Investigators are still trying to determine the initial cause of the violent brawl. As a precaution, earlier today Chongqing city police ordered security inspections of all internet bars and game centers in the area.

Five killed in fight at video-game centre in south-west China [Monsters and Critics via Game Politics]

The judge later said that the video game ban was included in his probation for the teens because he wanted to mirror the sentence imposed in a previous judgment in the case.

A group of teens broke into a house in Edmonton last December, vandalizing the home and then grabbing the family cat and placing it in a microwave. No one tried to remove the cat as it screamed in agony for 10 minutes, according to the newspaper.

On Sept. 4 two other teens who pleaded guilty to killing the cat were sentenced to one-year probation, including bans on playing violent video games. The inclusion of a video game ban, seems to be an unusual measure.

In general, youth court probation orders are meant to promote long-term positive growth in a young person, Easton said, but he declined to comment on what it means to have Alberta judges include video game bans in such judgements.

"The recommendation didn't come from us," he said. "That really is something that you'd have to speak to psychiatrists or psychologists about."

Requests for comment from the medical officials who recommended the original video game ban were not returned Monday.

As disturbing as this case is, it sounds to me that adding a ban on video games serves almost as an excuse for the teens involved. Why probation at all? Often violence towards animals is a predictor of future, more violent acts. There is certainly stronger evidence tying animal cruelty to future criminal behavior than there is tying video game playing to it.

Video game ban in teens' plea deal [Thanks Steve]

The study found that children who played violent video games were more aggressive than those that did not, even taking into account children who were aggressive in the first place. The odd thing is the results were determined not so much through observation, though comments from parents and teachers were taken into account, but rather by asking the children about their own aggression levels.

The three groups of students involved in the testing consisted of 181 Japanese students ages 12 to 15; 1,050 Japanese students aged 13 to 18; and 364 U.S. kids ages 9 to 12, with initial information gathered in three different ways. The U.S. students were asked their three favorite games and how often they played them. The younger Japanese group was polled on how often they played games from specific violent genres, which included adventure...probably one of the least violent genres out there. The final group of older Japanese children were gaged on how often they played versus the violence levels contained within their favorite genres.

See any massive holes in the study so far? How about relying on children for accurate, truthful answers, or the fact that they are assigning violence levels to game genres?

The only way I see we'll ever get a truly accurate report on this subject is to find a child somewhere that they have no exposure to violence in television, the news, the internet, etc., expose that child to violent video games and then see what happens. Unfortunately that child is in the 1950's, and by now is probably a scientist somewhere doing violence studies because the world is a darker, grittier place than he remembers growing up.

To CNN's credit, they do offer an alternative viewpoint in the form of one Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, co-director of the Center for Mental Health and the Media at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Cheryl argues that the label "violent video games" is too vague, and that researchers need a strict definition of said term as well as what constitutes aggressive behavior before any study can truly have merit.

"I think there may well be problems with some kinds of violent games for some kinds of kids," Olson said. "We may find things we should be worried about, but right now we don't know enough."

Violent video games linked to child aggression [CNN - Thanks David!]

The game awards points (for) creating as much as crime and destruction as possible in a city.

That's right, Mail Online. You forgot to mention the cheat code you can only acquire by eating a live baby. I had to do it twice, because I forgot to write it down the first time. Man those babies are filling. I'm getting rather tired of seeing these stories. We need to call for a global ban on stupid children. They're a menace.

Teenager torches cars after watching Grand Theft Auto video game [Mail Online]

"The statistics for knife sales are encouraging but it's still disappointing to find some shops not on board with this issue especially bearing in mind the media coverage on knife crime in recent months...And we're disappointed that the games sellers concerned don't seem to have taken their training on board or recognised the fact that these games are given a high age rating for a reason."

Personally I think the statistics better reflect the public's perceived threat of their children playing with knives versus their children playing violent video games, but I'm known to be a bit biased. I'm just glad that we're all sensible enough to see a headline like this and not associate violent video games with knife violence.

"As for violent video games, I believe they must have a detrimental influence on any children who play them and I would not be at all surprised if there was not a connection with the knife crime issue. Everyone who sells these games must take extra care to ensure they only sell them to those who can legally buy them.

Okay, all of us except for Councillor Michael Leaves, Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Environmental Regulation in Plymouth. Luckily for us, in the UK your importance and influence lessens the longer your title is.

