1) Drug-addled celebrities don't knife each other. So kids aren't doing it because they seen Pete (what a tool) Doherty do it so role models won't work.

2) Kids aren't using knives because they are cool. Which leads us to the real poblem, why are they carrying a weapon in the first place?

Is it because Niko Bellic does? Is it because Marcus Fenix has a chainsaw on the end of his gun? Or is it because they live in a world were they feel threatened to the point that going outside without a weapon is not safe? I'm not going to say games don't influence as ALL MEDIA can influence people to a point but maybe Boris should try asking someone who carries a knife why they do it. I doubt their answer will be because they seen it in a game, they may be wreckless but they aren't thick as pig-****.

Its escalation (like the end of batman begins lol), everyone gets more afraid and so keeps upping the precautions they take. Try making the place safer, you might be suprised how well it works. Btw i'm also aware that there are people in the world who just carry knives to kill people, not everyone is just protecting themselves, some are actively seeking a use for their knife but would taking away their favourite 18 rated game solve this? :(

Oh dear Boris, I thought you were brighter than this.

What about the break down of the family unit and the cash handout welfare state that has created generations of an unemployable underclass?

*******s!

I agree with ka0znrky. Its stupid to think that video games are to blame for the rise in knife crime. Why has it only been in the last few years we have seen a rise in stabbings? Havnt violoent games been around for sometime??
Also these games come with a 18+ so why are the parents letting their kids play these games? Ok fair do's they maybe getting their friends to buy them for them but why arnt the parents controlling their gaming??
I dont blame games I blame parents and schools!!!

Boris is getting on the bloody nerves of every young person in london.

When he announced the bann on alcohol on the london underground and then said somthing like "u might as well have a party on the last night" well we all went on the circle and were singing f*** boris johnson.

this bloody conservative will ruin the olympics, cut funding here and there, ruin london, and if the conservatives rule britain games developers will be leaving here in their droves.

"not everyone is just protecting themselves, some are actively seeking a use for their knife but would taking away their favourite 18 rated game solve this? :("
Couldn't agree with you more. In fact takign away someones favourite 18 rated game might encourage them to go out on the streets more. If anything video games are keeping children off the streets in their own home where it's a damn site safer.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that children shouldn't go out, kick a ball around etc but it irritates me that people like Boris fell that most children player a video game, enjoy the violent act they do, think it's glamourous and that would be fun to do in real life!

I didn't expect much more from Boris - and I'm frustrated that he never replied to my hate-mail.
If one day everyone else out there in my area has a knife, I wont be caught out as the only one who can't defend myself... that's the mentality that needs sorting out in 'his city', along with everything else he's destroying.

That's a good point - if he takes my games away, all I'll have left is a desire to go stab the Mayor...

I've yet to see any evidence of Boris being 'bright' enough to tie his own shoelaces let alone make a sensible comment on an important issue.

I love how he is saying games cause knife fights, yet the picture is of him in a football shirt. How many football games end in fans beating the crap out of each other? Do they blame football? NO because of all the sponsorship money and/or taxes it makes for them.

What was the point of the Bryon Review if the government won't even listen to the facts? Unless they only wanted the results to show what they wanted and not the truth that games don't always cause violence...but far be it for me to assume that they would only do research to match tehir opinions.....

Oh dear me Boris. Get a grip.

Can you remember the epidemic in the 80's when all young kids were seen crossing busy roads for a laugh just because they had been playing frogger?
No..........because it never happened!

I have been playing video games all my life and loved the 80's slasher movie era and although there have been many people I would have loved to stab to death over the years I have resisted because I am not a mentalist.

The kids of today have no respect for themselves, their parents or society and this has to lie with the parenting skills and the respect shown at home.

Behaviour breeds behaviour.

As a victim of a stabbing attack whilst studying for my games degree ironically enough, I would place more blame on:

A messed up education system.

A police force crippled by beauracracy.

The ready availability of Knives

Pathetic punishments for knife crime if you don't actually succeed in killing someone, or even if you do.



But naturally, 1 month can't go past where a legitimate artform and entertainment medium, that has been resposible for.... no crime, and in a time frame... ever, won't be blamed for everything under the sun.

Last millenium it was violent movies. Whilst morons like this are elected, and third reich propoganda like the Daily Mail are published, we're going to be weathering a lot more of this storm.

For the few deficient specimens in our society who are influenced by the media to that extent, videogames are most likely a postponement of an inevitability as they provide an outlet, not an aggravator.

Games don't cause knife crime. Thugs with knives who stab people do.

What a complete idiot. Is he trying to keep Gordon Brown in power forever? Virtually every citizen knows this is not true. Only hardcore Daily Mail addicts are going to believe him.
Many now believe that games act as a catharsis and are responsible for the drop in youth crime over the last ten years.

Well, I think he has a point. Surely all the popping of pills by the youth of today is down to Pacman!

