By Alec Meer on November 17th, 2010 at 6:01 pm.
There’s an argument that the media shouldn’t given any air to known enfant terribles – that by giving more profile to someone who spouts wild and dangerous innacuracies you only serve to further their cause. It’s not one I believe, though – that would mean someone like disgraced game-haranguing UK politician Keith Vaz would essentially get away with ritually blaming the evil that men can do on videogames. No; any chance to reveal the flaws in his bewildering bluster and blame should be taken.
In this case, he’s accused Counter-Strike of inspiring a series of tragic shootings which occurred in Malmo, Sweden. A case local police have said appears to be part of a year-long campaign of violence against immigrants to the area. Keith has other ideas.
Here’s the request he put before the Commons in an Early Day Motion a couple of weeks back:
“That this House notes with concern that the recent race shootings in Malmo, Sweden have been associated with the violent video game Counter-Strike; further notes that the internet-based, first-person shooting game that pits a counter-terrorist team against terrorists was previously banned in Brazil and in 2007 was associated with US College Campus massacres; recognises the potential impact of violent video games on those under 18 years; and calls on the Government to ensure the purchase of video games by those under 18 yearsis controlled and that parents are provided with clear information on the violent content of certain games.”
“Associated with” is his argument. He doesn’t appear to provide any more information than that, nor note that all the victims were of foreign origin. As far as I can ascertain, the association has not been made by Swedish police either, at least not publicly.
Probably because his argument stems entirely from a Times report (paywall, because Rupert Murdoch’s an eejit) in which some passing bloke said of the 38-year-old man arrested (but not yet charged) for the shootings that “”I am sure that this is down to some crazy kid who plays that sniping game Counter-Strike all day. I don’t believe in the lone Nazi theory.”
What more detail could anyone possibly want? Some geezer has said that a murderer might have played a videogame. No, no, it doesn’t matter that the Swedish authorities have said nothing of the sort, that there is no publicly-revealed evidence whatsoever that there is a link between this or any game and a series of brutal attacks on dark-skinned people in the area. A bloke says another bloke probably played videogames, so there.
Perhaps Mr Vaz has more information on the matter which he has yet to reveal. Or perhaps he’s the sort of chap who thinks facts and opinions are the same thing. The Times shouldn’t be terribly proud of itself either; in both cases, it’s attempting to marginalise growing racial tensions in Sweden for the sake of sensationalist soapboxing about an unrelated topic.
In his statement, you’ll note Vaz requested that the government increase regulation on the sale of games to minors – I’m sure he does care about children and the dangers of exposing them to violent content, but that doesn’t have a whole lot to do with a 38-year-old racist.
I have no objection whatsoever to frank and full investigations into whether the ever-changing medium that is games has any untoward effects on their players. As long as they are investigations, not self-promotional fear-mongering. As long as they’re not exploiting terrible tragedies to further personal agendas.
Have you killed any foreigners as a result of playing Counter-Strike? If so, let Keith know. I’m sure he’d love to have some concrete proof, as a change from desperately looking for any means of propping up his poorly-researched arguments.
17/11/2010 at 18:02 Navagon says:
Staring eyes tag! Go! Go! Go!
17/11/2010 at 18:11 Alec Meer says:
You are quite right.
18/11/2010 at 02:26 BAReFOOt says:
You know how they call someone who – like this MP – creates terror in people for his own personal gains?
A terrorist!
It’s not even an overstatement. It’s actually the very definition of it.
18/11/2010 at 09:57 nikos says:
Yeah, I was wondering, why the hyphen in the title?
18/11/2010 at 11:05 Navagon says:
I’d call him a bloody idiot trying provoke another ignorance-fuelled moral outrage-a-thon. What does that make him then? A moralist? That sound almost worse than a terrorist. Especially considering you only ever see the word morality mentioned in relation to bigots trying to force their repugnant, ignorant world view on people.
18/11/2010 at 17:27 Fisiu says:
Funny. In Sweden the shooter is seen as a copy cat of Lasermannen (the laserman) who went around and shot immigrants with a gun with laser sight a couple of years ago. The original laserman was a racist and hence shot only immigrants. This new guy in Malmö was nicknamed “The new laserman” by the media in Sweden and practically the whole country because there was a similarity in the way they did it. I don´t understand how he can be tied to counter-strike when the whole country ties him to the old laserman. Way bigger chance that he got the idea from the old laserman and sees him as a idol. I don´t think counter-strike made him go out and shoot them.
19/11/2010 at 13:10 iCaL* says:
If video games affected us then we would all be running around in darked rooms munching pills while listening to repetitive music (PACMAN).
22/11/2010 at 09:05 BAReFOOt says:
LOL
> “Associated with” is his argument.
Logic FAIL!
Let’s try this:
Keith Vaz is a child molester.
Keith Vaz is a child molester.
Keith Vaz is a child molester.
And now:
Keith Vaz is a child molester. This is fact, because Keith Vaz has previously been associated with molesting children.
:P
26/11/2010 at 19:18 Joe says:
The author needs to proof-read his shit.
