I suppose then we should ban books, music, movies and TV shows that have violent acts because of the 1 to 2% who could go on to be motivated by those to commit said horrible acts? You fail censorship forever, Atkinson.

See, I knew he was thick!

He is even worse than Jack Tompson....

"This is a question of a small number of very zealous gamers trying to impose their will on society. And I think harm society," he said. "It's the public interest versus the small vested interest."

I find it interesting that the sentence makes the same ammount of sense if you remove the word "gamers" and replace it with "attourney-genrals". More so if you remember that it's not just a "small number of very zealous attourney-generals". It is, in fact, "one very zealous attourney-general trying to impose his will on society."

Huh. Interesting.

Also, yeah, sometimes you just gotta impale shit.

Somewhere between 1 in 50 and 1 in 100 gamers could be motivated to commit horrible acts of violence by violent games? That's like 5-10 school shooters in my high school alone! I have no idea how I have survived until now.

God I hate that Nazi.

AceDiamond:
I suppose then we should ban books, music, movies and TV shows that have violent acts because of the 1 to 2% who could go on to be motivated by those to commit said horrible acts? You fail censorship forever, Atkinson.

Foxnews man says yes, yes we should. Burn all of the flith! And let us parade around the bonfire as the evil is destroyed, OH YEAH!

Greg Tito:
Australia did stuff with ABC and Atkinson, blah blah blah... It's definitely worth a watch.

Um.... how? Do I have to click the link at the bottom?

Do I not get credit for that tip or did you already see it before I sent it in? *sadface*

Anyway:

Atkinson:
"I accept that 98%, 99% of gamers will tell the difference between fantasy and reality, but the 1% to 2% could go on to be motivated by these games to commit horrible acts of violence."

First: We were recently informed that the number of gamers worldwide is broke the 1 Billion mark, meaning that he's effectively tarring a large number of the population as people who are susceptible to this.

Second: He's restricting policy on what 1% could maybe do and he has the audacity to say we're disconnected from reality?

Third:

Atkinson:
"This is a question of a small number of very zealous gamers trying to impose their will on society. And I think harm society,"

Small number of zealots imposing their will on society? Perhaps Mr. Atkinson could do with looking in the mirror.

I'd like to watch this, link please? Otherwise, this man needs to disapear.

First off, FINALLY! A reporter who doesn't have a strong anti-game bias and who doesn't blame video games for everything wrong with the world! Adrian Raschella, I love you. In a strictly non-gay, 'Guy Love' kind of way.

Anyway, Atkinson has always been a retard, but seriously, if films can have an R rating, or equivalent, why not games? He even said himself that about 99% of people won't turn into psychos through games, what does he think the equivalent percentage for films is? 200%? What an idiot...

AceDiamond:
I suppose then we should ban books, music, movies and TV shows that have violent acts because of the 1 to 2% who could go on to be motivated by those to commit said horrible acts? You fail censorship forever, Atkinson.

Yes, Atkinson, how many people have committed horrid acts in the name of religion? Should we ban that too?

Chipperz:

"This is a question of a small number of very zealous gamers trying to impose their will on society. And I think harm society," he said. "It's the public interest versus the small vested interest."

I find it interesting that the sentence makes the same ammount of sense if you remove the word "gamers" and replace it with "attourney-genrals". More so if you remember that it's not just a "small number of very zealous attourney-generals". It is, in fact, "one very zealous attourney-general trying to impose his will on society."

Huh. Interesting.

Also, yeah, sometimes you just gotta impale shit.

I was thinking that too. What a *flips through thesaurus* mook!

It's easier to see their view if you think of games as the equivalent of toys. That's obviously wrong, but still.

Love that picture of rabid Yathzee!

Patrick_and_the_ricks:
He is even worse than Jack Tompson....

Jack's Second coming perhaps?

Patrick_and_the_ricks:
He is even worse than Jack Tompson....

That's because he's Jack Thompson, with actual power.

Somebody, please get rid of him. The election's coming soon, so we won't have to wait for long.

Amnestic:

First: We were recently informed that the number of gamers worldwide is broke the 1 Billion mark, meaning that he's effectively tarring a large number of the population as people who are susceptible to this.

Wait, what?!? A billion gamers?! Ok, 300-500 million I could accept, but this seems very high. Do you have a source?

