Keith Vaz: Videogames Should Have Health Warnings

It’s been a hectic week in the world of videogames. With the most anticipated game of the year Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 hitting the shelves to the joy of thousands of gamers, (and retailers) world wide. The game looks set to break all records as the fastest selling game in history and looks like its going to break the previous record that Grand Theft Auto 4 set a year ago.


Modern Warfare 2 had the biggest launch day sales of a videogame ever in the UK generating £64.7 Million, beating GTA 4 which in 2008 made a paltry in comparison £39.9 million.


So in these times of economic strife a product being so successful and loved by millions should bring a bit of cheer? Unfortunately not all see Modern Warfare 2’s success as a good thing. MP Keith Vaz was one of the first to lash out at the game for a level that appears early on called “No Russian”. In it you assume the role of an undercover CIA agent who has infiltrated a Russian terrorist cell who then massacre an airport full of civilians. The player is given the choice to play the level and can skip at any time however the level does play an integral part to the games plot as becomes evident later.


The scene is shocking, but should it not be seen in context? Terrorists are not known for being merciful when targeting those they feel deserve their wrath and this game reflects that. However it has reignited the controversies that have dogged the videogame industry for years.


Keith Vaz spoke in the Daily Mail of his displeasure: "I am absolutely shocked by the level of violence in this game and am particularly concerned about how realistic the game itself looks." Mr Vaz later raised the matter in Parliament to which he was given rather short thrift by his colleagues Tom Watson and Sion Simon.

Sion Simon the minister for Culture, Media and Sport has this to say in response to Vaz’s concerns. "The clearest recommendation of the Byron Review is that content suitable for adults should be labelled as such and sold as such, that it should be an offence to sell such content to children,"


"That's the case under current law, it will be the case with the law when it changes under the Digital Economy Bill. This game the honourable gentleman refers to is a certificate 18 game, it should not be sold to children and the government's job is to make sure that adults, clearly labelled, can get what adults should be able to, and that children are not in danger of being subjected to adult content. "

Tom Watson, a former government minster also took offence at Keith Vaz and the daily mails attack on videogames and formed the group Gamers Voice. The group has grown enormously since its inception and now stands at over 14500 members on Facebook


Keith Vaz when questioned on our latest edition said videogames should carry health warnings in a similar fashion to cigarettes. Here is the full quote here: If you look to the packaging of an 18-rated videogame, it's [the size of] a tiny 10p coin. What it should be is the same as cigarettes - it should be splashed across the front: 'This has the potential to damage your health' - and that is not happening.

But is a game really that damaging to your health? Vaz insisted he was not anti videogames and that his crusade was to protect children from harmful games but in the same instance he was also unsure what videogames his own 14 year old son played. Vaz also mentioned that parents also have a responsibility for what their children view or play but does that then mean if it is found the child has an unsuitable game should the parents be punished? Would Keith Vaz be punished under such a system depending on what his son has been playing?


There is always the argument why should adults be forced to loose out when an 18 rated game is played by a child who by law should have never have been able to get hold of the game. It doesn’t look any time soon that violent games are going to be banned but the risk of a whole medium being tarred is there.

It would certainly seem that the videogame industry has an image problem though Richard Wilson CEO of TIGA doesn’t seem to think so. But when a game such as Modern Warfare 2 is met with such a hail of controversy when many violent films are praised as art in some cases, is there a case of double standards?



For every Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 there is a Portal, for every Manhunt there is a Shadow of the Colossus. It is easy to forget that videogames are a social medium that involves family, friends and people from around the world. But is that message lost in the hysteria?