Game Politics ([info]gamepolitics) wrote,
@ 2006-01-26 06:48:00
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Entry tags:devil may cry, mental illness, murder, ratings, uk, violence

Devil May Cry Gamer Convicted in Murder of His Sister

The headline in the UK's Sun tabloid is typically sensationalistic: "Video Nut Slayed Sister".

The story describes the Old Bailey trial of a 16-year-old found guilty of setting fire to his family home two years ago - a blaze which claimed the life of his 11-year-old sister. The boy also struck his brother in the head with an axe during attack, leaving him with brain damage.

The court heard testimony that the defendant was obsessed with Dante (left), a half-human, half-demon character in Capcom's Devil May Cry.

The boy's demented plan was to kill his family and be adopted by rich parents. Police investigating the case found a note reading, "Operation New Life. Kill family. Lose memory. Get adopted by rich couple. It all starts."

The Sun reports that in the wake of the conviction, UK pressure group Mediawatch accused the video game industry of "living in denial" of the consequences of their products. Devil May Cry was rated for players 15 and up under the UK system. The game was rated for 17 and older by the ESRB.


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[info]viridiscervus
2006-01-26 12:21 pm UTC (link)
*coo-koo clock noise*

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[info]chenry
2006-01-26 12:22 pm UTC (link)
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

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[info]tanyad
2006-01-26 12:21 pm UTC (link)
Oh Good Gods people, let it fucking rest. The kid was off his nut, and playing a game didn't increase his degree of mental illness. Did they miss the fact that A:He was 14 when he was playing the game that was rated for 15 and above in the UK, and B: He had to have something wrong in the old noggin to think it was ok to kill his family so he could get adopted by a rich family?

I'm glad we get news of these incidents, but it really reinforces the need for good, informative and conscientious reporting on such incidents. How come no one is looking into his home life? What pushed him to this, and I doubt it was only games.

This makes my head hurt ...

(Reply to this)

Here we go again...
[info]cyrus982
2006-01-26 12:22 pm UTC (link)
Unless he did a double jump, and came down on his brother as a trail of blue lighting illuminated the axe, I don't think the game is to blame...

Won't stop people from blaming the game anyhow.

...Though I haven't played the game since the original. I'm pretty sure there isn't a "kill your whole family to get adopted" mission.

Wait, don't you fight your brother in one of them?

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Here we go again...
[info]illspirit
2006-01-26 12:45 pm UTC (link)
Erm, maybe he thought his fam would, umm, drop those crystal thingies he needed to level up his axe to make the swooshy lightning?

Or maybe he was just a whacked out goth who played his Christian Death record backwards one too many times. :p

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: Here we go again... - [info]traiklin, 2006-01-26 03:32 pm UTC
Re: Here we go again... - [info]lomdr, 2006-01-26 05:45 pm UTC

[info]imahori
2006-01-26 12:23 pm UTC (link)
I'm having trouble seeing a connection between Devil May Cry and the crimes. It just sounds like the kid was out of touch with reality, it's hard to say without knowing much more to be honest.

Really, this is a product of his twisted little imagination. Devil May Cry may have inspired him on some level, but you can't explain away something complex like why he commited this act with something as simple as a video game.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]sykomonkey
2006-01-26 02:34 pm UTC (link)
I'd be interested to know how involved the kids parents were in this whole thing? Were they monitoring him at all? Did they not pick up on some "warning signs" that this kid was a nutjob?

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]lotharhex
2006-01-26 12:23 pm UTC (link)
You know, everywhere else that reported that story just said he was a goth.

Meh, gotta love how the Sun gives away free games, and then slanders them not a few months afterwards.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]imahori
2006-01-26 12:27 pm UTC (link)
Dante made him a goth too. It's not like the fact that he was a goth could have potentially caused him to be attracted to Dante.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
(no subject) - [info]ianc14, 2006-01-26 12:36 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kilika_stryfe, 2006-01-26 04:22 pm UTC

[info]chenry
2006-01-26 12:24 pm UTC (link)
he missed a few steps: "Charge up devil trigger. Activate devil trigger"

(Reply to this)

Crazy kid Kills family, idiot tabilod sleeze blames games.
[info]yukimurasanada
2006-01-26 12:30 pm UTC (link)
Thats what the story should read. Ironic, that a game rated 17 and over in america was rated 15 and over in the UK. Isn't Jack always exposing the Uk system as better then the ESRB? Hmm, guess thats something else he was wrong on.

