Dark Times Ahead?

Lavode

Hi all,

I just read the CNN story about some wacked out teens that killed a girl imitating Mortal Kombat moves. For the moment, the story can be found here: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/20/mortal.kombat.ap/index.html

I'm afraid this will get tons of play in the political arena, and the politicos will use it to make cheap political hay out of at our expense. The notion that the exact same injuries could result from kids imitating pro wrestling will doubtless be ignored in the ensuing feeding frenzy.

Or am I just being pessimistic? Happy Holidays, and I hope Santa brings me R&C Future for Xmas!

-Lavode

Khavall

This is truly the first time that video games have been associated with violence.



Oh wait it's not? It'll probably have the same effect as anything else that comes with these "Connections"? They were fucking drunk?


Yeah, I'm guessing this isn't going to be a crazy shitstorm, since all this has happened before, and will happen again.

Cynic Jester

Brilliant parenting at work. Leave your kid with two drunk teens. Excellent.

Lord Yod

That Article wrote:

JOHNSTOWN, Colorado (AP) -- Two teens have been charged with killing the 7-year-old sister of one of them by beating her with imitations of moves from the "Mortal Kombat" video game, prosecutors said.

Lamar Roberts, 17, and Heather Trujillo, 16, were charged as adults on one count each of felony child abuse causing death, state prosecutor Robert Miller said in court documents released Wednesday and filed a day earlier.

According to a police affidavit, the teens were baby-sitting Trujillo's half-sister, Zoe Garcia, on December 6 while the girl's mother was at work.

Zoe lost consciousness and stopped breathing after the teens hit, kicked and body-slammed her, imitating moves used in the video game, the document said.

Trujillo and Roberts tried reviving the girl by putting her under running water and attempting CPR before they called her mother and 911, the affidavits stated. The girl died at a hospital.

An autopsy showed she had a broken wrist, more than 20 bruises, swelling of the brain, and bleeding in her neck muscles and under her spine, the affidavits said.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Margie Martinez said late Wednesday that she did not know whether either teen had an attorney. The teens were being held at the Weld County jail but were not permitted to accept phone calls, Martinez said.

Roberts said he was downstairs playing video games while the sisters wrestled upstairs, police said. But a witness quoted in the affidavit said Roberts told her he had kicked the girl.

The witness told police that Roberts said Zoe had told them to stop wrestling. According to the affidavit, when the witness asked why they didn't stop, he responded, "I don't know; I was drunk."

If convicted, the teens could be sentenced to 48 years in prison.

This isn't really anything new. Haven't kids been beating the shit out of each other with Power Ranger moves for quite a few years now?

I think maybe the fact that a drunk 17-year-old was kicking a 7-year-old may come into play.

redstormpopcorn

I'm kinda wondering whose ass they pulled the Mortal Kombat connection from. There was no hitting, kicking, or body-slamming anywhere in the world prior to 1992?

BrandXSavior

Lavode wrote: »

Hi all,

I just read the CNN story about some wacked out teens that killed a girl imitating Mortal Kombat moves. For the moment, the story can be found here: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/20/mortal.kombat.ap/index.html

I'm afraid this will get tons of play in the political arena, and the politicos will use it to make cheap political hay out of at our expense. The notion that the exact same injuries could result from kids imitating pro wrestling will doubtless be ignored in the ensuing feeding frenzy.

Or am I just being pessimistic? Happy Holidays, and I hope Santa brings me R&C Future for Xmas!

-Lavode

Considering how video game connections to crimes seem to be really blown out of proportion in the media, I'm surprised I didn't see more made of the "Baby Grace" story on how those two fuck-wits met via World of Warcraft:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21977817/

Spoit

And are the girls even old enough to have been around before mortal kombat died?

Malkor

Spoit wrote: »

And are the girls even old enough to have been around before mortal kombat died?

Good point, but it'll get lost in the braying by various parenting groups and video-game haters. I hope when they show videos they show the SNES version and they forget to put in the blood code.

elizabex

Nah, the future is CIVIL.