05/12/2010 at 19:51 Kyle says:
@BAReFOOt
Possible he plays CS himself.
06/12/2010 at 17:32 Pedro says:
Why isn’t anyone blaming the world governments for allowing such poverty and distress to happen in the first place. When we’re all hungry for money because we need to live, and that requirement cannot be fulfilled, then what does one do after that? Who does one turn to when completely stressed and at the end of their patience? VIOLENCE and DRUGS because you don’t have to be “hired” to get money from those.
This guy who says CouterStrike is to blame is a KNOB! A stupid idiot who should be fired. I cant believe we vote these stupid idiots into government. And I cant believe websites are dumb enough to post this crap. I blame the media to. The Media has a due diligence to provide realistic news, not this stupid fluff crap spam bullshit that gets posted on here.
FUCK EVERYONE for BEING DUMB! This world sucks all the way to HELL because of this stupid retarded people. God save everyone please!
Why the hell do we have goverment anyways? They’re not doing anything good for the general public. I say we all revolt as one voice against government and create the utopia that God had destined for us before government ruined it for they greedy selfish needs.
Why are people so dumb and zombied out
17/11/2010 at 18:06 Gundato says:
Because of Counter-Strike? Nah.
Although, Painkiller DID give me an overwhelming urge to make a giant pneumatic-powered stake launcher and impale a bunch of corpses.
But that could be more Freudian than anything else…
17/11/2010 at 19:55 Danarchist says:
C’mon, guy is probably realizing hes coming to the end of his political career and is just showing Mr Murdock how he is a shoe-in to replace Glen Beck when he gets arrested for treason :)
Poli-rage start!
18/11/2010 at 02:35 BAReFOOt says:
Just watch the film “Network”. It’s like a documentary. The FOX equivalent is in there. The Glenn Beck one is. There is even the Arabic company buying them. (In case you don’t know: An Arabic sheik owns a big part of FOX. Which was pretty hilarious, because that very guy financed the “(a bit close to) ground zero mosque”, and Beck & friends of course spewed hate against him… until he got wind of it. ;)
It’s also still an awesome film, despite being older than I am.
18/11/2010 at 09:21 measurements says:
Everybody should watch the film Network. The degree of creepy significance only gets stronger as time progresses. Plus a laser tight script, great acting and a whole bunch of people smoking indoor make it an outstanding film. I think it’s only a couple quid on amazon so you have no excuses. None.
18/11/2010 at 10:53 Ovno says:
“I’m as mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!!!!!”
18/11/2010 at 12:02 Xercies says:
That shodowy fat guy basically says it all in Network, bloody great film. Everytime i watch it I get chills down my spine
18/11/2010 at 12:31 Sirikit says:
I’d not heard of Network – now in my amazon basket! Thanks all, who says games/gamers never teach you anything ;)
17/11/2010 at 18:06 Chris D says:
It’s a ridiculous theory. Everything I know about killing foreigners I learned from Hitman and Mortal Kombat.
17/11/2010 at 19:22 Peter Radiator Full Pig says:
Funny, I learned how to be a crimelord from GTA, and I feel pretty certain I could fight back an alien invasion since I play X-Com.
18/11/2010 at 02:38 BAReFOOt says:
I literally learned driving in rally style from Richard Burns Rally. I still haven’t found someone who lets me make a Scandinavian flick with his car though. ;)
18/11/2010 at 05:15 Sweedums says:
oh, plenty of games have taught me how to kill people. I think the important thing to note is that I haven’t killed people dispite having this knowledge…
18/11/2010 at 08:56 GewaltSam says:
Computer games are full of things you could use in real life situations. Besides my incredible talent of shooting people and the skill to land a B42 on an island fortified by the Japanese while enemy flaks penetrate my plane, i am pretty sure games like DotA told me everything there is to know about conquering a city with 5 highly specialized super mutant thingies; skills that are in my opinion as important as knowing my way around a three-barreled laser rifle. Some people that are playing videogames just lack the seriousness.
Oh, and i am pretty sure i would survive the coming zombie apocalypse.
23/11/2010 at 18:59 Sean says:
All I can say is since I play Sniper Ghost warrior, and have an 81 % accuracy with half my shot being head shots, I am a sniper; Now if I only had a real gun. Lol
17/11/2010 at 18:06 Deston says:
Clearly, the disbarred ghost of Jack Thompson has possessed a UK politician, and is out to revenge-haunt the industry.
17/11/2010 at 18:08 WMain00 says:
Wait a minute? Counter Strike? As in that game that was released yonks ago?
The least he could do is blame it on a more up to date game like Call of Duty or Halo, but Counter Strike?!
17/11/2010 at 18:10 Joshua says:
Counter Strike (Source) Is still widely played. Somehow it never gets old.
17/11/2010 at 18:21 kyrieee says:
Counter-Strike is still really big in Sweden and some other countries.
Anyway, these killings / shootings have fuckall to do with CS.
17/11/2010 at 23:11 AeroSinthetic says:
@Joshua
Actually, Counter-Strike is played more than Source most of the time.
