Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Businesses United States Games

Walmart Takes Down Displays of Violent Video Games in Stores (bloomberg.com) 353

Walmart is removing displays and signs of violent video games in its stores in the wake of two deadly shootings at its locations in Texas and Mississippi in recent weeks. From a report: "We've taken this action out of respect for the incidents of the past week, and this action does not reflect a long-term change in our video game assortment," Walmart spokeswoman Tara House said. Further reading: Violent Video Games Don't Cause Mass Shootings, Study Says; and Dear Walmart C.E.O.: You Have the Power to Curb Gun Violence. Do It. (Op-ed).
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Walmart Takes Down Displays of Violent Video Games in Stores

Comments Filter:
  • I like it. We don't need to "sell" kids on violent video games and it doesn't stop responsible adults from enjoying their favorite games. My 4yo is always asking about the boxes and posters for games she cannot play if we walk by the electronics section. Good move, Wal Mart.
    • by Striikerr ( 798526 ) on Friday August 09, 2019 @08:38AM (#59068228)

      I disagree that this is a good move. What it is is a knee-jerk reaction to the narrative being pushed by the NRA and being mouthed by the right. Video games are not the cause at all and we all know that. It would have made better sense if they had removed all guns and ammunition from the store shelves out of respect for the shooting but oh we can't have that now can we.

      • I shop at Target :) There are no Wal Marts within 30 miles because I live in the city and they avoid any place with reasonable union laws. I don't shop at any stores that sell ammunition, so the guns/ammo are already removed. Video games don't cause violence. There's no evidence of that. However, it is an adults-only product. I don't want people selling my kids adults-only products...Rated R movies, Vaping stuff, Weed (it's legal in my state), Beer, Porno, etc. There is a reasonable argument to be ma
        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by cayenne8 ( 626475 )

          Video games don't cause violence.

          Neither do guns.

          Neither do knives

          Neither do swords

          Neither do potted plants

          Neither do large trucks

          Neither do pressure cookers

          I have yet to have any of these inanimate object spontaneously jump up and cause harm or commit violent acts upon anyone....

          Only people cause violence against other people.

      • Seems to me is that removing the video games and the mass shootings continuing is a great way to disprove the NRA line that video games are the cause.
    • It was cited today that in Japan, with 127M people and an enormous amount of ostensibly violent game culture, that there are about 10 murders, which of course, is 10 too many.

      Walmart is now intensely intimidated by the idea that their stores are good places to get shot, and attract white nationalist suicide murderers. So of course, they're pulling the games, which at best is nihilistic.

      Would they stop selling the weaponry that executes these mass murders? LOL-- they're slaves to the other Wal-- Wall Street.

  • by TimothyHollins ( 4720957 ) on Friday August 09, 2019 @08:31AM (#59068168)

    Are you fucking kidding me?! This is the most retarded thing I've seen since the election! Extremists murder innocents with guns and ammo, and the response is to remove motherfucking videogames? AND LEAVE THE FUCKING WEAPONS UP FOR SALE!?

    • People keep asking those in charge to "Do Something" so, Walmart is doing something.
    • Exactly. Video games (violent or otherwise) are not the cause of this. It's the talking points which were put out by the NRA and which is being picked dup by the right. Don't blame the guns, blame.uhhh video games, yeah that's it! It's like the 80's when playing Dungeons and Dragons was going to lead kids to satanic worship and murder.. (hint: it was bullshit and never happened). Now the big boogeyman is violent video games (played all over the world in other nations with NO mass murder shooting like the US

    • The weapons are staying up for sale because they affect the bottom line.

      The violent games displays are coming down temporarily because people are currently upset at glorifications of violence.

      If we take away the weapons (and by the way, wal-mart doesn't sell assault rifles) then we'll just cause other problems.

      Not selling them to people who are known to be inappropriately violent is, on the other hand, probably a good idea.