Khavall

Malkor wrote: »

Spoit wrote: »

And are the girls even old enough to have been around before mortal kombat died?

Good point, but it'll get lost in the braying by various parenting groups and video-game haters. I hope when they show videos they show the SNES version and they forget to put in the blood code.

Or the Gameboy version.

Sheep

Damn.

I totally thought this was gonna be a thread about a new videogame crash, because there were no bad cash in games before the Wii.

Accualt

Mortal Kombat died?
It still sells rather well.

The media will partly blame games for this, even though the real tragedy in something like this is the parenting. Nothing will come of it, though. there was a case a few years back over one kid killing another by imitating wrestling moves but nothing, short of negative publicity, hurt the WWE from it.

When I read the headline I was worried the kids had tried to rip out the spine or set her on fire or cut off her arms or turned into a dragon and swallowed her upper torso. Now THAT would have been a shit storm for gaming.

Khavall

A_ccualt wrote: »

Mortal Kombat died?
It still sells rather well.

The media will partly blame games for this, even though the real tragedy in something like this is the parenting. Nothing will come of it, though. there was a case a few years back over one kid killing another by imitating wrestling moves but nothing, short of negative publicity, hurt the WWE from it.

When I read the headline I was worried the kids had tried to rip out the spine or set her on fire or cut off her arms or turned into a dragon and swallowed her upper torso. Now THAT would have been a shit storm for gaming.

I think if playing Mortal Kombat gave kids the ability to turn into dragons we wouldn't have to worry about negative media attention.

HadjiQuest

Christ, why does it seem like the poor trash population has exploded? Stories like this seem to happen far too often now. There are so many burnt-out idiots around that it's hard to believe this country stays afloat with so much dead weight.

I'm pretty sure I made that exact same comment a year or two ago in a thread about something similar.

Anyway, if this gets big, I think the media will focus on the videogame factor rather than the drunken idiot factor, even though these kids were pretty much "adults" by legal standards.

JihadJesus

Cynic Jester wrote: »

Brilliant parenting at work. Leave your kid with two drunk teens. Excellent.

Seriously. Want to know why these parents will play up the Mortal Kombat imitations on Faux News? To stay out of fucking prison.

Gyral

Lavode wrote: »

I'm afraid this will get tons of play in the political arena, and the politicos will use it to make cheap political hay out of at our expense.

No it won't. Maybe some crackpot politicians looking to get some support from constituents will make a deal out of it for a day or two, but for the most part, the average lawmaking body in the country don't care anymore.

Accualt

MSNBC.com has a good video up about it.
Their legal expert had this to say, "..saying that Mortal Kombat is the reason is absolutely not going to fly. They are going to have to take responsibility for their actions."
Holy crap I am impressed.

HadjiQuest

A_ccualt wrote: »

MSNBC.com has a good video up about it.
Their legal expert had this to say, "..saying that Mortal Kombat is the reason is absolutely not going to fly. They are going to have to take responsibility for their actions."
Holy crap I am impressed.

Too be fair, MSNBC seems to be the sanest of the big three cable news outlets. Plus, their main dude is a lawyer who used to have a show where he and other lawyers would examine recent cases.

Fireflash

Is this a cleverly disguised ad for Rachet and Clank?

Anyways, There's no reason to blame Mortal Kombat. It's like blaming Superman for a kid that jumped off a roof trying to imitate him.

And how fuckin stupid do you have to be to body slam a 7 years old girl? No videogame by itself can make a 17 years old that retarded.

Anonymous Robot

redstormpopcorn wrote: »

I'm kinda wondering whose ass they pulled the Mortal Kombat connection from. There was no hitting, kicking, or body-slamming anywhere in the world prior to 1992?

Well if I'm reading the article correctly the boy also shot a harpoon out of his wrist

wunderbar

Ya, I expect this story to wither up and die within a week. You see these types of stories once a year or so. Something happens and it's always "omfg teh video games are teh evilzzz" and then a week later the story goes away.

