I've just heard about a guy, [URL=http://www.be.ch/gr/Mitglied/mitgliedview_f.asp?MitgliedId=692]Roland Näf[/URL], middle school provisor and socialist Representative of Bern, in Switzerland. In March, after having bought the game [I]Strangehold[/I] 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, [I]Strangehold[/I] 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 [I]"ban games that reward the player who kills"[/I]. [URL=http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/jeux-violents-le-debat-fait-rage_9-114365]As he said[/URL] on an interview (in French), he wants to modify criminal code in order to include "violent" video games, which would prohibit them. [I]Strangehold[/I] 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 [URL=http://tairneanach.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/electronics-retailer-sued-for-selling-games/]on this page[/URL] (the only one I could find in English).

To make things worse, last week, [URL=http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/arme-d-un-couteau-un-ado-tue-ses-proches_9-134075]a 15-years-old teenager killed his mother-in-law and his sister-in-law[/URL] with a knife. And he [URL=http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/roland-naf-ce-crime-ne-me-surprend-pas_9-135357]was an alledged fan of "violent" video games[/URL] (which ones ? no one knows).

Surprisingly, [URL=http://www.lematin.ch/fr/actu/suisse/roland-naf-ce-crime-ne-me-surprend-pas_9-135357]Roland Näf's reaction was quite moderate[/URL]. As he said, [I]"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].

I'm sorry I didn't find more links in English. I'll try to update as soon as possible.