Parents concerned by ‘suicide’ image in computer game

A NEW Japanese computer game in which players “shoot” their character in the head has caused a storm of controversy since its release.

Persona 3, on the PlayStation 2 platform, has been given an age rating of 12-plus but has already outraged parents who want the game to be banned.

The game’s launch in Ireland came three days after the body of teenager Michael Hopkins was found in a disused building in Westport. The 16-year-old’s suicide followed that of his friend and classmate at Rice College, Dylan Beirne, and shocked the nation at a time when attention is focused on mental health services for adolescents.

The game has players taking on the persona of an orphaned teenager who goes to high school on a Japanese island but is attacked by a shadow upon arriving.

Warriors are released to defeat the boy’s enemies when the boy “shoots” himself in the head on-screen — though the in-game item used to do so is not a gun or weapon — which then releases a new “persona” to fight the enemies.

While the imagery used is evocative of suicide, the character remains unharmed after each ‘shooting’, with the theme one of the occult, rather than self-harm.

Paradoxically, the game rewards players for building strong friendships in the school. The stronger your bonds with classmates, the more able you are to fight off enemies.

The game has won several awards since its release in America last August.