I seem to remember a fair bit of blood when you face-plant in Tony hawk.

You should try watching a few skate videos... kind of like jackass but without the weird naked guy. Thats where jackass spawned from, and where a lot of the attitude of TH games comes from.

Do you mean your brother fell 50 feet and landed on his head, or the game character?

Hmmm. Jackass has created more problems then GTA I think.

Like rock and roll in the 1950s, games have been accepted by the young and largely rejected by the old. Once the young are old, and the old are dead, games will be regarded as just another medium and the debate will have moved on. Critics of gaming do not just have the facts against them; they have history against them, too.

There is a nice, balanced (well i agree with it ;) ) piece in the Economist about violent video games and the fuss surrounding it. Nice to see some mainstream media taking a balanced look for once

http://economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=4246109)

That is good. I don't get this bit, though: 'Little Johnny should be learning how to read, not how to kill cops'. He's reffering to an M-rated game, and in America that's 17+, right? Is 'Little Johnny' some kind of mental deficient? If so, who gave him the game? I doubt anyone who can't even read could earn enough money beyond basic living costs to buy a computer game. Unless he stole the money, in which case he's unlikely to learn much from the game anyway. Everyone here can read, right?

Is 'Little Johnny' some kind of mental deficient?

According to Jack Thompson, yes, because he says all gamers are mentally retarded.

Ain't American politics great?

I know how to shoot, kill, stab, rape and every other violent act you can think of but I can't read or write. That's why I can't read the rating on the box.

They didn't calm you down but they stopped you from destroying the house. Therefore the games did you well, because they diverted your aggression where it can't do any harm.


But I only felt like destroying the house because I wasn't doing anything with my life. I felt worthless and wasn't happy about it. Maybe the games prevented me from destroying the house, but they prevented me from doing anything productive, which made me feel like destroying the house... it's a vicious circle.

What is stopping you from going outside and doing something useful? Because you'd rather be home destroying things or playing video games? Well, then you choose to maintain the vicious circle, not the game's fault...

Addiction of any kind is a problem but not everyone's an addict. You have to be able to control yourself.
If you can't, then get rid of it.
It's like alcohol. Nobody forces it down your throat. You decide to drink. You get drunk and do something stupid, your fault, not the alcohol's.

But I only felt like destroying the house because I wasn't doing anything with my life. I felt worthless and wasn't happy about it. Maybe the games prevented me from destroying the house, but they prevented me from doing anything productive, which made me feel like destroying the house... it's a vicious circle.
Sounds to me like you need medication and therapy.

"everything in moderation" is the phrase that springs to mind. Spending all day doing any one thing is bound to be counterproductive... be it playing games, watching tv, browsing web, or whatever.
I've got games on my pc, games on my gamecube, games on my xbox, dvds out every oriffice, but i still try and go skating once a week, go to the cinema, go climbing, go to pub after work, etc... Its not like i let them take over my... oohh look a sword +1!!!

That said, i know that some people can get very addicted to games (MMORPGs especially), but then some people simply have addictive personalities. Its cool that you feel happier now you aren't playing games (and since the point of games is to make you feel happy I wouldn't see any point in going back), but i don't think the games themselves can be blamed for that.

Hmmm... I suppose it's part of human nature to want to blame something other than yourself... y'all are right. My addiction to the games has nothing to do with the games themselves... it's my fault for keeping up the circle of depression.

InsaneSith: No, I don't need meds or therapy... not any more. I've taken all the computer games off my laptop and am feeling much better for it. They're like alcohol to me and until I can learn to control myself, I simply can't (and won't) play them. It's that simple.

Do video games corrupt our youth?

Yes they do. But then everything corrupts our youth, the worst offender is called "life,"