I've yet to see "Columbine: The Game". Most violent video games are war themed, and since when did we find fighting in ostensibly just wars to be objectionable? As a nation we troll high schools to get as many 17 and 18 year olds as we can to fight wars for us and we think that's OK. Not seeing how Call of Duty turns anyone into a killer.<p>All kids play video games. That means killer kids play the same games as non-killer kids. What's that thing about correlation and causation again?
(sorry hijacking post a little)<p>I find it hard to take any argument against such things(video games, guns, movies ect) seriously when these arguments taking place only happen when it is politically advantageous for politicians.<p>If these arguments being made are valid then they should be made anyways. These are not small issues, but issues that go down to the base of our society. If they are not valid enough to be made on there own ground why should i take them seriously when they are projected into the limelight by a tragedy?<p>Note I am not saying that i am for or against any of these arguments just stating that if they are valid then they should be able to be viewed in there own context. Of course we have to take recent(any and all) events into account but it must be done so with a clear head. Much like the current outrage regarding Aaron Swartz, is it a tragedy, absolutely, but to go out instantly and call for someones head is irresponsible and illogical.<p>Rash decisions lead to only more mistakes.
Violent crime has been declining since 1991, and we haven't had a homicide rate so low as 2011 since 1963.*<p>I'm not sure violence in society and violence in media are really correlated, certainly not violent video games.<p>Some might argue violent video games are providing an outlet, I don't know if that's true either. Maybe we've just entered an age of distraction, and Youtube is really effective at keeping criminals (or victims?) off the streets, better than any after school basketball program.<p>* Wikipedia provides a table illustrating declining crime rates, compiled from US Bureau of Justice and FBI statistics. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States#Crime_over_time" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States#Crim...</a>
I would be able to take this seriously for a second if it at least mentioned the power trip side of it, or the greed of being addicted to collecting virtual stuff. But it's all just so great and special... why, they even mention "art" and AAA titles in one breath. I'm not sure if I should laugh or puke, really.<p><i>The role of violence in storytelling is as old as human history, and it has long served a purpose in conveying values of honesty, courage, confidence and perseverance.</i><p>It also served a purpose of voyeurism and of Schadenfreude. Again, if you want to fool anyone into thinking you're engaging in serious analysis and reflection, you should at least address one or two of the huge elephants on the couch.<p>/signed, someone who has been playing games since the late 80's and found this article to be a bunch of tripe. Yes, they reflect our mediocre, pitiful state, they don't create it. But mediocre and pitiful they are for the most part. They are either about <i>being</i> an asshole, or <i>having</i> irrelevant stuff. In that sense even Minecraft is crap.. and I played that, even SMP, so I'm not dissing something I don't even know; it's just I also know art, and music, and just sitting in the sun. I know books and stuff.
There are violent video games everywhere where kids are wealthy enough to buy them. While games are blamed everywhere some societies are more violent than others. Why isn't any discussion about violent video games international?<p>Also, gun violence actually decreased in the US since the late 80s, before the release of Wolfenstein and Doom so
They don't just reflect it, they reflect it, distort it and magnify it.<p>Video games produce versions of the violence in society which are unrealistic, in which everyone can get up off the floor after being shot by being reloaded and start again.<p>Video games produces thousands of times as many violent events as in real life.<p>The amount of resources (money and time devoted) in creating and playing video games rivals the amount of time and energy people spend practicing at making real life into a safe experience. Much more than a distraction, they are the centerpiece, a devotion to delusional destruction.
The studies so far don't seem to have been conclusive either way. What we have so far though should be enough to cause concern.<p><a href="http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/whats-the-psychological-effect-of-violent-video-games-on-children.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/...</a><p>FWIW I personally enjoy first person shooters, but I don't see any great benefit that comes from them.