Eight video game manufacturers involved in the lawsuit brought against them by relatives of several victims in the Columbine massacre have asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
The families of victims of the Columbine massacre sued the video manufacturers and distributors in April seeking $5 billion in punitive damages. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado.
According to a report on ConsoleWire.com, defense lawyers for the companies said the lawsuit should be dropped because it doesn’t allege that any particular game led Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold to go on their shooting rampage.
The defendants also argue that video games are protected as free speech and that they cannot be held liable for someone’s reaction to the games.
However, just this week, two Iowa State psychologists released a study that concluded violent video games do, indeed, lead to more aggressive behavior. To be sure, other experts said more research needs to be done.
The companies involved in the latest legal manuevering include Acclaim, Activision, Capcom, Eidos, Infogrames, Interplay, Nintendo and Sony.
Additionally, families dropped their claim against Square Soft Inc., without any apparent reasons.
It has been two years since the shooting by Harris and Dylan Klebold that killed 12 students at Columbine High School and a teacher as well as themselves.