Thai Gov Steals US Dangerous Game List After Game-Related Murder Claim
Following another games-made-me-do-it claim, the Thai Government has named and shamed the ten most violent games – one of which is over three years old. That’s probably because it nicked the list from an American prosecutor.
The Thai list published today includes the usual suspects: GTA, God of War, Manhunt, a couple of gangster ones… and Killer 7 for PS2 and GC.
The inclusion of the last title alone is enough to suggest that the list has been plagiarized from Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy, who published the same list (albeit in a different order) warning parents about what was suitable for their kids for Christmas in 2007. In fact the Thai Government doesn’t mention a single title, save GTA, which has been released in the last 12 months.
Is that significant? I think it is rather. It shows the Thai Government just had a massive knee-jerk reaction without giving the matter much thought. That much can also be ascertained from the source of the press release – the Ministry of Health. Unless the artwork is laced with poison or the boxes have extremely sharp corners, this doesn’t really seem like a health matter.
Then it comes back to the fact that nine of these games is probably still on sale – eight if you count the fact Killer 7 is more a bargain bin title. What’s the message here? If your loved ones play these games, watch out, they might kill you? If you buy this game, you’re practically embarking on a life of crime? It doesn’t wash.
Here’s the full list, as reported by Cnet Asia:
1- GTA
2- Man Hunt
3- Scarface
4- 50 Cent – Bullet Proof
5- 300
6- The Godfather
7- Killer 7
8- Resident Evil 4
9- God of War
10- Hitman
