MP in pro-game stance shock

Posted on 9 Nov 2009 at 17:01

The launch of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 has kick started a battle between two prominent labour MPs.

Keith Vaz, Labour MP for Leicester East, landed the first blow after he spoke to the Daily Fail and said, "I am absolutely shocked by the level of violence in this game and am particularly concerned about how realistic the game itself looks."

Vaz's comments come after controversial footage online showed a scene where the player has to decide whether or not to shoot civilians in order to infiltrate a terrorist group.

Comments like Vaz's ignore the point that Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 has been given an 18 certificate, meaning that it's only designed for adults to play. In any case the scene in question is preceded by a checkpoint that allows the gamer to skip that particular part of the game, and a warning that the following content is disturbing.

What's shown is no better or worse than entertainment in existing books, films and TV programmes. In any case, there's no proven link between video game violence and real violence. It just seems as though gaming is the 'video nasty' of this generation.

Fortunately, parliament isn't just made up of those prone to knee-jerk reactions and MP Tom Watson is hitting back with his Gamer's Voice Facebook group.

"This group is unashamedly pro-video games. We aim to discuss how UK video gamers can find their voice in newspapers and government," says the statement on the group homepage.

Author: David Ludlow

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