Nine members of parliment have signed a motion that calls for the British Board of Film Classification to "take further precautions when allowing a game to be sold." The act directly calls upon Modern Warfare 3, or Call of Duty 3 as they have titled the motion which they say contains gratuitous violence and terrorist attacks not unlike those of 7/7. It almost reminds me of South Park: "it should not be viewed by anyone."
An Early Day Motion for residents outside the UK is a motion put forward for debate in the commons, making a motion by no means guarentees that the debate will ever happen but the fact that there is support for this sort of thing, for the most part based on nothing more than "TERRORIST ATTACKS?!", means that there are some rather dangerous people in parliment.
The motion goes on to say that there is a link between violent video games and violent crimes. As somebody who has worked as a writer in the industry for a couple of years, I can safely say that I recieve a different study every day and it almost alternates between good and bad points.
All is not lost, however, and this is by no means an oppurtunity to shout and scream about the fools in power.
A counter motion has been made celebrating the game, backing up the BBFC and the rights of 18+ users everywhere. Adults, they say, should be free to choose their own entertainment.
Below you can find both motions in full, but you can check the original source for information on who has signed what.
The original motion:
"That this House is deeply concerned about the recently released video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, in which players engage in gratuitous acts of violence against members of the public; notes in particular the harrowing scenes in which a London Underground train is bombed by terrorists, bearing a remarkable resemblance to the tragic events of 7 July 2005; further notes that there is increasing evidence of a link between perpetrators of violent crime and violent video games users; and calls on the British Board of Film Classification to take further precautions when allowing a game to be sold."
The counter motion:
"leave out from `House' to end and add `notes that the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) gave the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 an 18 classification, noting that `the game neither draws upon nor resembles real terrorist attacks on the underground'; further believes that the game has an excellent user interface and challenges the gamers' dexterity as well as collaborative skills in an outline setting; and encourages the BBFC to uphold the opinion of the public that whilst the content of video games may be unsettling or upsetting to some, adults should be free to choose their own entertainment in the absence of legal issues or material which raises a risk or harm.'."
