Terror in Erfurt: The Entertainment Impact (Part 3)

Note: This is part three of a special tssz|news three part series.

We have analyzed the immediate impact of the Gutenberg shootings; we have attempted to draw parallels between it and Columbine. The question now–what’s next?

Certainly the violence in video games debate will spread beyond the walls of U.S. courts and government offices. As mentioned before, German Chancellor Schroder has met with media executives about the issue of violence in the media. German political parties will be debating as to what to do now in wake of the shootings. Restrictions on the sale of what is deemed violent are a possibility now in a country that already has very strict policy on such things as gun control.

In the United States, the debate is certainly likely to fire up, and perhaps not necessarily directly due to the Gutenberg shootings. The day before the shootings occurred, a potentially critical decision was handed down by Judge Stephen Limbaugh, as noted in this editorialized comment by Erik Ottosen:

On Thursday, April 25, Federal Judge Stephen Limbaugh declared himself an enemy to the entertainment medium of Video Games, declaring that Video games are NOT a constitutionally protected form of free speech and throwing out a request by the Interactive Digital Software Association to throw out a law passed by St. Louis County requiring that children under Age 17 have parental consent or presence to buy violent or sexually explicit videogames or play similar arcade games.

Limbaugh based his decision on four games he reviewed, “Mortal Kombat,” “Fear Effect,” “Doom,” and “The Resident of Evil Creek,” (An absolutely idiotic error, as there is no known Video Game in existence called this, the closest match is Capcom’s “Resident Evil” series,) not even considering looking at games with any amount of story, such as Squaresoft’s “Final Fantasy” series or even Valve Software’s “Half-Life.” Based on an extremely limited view, he has declared that Video Games are not constitutionally protected speech, being unable to convey ideas.

Of course, this piece of news has sparked considerable debate once again about how the government may impact the sale of games. Now that Gutenberg has occurred, it may only fuel certain government officials’ cases. Only time will tell with further potential court cases in this ongoing conflict.