Remember last year around this time when Detroit Prosecutor Kym Worthy was dubbed Gaming Today’s unofficial “Idiot of the Day” due to her outdated list of violent videogames for parents to avoid purchasing for their kids at Christmas? Well, it looks like all the internet bashing she received across the board taught her (and her assistants) a valuable lesson because the list she has issued this year is pretty much up to date–even if it was culled from the National Institute on Media and the Family’s 2008 Annual Video Game Report Card.

Here is the list she has complied for parents who are wishing to avoid the inevitable reality of their children becoming sociopaths after playing these games.

• Blitz the League II
• Dead Space
• Fallout 3
• Far Cry 2
• Gears of War 2
• Left 4 Dead
• Legendary
• Resistance 2
• Saints Row 2
• Silent Hill: Homecoming

All joking aside, these are all mature games that kids should not be playing. Kym should really be encouraging parents to read the ratings on the packaging just like they would on a DVD or Music disc before buying it. All forms of media bought by parents should be age and maturity level appropriate. However, be that as it may, I think one commenter over on the Detroit Free Press website where this was originally posted said it best when they commented:

“And for those who say “lets go back to early American principles” what principles would that be? Before violent games, for entertainment, parents would take their children to lynchings, beheadings, drawing and quartering, hangings, cross burnings, stonings, and for that special evening, the colosseum to see a man get devoured by animals. Make no bones about it, humans have always been a violent animal that has shown their children how to be violent animals.”

Thanks: (GamePolitics)

The blame game is in full swing in Thailand over a cab driver getting murdered, and with the crime having a supposed GTA IV connection thus leading to the game being pulled from retailers over there, the Thai Ministry of Health has issued a list of 10 violent video games to avoid for fear that they may spark more violent outbreaks.

This where it gets comical though: You may recall back in December 2007, that Detroit Prosecutor Kym Worthy was given the illustrious title of Gaming Today’s first ever “Idiot of the Day” for her outdated list of violent video games for parents to avoid during the Christmas shopping extravaganza. Well, dear readers, that is the list that the Thai Ministry of Heath sited as gaming titles to avoid. With a few exceptions, mainly Hitman: Blood Money being changed to just Hitman and Grand Theft Auto being abbreviated, it is the exact same list.

What this means, is that the Thai government is too ill-informed of the videogames currently on the market, therefore they surfed the internet until they found a list of games they could blame the ills of their current situation on. I don’t know whether to call that lazy or just plain out of touch with the times. Either way you look at it, the GTA games are being blamed for something any raging psychopath would do regardless if they had played the game or not.

Thanks: Game Politics

National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF) has released its 12th annual video game report card, a resource designed to help parents decide which games are appropriate for their children.

The ten video games NIMF Flags this year are:

• Assassin’s Creed
• Call of Duty 4
• Conan
• The Darkness
•  Jericho
• Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
• Manhunt 2
• Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
• Stranglehold
• Time Shift

NIMF has taken an alarmist attitude claiming  the video game industry, retailers and parents themselves have become lax about game ratings. It claims half of children ages 8 – 12 have played M-rated video games.

“There’s an endless stream of new games that will never be suitable for children,” said Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minnesota, who joined institute officials and other lawmakers at a news conference.

“Unfortunately, we’re seeing some steps backwards,” said institute president David Walsh.

The industry’s Entertainment Software Rating Board defends the current ratings system while criticizing the NIMF report.

“At a time of year when parents are looking for helpful guidance about video games, this year’s report card does little more than sow unwarranted doubt about effective tools like ESRB ratings,” said ESRB president Patricia Vance.

I get the distinct impression from reading the report that the NIMF believes all video games should be suitable for children.  At least the games they flagged are actually relevant to this year unlike Detroit Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s hopelessly outdated list.

via CNN

Detroit Prosecutor Kym Worthy has now officially become Gaming Today’s first ever “Idiot of the Day”. This lauded title has nothing to do with her wanting to educate parents on violence in video games, and it has nothing to do with her wanting to protect children from said violence depicted in certain games. Instead, the lovely crown and respected title of “idiot” has more to with her lack of knowledge and research than her wish to keep children safe from blood and bullets in their video games.

You see, dear readers, she has issued her Top Ten list of violent video games for parents to avoid purchasing this holiday season for their wonderful offspring. While this sounds like a fantastic idea – in theory – the list has me wondering what time frame the woman is living in. Check out her list:

1. Grand Theft Auto (last released on consoles 2004; PSP, 2006)
2. Manhunt (2004, what about 2007’s Manhunt 2?)
3. Scarface (2006)
4. 50 Cent Bulletproof (2005 – who the hell even bought this when it was new?)
5. 300 (Feb, 2007)
6. The Godfather (PS3 – March, 2007; other versions, 2006)
7. Killer-7 (2005)
8. Resident Evil 4 (Wii, PC 2007; other versions 2005)
9. God of War (2005; Maybe she meant 2007’s GoW2)
10. Hitman Blood Money (2006)

According to the Detroit News, this is Worthy’s third annual list of games to avoid as the lawyer has stated in the past that she feels that simulated violence leads to a high crime rate. Sure it does (note sarcasm), and living in the second most dangerous city in America has absolutely nothing to do with it does it Kym? While I can applaud her efforts to educate parents on the content of certain games, she should realize that not only are these mature titles, they are old; she should have done a little more research or at the very least fired her paralegal. It honestly looks like she just went to the Toys R Us website and copied their list of PS2 “M” rated titles. With that being said, I am sure we can all come up with games that are much more violent than what is on her list, let alone ones that are more current. BioShock anyone?

Thanks: GamePolitics and Detroit News