Granted, someone died this time, but I think the video game connection part will go away very quickly.

The question is, how long till Jack Thomson tries to spin this into a campaign as some way to go out in a blaze of glory before he gets dis-barred?

.Tripwire.

JihadJesus wrote: »

Cynic Jester wrote: »

Brilliant parenting at work. Leave your kid with two drunk teens. Excellent.

Seriously. Want to know why these parents will play up the Mortal Kombat imitations on Faux News? To stay out of fucking prison.

Uuh, they were babysitting. It's kind of a normal thing.

People who defend video games are pretty quick to blame the parents, but how's about we just blame the two dickbaskets who decided to get drunk while responsible for a young girl's safety. And then beat her.

gilrain

On a non-gaming-related note, what an incredibly depressing story. The little girl must have led the most intensely miserable life, to that point -- and then left the world being beaten to death by her drunken family.

Seriously, .

Kagera

Cynic Jester wrote: »

Brilliant parenting at work. Leave your kid with two drunk teens. Excellent.

I'm sure the parents put whiskey bottles in their hands and had the kids down a couple of shots before leaving.

Or maybe, JUST MAYBE, they didn't know about the drinking.

Crazy idea, kids hiding things from their parents, I know.

The_Scarab

This kind of violence has been happening for a thousand years. Video games have only been around for, at most, 20.

Magic Pink

Fireflash wrote: »

Is this a cleverly disguised ad for Rachet and Clank?

I was thinking that too. Either that or CNN itself. New member, only one post, references R&C, weird grammar in the post....

It's all just a little too strange.

Particles

Watched this on CNN website this morning and their reporter made a point to mention they didn't mean this is related to Mortal Kombat the video game of the same name.

Magic Pink

Particles wrote: »

Watched this on CNN website this morning and their reporter made a point to mention they didn't mean this is related to Mortal Kombat the video game of the same name.

That Article wrote:

JOHNSTOWN, Colorado (AP) -- Two teens have been charged with killing the 7-year-old sister of one of them by beating her with imitations of moves from the "Mortal Kombat" video game, prosecutors said.

Then they failed. Miserably.

The_Scarab

Would have been less annoying if they were influenced by Mortal Kombat the animated series.

Lavode

Magic Pink wrote: »

Fireflash wrote: »

Is this a cleverly disguised ad for Rachet and Clank?

I was thinking that too. Either that or CNN itself. New member, only one post, references R&C, weird grammar in the post....

It's all just a little too strange.

Yup, I'm a newbie, been reading Penny Arcade, but never had anything to say until now. So now I have my second post! Weird grammar is becuase I didn't think we were English teachers, just gamers. At least I didn't post in l33t.

R&C was just a random bit of sign off, it's my favorite series, and gives a little info about the newbie.

But please, don't take my word for it. I'm probably a corporate shill trying to stir up momentum for the holidays. After all, what else do you know about me?

-Lavode

PS: Insomniac? Are you watching? Will sell out for $$$ or a chance to meet Jim Ward!

Particles

Magic Pink wrote: »

Particles wrote: »

Watched this on CNN website this morning and their reporter made a point to mention they didn't mean this is related to Mortal Kombat the video game of the same name.

That Article wrote:

JOHNSTOWN, Colorado (AP) -- Two teens have been charged with killing the 7-year-old sister of one of them by beating her with imitations of moves from the "Mortal Kombat" video game, prosecutors said.

Then they failed. Miserably.

Damn and I had had my hopes up that this wasn't related to the game.D:

Correction - The aformentioned reporter was actually from a link off CNN's homepage to an outside news source. Guess they were wrong about it seeing as how they didn't even mention that he was playing games at any point.

gilrain

+1 point for decent English. -1 point for signing your post.

;-)

Welcome to the boards. Lurk around a bit to pick up on the local culture, and you'll be fine. And yeah, R&C is cool.

Lavode

gilrain wrote: »

+1 point for decent English. -1 point for signing your post.

