We hear about these stories all the time and their link to video games. Sometimes the links are quite tenuous, with a lot of doubt floating around. But on the other hand, there is often an undeniable connection with a video game and an act of extreme violence.

I have noticed two stories recently that are prime examples of video game-related deaths. Well, supposedly anyway. In truth one of them pushes the “tenuous link” I mentioned above to new levels.
First of all, there is an article regarding a young man who shot both of his parents. Apparently he did this because they confronted him after he stole a couple of cheques off them. He then went on to use one of the cheques to purchase an Xbox (note: not an Xbox 360 but the original version). Obviously this is not a video game-related incident but it is one that will end up being associated somehow, probably because it involves guns and a console.

Video Game Violence Still Getting Bad Press

The second article I read has a much more tangible relationship with a video game, Halo to be specific. An 11 year old shot himself whilst re-enacting moments from the popular FPS title, Halo. Although this appears to show a computer game is directly to blame, it also fails to mention that the boy was on his own so the fact he might have just been playing with a gun, in no way re-enacting a video game at all, is left out. Everything else is assumed simply because he was a fan of the game, like millions of other gamers.

I would also like to point out that both of these stories occurred in North America. More bad press for you guys I’m afraid.