Is Microsoft showing some hypocrisy with gamer gun flap?

Microsoft, that Redmond-based multi-billion-dollar software giant, is in the middle of a flap amongst video game aficionados because of a restriction that reportedly takes effect Jan. 1 that prohibits video game players from arming their avatars with anything that looks like a gun.

This controversy erupted after a writer with PCMag.com reported this:

You can shoot your friends with all sorts of awesome and painful weaponry across Microsoft's Xbox Live service; you just can't give your virtual representation a digital gun—that's a no-no.—David Murphy, PCMag.com

That’s not going down too well with devoted video game players, including one close to this column, who matter-of-factly note that many if not most video games available on the Xbox platform involve some kind of shooting, often via what our source called a “first person shooter” type scenario. That is, the video game begins and you’re looking at the screen over the sights of some kind of gun, blasting away at assorted combatants or other targets to rack up a score.

Whether one is doing a hunting game, or some other kind of video endeavor, there’s more than a little marksmanship involved. Microsoft apparently makes a lot of money from the Xbox Live stuff, whether it is a hunting or target shooting game or one of the more mature games available with combat scenarios. Millions of people have a lot of fun playing these games, with no harm resulting.

Even if the Xbox games were limited to blasting away at video images of clay birds, it’s still a game of shooting and marksmanship, our source acknowledged.

So, with all of that out there, what’s up with Microsoft – a company that allows its employees to belong to the Microsoft Gun Club – not allowing players to display any gun facsimile with their avatar personas, some people are wondering.

We should note, however, that the alleged policy does indeed only refer to gun-like weaponry. Xbox Live avatars will still be able to swing lightsabers around all they want, for example—ignoring the fact that a blade of superheated plasma could do just as much damage as a digital bullet or chainsaw attachment.—David Murphy

This is stirring a bit of discussion among gamers, and it is likely to spill over into the firearms community. Not only is PCMag talking about it, but so is TechSpot, with this explanation:

Microsoft debuted Avatars in November 2008 as a way to visually represent a gamer using a cartoon-like character. Users are able to fully customize their Avatar by adjusting attributes like height, weight, skin color and hair style. Players can earn new Avatar accessories by completing in-game achievements or purchase them with real-world money through the Avatar Marketplace which was launched in August 2009.

One could argue that first person shooters and games that include guns like Call of Duty, Halo, Grand Theft Auto and Gears of War were key to Microsoft’s console success, thus it seems a bit unusual that Redmond is suddenly turning all family-friendly. But as TG Daily points out, the deciding factor here is likely the fact that Avatars are universal, meaning that your Avatar shows up regardless of what game you are playing. Halo gamers might expect to see a gun-toting Avatar but someone playing Kinect Sports might not.—Shawn Knight TechSpot

Other coverage is appearing today at DigitalTrends and WindowsITPro.

Over the years, ever since Columbine, the influence of so-called “violent video games” may have had on young mass shooters has been debated ad nauseum.

One must keep this in perspective: Millions of people, including adults well beyond the “twenty-something” stage, play these games and they have harmed nobody. It’s like the New York Times making a big deal about a relative handful of people with concealed carry licenses who commit crimes; hardly are they representative of the more than 6.2 million armed citizens who are licensed to carry, and who haven’t shot anybody.

Microsoft’s restriction seems a bit disingenuous, if not downright hypocritical to a lot of people.

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