Calgary Joins The Jack Thompson Brigade

I was greatly amused–and somewhat annoyed–to hear about Calgary actually getting a mention in the gaming press today. Looks like they’ve jumped on the Jack Thompson “murder simulator” bandwagon, and are warning parents of the dangers that upcoming Chaos Engine Grand Theft Auto IV can pose to innocent “youtz” as Jay of Jay n’ Silent Bob fame would call them. In the news story they ran in the Sun, the police have this juicy quote:

“From the Calgary Police Service perspective, we see these types of video games as a grave concern,” he said. “Because of the lack of consequences and even reward — (youth) don’t understand the impact violence can have.”

He said parents have to be aware of what children watch or games they play.

“In some cases, those very games may be training grounds for people to commit criminal activity,” Brookwell said.

Man, if it isn’t comics, it’s Dungeons & Dragons, and if isn’t Dungeons & Dragons, it’s videogames. But then (he said, showing his Edmonton roots) I guess you gotta’ expect that from any city that names their hockey team “the Flames.”