Seriously. The sun is just another low grade piece of crap tabilod that should be used as toliet paper, and nothing more.

Course, thats just my opinion, but remind me again, Wasnt this the same paper that claimed the man hunt murder was game related, only to be proven a liar later. ANd isn't media watch the same group that had to with draw a lawsuit over that debacule?

Anyway, just my opinons, I think that kid was bonkers. games or no games.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Crazy kid Kills family, idiot tabilod sleeze blames games.
[info]namco_
2006-01-26 12:41 pm UTC (link)
*puts hand up*

i also rate the UK rating system better than ESRB and have mentioned so in a prev post (esp. when violent games can be played by a 17yr old but nothing with sex in, even a smidgen).

However, this kid *WAS* 14, and sounded mentally unstable nonetheless.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Crazy kid Kills family, idiot tabilod sleeze blames games. - [info]yukimurasanada, 2006-01-26 12:48 pm UTC
Re: Crazy kid Kills family, idiot tabilod sleeze blames games. - [info]namco_, 2006-01-26 12:53 pm UTC
Re: Crazy kid Kills family, idiot tabilod sleeze blames games. - [info]traiklin, 2006-01-26 03:38 pm UTC
Re: Crazy kid Kills family, idiot tabilod sleeze blames games. - [info]rich_d7, 2006-01-26 01:17 pm UTC
Re: Crazy kid Kills family, idiot tabilod sleeze blames games. - [info]biff_larken, 2006-01-26 03:47 pm UTC
Nutcases on both Sides.
[info]mr_putter
2006-01-26 01:02 pm UTC (link)
Ladies and gents, welcome to the Nutcases of the World exhibition! See freaks, hypocrites, sociopaths AND psychopaths, and all kinds of dips just CRYING for attention!
And here we have the solemn case of "The Sociopathic Game Freak", who, unlike other gamers, is too frickin' stupid to tell the difference between reality and virtuality! Evidence suggests this guy may not even have played games and was just crazy to begin with!
And here we have the "Blame-o-Matic" who is too busy attempting to ban everything he sees as a plague on humanity, he has blocked out all common sense and reason, and has replaced it with "The Jack Thompson will", the desire to ban all fun on earth and sound like a freaking mental case while your at it!

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Nutcases on both Sides.
[info]udx
2006-01-26 04:57 pm UTC (link)
Yeah. This is why the world sucks nowadays.

It's full of people like this. Ignorance.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Consider the source
[info]dog_welder
2006-01-26 01:06 pm UTC (link)
This is The Sun, folks. Any resemblance between The Sun and publication with journalistic integrity are merely coincidental. They're a small step up from The Weekly World News and its reports on Bat Boy.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Consider the source
[info]the1jeffy
2006-01-26 01:24 pm UTC (link)
I'd say a step down from Weekly World myself. At least bat boy is real reporting on a fictional character, where The Sun is bullshit reporting based on reality. Maybe I'm nit-picking.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Consider the source - [info]tollwutig, 2006-01-26 02:49 pm UTC
Re: Consider the source - [info]dog_welder, 2006-01-26 03:05 pm UTC
Re: Consider the source - [info]silver_derstin, 2006-01-26 05:29 pm UTC
Re: Consider the source - [info]eondil, 2006-01-26 06:23 pm UTC
BBC lists game, but doesn't blame it - [info]jabrwock, 2006-01-26 03:58 pm UTC

[info]silver_derstin
2006-01-26 01:07 pm UTC (link)
I'd look into this kid's familial history before blaming a video game which promotes familly values... Just a thought.

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[info]indigonight
2006-01-26 01:08 pm UTC (link)
will JT stoop so low as to side with a tabloid?

"The headline in the UK's Sun tabloid---"

that's as far as i read....

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[info]markusdragon
2006-01-26 03:19 pm UTC (link)
Aye, but they're all tabloids now. Easier to read on the tube, apparantly.

Oh, other than the guardian. The guardian refused to become a tabloid and became a berliner instead. Good reputable journalism that.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Dum...
[info]x_vader_x
2006-01-26 01:09 pm UTC (link)
Even if the rich parents adopted him then they let him do something else then play video games...

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Double Standards
[info]rich_d7
2006-01-26 01:26 pm UTC (link)
For a paper that even has a web page devoted to gaming AND often gives away free games, it kinda' sounds like double standards.

