Let the blame game begin. Anders Breivik, the terror suspect responsible for the murder of 93 people in Norway last week, wrote in his ‘manifesto’ about his enthusiasm for video games and how he used them as part of his “training”.
As law-enforcement and media look for explanations behind the rationale of this horrible action, they turn to the 1,500 page manifesto, in which Breivik writes, “I just bought Modern Warfare 2, the game. It is probably the best military simulator out there and it’s one of the hottest games this year. I see MW2 more as a part of my training-simulation than anything else. I’ve still learned to love it though and especially the multiplayer part is amazing. You can more or less completely simulate actual operations.”
Breivik also mentions popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft, in his manifesto stating, “For example, tell them that you have started to play World of Warcraft or any other online MMO game and that you wish to focus on this for the next months/year. This ‘new project’ can justify isolation and people will understand somewhat why you are not answering your phone over long periods. Tell them that you are completely hooked on the game (raiding dungeons, etc.).”
The manifesto, an assortment of ramblings of right-wing views and negative skew on Muslims, includes a desire to form a Europe, free from non-Christian religions.
There’s no doubt that games can be used as training. The military uses them every day; to put it simply, this guy is a nut job and in no way should they try to blame a game for his actions. I’ve played Modern Warfare 2. I don’t have a desire to go out and kill 93 people. Still, I’m waiting for those looking for some sort of excuse to come out and point the finger towards the gaming industry as being responsible. Rock n’ roll used to be the cause, now it’s time to blame games. Let’s put the blame where it really needs to be and that’s solely on Anders Breivik.