      It's looking more and more like we're getting universal background checks and waiting

      • (and by the way, wal-mart doesn't sell assault rifles)

        Pretty much noone does. Assault rifles are selective fire (full auto or semiauto), which require a special license to own.

        Note that "assault weapons" (semi-auto look-alikes) are not really any different than your basic deer rifle, other than having a MUCH weaker cartridge (5.56mm/.223 is generally illegal to use in a deer rifle).

        Yeah, they're scary-looking, and therefore EVIL!!1! But they're not nearly so deadly as ignorant people make them out to b

        • Note that "assault weapons" (semi-auto look-alikes) are not really any different than your basic deer rifle, other than having a MUCH weaker cartridge (5.56mm/.223 is generally illegal to use in a deer rifle).

          Yeah, they're scary-looking, and therefore EVIL!!1! But they're not nearly so deadly as ignorant people make them out to be....

          Yep, and sadly, the people that are going to try to be writing up new laws to ban firearms, are ones that know nothing about them.

          They will write them so that basically the

        • Note that "assault weapons" (semi-auto look-alikes) are not really any different than your basic deer rifle, other than having a MUCH weaker cartridge

          Well, my basic deer rifle is a Mauser, so it's pretty different. My varmint rifle is semi, though. However, I think there's an argument to be made that a rifle designed to have select fire is inherently different from one that isn't. If you can just swap a part or file something down and get fully automatic fire, it might make sense to consider that to be different from a firearm where you can't do that.

          On the other hand, the second amendment was specifically intended to keep military weapons in the hands o

  • by Tukz ( 664339 ) on Friday August 09, 2019 @08:32AM (#59068178) Journal

    Guns are ok, but "violent games" are not.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • They still sell the violent games, they just took down the display.
    • I think the point was posters showing people getting shot aren't in good taste right after a shooting so they took them down. They are still selling the games and the guns.

    • by Shotgun ( 30919 )

      No.

      "Guns are ok. Using guns to kill innocent people is not."

  • It is true that there isn't evidence that video games increase violent activity... but the evidence does not show that they don't, either.

    The studies are too weak and too short term to show any real result either way.

    The correct answer, according to science, is "we don't know."

    • No proof that guns don't increase violent activity either, why not ban those?
      This is the most ass backwards reasoning I have ever heard.
      • by XXongo ( 3986865 )

        No proof that guns don't increase violent activity either, why not ban those? This is the most ass backwards reasoning I have ever heard.

        I'm not proposing banning video games. I am just pointing out that people are quoting what the science doesn't say without clearly pointing out that in fact the studies really don't support any conclusion on the matter, positive or negative.

        Good god, is Slashdot really one of those places where people only like science when it agrees with what they already believe? Oh, wait, stupid question. Of course it is.

    • Why is school shootings something that you'll find nearly exclusively in the US? The world-wide school shootings on record show lower numbers of shootings (and victims) than what happened in the US in the last five years.

      If you're looking to find a problem, you might want to start looking for something that is not a global but a very local phenomenon. What is specific about the US that is different from the rest of the world?

      Here's a hint where to start at: Ask yourself, why do they shoot up their school? I

      • Here's a hint where to start at: Ask yourself, why do they shoot up their school? If they're just after a body count, why not a mall on Black Friday?

        Amen to that. All cases where the shooter knew one or more victims are almost certainly targeted, at least at an institution if not at specific persons.

        • When you analyze the shooting, you'll find that more often than not it was exactly targeted. Not just as a specific institution but also at specific people.

          That's not a killing spree. That's revenge.

          But that's something we can't say. How DARE you! Those poor, innocent victims of the mad shooter. Those who say that underestimate just how cruel teenagers can be to each other. Especially if the other dares to not conform to whatever arbitrary standard the in-crowd sets.

          • That's not a killing spree. That's revenge.

            Well, it's both.

            Those poor, innocent victims of the mad shooter. Those who say that underestimate just how cruel teenagers can be to each other.

            They can both be victims.

