Posts Tagged ‘thailand’
Gamer takes life after being told not to play games
I don’t know about you guys but I remember having my parents turn off my SNES when I refused to stop playing Zelda: A Link to the Past. Sure I was pissed, but I never did anything as close to this 12 year old from Bangkok, Thailand.
As the story goes, the 12 year old was banned from playing video games because his parents suspected he was addicted. Obviously discourged the boy proceeded to go to school the following day, went to the 6th floor of the building and jumped thus ending his life.
What’s even worse Thailand’s Ministry of Health blamed it almost entirely on his parents saying that they should have handled the child’s addiction much differently.
Read (Nintendo Everything)
Thailand: Game Makers Should be Responsible for Actions of Players
In what can be seen as a stupid move by Thailand, one of the country’s government official has stated that game makers should be prosecuted for the criminal activities of players that are inspired by game content. This follows the recent murder of a Thai cab driver by a 18-year old who told police he was attempting to recreate a scene from Grand Theft Auto 4.
“When a player copycats a crime he or she sees in the game, the game maker should be prosecuted,” said Somchai Jaroen-amnuaysuk, deputy director of Thailand’s Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups Office. “Prosecutions will automatically force game makers to act more responsibly.”
The official also stressed a need to better educate children about the difference between video games and real life. “At the same time, everyone, especially the Education Ministry, should make children aware that games and real life are two different things.”
Thai Youth Kills Taxi Driver to Recreate GTA 4 Scene
In today’s bit of stupid news, a Thai video game distributor has pulled Grand Theft Auto IV from stores after an 18-year old student confessed to killing a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the popular open-world game.
The teenager reportedly told Thai police that “he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game.” He faces death by lethal injection if found guilty of robbing and killing the 54 year old taxi driver.
“We are sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games,” said New Era Interactive Media marketing director Sakchai Chotikachinda. “We are also urging video game arcades to pull the games from service.”
The country’s culture ministry has also come into action, making calls to introduce a rating system in the country as well as a restriction on hours that youths can play games in public arcades.