Then again, it's Rupert Murdoch owned, which in turn is Fox, which in turn is News International... oh, and just by chance, don't Fox now own IGN as well. Also, don't Fox have a lot of direct links with the game industry itself. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

It's just another cheap way to get attention and sell papers. I'm sure tomorrow they'll have vouchers for Devil May Cry with "get it before it's banned" slogans.

Rich

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: Double Standards
[info]odc100
2006-01-26 02:04 pm UTC (link)
I used to buy the Sun for pure entertainment on the way to work 2 years ago, and I suddenly realised how utterly pointless all of it was.

Proud to say Ive never bought a copy since. This is nothing new though "Ban This Sick Filth" is the nationwide rallying cry of this waste of paper.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: Double Standards - [info]ianc14, 2006-01-26 04:44 pm UTC
Re: Double Standards - [info]repsode, 2006-01-26 06:22 pm UTC
Re: Double Standards - [info]ianc14, 2006-01-27 06:02 pm UTC
Re: Double Standards - [info]dog_welder, 2006-01-26 04:30 pm UTC

[info]silver_derstin
2006-01-26 01:37 pm UTC (link)
Anyone notice how this story comes out as the remake of DMC 3 comes out? Is it me or is it too good of a concidence?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]rich_d7
2006-01-26 01:44 pm UTC (link)
Free advertising again.

The US get's it's politicians to "advertise" the games, we get a tabloid containing topless 18 year old women to do it.

I know which set of tits I pay more attention to...

Rich

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]healer1422
2006-01-26 02:00 pm UTC (link)
Its the UK Sun. thats not real news so it dosent count. it has the validity equvilant of anyone on this forum.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]silver_derstin
2006-01-26 02:04 pm UTC (link)
Hey, you're insulting people on this forum! :P

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]healer1422, 2006-01-26 02:11 pm UTC
ya know...
[info]evilfish28
2006-01-26 02:40 pm UTC (link)
I doubt that even if he hadn't played the game until 17 that this wouldn't have happened. This kid must have had some mental condition to keep thinking like that. Last time I checked, DMC had nothing in its game content that is remotely close to what this kid did.

So much for indifferent reporting. I find it funny how people always seem like they need to find a scapegoat for, well, ANYTHING! I have been to a couple "media warch" sites and the content on those sites is ridiculous. They gave a PG movie an "explicit" rating just for using the word "damn" and "screwed" in a nonsexual context. In addition, I looked up the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and under the violence category (they judge movies on violence, profanity and sexual content) they had "instances" such as Willy Wonka accidently running into a glass elevator, and a girl being pushed down a chute by squirrels. It goes to show you what kind of prudes these "media watchdogs" are. Don't believe me? Check www.familymediaguide.com

Wait, hold on, I just came up with a revelation. Now that I think about it, Video Games are terrible influencers. They make politicians instantly dumber! They make them come up with ideas of taxing violent games and classifying them as "pornography"! It could be possible that games are doing more harm toward politicians than teens!



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[info]boredalot
2006-01-26 02:42 pm UTC (link)
That scheme alone is just too ludicrous to be conceived by any person even remotely normal, even under the influence of video games.

I should have saved him.

I should have been the one to fill his dark soul with LIGHT!!!!

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[info]perfect_self
2006-01-26 04:10 pm UTC (link)
Now make Dante a sammich, suckah.

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[info]darkken
2006-01-26 02:42 pm UTC (link)
My growing indifference to this subject matter may be the reason I'm honestly more distressed by the fact that even the British, it seems, no longer know how to properly conjugate "slay".

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[info]the1jeffy
2006-01-26 03:06 pm UTC (link)
Has Slain? I think that's it. It's been a while since grammar school.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
(no subject) - [info]perfect_self, 2006-01-26 04:06 pm UTC

[info]markusdragon
2006-01-26 02:49 pm UTC (link)
"Operation New Life. Kill family. Lose memory. Get adopted by rich couple. It all starts."

Dammit, why must tragedy be so far-fetched that it's funny?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]illspirit
2006-01-26 03:01 pm UTC (link)
And is it just me, or does his to-do list sound like the old Slashdot "...Step 3: ????, Step 4: Profit!" cliche?

(Reply to this) (Parent)
(no subject) - [info]the1jeffy, 2006-01-26 03:04 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]silver_derstin, 2006-01-26 04:31 pm UTC

[info]aniki21
2006-01-26 02:54 pm UTC (link)
They describe DMC as a "killer video game" - what? They make it sound like the tape from Ring, for God's sake.

