Japanese media are suggesting that a murderer who went on a rampant killing spree last week may have been influenced by 'violent' video games such as Dragon Quest, Eternal Fighter and Chantelise.

Tomohiro Kato, aged 25 from Tokyo posted warnings on the Internet before he took to the streets of Akihabara and killed seven innocent people.

Media claim that Kato was heavily into video games as well as an avid surfer of the Internet. In Japan they're using the case to push legislation forward to clamp down on certain forms of online expression, but it could also lead to a tightening of law around apparent 'violent' video games.

The role-playing game, Dragon Quest has been mentioned as one of the possible triggers for Kato's murder spree , with Japanese media claiming that the knife he used to carry out the attack was similar to the one used in the game.

It sounds all a bit too convenient to me, especially when the case allows the Japanese to push forward an agenda to curb people's Internet freedom. Isn't the same thing happening over here and in the US?

It seems the whole world is banging on about how video games and the Internet may be to blame for many of the nutters on the streets and of course the government's answer is to restrict, deny access to such materials and monitor our everyday usage of the net.

Which side of the fence do you sit on? Do video games sensationalise violence? Are they too blame for the rise in knife and gun crime? Do you think the whole subject has been blown out of proportion? Is there an agenda to curb our freedom?

Let us know your thoughts in the HEXUS forums.

Source :: Techradar