I’d hate to think that video games like Grand Theft Auto 4 had influence over a whack job like Tomohiro Kato. What would possess a person to take a truck, drive it to the city and directly into innocent bystanders. After that, he wasn’t done. He jumped out of the truck and started stabbing people at random with his survival knife. The tokyo killer, as the press have dubbed it, injured 17 people. Seven of them fatally. The police were eventually able to arrest him.
It makes me think about the shootings in the schools that happened last year. That dude was a video game freak as well. Do violent games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto really make an impact on the minds of these kids?
Tomohiro Kato even admitted that he posted messages on web forums or bulletin boards from his mobile phone while driving the truck. If you’ve played Grand Theft Auto, then you already know that what Tomohiro Kato did is very similar to the game. Where else can you take a car (or truck) and run people over followed by taking out a weapon and continue on a crime spree? I wouldn’t be surprised this lunatic had played this game before. I’m not blaming the game. I just think that it’s not the greatest influence.
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Here we go again - downtrodding on violent video games for their supposed murderous influence. Hasn’t it ever occurred to people like you that maybe, JUST maybe, there other factors to consider as well?
There is a correlation, meaning that violent people play violent games. But it’s not causal. Violent video games don’t cause people to kill people. Mental instability does. Low quality of home life does. Depression. Childhood.
An angry person may play a violent video game but a violent video game does not play an angry person.
You say you don’t blame the game. But you also say what would possess such a man to do something like this. Not video games. That’s silly, shallow, and diverting energy away from what really caused this guy to kill seven people.
Yes, there are other factors. What I’m trying to say is that.. could violent games be a factor as well? And as you have said, there is a correlation. I agree that other factors such as mental stability is key here brought about past and/or current events happening to a person, his/her childhood or depression. Again, I do not blame the game for this or any killing spree. But can you honestly say that these games don’t have ANY negative influence at all?
