Xbox Live Pries The Guns From Your Cold, Avatar Hands

28 responses to “Xbox Live Pries The Guns From Your Cold, Avatar Hands”

1. 

   Stephen

   December 25, 2011 at 11:28 am

   Anyone want a tissue?

   Reply
2. 

   Aidan

   December 25, 2011 at 11:37 am

   “Wayne LaPierre would like to remind you that thousands of responsible avatar dads have taken their kids hunting and fishing with the Lancer, whose proud heritage can be traced to George Washington chainsawing down a cherry tree with it in 1776.”

   Heh. Gold.

   Reply
3. 

   Hobokillah

   December 25, 2011 at 12:08 pm

   Haha looks like Obama is pushing his no guns theme even on Xbox 360.

   Reply
4. 

   Steengo

   December 25, 2011 at 3:54 pm

   Another misleading headline, nice one Owen

   Reply
   1. 

      A-Train

      December 25, 2011 at 6:10 pm

      How is it misleading?

      Reply
      1. 

         Malk

         December 26, 2011 at 4:54 am

         Because banning the sale of something ≠ taking it away from existing owners.

         Reply
         1. 

            Steengo

            December 26, 2011 at 11:55 am

            Exactly. Thanks Malk!

            Reply
5. 

   Sam

   December 25, 2011 at 4:19 pm

   Don’t know that taking your children hunting is really responsible in this day and age, unless of course the NEED the food… but that seems unlikely. Bleh, americans.

   Reply
   1. 

      Link

      December 25, 2011 at 6:19 pm

      just because you dont have an interest in something doesnt make it a bad thing. It can teach respect and care around firearms. I bet almost all of the worlds criminal shootings are done by people who were taught to respect guns and to respect the animal when they kill it. biggest misconception about people with guns these days especially in Australia. criminals dont carry a 308 to rob a petrol station they carry illegally imported pistols and mac 10s etc. not something that you hunt with.

      Reply
      1. 

         Monkey Butler

         December 25, 2011 at 10:38 pm

         When that something is killing things, then yeah, it’s a bad thing.

         Reply
         1. 

            StudiodeKadent

            December 25, 2011 at 10:57 pm

            “Guns” don’t kill. Killing is an action that needs to be performed by a person. It is people who kill. Guns are merely the tool.

            And that said, guns can be used for defensive purposes just as much as they can be used to murder.

            Guns themselves are not bad. Murder is bad, but guns are not murder. Murder is an action that presupposes a conscious actor. Guns are inanimate matter.

            Reply
            1. 

               DeeDub76

               December 26, 2011 at 8:32 am

               Oh that old chestnut. Guns just happen to make murder a hell of a lot easier and faster.

            2. 

               RocK_M

               December 26, 2011 at 12:23 pm

               Hence an uber effective tool!

               Of course the caveat on that lil gem is treat your tools w/ respect. ie. Don’t give guns to people who won’t be using them responsibly.

               We give kids dulled kiddy scissors for kids on the arts and crafts, edible play doh and nothing sharp/hot for the kiddies. Because we all know what kids are liable to do w/ sharp and pointies

               Thats the *premise* of gun control most people are forgetting. It’s not denying its *controlling* who gets these very dangerous tools.

            3. 

               StudiodeKadent

               December 26, 2011 at 10:05 pm

               Well yes, a weapon generally makes killing easier.

               But that doesn’t mean the weapon itself kills.

               Your entire argument, as well as the argument of the gun control lobby, depends on attacking the agency (free will) of individuals and treating inanimate matter as if it were responsible for murder.

               Back to the point of this article; the simple fact is that removing virtual guns from Xbox avatars will NOT make kids less violent. That again is an argument which depends on ignoring individual agency and treating people merely as stimulus-response social-constructs with no capacity to think for themselves.

               And I find that argument idiotic, patronizing, offensive, and (most importantly) censorious. Every single argument in favor of video game censorship is based on precisely the same logic; that people cannot tell fantasy from reality and that playing Doom will make someone want to kill real people. That people are socially constructed by the media they consume and thus we need to control the media in order to stop people from killing people.

               The logic which justifies taking virtual guns from Xbox avatars is exactly the same logic which justifies censoring our games.