;-)

Welcome to the boards. Lurk around a bit to pick up on the local culture, and you'll be fine. And yeah, R&C is cool.

Thanks for the scorecard. How many points for having a sig (lame or cool)?

Magic Pink

Lavode wrote: »

gilrain wrote: »

+1 point for decent English. -1 point for signing your post.

;-)

Welcome to the boards. Lurk around a bit to pick up on the local culture, and you'll be fine. And yeah, R&C is cool.

Thanks for the scorecard. How many points for having a sig (lame or cool)?

-5.

Avatars tho? +Awesome.

Khavall

Magic Pink wrote: »

Lavode wrote: »

gilrain wrote: »

+1 point for decent English. -1 point for signing your post.

;-)

Welcome to the boards. Lurk around a bit to pick up on the local culture, and you'll be fine. And yeah, R&C is cool.

Thanks for the scorecard. How many points for having a sig (lame or cool)?

-5.

Avatars tho? +Awesome.

I honestly can only recall a few of the names around here.


But I can quickly identify people by their Avatar.

cooljammer00

Is it wrong that when I hear "MK related death" I can't help but think of comical MK moves, like uppercuts. It's just sorta dumb, this whole situation. Video games as a scapegoat is a joke.

TheMadjai

The_Scarab wrote: »

This kind of violence has been happening for a thousand years. Video games have only been around for, at most, 20.

...





Seriously? I mean, if you're going to pick a random number, wouldn't you at least aim *high*? Neglecting your obviously low "a thousand years" statement, which is probably just inverse hyperbole and wasn't meant to actually state that you think physical violence has only been prevalent since just before the Crusades; when you say 20 years of gaming, and then qualify that statement by saying "at most," you're leaving yourself open to all kinds of flame.

Down, Set, Go

TheMadjai wrote: »

The_Scarab wrote: »

This kind of violence has been happening for a thousand years. Video games have only been around for, at most, 20.

...





Seriously? I mean, if you're going to pick a random number, wouldn't you at least aim *high*? Neglecting your obviously low "a thousand years" statement, which is probably just inverse hyperbole and wasn't meant to actually state that you think physical violence has only been prevalent since just before the Crusades; when you say 20 years of gaming, and then qualify that statement by saying "at most," you're leaving yourself open to all kinds of flame.

Doesn't he even write for a videogame site too? I'm glad I wasn't the only one taken aback by this. Hell, the NES is over 20 years old isn't it?

LewieP

Does anyone even play Mortal Kombat these days? I thought everyone had realised it was shit?

Edit:

cooljammer00 wrote: »

Is it wrong that when I hear "MK related death" I can't help but think of comical MK moves, like uppercuts. It's just sorta dumb, this whole situation. Video games as a scapegoat is a joke.

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/28/uk-paper-sony-beheaded-goat-to-promote-god-of-war-ii/

Fireflash

Lavode wrote: »

Magic Pink wrote: »

Fireflash wrote: »

Is this a cleverly disguised ad for Rachet and Clank?

I was thinking that too. Either that or CNN itself. New member, only one post, references R&C, weird grammar in the post....

It's all just a little too strange.

Yup, I'm a newbie, been reading Penny Arcade, but never had anything to say until now. So now I have my second post! Weird grammar is becuase I didn't think we were English teachers, just gamers. At least I didn't post in l33t.

R&C was just a random bit of sign off, it's my favorite series, and gives a little info about the newbie.

But please, don't take my word for it. I'm probably a corporate shill trying to stir up momentum for the holidays. After all, what else do you know about me?

-Lavode

PS: Insomniac? Are you watching? Will sell out for $$$ or a chance to meet Jim Ward!

Oh I didn't want to accuse you of shilling. But you gotta admit that randomly mentioning ratchet n clank at the end of a OP talking about something completely different is kinda weird :P

TheMadjai

Down, Set, Go wrote: »

Hell, the NES is over 20 years old isn't it?

NES launched in Japan in 1983, Worldwide in 1985. Which would be nearly 23 years to Americans. Older to our friends on the island.