Punish the Game Makers?

There is a bill in the House of Representatives that says that the video game creators should be held liable if somebody under 17 years old commits a crime because he played it on a video game. Now we do already live in a society that likes to pass the buck when it comes to taking responsibility, but does anybody really believe this is the answer?

In my humble opinion this is just crazy. Good thing the recent Playboy game wasn’t too popular or people would probably start blaming that for their kids making too much “whoopie”. I have a simple solution though, why don’t we just start carding folks who buy games? It works for adult magazines, smokes and beer. A lot of folks will say, “Well, some parents aren’t around all the time to see what their kids are playing!” and that is just bunk.

How much time does it take to walk up to your kid’s room, look at their video game collection and take the ones they shouldn’t be playing. I know my parents used to be able to put the fear of God into me when I was doing something wrong. We have grown up in a time though where video games and television have become our new babysitters though. Now that things are getting a little hot and heavy, folks want to blame the TV instead of themselves.

Will this fix anything? No. Instead of going down the street to buy their video games, people will just play them Online or order them from Japan or Europe. The box has already been opened, and there is no shutting it down now.

Should the people who make and sell “violent video” games be held accountable if someone commits a crime because of playing them?

That’s something our state lawmakers are considering, to open game makers up to more liability.

House Bill 2178 proposes to hold the makers and sellers of violent video games liable if someone under 17 years old commits a crime, due in any part, to playing the game.

Supporters of the bill, like Bill Hanson with the Washington Police and Sheriff’s Association, say “kids” are getting the games, and they’re becoming desensitized.

“If you sit up and watch this and play these games over and over again… it seems that this is alright to walk up and hit a police officer over the head with a bat,” Hanson said.

Opponents argue that the proposed bill would shift the responsibility from the person who actually committed the crime.

Lew McMurran, with the Washington Software Association, says violent games are clearly rated for adults only, and that the responsibility should be on parents to use the video game rating system and control what their kids are playing.

[Read the Rest of the Article on Komo News!]