17/11/2010 at 23:55 Delusibeta says:
@Aero: Steam (and Xfire) stats would probably disagree.
18/11/2010 at 00:56 Mo says:
@Delusibeta
Most of the cs1.6 servers these days are non-steam (to allow non-steam players) and I would speculate that most of the cs:source servers are connected to steam which would mean that steam figures are not showing the whole picture. I make no allusions as to what the correct ratio is though.
18/11/2010 at 02:39 BAReFOOt says:
It’s the only game he ever heard of. (“knows” would be an overstatement.)
GTA and DOOM is only for advanced Thompsonists.
18/11/2010 at 12:29 Joshua says:
@AeroSynthetic.
I meant both, and tried to fit them in one title. Like as done with (wo)men.
17/11/2010 at 18:09 coldwave says:
Counter Strike is a series of tubes.
17/11/2010 at 18:12 Oak says:
Noob tubes, more like.
17/11/2010 at 18:27 Sir Derpicus says:
See, it’s funny since there are no grenade launchers in CS.
17/11/2010 at 19:02 Oak says:
There is one, but you must unlock it by completing story mode.
18/11/2010 at 02:40 BAReFOOt says:
Well, technically, when you throw a grenade, you are the “launcher”. ;)
18/11/2010 at 13:45 x25killa says:
If I remember correctly, noobtube was coined for the m249 SAW machine gun for Counter-Strike before it was related to the grenade launchers on these modern FPS.
18/11/2010 at 15:12 I'm at work says:
@x25killa
Actually in my parts noob tube referred to the auto shotgun
17/11/2010 at 18:11 Joshua says:
Metro 2033′s Khan character has actually reinforced my peace beliefs.
17/11/2010 at 19:01 Heliosicle says:
I liked that guy.
18/11/2010 at 00:40 CreepingDeath says:
I liked most of the characters in Metro 2033 actually. Very well done game.
18/11/2010 at 02:31 jaheira says:
I completed it literally two minutes ago. I think it’s in the top 5 FPS games of all time.
18/11/2010 at 07:14 roryok says:
KHAAAAAAAAAAAANN!!!
17/11/2010 at 18:12 Robert Yang says:
In a level design class I taught — Me: “You remember de_dust, yeah?” They don’t.
“Wait, you’ve all played Counter-Strike, right?” One or two out of ten have.
Then one of them pipes up: “Isn’t that, like, an old game?” That’s when I collapsed on the floor and began crying.
Moral: not many young people are playing CS these days. He’d do better to blame Halo or MW2.
17/11/2010 at 18:21 kyrieee says:
I hope you failed them all
17/11/2010 at 18:32 The Hammer says:
Man, the sad decline of de_dust. Once integral to multi-player shooting games!
17/11/2010 at 18:38 pakoito says:
Those brats going to level design clases while I’m stuck in “general IT” bachelor meanwhile, learning Unix Commands and how to setup a Linux server. Thanks, Spain, for your fan-fucking-tastis scholar system.
17/11/2010 at 18:47 Dagda says:
This new generation has NO taste when it comes to the locales in which they commit virtual murder. What are the schools teaching our children?
17/11/2010 at 18:56 Tei says:
“Those brats going to level design clases while I’m stuck in “general IT” bachelor meanwhile, learning Unix Commands and how to setup a Linux server. Thanks, Spain, for your fan-fucking-tastis scholar system.”
General IT is futureprof, while learning how to use a editor is almost a hobby. You can learn UNIX at the school and become usefull to all companies of the world (not only game campanies) and learn a map builder at your home.
The application of UNIX for games is interesting. Servers, multiprocess, … You can install Linux, and a dedicated server on it, and a ventrilo server on it, etc.. a Linux server will be more stable and will support more things than a windows machine, so you want Linux in the dedicated server.
http://www.top500.org/stats/list/36/osfam
The 91% of the top 500 supercomputers are Linux machines.
17/11/2010 at 19:03 Heliosicle says:
everyone knows dust2 was where it was at.
17/11/2010 at 19:06 frymaster says:
I’ve never played it either; tried to get into CS back in the day, didn’t like it, never got round to that map. And yes, I was around at the time (I remember when TFC first became official, for example)
17/11/2010 at 20:31 Cerebrium says:
Pffft, UT_FacingWorlds was far more important.
17/11/2010 at 21:45 MajorManiac says:
I was always partial to a bit of E1M7. Old School! :)
17/11/2010 at 22:24 thristhart says:
@Tei
While I agree that UNIX education is future-proof, you’re confusing level design and learning a level editor. A good comparison would be equating learning game design to learning programming. It’s highly likely most if not all games in the future will have some sort of need for level design.
17/11/2010 at 22:34 Thants says:
Pfft, let me know when we start talking about 2fort4.
17/11/2010 at 23:26 Bhazor says:
Actually I’d say the use of Linux is the opposite. These super computers are built to only do one thing be that protein bending or processing satellite data. All the software for the computer is built from the ground up with this goal in mind and Linux too can be customised or even built from scratch to focus on this single purpose. So I think its this stripping of superfluous features rather than any compatibility or versatility that make Linux/Unix so popular at the super high end. I even hear some supercomputers have no kind of internet because they didn’t want to waste memory or disk space on firewalls.
As an example the current world leader is closer to a good old fashioned 1950s computer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11766840
18/11/2010 at 02:57 BAReFOOt says:
@Tai: See that’s the problem: People who get out of university are always the ones who think they can now stop learning, and that it’s future-proof. In reality, if you don’t keep up with full power, you’re done in 5 years. Could as well never have studied. I thing: What’s the point of a CS degree, despite more money from people who blindly believe in it because of their own lack of competence? Because: You’re supposed to study all the time anyway.
Also, they usually know a bit of everything, but noting at a professional level.
@Bazor: That’s a false dichotomy. (I’m assuming unintentional.) They are able to strip it down for every purpose, because of its versatility. Versatility and specialization are not opposites. They are two dimensions of the same thing. Let’s say, Linux is a specialist in everything. A all-rounder in specialization. :)
18/11/2010 at 18:20 iainl says:
If it’s not Q2DM1 you can forget it.
27/11/2010 at 01:35 Gronk says:
If it’s not Pong, go home…
17/11/2010 at 18:18 Joe says:
Ahh Keith Vaz, let’s see what sort of politician he is ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Vaz#Filkin_inquiry
Oh yes, a corrupt one. No doubt someone with a grudge against VIDJAGAMES probably slipped him a brown envelope full of £50 notes to go on this little warpath.
17/11/2010 at 19:22 Shakermaker says:
He is also a staunch supporter of homeopathy. That kind of says it all.
17/11/2010 at 21:19 Stephen says:
And the Digital Economy Act. He’s the minister who sent everyone who wrote to their MP (my MP, good on him, even passed it on to me) about the Digital Economy Act a letter about how their personal data will be protected when they are disconnected from the internet.
18/11/2010 at 07:15 roryok says:
Never trust a Keith.
17/11/2010 at 18:24 noobnob says:
…and the ban was lifted last year. The ban didn’t even make sense as the game could still be bought on Steam by any brazilian.
17/11/2010 at 18:25 Mr Chug says:
Modern Warfare 2 trained me and conditioned me to be able to brutally murder the writers of Modern Warfare 2.
17/11/2010 at 18:36 Ted says:
but that’s justified.
17/11/2010 at 19:24 Meneth says:
That’s self-defense.
17/11/2010 at 21:54 DMJ says:
That’s terror.
17/11/2010 at 22:52 EthZee says:
ELECTRONIC OLD MEN
17/11/2010 at 22:53 destx says:
It’s all in the numbers.
17/11/2010 at 23:26 Devenger says:
Number one: that’s a generic shooter. Number two: that’s a gener- *gets hit by a random throwing knife and dies instantly*
18/11/2010 at 01:30 Kristian says:
dont think you have to since Activision is driving towards solutions where you don’t have to do the shooting.
18/11/2010 at 01:58 Bret says:
Well done! (Also, stupid spam filter)
17/11/2010 at 18:27 Taillefer says:
I kill several each morning. Bright and early.
17/11/2010 at 23:29 Bhazor says:
I agree. Do it first thing in the morning and you can have the whole day to yourself.
Or am I thinking of doing the dishes?
18/11/2010 at 03:00 BAReFOOt says:
Who says you have to stop after morning? ^^
17/11/2010 at 18:30 mpk says:
Keith Vaz is, and always has been, an arsepiece. He’s been spouting this kind of nonsense for years now – no one has ever taken notice before, but still he keeps plugging away.
17/11/2010 at 18:30 The Hammer says:
Perhaps Phil Woolas played a lot of Counter Strike?
17/11/2010 at 18:42 Freud says:
The arrested shooter was into Taekwondo, building his own musical instruments, playing musical instruments and repairing bicycles. Very sinister activities. There hasn’t been any reports about him playing computer games though.
17/11/2010 at 19:43 WJonathan says:
The trombone made him do it.
18/11/2010 at 09:43 Rich says:
Away with you and your bothersome facts.
17/11/2010 at 18:43 mollemannen says:
i’m from sweden and from what i can tell the shooter had pisspoor aim and since thats the first thing you train in counter-strike they are unrelated.
(hope you get the sarcasm ^^)
17/11/2010 at 18:46 Vanderdecken says:
Except… his request has already been granted. PEGI is universal and quite clear, and it’s illegal for a games retailer to sell a game to anyone younger than its age rating. What’s the problem? Isn’t he just banging on about the stupid idea with no consequences? Load of hot air, is that Vaz.
17/11/2010 at 18:52 theleif says:
“in 2007 was associated with US College Campus massacres”
That’s probably the Virginia Tech shootings. I remember FOX (who else?) claiming that the shooter played CS, a claim that turned out to be false. If I remember correctly, not only did the shooter not play CS, he actually despised computer games in general.
What an informed gent we have here. And this chap is a member of parliament you say?
Congratulations.
