Campaign Against Video Game Violence
Following the February 2004 murder of a fourteen-year-old boy, Vaz asked for an investigation between the video games and violence, saying the parents of the victim believe that the killer was influenced by the video game Manhunt. Although the police dismissed the claim and the only copy found belonged to the victim, Tony Blair said the game was unsuitable for children and agreed to discuss with the Home Secretary what action could be taken. The sequel, Manhunt 2, described by the British Board of Film Censors as “distinguishable ..by its unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone”, became the first video game banned by the BBFC in the UK for 10 years. Vaz said: "This is an excellent decision by the British Board of Film Classification, showing that game publishers cannot expect to get interactive games where players take the part of killers engaged in 'casual sadism' and murder."
Vaz has also criticised Bully, which had a pre-release screenshot showing three uniformed pupils fighting and kicking. In 2005, he asked Geoff Hoon: "Does the leader of the house share my concern at the decision of Rockstar Games to publish a new game called Bully in which players use their on-screen persona to kick and punch other schoolchildren?" The game has a BBFC 15 rating in the UK.
In October 2010, Vaz put down an Early Day Motion (EDM) noting that the race shootings in Malmö, Sweden "have been associated with the violent video game Counter-Strike." The EDM also noted that the game was previously banned in Brazil and was associated with US College Campus massacres in 2007. It called on the Government to ensure the purchase of video games by minors was controlled and that parents were provided with clear information on any violent content.
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Famous quotes containing the words campaign, video, game and/or violence:
“You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.”
—Mario Cuomo (b. 1932)
“We attempt to remember our collective American childhood, the way it was, but what we often remember is a combination of real past, pieces reshaped by bitterness and love, and, of course, the video past—the portrayals of family life on such television programs as “Leave it to Beaver” and “Father Knows Best” and all the rest.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)
“I must save this government if possible. What I cannot do, of course I will not do; but it may as well be understood, once for all, that I shall not surrender this game leaving any available card unplayed.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“By many a legendary tale of violence and wrong, as well as by events which have passed before their eyes, these people have been taught to look upon white men with abhorrence.... I can sympathize with the spirit which prompts the Typee warrior to guard all the passes to his valley with the point of his levelled spear, and, standing upon the beach, with his back turned upon his green home, to hold at bay the intruding European.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)