Violence+in+Video+Games

Throughout the years, video games have gotten a lot of bad press for being bad for the children they tend to attract. According to parents and politicians, they distract from school work and are generally a waste of time. However, no other aspect of video games has received as much criticism as violence in video games. From earlier games like Doom to modern games like Grand Theft Auto, video games throughout the decades have shown a high capacity for violence, but what does this mean for the people who play them?
 * Violence in Video Games**

The violence in games controversy is almost as old as the industry itself. Even in it's earliest days, certain video games would be blasted for graphically portraying violence and adult themes despite the limitations of the systems back then. From decrying the dangers of these games to outright banning them, many measures were taken to impede the spread of video games' influence throughout the youth of the country. However, the controversy didn't really come to a head until the release of [|Doom] in 1994 for the PC. The game was revolutionary for it's time with cutting edge graphics and a pioneering first person shooter game play mechanic. With the increased capacity for better visuals and game play also came an increased capacity for violent depictions of death and carnage. Needless to say, parents across the country were outraged by the release of such a game, given the reputation that games had prior to it's release. The peak of the controversy came after the tragic Columbine school shootings. According to officials, the killers were avid players of Doom, leading some to believe that the game played a role in the tragedy. Even a more recent study, published in the [|New York Times], suggests that the killers may have been triggered when they were cut off from the game. The controversy went so far as to have the families of the victims of the shootings sue several game companies for $5 billion dollars in damages (see Doom link). No doubt there were bigger factors occurring in the tragedy besides video games, but the fact that they had any ties at all was disturbing for many parents. As time went on the public's general distrust of video games did not subside. A new game on the block began to draw controversy in 1997. Grand Theft Auto, a game in which player take control of a gangster committing street crimes drew a lot of negative attention from the press for glorifying crime. As the series went on, it's capacity for violence and adult themes grew to the point where it caught the attention of one [|Jack Thompson], an attorney with a strong anti-game sentiment. His exposure of inappropriate material hidden on one of the Grand Theft Auto games even drew the attention of the senator Hilary Clinton. The case later lead to revisions made in the ESRB, a game rating system similar to the MPAA, to rate all content on a disk accessible or otherwise. Jack Thompson continued on to fight against the sale of this and many other video games throughout the course of his career. As games continue to be released, violence has become more and more tolerated. Games like Gears of War contain very graphic imagery and were met with very little controversy. That's not to say that the controversy has ended, as last year's [|Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2] scandal, in which players could optionally take control of an undercover agent in a terrorist organization killing civilians in an airport, illustrates. All in all, the controversy surrounding violence in video games has been around since the beginning of games and shows no signs of going away anytime soon.
 * Violent Video Games Through the Years**

With the stigma of controversy, the ball was in the gaming industries court to keep itself alive. In order to preserve itself, the industry developed the Entertainment Software Rating Board, or [|ESRB], to regulate and rate the content of games. In 1994, in the midst of legal proceedings discussing the issue of violence in video games, gaming companies Sega and Nintendo suggested the creation of a rating system that would assign a rating to every game according to the age group that it is appropriate for. This rating system later spawned other legislation such as laws prohibiting the sale of mature rated games to minors without the supervision of an accompanying adult. The ESRB rates games in [|six different categories]. The first rating is early childhood, or eC. This rating implies that the game is best suited for gamers three and younger and usually tend to be more educational in nature. The next rating is everyone or E. This rating means that the game in question is appropriate for anyone and contain little to no violence or inappropriate materials. Next is Everyone 10 and up, or E10. This rating was created more recently and is denotes that the game in question is appropriate for games aged 10 and up as the game may contain mild violence and inappropriate themes (sort of like PG-13 in the MPAA which was created as an in-between for PG and R). The next rating is teen or T. These games are appropriate for ages 13 and up and usually deal with slightly more mature themes such as war, but in a non-graphic way. Next is mature or M. These games are only appropriate for ages 17 and up and can contain graphic violence as well as language and other adult themes. Finally is the very rare adult only rating or AO which is basically a game that contains themes that are only appropriate for adults.
 * ESRB**

Surrounding the controversy of violence in video games have been many studies as to the impact this violence has upon the children that experience it in games. These studies are conflicting to say the least as this [|IGN] article shows. Some studies, such as this one published in [|Psychological Bulletin] suggests that violent video games lead to violent thoughts and actions in the kids who play them. This idea seems to appeal to common sense for many parents in that it's only logical that if one is exposed to violent media and imagery, that person will tend to exhibit the properties of the media they consume. However, many people feel that the results of studies such as this one are false. This study, published by a [|U of I] website, suggest that there is not conclusive evidence to suggest a link between video game play and aggression in children. Ultimately, there are many factors that play into this problem. For one, it has been suggested that aggressive kids are attracted to aggressive games and therefore the results of some of these experiments may be flawed. Also, researchers must also take into account the amount of violence kids are exposed to in other aspects of the media, such as in television shows and movies. All in all, conclusive evidence on either side of the fence is yet to be found and a definite answer will be hard to reach.
 * Violence's Impact on Children**