Does violence in video games lead to real-life violence? This has been a hotly discussed and controversial topic for many years, to the point that it has reached the Supreme Court. If you happen to live in or near San Francisco, the Commonwealth Club will be hosting a debate on this topic on Thursday March 17, 2011, and all are invited.

Epic Games Design Director Cliff Bleszinski, known better as Cliffy B to his fans, wants people to know that neither game makers or gamers are warped.

He told the BBC that the blood and violence in the famous Gears of War series is really about “feedback and interactivity” for the player. Cliffy B said Gears is inspired by his love of ’80s action thrillers including Predator and Aliens . So it’s no surprise the Gears games draw heavily from sci-fi cliches. A musclebound squad of alpha males are humanity’s only hope against a cadre of ugly, lizard-like aliens known as the Locust Horde.

Australia‘s Office of Film Literature Classification (OFLC) is continuing its hard-line stance against graphic video game violence.

Sega’s PC game Aliens vs. Predator has received the refused classification (RC) rating, making it the sixth game this year to be deemed unfit for release in Australia. AvP joins Risen, Sexy Poker, Left 4 Dead 2, Necrovision and CrimeCraft on this rapidly lengthening list.

There isn’t a day that goes by that doesn’t find someone trying to draw a link between video game violence and real world criminal behavior.

But where it is usually Grand Theft Auto, or some similarly violent game sparking the controversy, this time MMO World of Warcraft has been tied to a school shooting attempt.

The TimesOnline reports that a 13-year-old male student in France apparently planned to shoot his teachers for giving him poor grades.

Somewhere, Jack Thompson is tittering with peals of glee as the debate about video game violence just jumped to the forefront of the holiday shopping season.

Footage from arguably the biggest game release of 2009, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, was leaked earlier this week (October 27, 2009). That would normally only be a big deal to folks concerned about spoilers. Spoilers, as in this is a SPOILER WARNING!

What, did you think being disbarred for life by the state of Florida would stop Jack Thompson from railing against video games? Sigh, I wish.

Thompson is asking, nay, demanding that detectives investigating the case of accused Portland nightclub shooter Erik Ayala seek the former attorney’s help.

Thompson e-mailed GamePolitics a copy of the note he sent to Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer and, of course, Thompson is upset that detectives in the case will not pursue violent video games as an contributing factor in the case.

Thompson said the detective he spoke with had been…