15-Year-Old Killed For Not Passing Game

When 15-year-old Olivier Baptiste refused to hand over the video game he was playing to his 18-year-old friend William Suarez, Suarez pulled out a .32-caliber Smith and Wesson from his waistband and shot Baptiste in the head. This according to police, who have charged the alleged killer with manslaughter, illegal possession of a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.

Witnesses told authorities that Suarez then put the gun down on the kitchen counter and began saying, "This just didn't happen," according to court documents.

Grand Theft Childhood: In Depth

We've mentioned the latest study coming out on aggression, kids, and violent video games, a book by two Harvard researchers entitled Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games. In case you're just itching for more information on the study that comes down on the side of the gaming industry, an education blog has three lengthy articles up discussing the book. The three-parter (as of now) includes some thoughts on the research, an interview with one of the researchers, and some more thoughts on what all this means when it comes to parenting.

The book is due out next month, but there's lots of information floating around out there on the new study. The articles are quite lengthy all told, but worth browsing if you're interested in the subject.

Shoot-em Up Video Games - The Cause of Greater Anti-social Behaviors in Teens?; Author Reveals "The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games"; Experts State: Do Not Banish - Instead, Manage Violent Video Game Play [Open Education]

The Violent Gaming Book To Buy Your Parents

Until now, the most-publicized studies came from a small group of experimental psychologists, studying college students playing nonviolent or violent games for 15 minutes. It's debatable whether those studies are relevant to real children, playing self-selected games for their own reasons (not for cash or extra credit!), in social settings, over many years. But media reports and political rhetoric often ignore that distinction.

Two For One Special On Stupid Game Crimes

While most of the gaming world focuses on CES, Game Politics patrols the streets, keeping an eye open for video game related crime. Today they've uncovered not one but two different recent criminal outings blamed the influence of gaming violence.

First we have Gaston County North Carolina, where three 19 year-olds went on an arson spree, setting fire to eight cars and one vacant home before the police finally stopped the madness. The reason behind the suspects' burning ambitions? Postal 2. No really, Postal 2.

Police say three Gaston County teens—Sean Jones, David Ellington and Paul Jarrell charged with setting eight cars and one vacant home on fire—got the idea from a video game, "Postal 2".

Rapper Raps About Video Game Violence To Unknown Effect

Hip hop artist(e) Lupe Fiasco just released The Cool to rhyme hungry masses last week, bringing with it an indecipherable rap about violence in the jam "Little Weapon." While most of the song focuses on real-life violence, there is a section on video game violence that contains gems like "B for the bomb, press pause for ya moms, make the room silent, she don't approve of violent games" and "We playful but serious but keep that on mind for online experience" that obviously mean that Fiasco... well, I can't say I really know where he's going with this. Still, to see the subject topically addressed as opposed to, say, the diameter of one's rims is interesting. It's fairly clear that the rapper is at least a casual fan of gaming, as his old Nintendo DS—and is that an in-sleeve NES cart?—grace the cover of his previous effort Food & Liquor.

Lupe Fiasco - "Little Weapon" Talks About Video Game Violence & Real Life [GamerTag Radio]

Tom Brokaw Deems Blogs, Video Games "Cancerous"

Study: Violent TV, Video Games Make Adults More Violent

New York Bills Look To Limit Violent Game Sales

Penny Arcade Takes On Moral Kombat

Life is Not a Video Game?