[bungholio]

Did anybody read any of this: http://www.nextgenupdate.com/news/mi...nt-video-games

Dumbest thing I've heard in months. I'm sure those extra few cents in taxes will prevent people from being murderers since it can be 100% proven that those violent video games were the absolute cause of the shootings in Aurora Colorado and Connecticut. Yep, it was those violent video games. They played them and decided to go kill people because that's what people do. I play them, I think I'll go get myself a gun and go postal because that's what happens.


Oh, wait... I don't think I'll do that, because I'm not full blown retarded. If it's not obvious, that sarcasm should have blown your bullcrap detector through the roof. This just sounds so stupid. It's only 1% tax, I don't live there, and I doubt it'll ever be put into effect, but it's dumb. This is also quite magical to let sink in:

This bill would add a one percent tax on the sales of games rated T or above by the ESRB. Games such as Guitar Hero for “Suggestive Lyrics” would also be included in this tax.

If that's the case, start taxing all music for being suggestive and movies for being suggestive too since they have that music. Death metal like Cannibal Corpse and Nothingface would be at the top of the list for being "kill kill kill". Also tax movies even more for having the music and being violent at the same time for a double whammy. Ace Ventura needs to be taxed for having a Cannibal Corpse concert going in it and a few bullets flying. Guitar Hero is a cartoony looking game where you build very fast and precise coordination. I can't really imagine a guitar hero game somehow taking part in somebody's intention to kill.


The tax goes to help people that are mentally ill that have somehow been affected by exposure to violent video games. I've never seen a violent video game actually affect somebody in a way that makes them more hateful or violent than they were before they encountered it, except internet lag angering people and some games being too hard to beat making people very angry. I'd be blown away if somebody even managed to prove guitar hero made them a more violent person, because the only thing I can think of is somebody without patience blowing a gasket losing at the game often, but even games rated for everybody can do that to people.


The tiny PDF file for it is actually mostly readable and comprehensible, but I don't speak law gibberish enough to quite get "144.1024. 1.". That sounds like they want to tax people who already own the games too instead of just people for buying and selling them, but that sounds too bizarre to be right because I doubt they'll be kicking down doors and searching every inch of a house for a physical or digital copy of a game rated T or higher.


They say they are going by the ratings of the ESRB. The ESRB hasn't been around forever, what are they going to do about games before the ESRB came into existence in 1994? Doom was definitely violent on the PC when it came out in 1993, and there's Wolfenstein before that, and all of the Nintendo and whatever else system games with guns, fighting, and killing. Guitar Hero is rated T, Doom takes place on Mars going to hell fighting demons with guns and there's blood and corpses everywhere.


Why are they still targeting games so much? Target the parents neglecting their kids or have people present a certified mental health check that says they are not that easily compelled to massacre people over a video game. There's drug addicted junkies everywhere breaking into buildings mugging and killing people while stealing whatever they can to pawn off somewhere to get cash to get more drugs. There's also prescription drugs, especially anti-psychotics. Doctors keep prescribing them and relying on you to tell them how they affect you. 1 pill makes you violently angry all the time and all you want to do is kill, the next makes you suicidally depressed, the next fills you with unending paranoia and fear, the next has no effect, until you finally find the right pill or combination of pills. Ignoring drugs, money. Not a day goes by that 100 people on this planet aren't killed over money. Money is the thing that can get you almost anything, and people will kill to get things.


I haven't looked into either of the massacre incidents, but did either of the killers play violent video games? Thousands of people die every day over things that have been a problem since day 1 for decades, and a massacre comes and everybody turns into Rosie O'Donnell and Jack Thompson.

[Wolfie708]

It's got nothing to do with whether or not games encourage actual violence, and everything to do with making people believe they do.

Create something or someone to blame and you have almost limitless control over what the average person can see or do, and the best ways always start with small things.

[haz367]

yup...keep repeating stuff over and over and unfortunally the people/sheeps? are for real believing it......in the meantime keep selling guns(6 bullet limit now?) in every shop, and goto the poor neighbourhoods...showing people with "video games" how cool the war is so they join the force....oh while we at it.... watch out if they see a booby..it might make u blind.......not claiming anything but that country is so full of it...then again the Netherlands aint better......crazy world we live in these days...sad but true

[HackMetal]

yeah thats pretty dumb

[donglehater]

If there were any true evidence that vid game violence influenced crazies to do what crazies do then there would be no tax at all as all games would be banned. The simple truth is that there is no credible information that would substantiate a legal definition of proof and as such the US government has taken the stance that violent vid games (loosely defined by the US government which at some point will likely include any game that has any modicum of violence like Mario squashing mushroom people) are a source of income for the now struggling US economy.