In the article linked above, Scott Colbourne of The Globe and Mail answers with a qualified yes. Mr. Colbourne writes a weekly column for the newspaper on matters relating to online and computer media and examines them within the context of our overall society and culture.
Here is my personal answer: Of course it did. Video games are now part of the wider culture, just like movies, books and car magazines, and our culture sends out some very contradictory messages about the use of vehicles as playthings … The idea that driving fast means something — that there's a real need for speed — is deeply ingrained in society. We have speed limits, but a car's monetary worth is partly based on how much it can surpass those limits, on how many horses it has under the hood … Scott Colbourne, The Globe and Mail Tuesday January 31/06.
We are a society hooked on the power of a motor vehicle and the sexiness that goes with it. We are obsessed with their speed and the implied coolness of owning a high-powered, high performance, vehicle. Look at movies like The Fast and the Furious or anyone of hundreds that feature car chases through city streets. Street racing has been a staple in movies for ages, whether it was the showdowns on the drag strip in old fifties movies or infamous chase scenes in French Connection and Bullit.
Then there are car commercials that rhapsodie about their ability to go from 0-60 in minimal times, can take corners at speed and appeal to our fantasies of being behind the wheel a lean, mean street fighting machine. What kind of image is a car manufacturer selling when they have their latest model speeding around a racetrack? Do they really think that by flashing on the screen "Professional driver on closed course" they are offering sufficient counterpoint to their message of speed and more speed?
One only has to look at the customizations young men use to modify their vehicles to see how pervasive the need for speed has become: scoops on the engines to increase air flow and efficiency, racing foils added to the rear of cars that increase speed, and special noise generators on the exhaust pipes that modify the car's sound to suggest more power.
Article comments
1 - steve
this totally reminded me! I have to pick up the new need for speed for XBOX! Thanks!
2 - Duane
Gee, I don't feel guilty about owning and driving a car. I admire nice cars, and I wish I could afford to have something swankier than my Dodge. But I don't worship cars, as you seem to imply when you say "we are all guilty..." And I have never scored any coolness points by having a slick car. I don't care what people think about my status. I know what it is. My car gets me from A to B when I need to go from A to B. That's it. I drive about 20,000 miles per year. What do you suggest as an alternative? I feel about as guilty about this incident as I would about some kids going on a GTA-inspired shooting spree on account of me owning a copy of Civ III.
Interesting article.
3 - Ken Edwards
Great article gypsyman. The cop did say it was ironic. At least he has his head on strait.
Steve - NFS: Most Wanted is so worth the purchase.
4 - Matt Paprocki
It's like blaming the video game, not the gun company, when someone shoots up a classroom. Apparently, the item that killed someone has no bearing on the events.
Fun read Gypsyman.
5 - JimW
Odd - I just finished Quake4, but don't feel the slightest inclination to pack up my arsenal and start blowing people away. Could it be that only a 24 karat doofus carries what he did in a game into the real world?
6 - Maxray
I've heard stories from parents who won't let their teens ride in another teens car. Why? Because that teens parents thought it would be cool to buy them a. Teens already have the highest fatality rate among drivers. Why tempt their fates with the keys to the latest testorone enducing vehicle?
To quote a friend of mine who when asked about the game Dungeons and Dragons being a devil worshipping game - "I almost never kill my parents."
7 - Rikk
Just wait till Dungeons and Dragons online hits. Some kid will cast a fireball spell at some other and wipe out a McDonalds. I can see the headlines already! Unfortunately the culprit behind most of these tragedies (imho) is just plain poor parenting. "I make 150k a year and can afford to buy my kid a fast car and every new toy he wants." well thats great but do you spend time with them? And I don't mean on the couch at the same time watchin a movie! I mean do you KNOW them...as a person? who are they... what do they like...DO THEY HAVE A FIRM GRASP ON REALITY! Admittedly sometimes it's not bad parenting but a simple "slipped through the cracks" thing but... I guess what i'm saying (long-windedly) is that parents need to step up and take some responsibility for the minds their action or inaction help form. Kid killed himself? Must've been rock/games/movies. Just once I'd like to see someone stand up and say "I guess I should have been more involved...noticed more...or just plain paid attention!" Sorry for the rant.
8 - Ace McCloud
Well, what if you do spend time with your kid and find the answer to your question, "DO THEY HAVE A FIRM GRASP ON REALITY", is "No"? What do you suggest then? What do you do when you learn your 15yo son is a wacko?
I don't know if "spending time" with your kid helps keep him from being a lunatic -- some people are just born to be crazy. But if you do spend time with them, then at least you'll know he's a nutcase before it comes as a complete surprise.