    • It is true that there isn't evidence that video games increase violent activity... but the evidence does not show that they don't, either.

      It suggests it more strongly than the reverse, since no correlation has been found.

      • by XXongo ( 3986865 )

        It is true that there isn't evidence that video games increase violent activity... but the evidence does not show that they don't, either.

        It suggests it more strongly than the reverse, since no correlation has been found.

        So, cite that study showing no correlation.

        No, I didn't think you could. The actual science is, there's really no good evidence either way.

        A real problem with politics is that politics isn't very good with "we don't have evidence either way." Politics is all "we need to do something, what's the answer?!" If the correct answer is "the data is not very good, really we don't know", politics is all "we don't care. Tell us an answer. We need an answer."

        • So, cite that study showing no correlation.

          Ok.

          https://www.gunviolencearchive... [gunviolencearchive.org]

          Mass shootings in 2019 in other countries that have violent video games: 0 to 3.
          Mass shootings in 2019 in the US: >250.

          I will happily accept your nomination for my Nobel.

          A real problem with politics is that politics isn't very good with "we don't have evidence either way."

          We have ample evidence one way - the rest of the planet exists, and has access to the same violence in media as the US.

          Also, if you actually believe that we don't have sufficient data, well then maybe you could apply some pressure to the political party that keeps explicitly forbidding any studies [wikipedia.org].

    • by hey! ( 33014 )

      And while we're at it, where is the evidence that vaccines don't cause autism?

      There is no direct evidence because there is no such thing as direct evidence for the non-existence of an effect. You can only look for an effect and fail to find one. When a lot of people try to find something they think exists, and fail to find it, that's the strongest evidence possible for non-existence.

      Granted, that's not very strong evidence. But it's your best bet. If you allow your preconceptions to overrule the lack of

      • by XXongo ( 3986865 )

        And while we're at it, where is the evidence that vaccines don't cause autism?

        Huh? There's very good evidence that vaccines don't cause autism.

        The popular notion "you can't prove a negative" is not actually true.

        https://www.autismspeaks.org/science-news/new-meta-analysis-confirms-no-association-between-vaccines-and-autism
        https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/immunizations/Pages/Vaccine-Studies-Examine-the-Evidence.aspx

  • Good thing there was no violence or murders before video games were invented! /s Oh wait, we only had 2 world wars and ...

    Gee, maybe the violence and genocide in video games is a symptom and not a cause. Considering Minecraft and Tetris are the two biggest selling games of ALL time maybe not all games are bad.

    --
    Q. What do you call someone who murders 160 people?
    A. Depends who is paying them:
    If the government then a war hero.
    If no one then a serial killer.

    • Your Q./A. is oversimplified. If you kill people from a different tribe/religion/nation/ideology, you are a hero, blessed by the gods, and so on. Today, ideology seems more important. And killing people is passé so there are other methods to punish those which your side doesn't agree with.

  • will be a lot of space freed up for additional ammo and gun displays.

    Seriously, this is more of a condemnation of existing mental health care measures than violent video games.

    If proper mental health facilities and treatments were available and actually did something other than catch and release, there would probably be quite a bit fewer "incidents".

    Just look at some of the comments in this thread for evidence of people who need help.

    • Seriously, this is more of a condemnation of existing mental health care measures than violent video games.

      That's only half the equation. The other half is easy access to weapons. There are numerous other countries with mental health systems as bad or worse than the US but which do not have anywhere close to the amount of gun violence. What they do have is reasonable regulation of firearms. It's difficult to shoot someone if you can't get a gun in the first place. And not all people with access to guns and motivation to kill others are demonstrably mentally ill or at least cannot be proven to be prior to th

      • by PPH ( 736903 )

        There are numerous other countries with mental health systems as bad or worse than the US but which do not have anywhere close to the amount of gun violence.

        I'd like to see some data to support this assertion.