In all seriousness, he's talking a load of BS. I've been "in" the games industry as a programmer for about 18 years now, and play a lot of games as research. Not once have I had the urge to buy a knife to either defend myself or attack someone.

But hey, let's all stop buying games since they're so evil. Let's see what happens then, when the tax revenue for the government is lost.

Heh. I'll admit, I've often wanted to stab people, but that's simply because frankly, people piss me off, and they'd continue to do so, or possibly even do so more, if games were taken away.

Given that I'm a game designer, and I have a hard time even comprehending what the hell Boris Johnsen must be smoking to get his opinions, never mind how the hell he's come to this conclusion, I'd say the man has no clue about games and gaming, and certainly won't be re-elected when the next mayoral election comes round, if nothing else, because a majority of current video gamers will then have reached voting age, and his current demographic will be dieing off (sorry, but that's the case, especially with the NHS being the way it is at the moment.).

I have just finished Metal Gear Solid 4, This game had alot of violence throughout. It did however have a 15 BBFC on the box. The real point to this is that the game had, what I consider to be the best story I have ever heard/seen. Why is it that this is never mentioned? I don't follow Football but on the same basis would it be easy for me to say that this breeds hostility and violence just through the T-shirt you wear? That's what the News, Green Street and The Football Factory would have me believe.
Let me put it in a way any politician can understand,
DO THE JOBS WE PAY YOU TO DO. IF YOU WERE ANY GOOD THEN THE PROBLEM WOULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED WITHOUT YOU CITING GAMES AGAIN. OUR ENTERTAINMENT ISN'T YOUR ESCAPE GOAT. GET OUT OF THE STUFFY BUILDINGS TAKE A REAL LOOK AT THE COUNTRY YOU HAVE RUINED AND GET IT SORTED. IF YOU CAN'T THEN LETS FIND SOME HONEST PEOPLE WHO CAN!

If anything, games reduce the likely hood of anger and violence by providing a safe and satisfying outlet. I don't know how many times I've been angry or stressed and have played a video game to cool off and relax.

Hell yeah, i've yelled insults at people than i care to remember while playing Halo, I've called my best friend words that will only show up as asterixes here BUT i have never killed someone ... i have however asked for a rematch on several occasions, yup guilty as charged. Its hard being the lowest of the low sometimes :P

"What about the break down of the family unit and the cash handout welfare state that has created generations of an unemployable underclass?"

Because that scenario would actually cost money and hard graft; much easier and cheaper to opt for the scapegoat.

What needs to be said has been said. I merely wish to display my disgareement with this thoroughly stupid statement. I'd have a rant about politicians being out of touch and eager to make use of any scapegoat they can conjure up to help maintain their 'prestige' if I thought there was much of a point. I don't.

What needs to be said has been said. I merely wish to display my disgareement with this thoroughly stupid statement. I'd have a rant about politicians being out of touch and eager to make use of any scapegoat they can conjure up to help maintain their 'prestige' if I thought there was much of a point. I don't.

Why games ... It's always the games that get placed on a firing line to be shot at... WHAT ABOUT TV!!!!!!
I mean ffs, I see more guts and gore on TV and see actors playing out a killing on TV and movies more than a silly game...
The ones that actually do kill or stab people are the ones that have no support in their life and they get in to gangs and drugs, there is nothing like that in video games! .. hell i bet they had to rob someone to get to play games if you choose to still say vid games are to blame, also they have problems them selfs, and have no one to turn too, and in the end they lash out on some innocent person.
i have played games since i was at school i have worked on computer games, i love war games ,simulation games.. FPS.. but no way in hell do i have the urg to kill anyone or hurt anyone, nor do i ever want to hold a gun, let alone use it against someone.. like if i had to join the army.
they have R18 on violent games, if there are 14-17 year olds playing these games, there is no one else to blame except the parents ...
So in turn, quit bashing computer games when that is a very small part of the picture.. again look whats on TV and movies these days, you cant tell me no one would get ideas from that .. because i cant see how computer games are to blame when they are nothing compared to what you see on your home tv screen, free to any age to view, at any time...
/salute for the nublet /sigh -.-

The video game, much like any other art-form in its infancy struggling to become more beautiful and appreciated inevitably faces the firing line of those who choose to scapegoat it (due to it being something relatively new and easy to blame).

I mean, cinema struggled for some time before becoming as accepted as it is now. I can think of probably hundreds of films that contain scenes of violence, sex and nudity that are adorned with awards and ritually praised by critics and observers alike.

Taking a look through the top 10 films of all time on IMDB, I spot several "usual suspects" that all contain serious violence, most contain guns and some even contain torture. And yet - these are cited as works of art and everyone from tv presenters to MPs can sing their praises and impersonate their characters as harmlessly as impersonating a children's cartoon character.

I'm not going as far as saying then that all violent video games are art - but there is so much beauty out there, and this is what is usually lost on people who don't play games (and so find it easier to blame the industry).

