"This is a dominant feature in these murderers. They are fascinated by violent video games like World of Warcraft. These games consumed in high doses cause desensitization compared to the crime." For Stéphane Bourgoin, author of a survey of serial killers, the case is heard: in the double attack Norwegian, violent video games have been instrumental in the passage to the act of Anders Breivik Behring, the prime suspect the bombing and the shooting victims who made 76 in Oslo and on the island near the Norwegian capital. Interpretation adopted by several media in recent days.
"This is a classic, since the massacre in Littleton," irritated Mauco Olivier, CNRS researcher and expert on the relationship between video game and society. Subject of a documentary by Michael Moore, Bowling for Columbine, a shooting in a high school in the city of Colorado in 1999 sparked worldwide controversy about the impact of video games on adolescents. "At the time, Bill Clinton accused the game, but what is often forgotten is that he also called for an investigation in Congress to measure the impact of games on youth violence. And Congress had found no links between cause and effect. "
Like millions of other Europeans, Anders Breivik Behring loves video games. In his manifesto of 1500 pages, published on the Internet, he mentions some of his favorite games in a log book for the preparation of two attacks: Bioshock 2, Fallout 3, World of Warcraft, Dragon Age, and Modern Warfare 2. The latter, he writes that he "is probably the best military simulation market, and one of the best games of the year. [...] I see especially Modern Warfare 2 as part of my training. "
