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Are Video Games To Real ??

Manhunt

A video game by Rockstar Games, was released at the end of 2003 and has become one of 2004s biggest selling titles. It has been described as one of the most visceral and intense videogames ever made because of it very realistic graphics. (The objective of the game is to escape from a prison and in doing so to kill as many people as possible for the omnipresent narrators snuff film). Outrage about the games content as well as its extremely realistic images surrounded its release.

What ever happened to games like Super Mario ,Donkey Kong that have been extremely popular and successful.

In July 2004 a boy was killed in Britain by another boy who was said to be obsessed with the game Manhunt, prompting further outrage and controversy.

The media effects debate was also stirred up again by this event. In Australia, the Office of Film and Literature banned the game from being sold in stores. New Zealand also banned the game the first ever to be banned in the country

The events also added more fire to the Australian censorship debate with the Victorian Government calling for the addition of a category to the classification system to allow the game to be sold in Australia, while other groups called for a total ban on the game and others like it. Organisations like the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia (IEAA) claimed that by banning such games, the right of adults to choose what material they want to consume was jeopardised. The Opposition Leader in the West Australian government branded the game as excessively brutal and violent and said that it rewards and praises the player for the more violent and the more brutal the killings and bashings are.

Manhunt and other overly violent and highly realistic video games have prompted widespread debate and controversy over its content. The increased graphical capabilities of software technology has meant the themes within the game are heightened through real-life graphics. This is very much like what happened with Mortal Kombat in 1992. Its graphics were extremely realistic for the time period.

Overall the violence in videogames debate is a longstanding and enduring issue that has not changed dramatically in its few decades of existence.

by jack