263w ago - Mike is a 15 year old gamer who just picked up a copy of Gears of War. His mom is very strict about keeping Mike from playing mature-rated games, but his best friend let him borrow it for the weekend. When Mike gets home, he locks his door and turns down the volume on his television.

He puts in the game disc and instantly he is drawn to the online game mode. He puts on his headset and joins a game. He and his teammates discuss a strategy and then get to work. Mike decides to go to the sniper tower and try his hand at sniping.

He picks up the Longshot rifle and spots an enemy. He puts his cross hairs on his head, pulls the trigger and is rewarded with a gush of blood on his screen and not to mention the feeling of being a better player than his opponent. After a few hours Mike realizes it is ten o' clock so he turns off his system and decides to call it a night.

Most kids would leave the killing virtual, like Mike, but there are many people who believe that extremely violent games lead to teen violence and school shootings.

With today's technology, video games are becoming much more lifelike and graphical. More often than not the description on the back of games includes: intense violence, sexual content, drug reference, and blood and gore. Obviously this would not be a very...

295w ago - Video game violence is, as ever, a hot topic, and Gamasutra and GameProducer.net asked former Thrill Kill and current Sony producer Harvard Bonin, Bizarre Creations' Peter O'Brien, Stainless Games' Ben Gunstone, and Gas Powered Games' Frank Rogan to discuss legislation, responsibility, and mature games.

Thrill Kill & Ethical Censorship

Said Bonin, "This particular topic is very timely, and also very, very complicated. As the publishing producer of a notable fighting game [Thrill Kill, pictured] that was canceled years ago I believe I have unique insight. Unlike the recent Manhunt saga it was a business and ethical decision - not a governmental censorship issue."