Venezuelan pres. calls games "poison"

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez does not like PlayStation, because he thinks the console leads children down the capitalist "road to hell". Could Kaz Hirai be the Pied Piper of Hamlin?

"These games they call PlayStation are poison," said Chavez, airing his thoughts on his weekly radio-TV show Alo Presidente (reported by AFP (via GamesIndustry.biz). "Some games teach you to kill. They once put my face on a game. 'You've got to find Chavez to kill him.'

He added: "[Games] promote the need for cigarettes, drugs and alcohol so they can sell them. That's capitalism - the road to hell."

But, not being one to turn up empty-handed, Chavez has had a solution: don't promote these games, make educational games instead.

In October, Venezuela introduced a law that made the selling of violent videogames punishable with up to five years in prison.

And it's not the first time Chavez has made clear his dislike of games and western toys in general. It's reported he once slammed Nintendo for promoting "selfishness, individualism and violence".

Chavez's administration was also vocal in its disapproval of Venezuela as the setting for Mercenaries 2, labelling the choice a form of "psychological terror".