Gioia Identifies 10 Most Violent Video Games

City Councilmember Eric Gioia recently joined advocates and concerned parents to urge shoppers and parents to exercise caution when buying video games this holiday season. Gioia presented a list of the 10 most violent games currently on the market, as well as a list of buying tips for parents and shoppers, ensuring that parents have every tool they need to guard their children.

“Parents beware: the video games your children are playing are so graphically violent and so sexually explicit, if they were movies they could be rated ‘X’,” Gioia said. “Killing cops, maiming women and committing hate crimes are only some of the deplorable acts that are graphically depicted in these games. We’re making sure that parents throughout our city are well informed about ways they can protect their children from the sights and sounds of violent video games on the market. These tips will give parents an opportunity to make good, responsible decisions this holiday season.”

Gioia has introduced legislation in the City Council to make it more difficult for children to purchase or rent video games rated “M” for Mature. “M”- rated games are intended for players aged 17 and up and often feature graphic violence and sexually suggestive acts. Similar legislation is also pending in Congress.

Doris Suda, a longtime resident of Long Island City and the mother of two boys ages 7 and 9, said, “As parents, retailers, and video game developers, we need to work together to protect our children from the violent images of these video games. I thank Councilmember Gioia for raising awareness on this issue.”

Gioia has been helping to improve the lives of New York City’s children since he was elected to the City Council in 2001. He has visited every public school in his district each of the past four years, speaking to principals, teachers, parents, and more than 10,000 students about how to make city schools better places to learn. Gioia has fought successfully to secure more than $4 million for new computers and innovative technologies to ensure that every school in the neighborhood is wired for the Internet and that all children have an opportunity to be competitive in the 21st century. He has supported free SAT and college prep classes, started youth baseball and basketball leagues, and supported dynamic after-school programs such as Chess-in-the-Schools to expand extracurricular opportunities for city students.

As chair of the council Committee on Oversight and Investigations, Gioia has exposed inefficiency, waste and mismanagement, making government cost less and work better. His investigations have focused attention on persistent hunger in New York City and helped cut the bureaucratic red tape keeping hungry children and families from receiving food stamps. He has uncovered deplorable living conditions for homeless New Yorkers with AIDS, excessive wait times for mammogram screenings and the limited availability of emergency contraception for victims of sexual assault. His investigations have discovered defective bulletproof vests sold to the Police Department and exposed the unlawful charging of sales tax on clothing. Gioia’s hard-hitting hearings have shined light on egregious worker safety violations and have resulted in a massive whistleblower education program for city workers and more diverse hiring practices for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.

10 Worst Violent Video Games

#GameRating

1.Far CryM

2.F.E.A.R.M

3.The WarriorsM

4.Stubbs the Zombie

in Rebel Without a PulseM

5.True Crime: New York CityM

6.Blitz: The LeagueM

7.Grand Theft Auto:

Liberty City StoriesM

8.God of WarM

9.Doom 3: Resurrection of EvilM

10.Urban ReignT

Source: National Institute of Media & The Family, 2005