European Union to ban Karate Games

Is Mario killing the mushroom’s he butt-stomps? Are we supposed to mourn the presumably living grass Zelda cuts to scare up loot with his scythe-like sword? Are we “killing” non-hostile alien life forms in Metroid…you know, the ones just hanging out on the edges of platforms and sort of oozing around? And what’s the difference between shooting a lifelike alien with a realistically rendered gun and sicking a knife-throwing, slipper-wearing Keiji Thomas at a bunch of karate goons in Data East’s Kung-Fu Master?

Okay, granted disassociation probably plays a role in certain kinds of games. We don’t really empathize with Super Mario’s mushrooms, Zelda’s grass, Metroid’s blobby aliens, or the crudely represented humans in purple shirts and blue pants throwing kicks and punches our way in Kung-Fu Master. But going back to my interview with Iowa State professor Doug Gentile, the theoretically negative consequence of playing violent video games, where violence is defined as “causing injury to something that wouldn’t want to be harmed,” is increased unhealthy aggression (as opposed to incitement to go out and actually perform the acts depicted in a given game, which no study I’m aware of has ever provided scientific correlational evidence for). Since research suggests that killing bunnies with plungers raises aggression levels the same as sneaking up behind a guard and graphically slitting his/her throat, I have to wonder whether we’re legislating ourselves backwards by allowing politicians with a dubious grasp of science to steer the boat.

Case in point, EU justice ministers today “vowed to push for stricter rules on the sale of ‘killer games’ to children,” according to the Malaysia Sun. “There is a broad consensus that much more needs to be done,” said a German Justice Minister.

We hear similar rhetoric this side of the pond all the time. We tend to look at graphically violent video game and make an instinctual if scientifically dubious assessment: this game must be bad because that sort of thing’s illegal in real life. “That sort of thing” meaning mowing through enemies with guns or swords, infamously soliciting prostitutes then beating them up in Grand Theft Auto 3, or–in EA’s The Godfather–smacking locals around for a cut of the business and occasionally performing mob hits at your don’s pleasure.

So–and I don’t pretend to know the answer here–the question remains: What constitutes a “killer game”? Is it what our eyes suggest when we’re pulling guns and popping caps? Or is it what the science suggests, which–if we trade “killer” down several notches for “unhealthy aggressor”–would probably indict everything from Super Mario to The Sims to Madden Football, each and every one capable of spawning situations in which you can cause injury to another entity.

---

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically each day to your feed reader.

Karate Martial Arts | Powered by WordPress | ElegantBlue is a custom theme by Nathan Rice