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A mass murderer played World of Warcraft and you should all feel bad
Perception is everything. We see the world through the truths as they're told to us, everything from what books are good to what TV shows are worth watching. Facts are played with, fast and furious, and there seems to be little need for any objectivity. The primary way in which we consume such truths is through the news. And there's a lot wrong with our modern news system. The vast majority of successful outlets are built more on getting readers' attention than finding truths in a story. This easily leads hyperbolic headlines (like this article's headline) and to a simulation of reality, even when talking about a virtual reality. Case in point is the article that appeared on the front page of Yahoo, syndicated from ABC News: "Prosecutors: Killer Played World of Warcraft 7 Hours Per Day." It's so great to see we're all killers.
Yet another crime blamed on games
Video games always seem to be blamed for a crime if they are so much as within 1,000 yards miles of the crime scene. Games are the center of attention again after a man went on a shooting spree; he injured 27 before killing himself. Only in America ... except this time it's Germany. The man, identified as Bastian B., apparently performed the dastardly deed because of violent computer simulations. Deputy head of the Christian Democrats -- the party Chancellor Angela Merkel is a part of -- Wolfgang Bosbach decided that all violent games needed to be banned. The wild accusations didn't stop with games and even spilled over into paintball and laser tag. No evidence surfaced in the article -- or possibly in reality -- that the man even played computer games. Volker Beck (a semi-voice of reason and member of the Greens) urged to avoid conclusions until a solid motive was established. We are inclined to agree with Beck. Rearing back and immediately blaming games, especially in a situation where the criminal may not have even played them, is absurd. Even then, banning violent games would not only put a hamper on first person shooters, but would also stop any other game where violence is a factor; Final Fantasy and even cartoony violent games like Pikmin would fall under the rule. German gamers would certainly be unhappy if they could only play Barbie's Horse Adventure and EA Sports games because of some law that doesn't make anyone safer. [Thanks, pandlcg]
