Nathan Key

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Violence, Video Games, and Regulation

2/10/2009

 

Prelude: When I was in elementary school, I can recall some horror stories that were related to me by well-meaning adults who were concerned about the violence and satanic influence of Role Playing Games. They were certain that anyone who threw the 12 sided die was going to end up on a murder streak one day because they were giving their soul to the Devil.

15 years passed and then there was a new enemy: Violent Video Games

* * *

The first game I played with any sort of violent content (other than Super Mario Bros where Mario would squash evil turtles and spit fireballs at Koopas) was Wolfenstein 3D. It gave me headaches because the motion on the screen was a little jumpy and my eyes hurt because I often forgot to blink. Now, it was a really innovative game when it came out, but it almost seems arcane compared to the sort of graphic generators gaming developers are using to create hits like Halo and Call of Duty.

And game play wasn't nearly as popular as it is today. I think there were only a handful of other kids in my class who had a PC and maybe a handful more who had an NES (or a SNES). Gaming wasn't something that was "cool." It was something that the socially awkward gravitated toward. The kind of kids who were verbally abused and teased by all the other kids in school.

So, to pin violence in kids directly on violence in video games may have been a bit of a stretch 10-20 years ago when I was growing up. It may have been violent video games that caused Columbine and other school shootings- but it could have been that these kids had suppressed anger issues from years of abuse by other children and suddenly they snapped.

Since the video game industry is only about 30 years old, there's hasn't been an awful lot of research on the effects of gaming, but limited studied have shown that non-violent video games are actually a positive influence on children (assuming that video game play is restricted to a few hours per week).

Positives include:
- Introduction to computer technology.
- Practice in following directions.
- Practice in problem solving and logic.
- Practice in use of fine motor and spatial skills.

Violent video gaming, however, is another story. Early studies are showing that violent games really do have an impact on aggressive tendencies. In fact, one study I found showed that in adolescent boys, the least aggressive gamers who play violent video game are more prone to violent aggression than the most aggressive boys who don't play any video games.

(The only flaw I find in the study is that there's a possibility that those with a predisposition to aggression may be the ones who are also playing video games, but the fact remains that whether it's descriptive or prescriptive- violent video games are at the very least associated with violence if not an agent of aggravating violent tendencies.)

There's some good news about violent video games, however. The gaming industry has been rather quick to respond to early research and they put a rating system in place even before the FCC got involved after the Columbine Shootings. The industry realized that they would have to self regulate or the government would step in and "help" them regulate their material. So they came up with a rating system (E, for everyone; T, for teen; M, for mature; etc.) and refuse to sell games with violent content to minors. Secret shoppers have found that they are compliant with their own regulations about 80% of the time which means that they're pretty close to the compliance percentages among tobacco, alcohol, and firearms (all of which have state or federal regulations regarding age).

That said, my question for today is this:

Does the Gaming Community (violent video games in particular) need a government regulator / watchdog system to ensure that minors are not purchasing mature content?

Feel free to discuss.

Sean Dey
2/10/2009 02:25:42 am

They have one, Nate.
ESRB.
Stores just need to follow the recommended buying age. And since Gaming companies are going to keep producing these games, it's also the job of parents to make sure that any thing too violent stays out of their kids hands. The same way parents shouldn't let kids play with fireworks, knives, or chemicals.

Nathan link
2/10/2009 02:35:08 am

Sean! Absolutely the ESRB is out there!

They're a non-profit, self regulating section of the gaming industry. I was wondering what you thought about a government sponsored program like what they have for other controlled substances like Pornography, Guns, Alcohol, and Cigarettes.

Nathan link
2/10/2009 02:36:20 am

And...

Sean, I agree with you. I think PARENTS are ultimately the ones who should be responsible for content- not the government (or the gaming industry).

Gretchen Marie Grajales link
2/10/2009 02:40:59 am

As a video game industry professional I can say that the reasons why these games are made are purely based on the demand for them. Companies run studies on what will sell, and only that which holds the publics interest will be made. As the industry stands there are rating systems in which all video games are voluntarily submitted for called ESRB(Entertainment Software Rating Board) http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp that you mentioned. Although voluntary major gaming companies and stores have adopted policies that they will only carry rated games. From hear say in the industry I've heard the ratings are based more on the culture in which the game will be introduced to, as for America they tend to allow more violence than sexual content and vice versa for European releases. There are many associations in which will continue to do research on what is socially expectable and what type of effects there maybe on children who are not quite ready to handle certain types or ratings.

I truly believe that the government should never have a say in the regulation of video games. The IGDA ( International Game Developers Association) has a Anti-Censorship stand:
" The IGDA opposes any effort that would treat digital games differently from other forms of art and creative expression. Digital games are an expressive medium worthy of the same respect, and protections, as movies, literature and other forms of art and entertainment.
The IGDA fully stands behind voluntary, industry driven, content ratings that allow consumers to make informed purchasing/playing decisions for themselves and their families. Games are part of our cultural fabric and are enjoyed by diverse audiences."
http://www.igda.org/censorship/

Parents should be more involved in what their children are passing their time with. They should research games before buying them and not solely based on what the top selling item is. The ESRB has a list of tips for parents as they highly encourage proper research.

http://www.esrb.org/about/resources.jsp


Comments are closed.

    About Nathan

    Nathan Key likes to think about faith and philosophy and talk about it with others. He lives with his family in New Hampshire. He doesn't always refer to himself in the third person.

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