Sir Allan Green, prosecuting, said the boy wrote a reminder to cut himself to make it look like “a demon had done it”.
He's obviously not completely fucking nuts - it must have been the game that did it.

Does anybody else find it strange that of all the 2.2million copies sold worldwide, only the kid with a plan to kill his family and get adopted by a wealthy couple actually flipped out and killed people?

I'd suggest we all email them, but it's a bit of a waste of time - they're not exactly worried about journalistic standards.

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[info]kangy
2006-01-26 03:11 pm UTC (link)
Shouldn't we blame money on this, not gaming? I mean, if he coveted money so much that he'd kill his family, surely that was the real trigger for it? Oh wait, money isn't a young people's market that can be picked on by an aging generation of politicians, it's the only language they understand. Never mind :E

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[info]upir_dagmire
2006-01-26 03:31 pm UTC (link)
What the fuck does this have to do with Devil May Cry?

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BBC article, offline
[info]jabrwock
2006-01-26 03:35 pm UTC (link)
The original story, from Jan 9th, doesn't mention videogames at all, but does suggest he might be judged under "diminished capacity".

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:RgDkZaeaNzUJ:news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/1.0/-/1/hi/england/london/4596386.stm+Sir+Allan+Green&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Daily Record calls him "Goth Matrix Murderer"
[info]jabrwock
2006-01-26 03:40 pm UTC (link)
They say he was obsessed with Keanu Reeves, and dressed like him after the murder...

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16627702&method=full&siteid=66633&headline=goth-boy-is-matrix-murderer--name_page.html

The Mirror also seemed to be playing up the whole "Goth" angle

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
BBC updated article - [info]jabrwock, 2006-01-26 03:49 pm UTC
Re: BBC updated article - [info]nickymccloud, 2006-01-26 04:17 pm UTC
Dante's Inferno - [info]jabrwock, 2006-01-26 04:24 pm UTC
Re: Dante's Inferno - [info]nickymccloud, 2006-01-26 04:45 pm UTC
Re: BBC updated article - [info]silver_derstin, 2006-01-26 04:36 pm UTC
Re: BBC updated article - [info]nightwng2000, 2006-01-26 05:30 pm UTC
Re: BBC updated article - [info]jabrwock, 2006-01-26 05:37 pm UTC
Re: BBC updated article - [info]bustermanzero, 2006-01-26 05:38 pm UTC
Re: BBC updated article - [info]silver_derstin, 2006-01-26 05:41 pm UTC
Re: BBC article, offline - [info]jindewinter, 2006-01-26 04:06 pm UTC

[info]ace_ofspade
2006-01-26 03:54 pm UTC (link)
Uhh. One of my favorite games is being tied in to a murder by some faggy goth kid. Maybe we should ban the book, Dante's Inferno, or better yet eradicate all the goths!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]silver_derstin
2006-01-26 04:37 pm UTC (link)
The Inferno is PART of Dante's Divine Comedy... While it is usually being published as a separate book nowadays, you need to remember that the book is about Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, too.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
I like the "ban all goths" suggestion... - [info]cashcleaner, 2006-01-26 11:20 pm UTC
Re: I like the "ban all goths" suggestion... - [info]ace_ofspade, 2006-01-26 11:52 pm UTC
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
[info]jerico6
2006-01-26 03:56 pm UTC (link)
This kid was just nuts. Instead of putting him in jail, they should put him in a mental hospital.

The boy's demented plan was to kill his family and be adopted by rich parents. Police investigating the case found a note reading, "Operation New Life. Kill family. Lose memory. Get adopted by rich couple. It all starts."

See what I mean: Cuckoo!

The Sun reports that in the wake of the conviction, UK pressure group Mediawatch accused the video game industry of "living in denial" of the consequences of their products.

The Video game Industry should not be responsible for what this nutjob did to his family. If I were to make a product that is critically praised and some idiot like this kid goes crazy over it and starts killing people, I shouldn't be responsible for the nutjob's crime.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
[info]hilaryduffgta
2006-01-26 10:31 pm UTC (link)
Given its true that the video game industry should not be responsible it is now looked at as this

It is the video game industrys Job to parent these children and make sure they have child friendly games to play because it is the responsibility of the video game industry to make sure the child grows up normal because the god damn parents are too stupid and are beyond dipshits to care for their child.


im done ranting now i need to find food

(Reply to this) (Parent)

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