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat, Splatterhouse and a free flash game calledKindergarten Killer as examples of games with destructive influence.
Kindergarten Killer?
La Pierre said the media has been hiding the existence of web-basedKindergarten Killer, making it his showpiece for the “dirty little truth” that an activist media works to conceal a culture of violence so it…
ONLINE SHOOTER CEASE-FIRE CREATOR TOUTS ‘AN OCEAN OF PEACE’
WRITTEN by Samit Sarkar on December 21, 2012
The creator of today’s Online Shooter Cease Fire, a gamers’ pledge to pay respect to the victims of the Newtown massacre by taking a day off from playing shooters, said the event has received a significant groundswell of support and is making a statement.
“From mere drops in a bucket,” said Antwand Pearman, CEO of health-focused gaming site GamerFitNation, “we’ve become an ocean of peace.”
More than 3,400 people have indicated they’re “attending” the Facebook eventfor the cease-fire, and an individual identifying himself as an acolyte of hacker group Anonymous posted a brief video…
NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION EXEC BLAMES VIDEO GAMES FOR ‘SELLING VIOLENCE’ TO CHILDREN
WRITTEN by Griffin McElroy on December 21, 2012
The National Rifle Association placed a portion of the blame for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on violent video games during a press briefing this morning.
“There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and sows violence against its own people,” NRA head Wayne LaPierre said during the press conference. “Through vicious violent video games, with names like Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse. And here’s one: It’s called Kindergarten Killers. It’s been online for 10 years. How come my research staff…
WEST VIRGINIA SEN. ROCKEFELLER INTRODUCES BILL FOR STUDY OF VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES’ EFFECTS (UPDATE)
WRITTEN by Samit Sarkar on December 19, 2012
Jay Rockefeller, a Democratic Senator from West Virginia, is introducing legislation in Congress that would direct the National Academy of Sciences to study the effects of “violent video games and other content” on children, his office announced today.
The bill comes less than one week after the shooting at a grade school in Sandy Hook, Conn., that left 20 children and six adults at the school dead, in addition to the alleged killer and his mother.
“At times like this, we need to take a comprehensive look at all the ways we can keep our kids safe,” said Sen. Rockefeller, the chairman of…
GAMERS CALL FOR AN ONLINE CEASE-FIRE IN WAKE OF SANDY HOOK MASSACRE
WRITTEN by Brian Crecente on December 17, 2012
Consider it a moment of silence.
A group of gamers is asking players of the many nonstop virtual wars of online shooters like Call of Duty, Battlefield and Halo to put down their controllers for a day in a moment of gamer solidarity out of respect for the lives lost in Connecticut last week.
The 24-hour Online Cease Fire isn’t meant to draw any links between the very real violence of Sandy Hook and the virtual violence of video games, but rather send a message of support from the gaming community, said event organizer Antwand Pearman, editor-in-chief of GamerFitNation.com.
“There’s no…