17/11/2010 at 18:53 The Walker says:
What makes it most absurd for me is that I can’t think of an FPS where the theme of the game is more disassociated with the gameplay in my mind. The fact that I’m shooting a brown skinned terrorist crosses my mind much less often than the thought that I’m trying to beat some annoying college student at a computer game.
17/11/2010 at 18:59 Ergates_Antius says:
Whilst it’s tempting to get angry at the shite this man spews, the only think about this that really upsets me is that Keith Vaz is still allowed to be an MP and isn’t in jail where crooks like him belong.
17/11/2010 at 19:07 Kandon Arc says:
At least he’s not in government anymore.
18/11/2010 at 17:08 Malibu Stacey says:
Um since when? There’s been no by-election in Leicester East since the last General Election so he’s still a member of parliament for the foreseeable future. Why people keep voting for him is another issue entirely.
17/11/2010 at 19:06 Kandon Arc says:
Going through the staring eyes tag means I won’t sleep tonight.
17/11/2010 at 19:08 Urael says:
There is only one counter-argument you need to stop people like this in their tracks. It goes a little something like this:
“If video games are so harmful, and hundreds of millions of people every day are playing video-games, why aren’t more people out harming other people? Why is it only one news article in a blue moon that appears making this claim, and why is that article rarely substantiated?”
The answer is, of course, because evryone who plays games understands the difference between Real Life and the Imaginary Digital Worlds they play in. End of argument.
17/11/2010 at 19:12 Urael says:
*sobs* RPS keeps eating my comments.
17/11/2010 at 19:12 DrugCrazed says:
Hi I’m Keith Vaz and I’m one of those dangerous people who are misinformed enough to make their own decision about things.
17/11/2010 at 19:29 Fumarole says:
Someone really should make a collage of the Staring Eyes lead photos. But not me, I’m too lazy.
17/11/2010 at 19:42 Meneth says:
http://i.imgur.com/Bdu3n.jpg
Good enough?
17/11/2010 at 20:04 The Hammer says:
GG, Meneth, GG.
17/11/2010 at 20:26 Lambchops says:
Good work sir.
Kid with biscuit is clearly the most creepy. It’s almost enough to make you believe in demonic possession.
17/11/2010 at 20:52 Meneth says:
Nah, I’d say Kotick looks the most creepy.
18/11/2010 at 04:43 Spacewalk says:
I look forward to the day when we have enough Staring Eyes to collage into an image that, when zoomed out, is a photo of a man. Staring.
17/11/2010 at 19:40 bob_d says:
I can’t say I play much CS, but I do play RPGs. I don’t know if that has anything to do with frequently finding myself rummaging around in other people’s houses looking for ammo and health potions, or my strange compulsion to break any crates or barrels I come across.
17/11/2010 at 19:45 HopperUK says:
I’ve been playing Civ 5, and if you lot don’t give me all your iron and stop making nice with the next town over, there is going to be some big trouble around here.
17/11/2010 at 22:57 Dances to Podcasts says:
Quintin, stop posting under alts.
17/11/2010 at 19:56 Ghost of Grey Cap says:
Heh. Well, I’m swedish, the shootings have been all over the news and hotly discussed, and this is the first time I hear that ‘them there videogames done it’. I guess you live and learn, huh?
17/11/2010 at 20:09 Zogtee says:
I actually live in Malmo in Sweden and yes, this is the first I’ve heard of this guy and that “videogames did it”.
17/11/2010 at 20:13 Lambchops says:
[Joke about killing all those damn foreigners unless they get their shit together removed due to fears of being prosecuted for menacing online communication]
18/11/2010 at 06:18 thebigJ_A says:
I can’t tell if this is an actual edit or an incredibly meta joke. (Or an incredibly meta joke-edit)
Either way, you can get prosecuted for something like that? How? I’m confused.
18/11/2010 at 11:06 Matthew says:
Behold the Twitter Joke Trial – http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/11/twitter-joke-trial-appeal-verdict
17/11/2010 at 20:32 Andrew says:
Vaz is my MP, so I’ve written to him asking for his explanation of his behaviour in this matter. I’ll let you know what he says, if he responds…
18/11/2010 at 14:11 Ergates_Antius says:
Did you include an envelope full of cash?
If not he probably won’t.
17/11/2010 at 20:39 Navagon says:
Playing devils advocate here, but I haven’t heard of two people stabbing others in the head in the same month over any other game. That’s a pretty extreme thing to do over a game. So when two people at opposite sides of the world do that it certainly sticks in your mind. Much like the knives did, no doubt.
There definitely are some very uptight people playing that game.
17/11/2010 at 20:47 Rakysh says:
Ah, I think there are uptight people in this world, and some of them play Counter Strike. Due to the ridiculous numbers of people playing, some percentage are going to be less well in the head than would perhaps be nice.
17/11/2010 at 21:03 Navagon says:
True. That’s my normal stance on these things too. If a psycho runs someone over after playing GTA I’m generally more inclined to put it down to him being a psycho than somehow the game’s fault.
