This month sees a big push among Christian publications around the country towards educating parents and families about the growing influence of video games in our culture. The focus of the push is a lengthy article by Christian journalist Steve Rabey titled "Getting serious about gaming - Impact of video game industry raises concern", and quite frankly it isn't at all what I expected. Instead of being a religious rant about the dangers of video game, Rabey's article offers varied points of view on the subject, especially when discussing video game violence and the effect it has on children.

Some researchers are convinced that repetitive play of violent games instructs kids in violence, making violent acts more likely. But others argue that video violence is a cathartic replacement for real violent crime, which has gone down since the advent of video games.

Six teenagers were in court today following an all-night crime spree that began late Wednesday night and lasted into the early morning hours. The six teens allegedly began the evening with a mugging outside of a Nassau County, New York supermarket, eventually parading down a Garden City street carrying baseball bats and a crow bar, robbing one motorist and smashing a passing vehicle with a bat. What would cause such behaviour in our impressionable young teens? Grand Theft Auto, of course.

In my last column, I defended Grand Theft Auto IV from allegations of sexism, based on my opinion that it treats everyone distastefully. It provides a sandbox experience, I said, that allows players the opportunity to explore the underbelly of humanity and themselves, reflecting their own worst impulses back at them.

I was pleased that the article provoked thoughtful, in-depth discussion about the treatment of race, gender and other social issues in games, but in debunking a single individual's attack on Grand Theft Auto, my intention was not to provide a blanket pass to games that permit (and arguably, in this case, promote) antisocial behaviour. So I was more pleased at the commenters who criticised the virulence of my GTA IV defence than I was at those who agreed with me (though, hey, who doesn't like to be agreed with?).

Activision is well aware that most of its customers are over 18 and plans to address their R-rated expectations, Activision chairman and CEO Bobby Kotick told the Wall Street Journal's Kara Swisher at today's D6 event.

"We try to stick to violence against small animals," said Kotick, (hopefully) joking, when Swisher asked him about the in-game violence issue:

Most of our users are over 18, they go to R-rated movies and we need to to cater to that preference. We are a broad-based medium today and we must appeal to as many demographics as we can. Part of that demographic audience enjoys in-game violence, and that includes gratuitous violence.

Bobby Kotick, Chairman and CEO of Guitar Hero-Maker Activision - D6 Highlights [All Things Digital]

Time to wheel out mainstream media's default boogieman: VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES. In this today's thrilling episode, Arizona's KTVK-TV warns parents of "meat shields." Citing Yahoo!Games, KTVK 3TV writes:

A popular video game for the Xbox 360 is getting a sequel this year - and it seems to be raising eyebrows with its level of gore and detail... The game certainly attracted attention for its realistic visuals and battle scenes, but caused some pause when game designers showed off a new attack players can use in the game.

The book Grand Theft Childhood got a good bit of attention upon its release, and the authors are back discussing reactions to the book, as well as issues that have cropped up (again) in the wake of GT IV. On the media frenzy, they have this to say:

This is strikingly similar to the concerns over and editorials against comic books, radio, gangster films and--back in the late 19th century--the evil influence of paperback novels on teenage girls. None of those bore out. Each time, the pundits and politicians said that earlier concerns may have been silly, but that this time it's different. So far it hasn't been.

Thanks Ryan for the tip!

The Sharjah Municipality of the United Arab Emirates is having trouble keeping copies of God of War off the streets. The Sony game was banned for containing language and scenes that go against Islamic beliefs, notably the killing of gods, which I can understand, given the circumstance. Despite the bans, the game is still apparently easy to get hold of.

A UAE national said he was one of the people who was shocked to discover that the game was distributed in commercial areas, including the Central Souq, Al Rolla and sports shops in Nuammiya. "I knew that it was banned, but many of my friends were able to buy pirated copies from Dh5 to Dh10. I was shocked to see how much it contradicted Islamic values," said Khalid Bin Deemas, adding that it was dangerous as the video game was popular among children.

If GTA IV is going to be truly groundbreaking, then it will have to break ground in another realm: Real-life crimes to blame on it. Happily, GamesRadar is on the leading edge of this, spotting eight new crimes that imbecilic mainstream media will be thrilled to pin on "gamers", Rockstar, and this particular title.

18-year-old Jean Pierre Orlewicz is currently on trial for first-degree premeditated murder, after he and a friend ambushed 26-year-old Daniel Sorenson last November, stabbing him multiple times in the back before sawing off his head and burning his body. After the prosecution spent the better part of yesterday describing a young man fixated on committing a crime, the defence revealed the real reason behind the teen's murderous drive. Hitman: