Soldat_Louis
04-17-2008, 12:28 PM
I've just heard about a guy, Roland Näf (http://www.be.ch/gr/Mitglied/mitgliedview_f.asp?MitgliedId=692), middle school provisor and socialist Representative of Bern, in Switzerland. In March, after having bought the game Strangehold in Media Markt, a local game store, he sued this store. Why ? Because Swiss criminal code prohibits "videos containing acts of cruelty", and according to Näf, Strangehold contradicts criminal code.
But as he said, his goal is not to have Media Markt convicted : his goal is to ban violent video games totally. More precisely, he wants to "ban games that reward the player who kills". As he said (http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/jeux-violents-le-debat-fait-rage_9-114365) on an interview (in French), he wants to modify criminal code in order to include "violent" video games, which would prohibit them. Strangehold was just a pretext : all he needed was an example. This is why he doesn't want to win against Media Markt. It's the contrary : he wants to lose so that he has a good argument to modify the law. And he has the support of most representatives from Bern.
It's better explained on this page (http://tairneanach.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/electronics-retailer-sued-for-selling-games/) (the only one I could find in English).
To make things worse, last week, a 15-years-old teenager killed his mother-in-law and his sister-in-law (http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/arme-d-un-couteau-un-ado-tue-ses-proches_9-134075) with a knife. And he was an alledged fan of "violent" video games (http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/roland-naf-ce-crime-ne-me-surprend-pas_9-135357) (which ones ? no one knows).
Surprisingly, Roland Näf's reaction was quite moderate (http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/roland-naf-ce-crime-ne-me-surprend-pas_9-135357). As he said, "this crime doesn't surprise me. But only one individual example cannot support a scientific theory (...) let's stay prudent : this crime has a relational origin. But I want an exemplary lawsuit, on scientific basis, not polemic ones".
I'm sorry I didn't find more links in English. I'll try to update as soon as possible.
But as he said, his goal is not to have Media Markt convicted : his goal is to ban violent video games totally. More precisely, he wants to "ban games that reward the player who kills". As he said (http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/jeux-violents-le-debat-fait-rage_9-114365) on an interview (in French), he wants to modify criminal code in order to include "violent" video games, which would prohibit them. Strangehold was just a pretext : all he needed was an example. This is why he doesn't want to win against Media Markt. It's the contrary : he wants to lose so that he has a good argument to modify the law. And he has the support of most representatives from Bern.
It's better explained on this page (http://tairneanach.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/electronics-retailer-sued-for-selling-games/) (the only one I could find in English).
To make things worse, last week, a 15-years-old teenager killed his mother-in-law and his sister-in-law (http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/arme-d-un-couteau-un-ado-tue-ses-proches_9-134075) with a knife. And he was an alledged fan of "violent" video games (http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/roland-naf-ce-crime-ne-me-surprend-pas_9-135357) (which ones ? no one knows).
Surprisingly, Roland Näf's reaction was quite moderate (http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/roland-naf-ce-crime-ne-me-surprend-pas_9-135357). As he said, "this crime doesn't surprise me. But only one individual example cannot support a scientific theory (...) let's stay prudent : this crime has a relational origin. But I want an exemplary lawsuit, on scientific basis, not polemic ones".
I'm sorry I didn't find more links in English. I'll try to update as soon as possible.