            4. 

               Chazz

               December 26, 2011 at 11:05 pm

               The knives and forks you use for eating food also make killing easier. As does your car. Almost any object can make killing “easier and faster”. Let’s not forget that the vast majority of those objects are easier to obtain and easier to effectively use. So what’s your point?

         2. 

            Chazz

            December 26, 2011 at 12:02 am

            Abattoirs? Chicken farms? Fishing? Fly spray?

            Killing does not always = bad and if you’re familiar with hunting you’ll know that for your average joe who engages in the activity that they solely hunt either creatures that are at pest-like numbers or creatures that have a very healthy population were in fact hunting of said creatures aids in keeping a balanced ecosystem.

            Reply
            1. 

               Chazz

               December 26, 2011 at 12:18 am

               where in fact*

               I also left out the obvious reason of food. Some people love the taste of venison, duck, turkey, rabbit, crocodile and so on and so forth.

      2. 

         markd

         December 26, 2011 at 1:43 am

         But unless you’re in the military, hunting is the only place you’ll ever need to know that respect around firearms anyway..

         Reply
         1. 

            Arata

            December 28, 2011 at 3:05 pm

            Guns don’t kill, bullets do. BAN THE BULLETS FROM XBOX!!!

            Also, there’s no need for guns in any society. Including whatever it is that Xbox has. In fact, I’ll go further. They are a re hindrance to any society.

            Reply
6. 

   hh

   December 25, 2011 at 5:21 pm

   next, game with guns…

   Reply
7. 

   Vaporeon

   December 25, 2011 at 10:36 pm

   *Facepalm*

   MORE anti-gun bullshit? Contrary to popular belief, there are people who grew up with firearms and learned to respect them and the power they hold.

   Reply
   1. 

      Alex

      December 26, 2011 at 12:00 am

      Responsible people are allowed to own guns in every country. The reason why shooting are far less common in places like Australia and the UK is because the responsible people don’t miss out, but the ill-educated hotheads do.

      By making people jump through hoops to obtain these weapons you minimise the risk of them being misused. If you do the right thing you have nothing to fear, as always.

      But as far as this guns on xbox live being removed goes, it is ridiculous. But caring about those god awful Avatars in any way shape or form is worse. I wish you could make them disappear from the dashboard to be honest, not even Wii has them taking up space on its home screen.

      Reply
8. 

   StudiodeKadent

   December 25, 2011 at 10:55 pm

   This whole “must keep guns away from children” thing is based on a bizzare, patronizing psychological theory that basically treats guns as the physical embodiment of murder.

   Yes, a gun is a weapon. So is a knife. The simple fact is that almost anything can be used to kill. Admittedly, guns don’t have as many alternative functions as knives, but that doesn’t mean they are a physical embodiment of murder. Defensive use of weapons is perfectly legitimate, after all.

   Merely showing a gun to a kid won’t make them into a killer.

   This move is just giving in to the PC sensibilities of gun-phobic soccer moms that shriek “think of the children!!!” at regular intervals.

   Reply
9. 

   Spuddy

   December 26, 2011 at 9:34 am

   My parents wouldn’t let me play with anything that resembled a gun as a kid and wouldn’t let me play violent games until I was 15 but now all I play is shooters (and I haven’t murdered anyone yet). It’s like the situation we have with alcohol, by keeping it away from children, you’re just making it more tempting. I personally think this is political correctness gone mad.

   Reply
10. 

    Evor

    December 26, 2011 at 12:17 pm

    Gun control is good and should be encouraged. This, however, is just silly.

    Reply
11. 

    Franz

    December 26, 2011 at 10:03 pm

    And, that was the end of the United States.

    Enjoy your next civil war.

    Reply
12. 

    PiratePete

    December 27, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    I bought my younger cousin a Nerf gun for Xmas this year and I don’t think it will be more than 20 years before they are banned as well.

    It gets a bit out of hand sometimes.

    Reply
13. 

    klanky

    January 8, 2012 at 11:07 pm

    Next they will ban video games from Xbox because they teach us that killing is a fun and enjoyable pastime. Now, if anyone wants me, I will be at Caspian Border slaughtering some noobs. Cherio!

    Reply