But in the case of Counterstrike you’ve got a community that’s generally considered to be pretty hostile anyway. Compare them to TF2 and you can’t believe they’re both Valve games (albeit with completely different origins). Valve seem to acknowledge this too with very stiff, sober CS ads compared with the livelier ones for their other games. CS players take it all way too seriously.
Also you don’t often hear about people stabbing others just over a game. Never mind in the head. And certainly not two separate incidents in the same month.
Now I’m not saying this is the game’s fault. But its community is another matter.
17/11/2010 at 21:18 Rakysh says:
I see your point, but I’d still assume that people who stab other people in the head aren’t quite right to begin with, rather than them being messed up as a result of playing a game. I mean, perhaps the method and immediate reason were down to CS, but I’m perfectly willing to believe that someone who will stab someone else over a video game would do the same thing over anything else people get passionate about.
I mean, I agree that CS players can be a bit unusual, even by the standards of online video games (I got raged at once by one who had found his way onto TF2 for not dying from a shotgun blast to the face). The advertising thing is due to the tone of the game first and foremost though, I reckon, similar to Day of Defeat (although I don’t know much about the community there.) A game where you cant throw jars of piss at someone to stop them being on fire is going to have to be advertised differently to a camo-clad anti terrorist type thing.
18/11/2010 at 11:09 Navagon says:
Ha ha ha! Oh man, a Counterstriker lost his way and wound up playing TF2? Don’t blame him for lashing out. He’s just terrified and confused.
But yes, Countrerstrike is definitely not responsible for affecting anyone’s sanity. It just seems to attract those who are a bit unstable to begin with.
18/11/2010 at 17:21 Malibu Stacey says:
FYI people stab each other every weekend for no reason what so ever here in Glasgow (and plenty of other cities in the UK). They don’t even need anything to get passionate about, stabbing someone is it’s own reward for some fuckups.
18/11/2010 at 18:58 Quinnbeast says:
I wonder if suicide bombers get their practice in by doing detpack jumps in TFC?
17/11/2010 at 20:50 Ruiner66 says:
This is hilarious. Look at all the crazy evil crap people are doing in the name of religion. Seriously, if they do something against video games, I want the same things done to religion.
17/11/2010 at 21:02 faelnor says:
me, I blame basshunter
18/11/2010 at 11:38 Leelad says:
Doesn’t he just sit in his bedroom and play DoTA? Harsh!!
17/11/2010 at 21:13 theunshaven says:
*Games academic hulks-out* Rraaarrrgh!
I shall now translate and inject TrueFacts into this screed:
“That this House notes with concern that the recent race shootings in Malmo, Sweden have been associated with the violent video game Counter-Strike”
(by me, sez PoliticianDude, and opinions cannot be wrong!)
“further notes that the internet-based, first-person shooting game that pits a counter-terrorist team against terrorists was previously banned in Brazil and in 2007 was associated with US College Campus massacres”
(Associated with US College Massacres by Jack Thompson, notorious barking moon-bat, who claimed that when utterly no evidence was found that the Virginia Tech shooter played Counterstrike, that the police were in the pay of the games companies and it was a cover up)
”recognises the potential impact of violent video games on those under 18 years”
(The potential impact being quite possibly nil in comparison to wider social factors, and aware that studies of the effects of media violence are themselves deeply problematic, which is discussed in the article by Jeffery Goldstein called “Violent Video Games,” in the ‘Handbook of Computer Games Studies’?)
“and calls on the Government to ensure the purchase of video games by those under 18 yearsis controlled and that parents are provided with clear information on the violent content of certain games.”
(Like the existing ESRB ratings systems, together with local systems around the world? What a good idea.)
- The Unshaven.
17/11/2010 at 23:24 Dances to Podcasts says:
That would be a lot more convincing if you’d shave. Like that nice mr. Vaz.
18/11/2010 at 00:05 Delusibeta says:
Existing PEGI system: used by much of Western Europe, and probably some of Eastern Europe as well, has special logo on the back of the box. In the UK, the BBFC rating system is still in use (My copy of New Vegas has a whacking great big BBFC 18 to underline the point), which probably a bit more confusing, but considering it’s the system movies are rated by, it’s probably a bit more familiar. The law in the UK says that it’s illegal for a shop to sell a game (or a movie) that’s rated higher than the purchaser’s age. I really can’t see what’s more that can be done.
17/11/2010 at 21:14 Shadram says:
Erm, does he know that that already happens? Or did he sleep through that session of parliament?
17/11/2010 at 21:14 Adrian says:
i dont know about this… the last amokläufer we had in germany was a 40 year old woman who didn’t even have a computer……
17/11/2010 at 21:18 KingCathcart says:
Look this is all very interesting but I’m far too busy trying to recruit female superheros into my brothel.
EDIT: BTW does anyone know any female superheros cos I’m not having much luck.
17/11/2010 at 21:20 thesundaybest says:
People, no. But the things I’ve done to pixelated spaceships cannot be comprehended.
17/11/2010 at 21:31 DrGonzo says:
Wouldn’t that guy have been in his 20s when Counter Strike came out – not a teenager?