  • by mandark1967 ( 630856 ) on Friday August 09, 2019 @08:55AM (#59068382) Homepage Journal
    Now there won't be mass shootings anymore!
  • Walmart is removing displays and signs of violent video games in its stores in the wake of two deadly shootings at its locations in Texas and Mississippi in recent weeks.

    How about actually stopping selling guns and ammunition instead of pretending that video games have anything to do with it? You know, the things that actually are necessary to commit these acts of violence?

  • Wal-Mart fighting gun violence by targeting video games is like them trying to stop the opiod crisis by banning Flintstone chewables.

  • My local Walmart has already started.
  • By the same logic, Walmart should take down displays of shoes. I can't think of a single mass shooting incident where the perpetrator wasn't wearing shoes.

  • weren't mass shootings always common?
    High schools used to have skeet and rifle clubs, yet the mass shooting era was much later. What changed?

    If I draw any conclusions the trolls will sperg, so I'll just ask the question.

    • It's so strange, I live in neighborhood with high per capita gun ownership, but there are no murders nor armed robbery. Guns and ammo are sold in stores. The University I attended allowed students living on campus to have long guns for hunting, but no one ever shot up the campus. Apparently access to guns for those of proper upbringing isn't a problem.

      • by DogDude ( 805747 )
        Well, great. We can have gun stores on every corner, so long as we're 100% sure that everybody is raised "properly". I'm sure we'll get right on that.
  • the displays for violent movies, action figures that fight or shoot, and, oh, you may as well throw guns in there. I mean, it's rather insensitive to promote guns right now, don't you think?
  • It would do far more to remove the plethora of violent movies from your store, especially ones that encourage people to go on violent revenge mass murdering sprees - movies that have been growing in violence and body count over the decades of my life and are no doubt toxic to the nation-mind and especially serve as lessons on how to proceed with mass murder by those mentally disturbed people who do mass murders.
    • Yeah Jack the Ripper should have stayed out of the penny arcades.

      You claim correlation without a shred of proof. Almost everyone watches violent movies but hardly anyone is doing the acts depicted. Violent novels, cartoons, movies, plays, have existed for over a century. Violence with body count goes far back in history, your brain is categorizing those historic things as something different but they aren't

  • Meanwhile, Texas will reduce restrictions on concealed carry of weapons in public spaces. In the same wake of the same shootings.

  • The shooters played Candy Crush Saga and lost their shit. CCS has 5,150 levels [fandom.com].
  • by Murdoch5 ( 1563847 ) on Friday August 09, 2019 @11:11AM (#59069412) Homepage
    If you look at the root cause of terrorism, it breaks down into mental illness (which includes religious faith) or the lack of ethics and morals, and that's about it. Blaming video games instead of the real problem is just a smoke show, and a really stupid smoke show being video games have been tested over and over, and never once been shown to be a cause of terrorism. Taking down "violent" video game signs and posters, instead of banning religious symbolism and guns, only goes to show that the problem isn't understood and Walmart / retailers, don't actually care about the problems.

    It's more dangerous to see a a person walking around with a Bible, Qur'an, Guru Granth Sahib, Vedas or other holy book(s),in contrast to a video game, because it demonstrates that a person has detached from reality and is living in a state of intense and dangerous mental delusion. When a person is in an intense mental delusion, they're capable of driving a car into a crowd or people, flying planes into buildings, burning witches at the stake, and stopping all forms of human progress.

    Whose more dangerous, Mother T, or Will Wright? Mother T was a monster who has one of the highest body counts in human history. She punished, tortured and killed in the name of her delusion, which was labelled religious faith, whereas, Will Wright designed one of the most successful video game series in history. If video games cause violence, then why did some of the most aggressive acts of evil take place before we had video games and in places where it wasn't possible to have easy / readily access to video games? Video games are an easy out because once we blame the real roots of terrorism, people will have to own up to the fact that once they die, it's over and they're not coming back, or that true evil exists regardless of mental illness (religious faith).

The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is the most likely to be correct. -- William of Occam

Working...