The news is far too cluttered lately with stories about violent video games and knives, so I for one am glad they're starting to combine the two. I look forward to reading about how easily children can get their hands on the materials to make a dirty bomb and Grand Theft Auto in the near future.

Shops Caught Selling Violent Games And Knives To Children [This Is Plymouth]

"She just knew, from playing 'Grand Theft Auto.' She saw on there that when a car rolls over, it can blow up. She knew that could happen to us"

I know, I had to make sure the story was true as well, going so far as to call the story's writer, Craig Wieczorkiewicz, to verify the details. "It's amazing the sort of information that comes out when you ask the right questions," he offered, after I commented on the rarity of such stories.

So yes, the Grand Theft Auto series can easily become the scapegoat for any number of crimes, but it can also inspire heroism in the heart of a preteen girl with an unrealistic grasp on automobile physics. Of course this will be discounted as a freak occurrence by those that choose to believe violent games cause violent children, but for us the story can serve as an example of video games teaching us helpful, if relatively inaccurate things.

Preteen girl helps family escape crashed vehicle [MyWebTimes]

'This game sounds very unsavoury. I hope the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will view this with concern and decide it should not be granted a classification. Without that it cannot be marketed in Britain. What the rest of world does is up to them. We need to ensure that modern and civilized values take priority rather than killing and maiming people.

Beyer goes on to worry that the game will spoil the family-friendly image of Nintendo's console in the same way that Manhunt 2 completely managed not to. By far the most interesting thing about the Mail Online Article is the title, "Parents horrified as most violent video game ever to launch on 'family friendly' Wii", especially when the article doesn't seem to mention other horrified parents whatsoever. Oh well, it's a start.

Parents horrified as most violent video game ever to launch on 'family friendly' Wii [Mail Online]

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.

This is similar to the incident back in July, where a young boy stabbed his older brother to death for not letting him have his turn at a video game, in both situation and press reaction. Some of the headlines I have seen include:

Family: Game led to teen's murder - BostonHerald.com
Video game linked to fatal shooting in Brockton - The Patriot Ledger

Just don't be surprised if the major news outlets pick this up with accompanying inflammatory anti-video gaming headline.

Video game linked to fatal shooting of 15-year-old [Wicked Local Brockton]

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]

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.

So how did the Harvard study differ? They polled over 1200 children between two states, asking them about their reasons for playing video games with an eye on how those motivations were different between different subgroups, such as children that showed signs of attention deficit disorder and depression. The findings indicate that many children see video games as a way to work out their aggression in a safe environment, or to help them feel less lonely and isolated. Poor lil guys.

The book, due out in April, also features chapters about parents themselves, as well as one chapter dedicated to explaining why all of the other studies are inaccurate, looking at how other researchers define aggressions, the games used, size of focus groups, etc.

As I said, I don't trust any of these studies at this point, but if you've got a parent worried about your game play habits or hell - even if you are a parent worried about your children's video game playing, nothing is quite as reassuring as having a big book by doctors on your beside table.

Hit the link below for a full interview with author Dr. Cheryl K. Olson at Game Couch!

Interview: Dr. Cheryl K. Olson co-author of Grand Theft Childhood [Game Couch via Game Politics]

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".

Then a bit closer to (my) home, we have the Lafayette, Georgia arson at a water-sewage treatment plant. Police are saying that the suspects in the case - two 15 year-old boys - are linked to "a group of teens emulating the violent images portrayed in the movie "Fight Club" and a video game, "Tony Hawk's Underground 2." I know what you are thinking. It was only a matter of time before THUG2 made somebody crack.

In the video game, the mission is to complete what is called a "destruction tour." Characters are rewarded bonuses for destroying or stealing objects. The emphasis of the game is depicted as the more destruction created by the player, the more points he will accumulate.

All I can do here is breath a heavy sigh and point towards the geographic area of the United States map these two crimes took place in. We sure grow 'em stupid down here in the South, don't we?

Blame Game: Cops Finger Video Games in Separate Incidents [Game Politics]

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

HH: NBC ran the Virginia Tech killer tape on the day they obtained it. Steve Capus, Brian Williams made that decision. Did they make the right decision?

TB: Yeah, they did.

HH: Do you not think it's going to incite other people to try to do the same thing?

