The Year in Game Politics

The Next Generation site has a look back at 2007 through a political lens. Manhunt 2, crackdowns on game sales, and endless stories about gaming and aggression seemed to dominate game headlines this year. The article runs down the details on each of these thorny issues: "There is no conclusive evidence that playing violent videogames leads to violent acts. That hasn't stopped researchers from looking for links between videogames and aggression. A study released ... in November tainted [the role of games as teachers] ... A University of Michigan study by psychology professor Rowell Huesmann called violent videogames a public health threat ... And Villanova University in Pennsylvania found that games caused aggression, but not much: 'It's not as if this is a light switch that either videogames do or do not cause aggression...Most people assume it has a really big effect, but what we find from research is it actually has a very tiny effect,' professor Patrick Markey told Next-Gen in April."

Re:Good science

[PlatyPaul]

Well put, succinct and lucid.

The problem, though, lies in very fact that there are people who cannot or will not formulate their opinions on the matter this way. Whether it be the "think of the children" proclaimers or those who believe that video games are blameless, there will be people who will approach the situation with a closed mind. When they have power, decisions will be made accordingly. Trying to remind such people that they should think openly may not work - perhaps it would work better to see that they don't continue to wield power?

Video game prejudice shouldn't be your only key issue when selecting politicians, of course, but it might be worth thinking about before the polling booth.

Re:Violent Video Games do not cause agression...

[Anonymous Coward]

I was an extremely violent fourth grader, constantly getting into fights and lashing out at people. In sixth grade, I was expelled on the first day of school for kicking another kid in the head. That Christmas, I got a gameboy with Tetris and I haven't picked another fight since. I've played every violent video game on the market and if anything they've made me *less* violent. I can only blink, baffled, when I hear claims that "Video games cause aggression". My personal history proves (to me, at least) that this is simply false.

Video games, violence, and me.

[Pojut]

Just for reference, I'm 23 years old now. I have been playing video games every single day (literally...not a day has gone by that I haven't played for at least ten minutes, even if it's on my cell phone) since my sixth birthday. For a very long time, I have played violent video games...some would say I started playing violent video games at an age when someone that young shouldn't be (in case you were curious, my first violent game (and first game altogether) was NARC on NES.)

I have played countless hours of video games...gibbing friends, blowing up planes, slashing people apart with swords, and just generally being as destructive as possible. Violent video games have had a profound effect on me...they have desensitized me to violence.

Now, many people would say that is a bad thing; personally, I find it to be a good thing. I can give you a perfect example: From the ages of 18 to 22, I was a car mechanic. A buddy of mine lost two fingers in a metal radiator fan when the moron inside the car started it up, thinking we had given him the all clear signal (the all clear signal actually came from three bays down...and yes, the bay number was shouted along with the words "clear". The guy in the car was just a moron.) All of my coworkers around me were unable to help him, because they couldn't stand to look at his hand. While my manager was calling 911, I, totally unaffected by the two missing digits and exposed bone, was able to properly wrap it and position my coworker (due to him going into shock) until the ambulance arrived.

Something similar happened on a four wheeling trip. A guy we were wheeling with was exploring the trail up ahead a little bit (it had rained recently, and he was checking for stability). The guy slipped and fell, breaking his arm on a rock, his bone sticking out of his forearm. Again, unfazed, I was able to help him out and do what was necessary to help get him down off the mountain.

Many people suddenly panic when something violent and bloody happens, and that's how people get more hurt than they already are. Yes, video games have desensitized me to violence, and as a result I have been able to help people that I otherwise would have been powerless to help.

Desensitization is NOT a bad thing. It allows you to see past the violence that is occurring and to address the situation with a clear head, calm head. Desensitization is how one of my childhood friends was able to become a very effective EMT...blood and guts simply don't phase her, and she is able to approach the given situation without paying any attention to the gore that may present itself.

A stupid question...

[argStyopa]

"There is no conclusive evidence that playing violent videogames leads to violent acts."

I understand the motivation by gamers to press this argument. I've been playing FPS's since Doom1, loved most of them, and as far as I can tell I'm not a homocidal maniac. I've never shot a human, nor do I ever hope/intend to. The 'anti-game' community is simplistic and generally ignorant, so I can understand trying to undermine their every argument.

But (re the above statement) - really? I mean, if one claims that repeatedly watching (in this case, violent) imagery *doesn't* in any way change behavior and values, doesn't that ipso facto perjure the ENTIRE concept of our $multi-billion$ (trillion?) advertising industries?