Gaming Features
By Casey Lynch Apr 19, 2007, 20:00 GMT
Attorney blames Bill Gates, Microsoft for VA Tech slayings
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Older Talkback
I heard Hitler was pretty good at Halo.
I bet that Al Capone's favorite video game was Grand Theft Auto.
Wake up and stop trying to blame video games. Video games did NOT invent violence. Out of all the people playing Counter-Strike, one person went and actually shot somebody. I bet you've seen movies like E.T. or Star Wars. Does that mean that you're going to go and try to build the Millenium Falcon or make your bike fly? No, that would be very silly to assume, wouldn't it? This was obviously a very troubled kid that boiled over. The signs were there for a LONG time and nobody did a thing about it. Counter-Strike in no way created these feelings within him. Anybody who's ever played the game on a competetive level can tell you that it's not the killing that's appealing. It's the competetive aspect. For those of us who are too small or not strong enough to play sports, it gives us that rush of competition. I don't see football players tackling people on the street because it's what they do on the field. Please stop being ignorant. You're still living in the wrong age and you've no idea what effects video games actually have on people (the only effect being enjoyment).
Amazingly, games are to blame for the shooting, even though i have read in another news article that no games, consoles, or software were found in the killers place.
Just search google news for video games.
By the way.... I WAS TRAINED ON DOOM!!!
Blame the money making industry that kills millions around the world I say. The Gun trader who sold him the gun. The poor soul was very unwell. He'd have got a gun from somewhere right enough, seemed to be determined enough along with mentally unhinged enough. There's more history to this than meets the eye and I can't help but think that an underlying bed of racist bullying and his in-securities drove him past breaking point.
WTF!!! Microsoft has nothing to do with CS. They cannot do anything. What a stupid anti-gaming n00b. cannot get the makers right :P
we are forgetting he went to a shop and bought 2 9mm pistols a glock and a usp. the right foe people to own guns killed those people not a video game.
why do you people not see that owning guns as a bad thing
Re: Ratm....Bullshit, playing violent video games do not make one violent. Being violent ALREADY makes one violent. Too much media hype on these supposed studies on violent video games creating these murderous children. You know who is to blame? Parents!! No ifs, ands, or buts. Parents are the cause of what actions their children take. How? That's easy. Most parents can answer it without a hesitation of thought. The media hero (Hillary) makes a claim that video games are the cause of all this violence, and everyone jumps on the bandwagon. Sheesh. If you believe any of this hype, then one is not smart enough to think for themselves and take to heart the bullshit media lies. Lemmings of the media are the ones apt to believe this crap.
This person is just looking for someone to tack the blame onto. The game 'Counter Strike' cannot be blamed here. If Counter Strike had such a profound impact on people, there would be exponentially more mass killers than there are today.
Here are the facts:
- Cho was a psychotic man who needed professional help. He should have been forced to go.
- There were numerous red flags that were raised. In his writings, for example. People who resist counseling the most are the very people who need to be counseled.
Microsoft cannot be held responsible for the actions of another person. Microsoft can only be held responsible for its own actions. The creation of a violent video game is not a crime. If a lawsuit is brought against Microsoft because of this, it will promptly be dropped because it is ridiculous.
If anyone deserves to be held responsible, it is the parties responsible for choosing not to over react to the situation. It is better to over react and lose a day of class than it is to under react and lose 33 students.
The fact that he played video games is irrelevant. So is blaming guns. He could have just as easily gotten in a car and started running people over. Everyone is looking for something to blame. That's the sad thing about society. If anyone is to blame, its the killer. He decided he was going to take human life. The Unabomber made mail bombs. The Boston Strangler used articles of clothing. Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy did whatever they had to with whatever they had. So how many video games did they play? The letter to Bill Gates is completely asinine.
Jack Thompson is a stupid noob. He deserves to get pwned. Get your facts straight. Valve not Microsoft is responsible for Counter Strike, and games are not the root cause of psychotic behavior.
Mr. Thompson should go after the US Army as well since they have a fps that does let you transition to firing at real targets. Since the army wants you to join up.
no violent games arent to blame in other cases people who know him siad he had a dislike for games he also was mentally ill most gamers are not i my self play halo2 gears of war and other shooters and am not insane or whatever
OMG, the people who blame all this violence on video games need to think more before they speak. Video games do not cause people to go out and do this stuff. It is bad parenting and mental issues, which are not caused by video games. If parents would raise their kids better and not leave it to the video games and movies/tv and music, there would not be as much of this happening. We have evolved into a more voilent world and this has nothing to do with video games. Just look at all the violence in other countries. A lot of them don't have video games.
that is the most rediculous letter i have vever read, valve owns, and supports CS every retard knows this..
1927 -- US: Bath, Michigan School Disaster. Andrew Kehoe, seeking revenge against the community for taxes imposed on his farm to pay for a new school, set off a TNT bomb in the school, killing 43 people, including 39 grade-school children. After the explosion, Kehoe killed his wife, then drove his truck back, loaded with dynamite & nails, to the school, & set it off, killing himself & the school superintendent. That was the worst school attack in US history and they would have blamed violent video games on that attack too.
i own handguns and play violent video games, and have /never/ even /thought/ of shooting a person. the primary reason i own a pistol is for self defence; it never leaves my apartment, except to go to the target range. i've been playing games since Wolfenstein 3D in 1992. i am not a homicidal lunatic.
Microsoft created HALO, not Counter Strike. People really need to get their facts straight before launching foolish accusations. It's evident that Cho was mentally disturbed to begin with. Playing a game in no way causes someone to become violent. They must already have violent tendencies to begin with.
It's a shame that it is so easy to point a finger and place blame.
Well, all the school shooters also drank fluids, and ate food. I think THATS whats really to blame. We need to stop giving our kids food and water because thats whats giving them the energy to shoot up their school.
If counter strike was the cause of shootings we would have all been shot a few times over by now. If you go to steam's site and see how many people are playing at any given time you would see if it led to that type of behavior it would happen daily.
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Come on now, People have no one to blame but them selves. This kid was a loser. Its obvious he had something screwed up in his head. The thing that bothers me the most is how few students actually fought for their lives.
When schools are declared as gun-free-zones like Virginia Tech was, they create an unsafe environment for students because the students are rendered defenseless. If students with gun permits had been allowed to carry on campus, this monster would never have been able to kill 32 people before being shot by someone defending himself.
Of course it's video games, NOT. How about paintball, laser tag, or waterguns. People are quick to blame video games when they've never played one. I've often thought that driving a car would be simpler if it had an Xbox controller. Apparently it's the same with guns. On every gun i've ever seen, i've seen the 'A' button right there next to the trigger to quickly change targets, oh yeah.
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