Films, games and other media (including books, radio and art) can influence you dramatically (I remember trying to run up walls on my way home from seeing The Matrix).

Niko Bellic may coldly stab someone on-screen, and I may even think "that would be how I should do it if I wanted to" - but it doesn't put a knife in my hand and it doesn't give me the incentive, motivation or willpower to go out there and kill someone.

Wow way to step out on a limb I've been playing games since wolfenstein3d and I play mostly those types of games. So I must be totally retarded according to this guys logic. Were I live people carry knives from the time they are children till the time they are old. I use my pocket knife daily, its a handy tool to have around. If your having a crime problem involving knifes then your problem is probably not video games. I'd say your problem is far far more likely to be one of the following:
1.) a lack of good ethical/moral values
2.) destitution, we sit back and let people suffer who don't manage to lift themselves up. A homeless man over here in the states literally died on the subway and rode around for forever before someone realized there was a dead homeless person on the seat next to them. Destitute men and women might sometimes think it's the best option available to them in order to survive another day.
3.) % of stupid aggressive persons / capita
4.) no armament among the civilian population has led to only cops and criminals having guns, I love guns but they have a responsibility like all tools. They need to be used responsibly. Training mandatory. Do you think Israel has a problem with violent crime outside of the random suicide bomber, every household has an Uzi.

i don't want to seem as if i am complaining. however I am really annoyed that people like Boris Johnson feel a need to constantly assault video games, video games, which they have more than likely never played in their entire lives, funny how the people who know nothing about gaming seem to be the first to use it as a scape goat. Nor do I appreciate someone telling the world that I and most of my friends are most likely violent and illiterate.What happens when potential employers start believing it? Do i lose a job opportunity simply because some ill-informed mayor convinced an employer that i might stab him or that i cant read? Another thing. I find it strange that these "leaders" (*cough*disgraces*cough*)and much of the news media (especially corporate sensationalist media) have completely forgotten to speak the people that this whole issue affects the most, gamers, it affects us, and so we should be consulted and yet we are not.

Boris is on a other planet. He ought to be given the respect he deserves. The problems of youth violence and knife crime in society are no modern phenomenon and certainly can't be linked to games. Violence in games is little more than a statement about the level of the creativity of game producers and the pressure of popular demand.

i can't see how video games can really be linked to knife crime. If anything they should be more harsh on the retailers selling them so that kids have to be i.d before they purchase a game...like they're meant to be doing! it's the parents fault if they buy their child a game as violent and adult as GTA or something of a similar nature which are aimed at adults, not children. In an interview with one of the creators of GTA4, he said himself that it's aimed for adults so people under a certain age shouldn't be able to purshase them and if the parent buys it for them it's at their own risk and isn't the fault of the game designers. I really don't agree with Boris' statement, it's so untrue and there are so many other things which could be to blame for knife crime, and i really don't think that games are one of them. I've played plenty of violent games before and I've never thought about stabbing anyone or passing what I've seen in the game or movie into reality, neither has anyone else i know, it just seems like they're trying to find excuses as to why people are doing this to satisfy the public and themselves to make it look like they're actually doing something useful.
They should stop guns and weapons being so readily availiable, have harsher consequences for people who have been violent or are in possession and generally don't give people the insentive to carry out such actions...everything else is just excuses to satisfy themselves. Movies and games are a form of art and a way to show creativity and by banning certain games for their content is just mad...
Bah!

Actually I quite like Boris.... he's a bit of a nutter, AND I don't live in London, so I'm going to defend him.
Go read the article above again, and then tell me... Are you reacting to what Boris said, or are you reacting to the biased reporting, of what he said?
The 'damaging influance of violent video games' is only one third, of his assumed contributions to knife crime.... so is it being taken out of context and exagerated a bit??
Even so, I agree with the rest of you, games are nothing to do with knife crime.
Chill

Actually Boris doesn't believe that computer games directly cause knife crime. His opinion on the subject is that computer games distract from education and family, which IN TURN can be a cause of the spiral that leads kids into crime.

Nothing like a good old knee-jerk headline and predictable public response though.

MCV, the Daily Mail of games industry.

Omg...LMAO!! Okay, why would that retard think video games encourage knife crimes?! Like the media today is blaming video games because they are suppose to encourage violence. Which they dont...knife crimes has noooo relationship with video games at all. Knife crimes are started when usually the person is drunk, murder, robbery & simply angry at a friend because he took his girlfriend. No one in the world would go out, grab a knife and starts stabbing everyone because he thinks hes in a video game and that person would respawn in a couple of seconds.
Now how does that relate to VIDEO GAMES?!?!?! IT doesn't! So Boris Johnson, you are probably not reading this, but dude...your little theory is empty just like your brain.

Might just be me but on the right side there is a picture advertising "Call of Duty:World at War

I mean it might just be me but I think people hate him :)