I've completely lost faith in this guy; not that I had much in him to begin with. But, it's just getting to the point where he's covering his ears going "lalalalala. I can't hear you and your logic."

The "small group of rabid gamers" that want the R18+ rating are the smartest people in this country.

And the stupid prat still hasn't sent me a reply to my fucking letter.

If people take video games seriously and actually go on a murder streak, then they have a mental condition. If they wouldn't take video games seriously, they would take a movie seriously and go on a rampage based on that movie. If you managed to ban every TV show, every movie, every game that those people with an underling mental condition could go on a rampage about, then he could just claim that someone looked at him funny and had to put him in his place.

Please, Atkinsons, explain to me. Why should an entire country suffer for something that will happen no matter if you ban all video games, all movies, all TV shows, all radio shows?

I can't even believe the shit he's making up. ""This is a question of a small number of very zealous gamers trying to impose their will on society". Want to impose? No, you asshole. Want to not be treated like little babies? Yes, you asshole!

Only a small part of the population of Australia is tired of being treated like little babies? Really? Did you do a study to confirm this or did you just reached to that dildo stuck so far up your ass it's affecting your brain and pulled that number out of there, Atkinsons?

Of course I need to impale people if I'm playing a fucking Alien/Predator who's cinematic appearance portrays a creature who kills people sometimes by impaling them.

Yes, Kudos to ABC for bringing more attention to this situation and making an attempt to be "fair & balanced"...

Stand strong, my Australian gaming brothers... We're all behind you... or umm, over you... oh, you know what I mean!

Atkinson... What little grain of respect I still had for you just went flying out the !@#$ing window. Up until now I accepted you as a misguided idiot who was trying to do what he thought was best for society. Now I realise that you are an old guy douche.

HOW IS THIS GUY STILL IN OFFICE?!?

Jesus tap dancing Christ! Someone kick this guy out of his office, he doesn't deserve to have authority over the the cleanliness of a gas station bathroom let alone a large section of an entire country.

Doug:

Amnestic:

First: We were recently informed that the number of gamers worldwide is broke the 1 Billion mark, meaning that he's effectively tarring a large number of the population as people who are susceptible to this.

Wait, what?!? A billion gamers?! Ok, 300-500 million I could accept, but this seems very high. Do you have a source?

There was a recent Escapist article on it. Source.

as a matter of fact it has been proven that that 1-2% are LESS likely to cause violence etc if they play violent video games. This Atkinson fruitcake makes me hate my own state even more

I don't mean to sound racist, but as much as I hate American Beurocracy It's much better than australian.

Greg Tito:

All in all, kudos to ABC News Australia and reporter Adrian Raschella for delivering a decent story that doesn't try to vilify gamers. It's definitely worth a watch.

Important distinction there. ABC News US is still on my bad books for the way they handled the Hot Coffee mod and surrounding fiasco.

I hold grudges for a LOOOOOONG time.

Also, is this guy really stupid enough to think that videogames can actually make people ACT violent.

This guy is a complete pillock. That is all I need to say.

While it is entirely true that one does not need to impale people in order to create a good gaming experience, this does not grant the right to some idiot with a stick up his ass to deny others the right to entertainment of their choosing.

It warms my heart as an American to see a country more fucked up than mine.

Greg Tito:

But the choicest soundbites were from Atkinson himself, including "I accept that 98%, 99% of gamers will tell the difference between fantasy and reality, but the 1% to 2% could go on to be motivated by these games to commit horrible acts of violence." He added, "You don't need to be playing a game in which you impale, decapitate and dismember people."

That's just hilarious. Those 1-2% are:

1. People with mental problems
2. Kids

Or, he may be thinking of people who do said things because they're depressed and/or mad, not because they've played to many video games.

I think a mod game allowing someone to beat up Michael Atkinson would be the main reason many people would want to buy R18 games.

Atkinson: "I accept that 98%, 99% of gamers will tell the difference between fantasy and reality, but the 1% to 2% could go on to be motivated by these games to commit horrible acts of violence."

So it is with movies and books as well. I read a particularly violent and gory book once, I believe he knows of it, and will surely find that it should be banned.

...It's called The Bible.

I'm pretty sure there's a substantial amount of evidence that this book has motivated some readers to commit horrible acts of violence. Unlike Video Games.