TB: No, I don't. I think...to get back to something we were talking about earlier in general thematic terms, I don't think we're doing a very good job about talking about violence in this country, either. You know, Virginia Tech went away. We didn't have any ongoing dialogue in our communities or on the air about the corrosive effect of violence. It was not what he, what people saw of him on the air that will drive them, it's what they read in blog sites, and what they see in video games. It's that kind of stuff that I think is cancerous. And I'm a free speech absolutist, but I think that at the same time, we have to have free speech in some kind of a context. And part of that context is a discussion of the possible effects of it.

One might wonder, in light of Omaha mall shooter Robert Hawkins wishes to "go out in style", boasting in his suicide note that "just think tho I'm gonna be fuckin' famous", that the promise of having one's life dissected on broadcast television might have been influential on Hawkins interest in murdering eight people before his suicide. Hey, that's just me speculating. Perhaps if I had were a bit more of a wrinkly, silver-haired dinosaur, fumbling through a world I don't understand, like many video game critics, I'd be able to better understand the "context" of the situation.

Sorry, but there's little more I can add without letting loose with a string of expletives and looking forward to the passing of a generation of confused Luddites who divert blame from some of the world's genuine problems.

Ultimately, though, if Brokaw's right, the lot of Kotaku readers are totally screwed, basking in the carcinogenic rays of video games and blog posts. Sorry for causing you to die early, dear readers, if so.

Tom Brokaw: Airing VA Tech Killer Videos Okay, But Blogs, Video Games "Cancerous" [Game Politics]

The University of Michigan researchers findings indicate that men who are exposed to violent television in video games were more likely to assault their spouses. Women were comparably more likely to have thrown things at their spouses or assaulted another adult.

The study's fact sheet makes note of the fact that as the popularity of video games has increased since the 1990s, violent crime has decreased. Furthermore, it points out that European gamers, who also enjoy the same content, have a much lower propensity for crime.

A very interesting study, one that I'll have to read more closely after I've finished prepping the mailman for the woodchipper.

Researchers Link Video Games to Adulthood Violence [Fox Business]

Software that features "violent racism" or "religious violence" was targeted by both (along with other distasteful displays of rape, incest, bestiality, etc.). Each proposal, dated about a week apart, would require specially designated areas for games that feature content they consider unsuitable for minors as well as proof of age checks.

Both proposals, virtually identical in their text, require that anyone who appears to be under 30 years of age show ID to purchase a mature title. I hope this bill passes, just so I can be carded by the nice man at EB when I try to buy Bonestorm DS next time I'm in New York. Michael McWhertor

N.Y. Bill Limits Racial & Religious Violence in Games and Proposed New York Law Would Block Sale of Violent Games to Minors [Game Politics]

From what I had read last year, Moral Kombat, the new documentary by Spencer Halpin, was supposed to be a fair, middle of the road documentary about violence in video games. Watching the trailer makes it crystal clear what side of the never ending war the film maker is on. As, McWhertor noted in his article on the subject, Moral Kombat has high production values, but that doesn't hide the message this film is obviously trying to give.

Gabe and Tycho have done a great strip this week on Penny Arcade on the subject featuring Joe Lieberman and the irrepressible J.T., every gamer's best friend. Once again, the boys hit the nail right on the head and show the "fair" documentary for the giant, bloated, one sided windbag that it is. Flynn De Marco
I See What You Did there [Penny Arcade]
Moral Kombat Trailer

Gotta love activist high school students. A Fontana California high school's students and faculty members have had it with the escalating trend of school-related violence over the past several years, and have decided to do something about it. They've declared November 13-18th "Anti-Violence Week" at A.B. Miller high school. As part of the festivities, students tied ribbons on the school fence spelling out, "Life is Not a Video Game."

I personally would have gone with "Parenting is Not a Hobby," but that's just me.

"We're trying to get the message out to people: Once you shoot someone, that's it. You can't go back in time and undo it," said Jacklyne Aceves, one of the Miller drama students.

Shouldn't kids who have reached high school be aware of this? It must be those damn video games!

Monday was "Dead Day", where popular kids dressed all in black and didn't speak to anyone, which sounds just like the table I sat at for lunch in High School, only with less Cure t-shirts. Michael Fahey

Miller students present powerful play during 'Anti-Violence Week' [Fontana Herald News]