Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, who presides over a city with the second-highest violent crime rate in the country, has released a list of what she has billed as the “top 10” most violent videogames to be avoided.
Worthy urges parents to refrain from buying the games, directly linking them to murder and mayhem.
“It’s no wonder we’re seeing the crimes we’re seeing lately. … Please do not buy these videogames and bring them into your home. It desensitizes [children] to violent acts,” she said.
Worthy’s list, the third she has released, appears to be somewhat out of date, however, as it includes titles released as far back as 2005.
Game politics gave the following breakdown for the top 10:
1. Grand Theft Auto (last released on consoles 2004; PSP, 2006)
2. Manhunt (2004, we assume she means 2007’s Manhunt 2)
3. Scarface (2006)
4. 50 Cent Bulletproof (2005)
5. 300 (Feb, 2007)
6. The Godfather (PS3 – March, 2007; other versions, 2006)
7. Killer-7 (2005)
8. Resident Evil 4 (Wii, PC 2007; other versions 2005)
9. God of War (2005; we assume she means 2007’s GoW2)
10. Hitman Blood Money (2006)
Some, if not all, of the more recent and prominent titles featuring violence were also left off the outdated list.
Worthy was assisted in compiling the list by the Detroit-based organization Hood Research, whose co-founder, Theo Broughton, warned that parents who don’t even play the titles are not immune from the infection of violent games.
“Even if adults don’t play videogames, they should be aware of the messages many violent games are sending,” he said. “It can affect you, too. The word ‘game’ doesn’t make it safe.”
Source: Gamepolitics.com
Published: Dec 5, 2007 04:18 pm