Following a veritable beating in the New York Stock Exchange, Circuit City released a statement announcing that they have filed for bankruptcy. The company mentioned that they intend to stay in business while they come up with a plan to restructure.

Some people would point the finger at video games as the cause of the violent school shootings that have taken place in the US in recent years. Gun control advocate Paul Helmke, however, begs to differ. According to him, video games aren't to blame for school killings - guns are. More on his alternative perspective after the jump.

With all the concerns circulating violent video games, horror author Stephen King joins in on the discussion. Writing novels for more than four decades, he's one of those credible enough to speak about the matter. Instead of writing down what he believes in, King chooses to speak up his mind. Find out what he said in the full article.

Jack Thompson is at it again, and this time he has his eye on the recent shoot out that occurred at North Illinois University earlier today. In an interview with Fox News, he presented the same arguments as with previous campus massacres and other violent incidents, pinning the blame once again on violent video games. You can read more about what Jack Thompson had to say, as well as the video interview in the full article after the jump.

If you haven't heard yet, another student from Virginia Tech died recently, and once again discussions began to rear their ugly heads at gaming. World of Warcraft was the game pinned to the wall this time around. Though other disputes rose later as details were unveiled, people are looking back once again to the tragic shooting back in April 2007.

Is the US Department of Defense collaborating with the games industry to create an entire generation of perfect soldiers who crave for war like it's something good? The latest statement coming from activist lawyer Jack Thompson seems to indicate that. He also linked this theory to recent shooting incidents in Columbine and Virginia Tech. Does that sound similar to something characters went through in a Metal Gear Solid game? Read on and tell us what you think.

The latest report released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) reveal that the video game industry grew four times faster than the U.S. economy in 2003 to 2006. After seeing 17% annual growth, gaming left the national economy's 4% in the dust.

More interesting findings await at the full article.

 

While the world was still reeling from the shock of the horrible tragedy that is the V-Tech shootings, a formal investigation into the murderer's background - as well as what could have been done, and what should be done to prevent anything like this from happening again - was launched, and has recently concluded. Its findings, which should provide at the very least, solace to the bereaved, also provide an answer to a question that the videogame community (as well as the rest of the world) had been asking: was violence in videogames a factor in Seung Hui Cho's outburst?

The answer is a resounding 'no'.

This comes directly from the full report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel, spearheaded by none other than Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, with the actual material hosted on his official website. Excerpts that best convey this affirmation presented as is:

Sun and her parents recall that Cho seemed to be doing better. He was enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do program for awhile, watched TV, and played video games like Sonic the Hedgehog. None of the video games were war games or had violent themes. He liked basketball and had a collection of figurines and remote controlled cars.

Years later when he was in high school, Cho was asked to write about his hobbies and interests. He wrote:

I like to listen to talk shows and alternative stations, and I like action movies…My favorite movie is X-Men, favorite actor is Nicolas Cage, favorite book is Night Over Water, favorite band is U2, favorite sport is basketball, favorite team is Portland Trailblazers, favorite food is pizza, and favorite color is green.

Cho’s roommate never saw him play video games. He would get movies from the library and watch them on his laptop. The roommate never saw what they were, but they always seemed dark.

With various critics of videogames such as Dr. Phil and Jack Thompson pointing to videogames as a major influence in the V-tech killings before the findings themselves were published, it's certainly interesting to find out just what the reaction of the masses will be, now that these results have come to the public light. We'll be here to update you on developments as they happen, and you can let us know what you think by your comments below.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting incident, it seems that the issue of violent video games will be figuring in the 2008 presidential campaign. Yesterday, the first volleys were fired by Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney during a graduation speech at Regent University in Virginia.

Here's what Gov. Romney said as reported by the Deseret News:

Pornography and violence poison our music and movies and TV and video games. The Virginia Tech shooter, like the Columbine shooters before him, had drunk from this cesspool.

Romney, a Republican presidential hopeful, was at Regent speaking to a conservative Christian audience. So, what do you think folks? Will the issue be brought up again and again during the campaign? Leave a comment below and tell us your thoughts.

Now that evidence shows that Cho Seung Hui didn't own a single video game at the time of the Tragic shooting, a new article over at MSNBC questions Thompson's fervent accusations. This is in light of his recent interview wherein he responded to IGDA criticism.

The MSNBC article notes that contrary to Thompson's claims of counterstrike being a "killing simulator" for youths, Cho didn't need much skill to shoot as many people as he did. Eye witness accounts indicate that many of the victims were shot at point blank range.

Moreover the article notes that Sternheimer, a sociologist at the University of Southern California and author of the book "Kids These Days: Facts and Fictions About Today's Youth" points out that before this week's Virginia Tech massacre, the most deadly school shooting in history took place at the University of Texas in Austin way back in 1966, before the days of pong.

The article says that nobody realises that since the advent of videogames, violence rates in the US have declined "precipitously." Sternheimer even notes that it is likely that any 23-year-old man living in America has already played a videogame. How many 23-year-old men go out on a killing spree?

The MSNBC article goes on to note this nice gem:

For those who didn't grow up playing video games, the appeal of a game like "Counter-Strike" can be hard to comprehend. It can be difficult to understand that the game promotes communication and team work. It can be hard fathom how players who love to run around gunning down their virtual enemies do not have even the slightest desire to shoot a person in real life.

As a commenter on Digg noted, the truth is that massive multiplayer killing fests are really just slightly more complex and themed versions of cops-and-robbers. An online and engaging visual form of "tag" wherein players "tag" one another in the form of virtual kills, in a world where there are no real consequences. A game of tag in a world where death isn't really malicious or evil, or "desensitising" - death only means waiting for the next play round or respawn.

It is a competitive environment where sportsmanship is still the norm; where it is expected that after all the boasting and chest-thumping is done, the winning party will get up and shake the losing party's hand and say "good game."