Police say Anthony Maldonado was knifed in the chest early Saturday at a housing project in Harlem.

The boy’s uncle told reporters that Anthony knocked on his bedroom door at 3:30 a.m. saying, “Uncle, uncle, I’ve been stabbed.”

Then the child collapsed. His uncle dialed 911.

Emergency personnel raced the boy to St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, but his injuries were too grave. He died about an hour later.

Police were investigating. No arrests had been made as of 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and police didn’t have a motive. Police sources did say, however, that a man in his 20s was being questioned at the station in connection with the death of the 9-year-old boy from Palisades Park, N.J., according to the Daily News.

“This person is probably not going to be going home tonight,” the police source told the News.

Meanwhile, cops were hunting through dumpsters in the housing project, General Grant Houses, and looking in elevator shafts in an apparent search for the knife that claimed the young boy’s life.

Cops told the paper the boy had been visiting his grandfather for the holiday weekend.

“He was a nice boy,” the uncle told the News.

General Grant Houses is one of the city’s largest housing projects, with 4,500 residents and nine buildings, according to The New York Times.

Source: New York Daily News

More information has come in. The reported killer is  Alejandro Morales, a 25 year old friend of the family. And the game in question is a “Tony Hawk” game. No one knows if it is “Tony Hawk: Ride”, Just that he was playing his “Playstation”. Anthony was left in the care of the older friend until he stabbed him around 3:30 am.

“He was a friend. I can’t believe this happened,” says the boy’s uncle, Carlos Juela. “He doesn’t act right on the street but he always minded his manners in the house.”

The boy’s grandfather apparently blamed the videogame: “Anthony was playing … on PlayStation when his friend came and stabbed him. My grandson died over a video game.”

Our condolences go out to the family. We at the Koalition will keep you informed as this story develops.

*UPDATE*

The latest developments are as follows: Anthony received a PS3 as a Christmas gift and he got Tony Hawk: Ride as well.  According to the police,

Alejandro Morales 25, was charged with the murder of 9 year old Anthony Maldonado. Anthony,  who is from Pallisades Park N.J. was spending the weekend at his uncle’s Harlem apartment. The boy had been excited about receiving a Playstation for Christmas, and had spent the night playing the latest Tony Hawk game with relatives. At sometime around 3am, two relatives of the victim made a run to the store for snacks. This is when Police believe an argument over the game may have ensued. At that time it appears that some sort of struggle occurred as the victim had multiple stab wounds and bruises throughout his body.

Anthony Died as a result of his injuries. This story just keeps getting sadder for his family. Morales, the assailant was quickly taken into Police custody, as the cops shut the power to the buildings elevator shaft to search for a murder weapon.

The victim’s grandfather remembered him by saying:

“Anthony was a loving child who loved his PlayStation… He got the PlayStation for Christmas and was very happy. He was so happy.”

This is a sad way to start off the new year. I hope this family can get justice for this great little boy who is 2 years younger than my 2 young boys.

Alejandro Morales

One of the games that comes to mind is “Left 4 Dead 2.” Though the game isn’t out yet, it’s already causing an uproar. Set in New Orleans, players will have to fight their way through hordes of zombies – with several of them who appear to be African-Americans. When I saw the first trailer for the game, all I could think about was Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. Setting the game in a city that was scene of dead, bloated bodies floating by so soon afterward was a bad call, IMHO. The city has had enough to deal with — Valve, you should have spared them, even if it’s just a video game.

Is he reaching? In my opinion I think he has a point. But I don’t think Valve intentionally picked the sensitive nature of New Orleans on purpose. Maybe they wanted to just switch things up right? But that’s not where he stops he goes on to name a few games to come to the conclusion that racism in gaming is the norm?

So I ask my fellow Koalition heads: Is racism in gaming becoming the norm? Or are people being to sensitive?

Make sure you answer in our forums, we want to know what you think!

Courtesy of G4TV.com

Now I will explain the difference between something that is not original and something that is not original but different in it’s own right. Not original: Ninja Blade compared to Ninja Gaiden. Not original but different: Ninja Gaiden compared to Devil May Cry. Now Ninja Gaiden might not have been the first game with the elements of running, jumping, and sword combos, but it is one well known for it’s action. Ninja Blade on the other hand is like if someone was asked to renovate a house and all they did was splash a new coat of paint on it. Still the same house, just new paint, and not necessarily good paint either. Games like Ninja Blade flood the market with nothing more than to make a quick buck off the general gaming community, and although that’s a prominent strategy for more than just games, it’s just getting to the point where games that should be highlighted get lost in a sea of generic video games. And it’s not like these games don’t have the polish to outshine the rest; it’s more like the majority of the other games are polished as well, just with the cheaper brand. It’s like wearing fake Jordan’s; yea they look like the real thing, but there is a better quality shoe, and when you look closer you notice quite a few abnormalities like an “ass crack”.

I fully support independent game designers and those pursuing their dreams, but it seems as if more and more companies are becoming more like the music industry; picking generic projects to appeal to current market trends rather than be innovative and stray into something different. Understand, that this method has been used for decades by many businesses aside from the gaming industry. The reason I’m addressing it however is due to its growth. It seems as if it is getting worse. Yes, we had generic games on past systems, but due to the limitations of the systems in the past it was harder to be innovative and original with how you would “want” to envision your game (didn’t hurt that the dev kits back then were relatively expensive for its time and harder to obtain). Now however dev kits are more accessible, but it seems with the advancement of technology the developers are limiting themselves more so than the system itself. What I’m saying has been said for many many years, but it’s starting to get out of hand. We used to get excited over games that stood out from the rest, as opposed to games that claimed to be similar to another game, but better in innovation. It’s sad to say, but we may never see that day again if this continues. Maybe we need a media renaissance, who knows?

Even Obama Gave Rep. Joe Baca The What He Say? Look

[The bill] creates a new rule within the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which forces games with a Teen rating or higher to be sold with a simple warning label, reading: “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”

That last line gets a bit more scary. “Other Violent Media”. So will they start labeling Dvds now? I cant front though, If they were going to do this to games only my first argument would be “What about violent movies?” and criticized them for not taking a shot at the film industry. But I’m not fooled either. They may only want to attack video games but included the “other media” argument to shut people like me up. Didn’t work.

Here’s the latest statement from Mr. Baca:

The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families, and to consumers – to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products. They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility. Meanwhile research continues to show a proven link between playing violent games and increased aggression in young people. American families deserve to know the truth about these potentially dangerous products.We must hold the video game industry accountable and do everything in our power to ensure parents are aware of the detrimental effects that violent games can have before making decisions on which games are appropriate for their children to play. I am proud to introduce the Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009, and am hopeful my legislation can work to stop the growing influence of violent media on America’s children and youth.

I guess he’s never heard of the ESRB. What are your thoughts?

[via gamepolitics]