Labour MP Keith “Vadge” Vaz has been obsessed with violent videogames ever since he wrongly attributed the murder of Stephen Pakeerah to Manhunt, a theory which the police have since debunked, but that Vaz still maintains as truth. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Vadge has continued to cast truth to the wind, as he demanded tougher ratings for videogames.
“In a survey published last week, 74 percent of parents said that they were very concerned about the increasing level of violence in video games,” said Vaz, lying that the survey said violence was increasing. “Given the fact that there is increasing availability of these games on the internet exhibiting scenes of graphic and gratuitous violence, when is the government proposing to implement the Bryon Report in full?”
If you want some sort of clue as to just how little knowledge Vaz has on the subject, he once fully admitted that he had no idea what a PlayStation was, and yet still decided to claim that the PSP has videogames that allow you to rape women.
I don’t mind it when people have legitimate concerns about videogames. Most of us can agree that some of the more extremely violent games are probably best kept away from young children. However, until the anti-game lobbyists can voice their concerns without resorting to lies, scaremongering and insults, nobody within the game industry will want to work with them.
Not that a bottom-feeding politician like Vaz would care. Anything to raise the man’s profile, I guess.
Published: Mar 5, 2009 09:00 am