Played a war video game? You're a war criminal claim human rights group

[Zeus]

A new Human Rights study has asserted that anyone who plays a war based video game such as Modern Warfare 2 is actually verging on the border of being a war criminal. The research slammed game for violating laws on war and appealed for publishers to remind players about their actions.

<blockquote>Human rights groups played various games to see if any broke humanitarian laws that govern what is a war crime.

The study condemned the games for violating laws by letting players kill civilians, torture captives and wantonly destroy homes and buildings.

It said game makers should work harder to remind players about the real world limits on their actions. </blockquote>

News Source: <A href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8373794.stm" target="_blank">BBC</a>

[tiderium-jedi]

groups like these are getting to much press, the liberal loonies are getting to much power.

So if I shoot someone in a game I'm a war criminal, they can f**k off

[tech3475]

It said game makers should work harder to remind players about the real world limits on their actions. </blockquote>

One less NPC in the world? Force IW to make a video depicting the aftermath of the High Definition carnage? Have the BBC war correspondent interview the voice actors?

So in that case every actor in a war film/TV show where something like this happens should get locked up?

Seriously WTF?

[msanchez]

You know I'm starting to miss jack thompson.... these damn studies are simply WAYYYY MORE IDIOTIC than he ever was... ... ... I can't believe I just said that.

[nicdanger]

groups like these are getting to much press, the liberal loonies are getting to much power.

Congratulations! That's the most ill informed opinion I've ever read in here. Nice work!

[0kensai0]

Greenpeace should say playing age of empires is destroying forests....

PETA should definitely complain to mario about that racoon tail thing...

Hey I'm sure GTA encourages reckless driving (amoungst other things)

and Mafia?? organised crime anyone....

surely even Theme Hospital is violating some building code or worker rights somewhere ^_^

Human rights groups played various games to see if any broke humanitarian laws that govern what is a war crime.

I'm sure thats what every research student has tried in the past...."This game I'm playing...serious research going on"

[legendofphil]

I read the article, I found it a good read. A lot of reasonable arguments even including why they choose to do video games and not movies or books. Also what they would like seen done.
Apart from one thing, one of the games they used was Call of Duty: World At War, which is based in World War II. The Geneva Conventions, which they used as a base for this, didn't exist in current form at that point.
They were updated drastically because of WWII and have been updated several times since.

The headline and blurb here is completely misleading (as per usual), this is seeing if the content in the games would constitute a war crime if it happened in the real world.

It said game makers should work harder to remind players about the real world limits on their actions.

Driving games have done this for years, its not unreasonable.

[wrathchild]

I just want to shoot people. Is that a crime?

[code-ninja_x]

i sir will proudly declare that i am a virtual war criminal and genocidal maniac - killing millions in a virtual world that does not exist.

come and try to stop my chaos...

[hanz]

what a crock of ****

[Captain N1]

am i doing something wrong?, everytime i restart a level the men/npc/buildings are back and very well. lol Stupid morons. Its just a game it aint real.

[JonathanD]

I just want to shoot people. Is that a crime?

Not in a video game, lol

I used to take a special pleasure in this one game, Goldeneye for the N64 there was this boat mission with lots of scientist you where supposed to be rescuing... any way it was more fun to shoot them in the leg and chase them down only to shoot them moments before they escaped.... I remember it took me months to actually finish that game lol

Now would I do this in real life ??? Hell no I hate blood and people in pain and while I might think about it once in a while (its normal to think about killing some one who is a pain in your ass but its not normal to actually do it)

Anyway these groups who campaign against video games are just worried that some people may lack self control and take this input as something other then entertainment... the problem with that logic is that you would have to remove all forms of media from the people and religion and possibly thought itself. Obsessive compulsive behavior is the condition the format of the obsession is not really important.

My feeling is that even though a nut played Call of Duty 1-29 then went out and shot up a bunch of people at his school/mall/town, if you took the games away it would have been he watched 180 days of the history channel straight before he shot up some place. Maybe comic books if not that then it would have been role playing games or religion "The devil made me do it" or God "These people are all sinners and need to be punished"

End of story is that nuts are nuts and regardless of what inspires them they will find inspiration in something they seek it out to justify or agree with what is driving them to do what it is they do.

[jackoneil2000]

But if you are a police officer and you use deadly force, you are a hero!

Stupid studies are stupid studies.

Believe in peace & non-violence. Without the restriction of human rights and freedoms and full preservation of privacy. Even though you play fictional violent games.

The greatest war crimes are committed off the battlefield, in the corporate offices of those who create war to drive an industry that profits off war. War is also created by various other war mongering entities, that wish to keep a tight grasp on power/control/law/money, which was paid with other peoples' blood & paid with the removal of certain human freedoms/rights, slowly but progressively. THAT'S A WAR CRIME!

[aunkid]

human rights group can prevent future player from performing these so they called war crime; by purchases all remaining copy of modern warfare 2 them self and shove it up their asses.

[NaTaS666]

lololololololololololololololololololololol