New theory for video game violence

A US conspiracy theorist has come up with some new ideas about video game violence, saying the Pentagon is to blame.

Alex Jones, a radio show host, conservative and right-wing conspiracy theorist, has in the past been caught up in controversy after accusing the US government of being involved in the September 11 bombings.

On Wednesday Jones made an appearance on the Opie and Anthony Show, a radio talk show in an attempt at damage control after a heated interview on Piers Morgan Tonight about American gun control.

“Criminals now will knock your window out when you’re not there, and take the purse out of your car, wallet or your Playstation if you leave it in there, whatever, but they don’t do the home invasions all over the country because they know most houses have got people with guns who know how to use them.

Plus with all these first shooter videogames, which the Pentagon originally developed, most people you know now that have guns, even if they don’t shoot a lot know damn well how to use them.”

Baffled? Me too. Although there have been reports of people having done atrocious things after playing video games, first-person shooters aren’t exactly useful training – it’s hard to reload in real life. There’s no square button.

But Jones goes on. “I don’t say censor them...what I’m saying is, I was raising the video games saying that they were originally developed, that first-person shooter, this is on record, by the Pentagon to get really good at shooting. It’s like a flight simulator.”

For the record, the originl first-person shooter was either Maze War or Spasim, way back in the 70s.

I don’t know what I expected; I started the article with “a US conspiracy theorist”. Oh well.