I do agree its the games influence that encourages, however, I also agree what you said that it's also parents, schools, friends, the kid himself's fault. Maybe the media should for once, turn their attention on parent's influence, school's discipline, and society's moral problems.

They just want to place blame on something that has little or no influence on the situation-- like how the game DOOM was trying to be made as one of the main parts of the Colombine shooting (which is absolute bullshit!). But yeah they never take in the account of how the persons life was and how people treated them and made them get to that point where they want to just snap like that....

My goodness! How utterly rediculous is this? I've heard plenty a times of blaming video games, but it's not until today that I've grown a rage for it.

People should NOT put the blame on a game!
Games have been around for CENTURIES, not "video" games, but there were plenty of violent things younglings grew up doing! It's basically human nature. People fought for territory and ownership of many a thing even. I'm not saying we're naturally violent creatures, just that we do things like shoot people in video games as stress relievers as well as entertainment, and for some, to make friends.

PARENTS do very muchly need to raise their children to feel loved, and to know values. People get depressed every day.. Things happen to them, they lose a friend, they get bullied or called a loser, abused at home, SOMETHING makes a person step down the ladder everyday, and just as someone spoke earlier.... the killer was a victim of psychological abuse. I would say it was their call for help, a way out of it.

Video games do not directly cause people to go psycho, we've been doing it for far before that. Outside forces cause it.

Though.. I must say people CAN become verrry obsessed with something. I've seen people who believed fantasy stories were real, and perhaps maybe if this person who shot others did truely believe that the world was only a game, then even in that case it would not be the games' fault. We should be looking at what causes a person to want to escape from life. (personally I think almost everyone wants some escape in their teens, he might have had a more severe situation)
...

I agree, this is really getting on my nerves. The media is just jumping to conclusions and putting the blame on something that's convenient. Seriously, I've played video games since I was around 6 and you don't see me going around and beating the crap out of people. I'm 19 and I'm still playing video games but I'm a civilized person. I have manners and I know how I should act. I know the difference between real life and video games. My dad loves video games (even the violent ones) and he knows that his kids know that video games aren't real and shouldn't be re-enacted in real life.

I've once saw on tv where there's a woman interviewing someone who works in the gaming industry about this and I find the interviewer to be an idiot. She said how these violent games need to have a warning about the violence and whatnot. HELLO!!! In the corner of the game, there's a rating of the game for adults to determine if they'll allow their children to play it. That's what it's for, it's there so you might as well use it. And when you purchase the game, the store owners would advise the parent that it's rated "M" or they would ask the person buying it for some ID. If this info was known to the public, that is proof right there that it's not video games that is the cause of it. The parent could have had a say in it, and could have this from happening.

Seriously, I find it moronic that people are buying into the media bull**** (sorry for the language, but this is the way I feel and I want to express it). I'm in university and I've taken a course taught by a great professor. The point I'm making here is what my professor talked about. The main point of that course is "TO BE SKEPTICAL." To critically analyze things such as this (commercials, infomericals,studies..etc.). People of the general public should have enough common sense to notice these things and yet they fall for it. I could write an essay on this, but it will be pages long. It's the parents' job to take care of their kids and actually raising them and not just ignore them. They need role models to follow. If the parents aren't there for the kids then who will?

Honestly why can't the media just point this out, actually access the situation instead of just pointing fingers? I bet that if the media stop pulling this crap on us, society would improve and make life a hell of a lot more enjoyable. If the media continues what it's doing, then it's the general public that should learn to question the media, and not just blindly follow them like sheep. What happened to having your own opinions, your own thoughts? Why would people believe everything in the media. Imagine if the media went and said something totally stupid, like for example, "the sky is falling!" when clearly it's not, would people believe that? I hope not, because if they do then we're totally screwed.

Sorry for the LONG comment, but I wanted to voice my opinions on this whole issue. Usually I just read people's comments but I felt that I should have a say.

I know what you mean. here in germany everyone is shocked about the amok runner in stuttgard.
but I also think that blaming a game is no way to find out what was really happen in his mind. Some years ago two boys stick down a man and after that final fantasy (VII) was blamed because he called himself "Sephirot" in the web so far.
I think that there is much more than just playing a game.

(PS: I had no experience of speaking english outside my school, pls excuse the bad language)

I'm sorry to hear about that. Thats very wrong and sad.

I just don't understand why the world would put the blame on a game before trying to dig in there and find the actual REAL source of the problem here!

What is wrong with this world?!

Usually it's because the person has a mental disorder to begin with. In my opinion, violent video games diffuse aggressive tendencies toward real life matters, not cause them. If you're a bit pissed off at something, hell yeah go play GTA and run some people down with a car. Or play Smash Bros and KO Pikachu a few hundred times.

I read an article once that instead of just saying these people met in an online game and leaving it at that, they say it was WoW, which then, for all the stupid people, puts the blame on a fantastic game. I don't remember what it was about. Probably cause it was idiotic and not worth remembering.

I'm in total agreement with you. It's the same here in the U.S. and all the controversy over that entire matter is just retarded. It's not the game that causes people to kill. If anything it's some sort of disorder or something. It's like saying you're going to play a medieval game, then go out and buy a sword (if you don't have one already)and slice someone in half because they resemble a hobgoblin.

It's ridiculous.

I am from Germany.. and you can't avoid this news here.. it's almost everywhere.. now they're talking about more security in schools again, metall dectors and such things.. that's so brainless.. and just as you said, that boy played counterstrike, WoW and as we know that these games are made by the devil we have to forbid them entirely... and that's even more brainless..
I totally agree with you, the boy was bullied at school, he was also depressive.. perhaps that could be the reason? Of course not, that would be too easy it has to be the game..
I am so tired of this.. now again they interview every student in whole Germany and let them tell how frightened they are that somebody at their school could go amok.. I mean come on! No man whether he/she is sane or not would go to school one day and think "Oh perhaps I could kill some people" not when they don't have a reason.. and well if he want's to kill certain people it probably could have to do with those people and not with some random shooter game. Unfortunately my english is not good enough to express my opinion about what had happened and how it is treat in the medias correct.. but I am really annoyed..
My little sister was bullied at school to.. she was always nervous / frightened, she couldn't sleep, she even didn't eat ... she did everything she could just to don't have to school again, in the end she left that school and it became better .. some kids are really cruel these days.. and even those who aren't involved don't help, they're afraid that they are in the line of fire then.. they should do something against that and not blame a game for this.

If I don't get a good hour of Team Fortress 2 a day i start drawing pink things and prancing around like a proper girl which scares all my friends...

I;m tired of the media and the government blaming games for some psychopath's actions. The following article is good - [link]