A Gaming Manhunt

It's come to my far away attention that the government is organising a study on violent computer games and their interaction with children. From what most of us have experienced growing up, computer games feature violence heavily, and has increasingly done so through the years. Now, in my opinion, it takes a certain type of moron to confuse in-game violence with the strikingly in-your-face violence of real-life. Moreover, should it really be the gaming industry being targeted here in place of the monotonously violent film industry. Is it not also true that "fantasy violence" in a movie can help reduce its certificate rating in place of, simply, "violence"? Is it not also true that all in-game violence is "fantasy"? I remember the media hype surrounding the game Grand Theft Auto 3 before its release in 2001 - the 18 certificate was blatant, the violence was blatant, but so was the highly unrealistic nature of the discourse. Three years later came Manhunt, by the same software company, 'Rockstar'. Again, I remember the media hype surrounding this game, and I remember going to the shop on the day of its release. The game was great, but more of an experience than a game; tight, fractured, tense gameplay (you were instructed to play the game in pitch black). Yet we all remember the game for being pulled from the shelves after a 14 year-old boy supposedly overlapped gameplay with reality and lured his friend to death. The overreaction to this anomaly was shocking. I worry that this inquest will set out with a clear agenda. A reflection on the imbalance of the 'Bobo Doll experiment' is needed to ensure a fair and thorough study of a worthwhile topic. I'm well in favour of broadening the research to incorporate other aspects of the visual media, but simultaneously, the scapegoat status of gaming should be reassessed.