17/11/2010 at 21:31 Scandalon says:
Also likely associated – booze, because there was some in the cabinet. And milk, there was some in his fridge. Milk kills children, and you don’t want to be a child killer, do you? Think of the children.
17/11/2010 at 23:09 Dances to Podcasts says:
Moloko Vellocet.
17/11/2010 at 21:35 Scandalon says:
Also, one of my life’s goals is now to have my picture featured in an RPS article, with the staring eyes tag applied.
17/11/2010 at 22:14 Daniel Carvalho says:
“paywall, because Rupert Murdoch’s an eejit”
Love it! XD
18/11/2010 at 02:30 BAReFOOt says:
Paywall – The idea that people will like you more, because you want money for that, which is available for free everywhere else. :P
17/11/2010 at 22:27 Nick says:
His disgusting face was distressing me so I addblocked him.
17/11/2010 at 22:34 kastanok says:
What a bleedin’ nutcase. Aren’t MPs required to possess a capacity for rational thought and the ability to string two words together without sounding a complete arse?
Oh wait, what am I saying? Of course not or we wouldn’t have any!
17/11/2010 at 23:02 doglikesparky says:
Playing violent video games doesn’t make me want to kill innocent civilians. Having to get up in the morning, get a bus to work, work, and then get a bus home makes me want to kill innocent civilians.
18/11/2010 at 00:44 Quinnbeast says:
Damn right. Staying home and playing violent video games actually SAVES lives!
Moar pew pew for everyone!
17/11/2010 at 23:26 Araxiel says:
I killed some Zombie Nazis lately. Do they count as foreigners?
18/11/2010 at 00:00 Morgawr says:
Warning: An alarming amount of Menacing Electronic Communication has been detected in this thread. Please desist at once.
18/11/2010 at 00:06 Delusibeta says:
Ultimately, in the words of The Heavy: “Cry some moar!”
18/11/2010 at 01:08 togmkn says:
You know what happens if we sell video games to minors, right?
TERRORISTS WIN.
[/radio announcer guy voice]
18/11/2010 at 01:52 ChosenOne54 says:
OMG THERE WAS A MURDER! AND THE MURDERER PLAYED COUNTER-STRIKE! There MUST be a connection!
18/11/2010 at 02:28 BAReFOOt says:
100% of all murderers drank water in the 24 hours before their act! BAN WATER! :P
18/11/2010 at 03:18 andrew says:
its been awhile since I played counterstrike, but..
aren’t all of the character models white, or fairly light skinned?? I don’t really see how they are tying this in with the racial component of the killings
18/11/2010 at 06:37 TeeJay says:
hmmm – my comments keep disappearing!
18/11/2010 at 09:28 Spacewalk says:
I keep (mis?)reading his name as Keith Vag. Funny that.
18/11/2010 at 09:34 pipman3000 says:
oh my god what the hell is that thing i think i just crapped my pants what nightmare did you pull that picture out of?!
18/11/2010 at 09:35 subscriber says:
I was really hoping Vaz would go away now Labour are out of government, but apparently that was wishful thinking. He does the anti-games group a great disservice every time he flaps his jaw.
18/11/2010 at 09:45 Rich says:
I shall post this. It’s only slightly relevant to this discussion, but it amused me.
18/11/2010 at 10:21 evilsooty says:
Ah, good old Vaz; what a cretin. For anyone with a strong stomach here he is in his censoring role again, this time over a film he has never watched (Geert Wilder’s anti-Islam film, FITNA):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqdG6Q_8cIQ
Or the banning of the ‘legal high’, mephedrone, in the absence of any evidence of its harmful effects and oblivious to the principle of individual freedom:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mephedrone-likely-to-become-class-b-drug-1925874.html
All-in-all, he is one of the most vile politicians in the UK, a champion of censorship and is anti-libertarian to his core.
18/11/2010 at 14:25 Ergates_Antius says:
Don’t forget the most imporant thing about him: He’s crooked – he takes bribes to use his influence as an MP to “make things happen” for people.
18/11/2010 at 11:08 Salem5 says:
There has never been any motivation for racial murders in history until Counter Strike came along. I bet Hitler started it all after getting teabagged by some jewish player. “Started it”, that is a good one…
I wish I was getting payed for talking bull, that is what I do the most time anyway :P
18/11/2010 at 11:58 Caleb367 says:
100% of criminals worldwide, in EVERY MOMENT OF HISTORY, have breathen air.
Therefore, air makes one go crazy and criminal.
You breathe? You’re a terrorist.
(on a more serious note, it seems the UK’s one of the few remaining countries whose scammers, pardon, politicians still cling to cheap videogame scare to get on newspapers. I mean, it’s been years since Jack Thompson and that exhilarating Mass Effect fuckup by Fox, in Italy’s been several years from that other Rule of Rose fuckup, but the UK… seems to crap out another attention whoring parasite every freaking week. What the heck, Brits.)
18/11/2010 at 12:20 MadTinkerer says:
“in 2007 was associated with US College Campus massacres”
Translation: “I associate this game with the the 2007 US College Campus massacres.” two-faced, snake-tongued, motherfucker.
