My mother is not a fan of violence. But as time goes by in today’s videogames it has become the norm and though she now doesn’t mind the ‘bloody games’ me and my two younger siblings have been playing, the profanities in some games (Grand Theft Auto series for example) still bugs her more than the haze.
Even today where violence in media is now accepted as the norm there are still idiotic lawyers and politicians out there trying to snuff out violence in videogames, idiots like US Senator Yee and the great idiot of them all; Jack Thompson, who have time after time fought against the sale and growing trend of violence in our games today since Mortal Kombat set the benchmark for gaming violence. Forget same-gender romances here; it’s about the gore here.
Yet with such lawsuits, violence videogames still continue to prosper. Why? Realism… Fun…Artistic…the list goes on. And the more graphic it looks, the more awesome the game is (though it didn’t work for Night Trap). What such lawyers and politicians fail to see is that young games now (mentally) mature quickly. What was horrifying to watch is now no longer an issue; it’s just special effects and animation they’ll say. Back to Mortal Kombat, the fatalities of Sub-Zero and Kano were back then considered the most graphic to watch but died down quickly because of logic; you cannot do that in real life. And most of all…IT’S JUST A GAME!!!
But no, says the stupid lawyers and politicians and those innocent games got banned. Whereas in truth they can’t play the games well.
Despite observers and parents coming to sensibility and logic to accept that the violence in videogames is really nothing at all, yet both cowardly lawyers and politicians still pressed on with absolute awareness of consequences. For lawyer Jack Thompson, he was barred from the Florida Bar and can no longer practise law for life. Senator Yee was just as stubborn; saying his ‘crusade’ is to protect the children…WHOSE CHILDREN!? Does he marry all the women in his state to bear him children to protect? Or maybe he can’t get through stage one on the old NES Contra even with the 30-life trick!? Or maybe jumping on a flying turtle in Super Mario hurts him more than a knife-inflicted gash on a limb.
The Supreme Court in that particular case; Brown vs. Entertainment Merchants Association (argued on Nov 2nd 2010 and decided on June 27th 2011) rule 7 to 2 in favour that violent videogames is a protected work of art and a freedom of expression in accordance with the First Amendment of the Constitution.
Jack Thompson, famous for his crusade against violence in videogames saw his life as a lawyer came to a ‘violent’ end; July 8th 2008, the Florida Bar barred him from practising law for life
It’s also interesting to note that any ‘crusade’ against violent videogames is always a lost cause. Not only do such crusaders lost their jobs, their image is also damaged and family members condemned by the media and gaming community for fighting against what is nothing more than harmless media entertainment. And if they actually (unlikely) win, it could spell a collapse in the country of origin’s financial stability since gaming today has a revenue of making billions annually more than the cost of the War on Terror three times over…maybe even more. They may even also lose support in public opinion and are voted against during elections, which is probably why Schwarzenegger is no longer governor of California (the case was originally titled ‘Schwarzenegger vs. Entertainment Merchants Association).
If a game is deemed unsuitable to the young, it is the parents themselves who are to make the decisions to purchase such games; for it’s their duty to decide if such a game is suitable for their or not. Even if said game turned out bloody, there’s already violence all around us from comics, movies and your daily newspaper reporting conflicts every time!
Violence in videogames: nothing more but another work of art. And to all haters, they will have no choice and must live with it or be damned for eternity by their childish cowardice towards a droplet of blood.
