UK Labour MP Keith Vaz Assails Modern Warfare 3 in Early Day Motion

If there's one thing you can say about anti-game campaigner and UK Labour MP Keith Vaz, it's that he is tenacious in his fight against games. This week MP Vaz raised his fourth early day motion aimed at violent games, this time specifically targeting Activision's recently released Modern Warfare 3.

"This House is deeply concerned about the recently released video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, in which players engage in gratuitous acts of violence against members of the public," the Early Day Motion reads. "It notes in particular the harrowing scenes in which a London Underground train is bombed by terrorists, bearing a remarkable resemblance to the tragic events of 7 July 2005. It further notes that there is increasing evidence of a link between perpetrators of violent crime and violent video games users and calls on the British Board of Film Classification to take further precautions when allowing a game to be sold."

Of course not everyone agrees with MP Vaz; fellow Labour MP and vocal games supporter Tom Watson openly expressed his disagreement with the MP, adding the following amendment to the EDM:

“The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) gave the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 an 18 classification, noting that 'the game neither draws upon nor resembles real terrorist attacks on the underground.' I further believe that the game has an excellent user interface and challenges the gamers' dexterity as well as collaborative skills in an outline setting and encourages the BBFC to uphold the opinion of the public that whilst the content of video games may be unsettling or upsetting to some, adults should be free to choose their own entertainment in the absence of legal issues or material which raises a risk or harm."

You can read more about it at www.parliament.uk.

In May MP Vaz raised an EDM called Video Games and Young People, which urged gamers to "drop their joypads and venture out into the sunlight once in a while." His previous EDM's called for tighter restrictions on violent games.

Sources: MCV, Eurogamer