It’s not like the Columbine Massacre and Doom, where there actually was a tenuous connection(e.g. the killers actually did play Doom and probably Monopoly and Scrabble at some point). Being an American College Student in 2007, who plays Counter-Strike occasionally, you would think I would have heard of this “association” before some ponce thousands of miles away started gassing about it.
On the other hand, it is totally true that up until say, the release of the horrifically violent and bloodily detailed Atari 2600, no one had ever even heard of a case of someone killing someone else with a gun. Right?
19/11/2010 at 00:58 The Magic says:
And this guy is MP of my local area. One of the very few areas that has majority non-white population, and he’s sidelining the racial aspect of racial killings to talk about games? I never liked him.
20/11/2010 at 17:23 JackBassV says:
Personally, I’ve committed mass genocide on many occasions – As a Civ player, that’s the aim. Slaughter all opposition MPs – sorry, that should read Civilisations – and take over the world. Doesn’t mean I want to though – too much like hard work!
And killing in FPS have the same effect. Just ’cause I enjoy killing in a game hasn’t made me kill in reality. And I’m quite a good shot with a 7.62 cal rifle.
This all reminds me of the 1980′s and “D&D turned my son to Satan.” In the most famous case, the “Mother” and “Son” picture were two strangers at a religious festival. The more things change…
20/11/2010 at 20:54 Ben says:
The CS terrorists remind me of GI JOE characters (Obvs the cartoon) haha, that guy is 100% cunt.
21/11/2010 at 20:22 Angry Cs Gamer says:
What a jerk, blaming CS for beeing violent. Its not violent at all, look at HALF LIFE 2 YOU MOTHERFUCKER, THERE THERE ARE ZOMBIES with their stomach open so you can the guts. WTF is wrong with some guys thiese days!?
22/11/2010 at 22:36 deluxebgn says:
uhhh why blame cs? seriously, blame 9/11 and all the terrorism not even just for the U.S. but the whole world
24/11/2010 at 01:02 Rlkng says:
Don’t ever try to disturb these peoples opinion with facts. They already know everything.
24/11/2010 at 23:40 rug says:
Hey was trying to get a trail for SK gaming
26/11/2010 at 17:59 gandalf says:
mmmm,,,, just a noob.
he can’t kill there and he cries xD
i think this kind of articles are just… stupid, if a person can see the difference between killing characters of a game and people is because they are just idiots
29/11/2010 at 01:59 JChan says:
Been playing CS for the last almost 7 years and I’m 18 now. I mean, I’m a moral person and all I care about the community and all that, but I also enjoy CS too. I know the difference between “game” and “real life” and I can seperate them well too.
Might as well ban Laser Tag as well, it’s a first person shooter game that kids as young as 5 years old play at local amusement parks and fun centers. “Family” fun centres as they call them. Ban chess too, it’s so violent, you hop around on coloured squares and try to kill the other player’s pieces. Chess is a representation of war.
29/11/2010 at 02:03 JChan says:
About age restrictions, there are acutally quite afew loopholes to them.
1. Friends. Just ask one over 18. (Yes, I know that from personal experiance since the day I turned 18)
2. Consignment stores, thrift stores and pawnshops. They pretty much never ID you for buying a game.
3. Ordering online. Need I say more?
Now excuse me while I go play some nonviolent Tetris. Yay.
05/12/2010 at 16:20 Dusan Zorovic says:
The shooting was because of Swedens failed immigration policies and not because of CS, lol.
05/12/2010 at 19:50 Kyle says:
@BAReFOOt
Possible he is playing CS himself?
07/12/2010 at 19:22 sanek says:
а по русски можно
11/12/2010 at 17:40 liQuid^moTion says:
Most of the shooters in the last decade, were shortly after a release of a new Call Of Duty title.
I think COD might just turn kids into murderers!
Seriously, Keith Vaz needs to grow a brain. There’s millions of kids playing CS, if that game was the main reason people became murderers we would have a lot more murders, and a lot less whine about overpopulation. In fact it would solve a lot of problems for China, and the 1kid rule would probably be dropped!
13/12/2010 at 04:46 Michael says:
Have to admit this guy is pathetic absoulutely pathetic,
1) Their are hundereds of shooter games, and thousands who play then, so everyone who aplys a shooter game is considered a murderer now?
2) I agree with the top post, Ban water!!! it must be a murderer after all the murderers drink it withing 24 hours of murders, their must be a connection between to two!
3) who the hell is this guy -_-, is their any solid proof that cs was the reason? has it been scientifically proven that everoyne who plays cs will become a murderer? if so then im a murderer as well cause i play cs >_>.
14/12/2010 at 07:19 Zomane says:
So, a person who creates terror for his own benefit is a terrorist.
And I guess that this MP has no benefit in creating terror of CS in children’s minds?
14/12/2010 at 21:49 Dan Hardman says:
Last time i checked, terrorists werent a race of people. They are a type of person, dedicated to bring terror into the publics lives… If anything, simulating their death in game is much more preferable than a real life situation.. Keep it in the games guys ;)