New Hollywood'S Bum Rap
By SCOTT T. HARDS
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ぬれぎぬを着せられたゲーム業界
ぬれぎぬを着せられたゲーム業界
西鉄の高速バス乗っ取り事件を起こした
17歳の少年がビデオゲーム好きだったことから、
暴力シーンを含むビデオゲームが
モラルの低下の元凶として非難の的になっている。
同じくゲーム好きの人は世の中に大勢いるのだが…。
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Japan and the United States have been shocked recently by a rise in violent youth
crimes. It's not unusual these days to hear news about teenagers killing people, often
for reasons that are impossible to comprehend.
In early May, a 17-year old Japanese youth hijacked a bus and killed one person
before police subdued him. After that shocker, Japan's top politicians quickly
began mouthing promises to launch studies to figure out why the nation's youth are
so frequently committing crimes that would have been unthinkable a few decades ago.
Among all the hand-wringing, so-called experts frequently point their fingers at
video games, claiming that such crimes never occurred before the rise of this form of
entertainment. They also are quick to point out the connection whenever one of these
young criminals is shown to be a fan of sometimes-violent games.
Video game players are hard ly a rare breed these days. Recently released data
from the United States shows that a whopping 60 percent of the population enjoys games
either on personal com
puters or on a game console from time to time.
In fact, Americans are expected to spend more money on video games this year than on
motion pictures! That means that firms like Square, Capcom, Enix, Konami and others
are the moguls of a "new Hollywood" of creative talent that is centered here in
Japan.
And let me confess: I, too, thoroughly enjoy video games, particularly
"role-playing" games, and spend at least 10 hours a week plugged into my
PlayStation.
So with so many perfectly well-adjusted people playing games, I find it difficult
to accept charges that these are one of the direct causes of the moral decline of
today's young people.
However, I don't think the two are entirely unrelated either. Let me explain. Most
incidents of vio lent youth crime involve "loners."
These are people with few friends who are seldom seen outside. They often spend entire
days alone in their rooms. These days, with cable and satellite TV, the Internet,
video games and many other new forms of entertain
ment, people have plenty of things with which to keep themselves entertained. In the
past, that wasn't the case, and kids had to play with their friends if they wanted to
have any fun.
The problem is not these new forms of solo play, however, but the parents of these
children, who are often too willing to let them become engrossed in such activities
to the exclusion of normal social interaction.
If these parents shut off the TV, or take the game away, their kids whine and
cry. Why deal with that? If you let them play, they are quiet, stay in their room and
are easy to handle. In other words, too many parents are letting video games or the TV
raise their kids, instead of doing it themselves.
I think video games can be a great developmental tool for kids, expanding
imagination, building problem-solving skills and more. But nothing is a substitute for
playing with others, and it's no surprise that kids who don't are increasingly
amoral.
The question is, how do we wake up their parents?
Shukan ST: June 2, 2000
(C) All rights reserved
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