Violent Video Games in the Twenty-First Century: The Truth Essay

Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat, Grand Theft Auto, and Doom. Many know these games for their violent nature, stemming from their graphic scenes or gameplay involving shooting or beating up opponents, and these factors have caused these games to stir up quite a bit of controversy. For the last few decades, people have debated the effects of these games on the people who play them. Many believe those who play the games become more aggressive as a result of their violent nature, while others argue that playing the games has no effect on one’s behavior. Society should realize that violent video games have, at most, minimal effect on players’ behavior.

Millions of gamers play exciting games with simulated violence every day. Only a portion of a handful are violent criminals, as they role play in certain games. GTA V is an intriguing action role playing game, which has more than 20 million players. There are not 10 million people shooting people, meaning stimulating games like this don’t cause violence. Many people play violent games, and they shouldn’t be punished for a few people's actions.

In recent years, we have seen many video games criticized and bashed in the public eye for their disputable content. However, the game industry has been subjected to controversy since the creation of its first adult themed games such as Death Race 1976 or Custer 's Revenge 1982. These two graphics limited games have introduced video game violence to the public and since then debate about morals and ethics of video games evolved over the years together with the game experience thanks to modern technologies. Violence is one aspect of many that can cause great controversy that’s why it is important to create a suitable ethical, cultural and legal context as it can determine its failure or its success. In this paper, I will present an example

In 1979 the United States was vehemently attacked by aliens from outer space, an event that was to forever change life on our planet. The release of Space Invaders for the Atari Video Computing System became an instant hit. Kids stopped listening to music, playing sports or going to movies, choosing instead to defend the nation from alien attack, from the safety of their television sets. The success of Space Invaders launched the video game revolution as the demand for personal game consoles soared (Atari). Videogames soon became the preferred leisure activity for children, forcing parents and critics to question the possiblibility of ill effects. With the advent of new technology, parents have even more

There is much persistent debate throughout culture these days concerning video games. Common questions asked are things like ?Where should the lines be drawn in terms of content? and What audience, if any, is this appropriate for? As lawyers fight, bizarre crimes are blamed on video games, constant studies take place, and technology continues to evolve, the video game world continues to thrive and be extremely profitable. While there is near-constant focus on the supposed ?negatives? of games like simulated killing, drug use, or sex, most people, especially those completely outside of gaming circles, fail to acknowledge that gaming of any kind can possibly have positive effects on players. While increased hand-eye

Violence in video games has been a hot topic ever since the beginnings of the industry. From depictions of a polygonal frog being run over in Frogger, to stealing cars in a realistic environment a la Grand Theft Auto, this topic has sparked serious debate. The traditional liberal stance is that the government should forcefully regulate the video game industry. The conservative stance is that the industry does a good job of rating itself, and that government should not get involved. The liberal stance has its points, in the fact that video games are getting more realistic and more violent. With increasing technology in computers, the video game industry also makes advances in graphics and what they can display. The

On December 1, 1997, fourteen-year-old Michael Carneal entered school property in West Paducah, Kentucky and began shooting a pistol at a group of students participating in a youth prayer group, killing three students and injuring five others. On March 24, 1998, Mitchell Johnson (13) and Andrew Golden (11) opened fire on students at a high school in Craighead County, Arkansas as they exited the building for a fire alarm set off by the pair, killing five and wounding ten others. On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris (18) and Dylan Klebold (17) entered Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado and began a shooting rampage that left 13 dead and 21 others wounded. On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho (23) began a siege on the

Playing video games does not cause violent behavior. Don’t get me wrong, some video games show horrific acts of violence. “A recent survey found that 92 percent of U.S. kids--ages 2 to 17--play video games, and their parents bought 225 million of them last year to the tune of $6.4 billion.” (Sider 79).What’s here to argue is that violent video games do not cause violence among children, but the blame for violence should be on the individual and people who should have taught the individual better. If kids are not able to see the difference between reality and fantasy, then they really can’t be blamed for committing acts they see in a game and then imitating, not fully understanding the consequences of doing it in the real world.

Video games have been the subject of many criticisms throughout the years. One of the main criticisms is that violence in video games causes violence in society and corrupts children and young adults into doing bad things. A game series that is constantly in the spotlight of this criticism is none other than the Rockstar Games’ series Grand Theft Auto. The most recent implementation in the popular franchise is GTA V, which follows three main protagonists throughout their daily lives and involvements in various crime scenarios. GTA is known to take a satirical stance and take jabs at America and crime culture as a whole. So, within a game that is a parody of society and the vices of humanity, it is not fair to say that this game is the cause of social violence. Themes such as torture as a means to gain information, psychopathy, murder and other blue collar crimes can be seen throughout the game. There are many criticisms due to these heavy themes, but in the end, every concept covered in this game merely reinforces and parodies those of today’s world.

Throughout time researchers have studied children’s behavior and the aspects that affect this behavior. Some believe that violent video games increase aggressive behavior in children and others don’t. Even though video games haven’t been around for a very long time, over the year’s children and even adults have almost become addicted to these games, it is like once they find something they like to play they get hooked and can’t stop playing them, they want to be in the game every day, all day. With this topic the independent variable would be the violent video games, because those can be chosen to be played or not be played. The dependent variable would be the aggression in children, because depending on the type of game, the game can change the child’s behavior.

“...players can also be hunting for mutations that cause cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, or diabetes”(Mohammadi). Most people think that violent video games and video games in general serve no beneficial purposes. That is not necessarily true because violent video games can help solve problems and be contributive to society, distract those who are prone to violence, also violent crimes and actions are not influenced by violent video games.

In today's world, video games have become popular since scientist Michael Higginbotham made the first video game entitled ''Tennis for two'' which is known as “pong” (Brookhaven National Lavatory). As technology developed, video games have more details, are more appealing, and are more realistic. Furthermore, in today's world, violence has been a problem in America. In most cases everyone has experienced violence, whether it is on television, movies, or in their own home. As people search for a solution many people would say violent video games are the cause of this problem. Violent video games have been seen as the cause for aggressive and negative behavior among society. However, games do not inflict this behavior, for it is already instilled in the youth’s mind, there other things that promote violence, and playing violent games can be beneficial.

Video games are played by many adolescents as well as adults throughout the world. Some games are peaceful puzzle games that teach people how to solve problems in complex situations, and others are violent games that consist of killing in order to conquer your opponent or opponents. There are a multitude of games that can consist of surviving starvation, but despite the countless games and different genres, the most popular games are those that consist of violence. The problem with so many people playing violent video games are the potential mental health risks that the games might pose for the players. Besides the physical health risks of sitting around staring at a screen for hours, video games, for better or for worse, are believed to affect a person’s mind on how fast they perceive information, and the amount of patience they have during frustrating situations. This doesn’t mean that all games are bad for people, but it also means that not all games are good for everyone’s mental wellness either. There are disagreements on the subject, as some believe that abstaining from all video games, or just violent games, is the most beneficial solution for people, but others believe that videogames are not a problem for society and can yield beneficial factors for the players.

The violent video game controversy has been an issue since the 1970s, so it is time for a solution to be found. An arcade game that was developed was played by the player running over stick figures with a car. These stick figures were supposed to represent gremlins and not people, so protestors took the arcade game out into the parking lot to burn it. A website clarifies, “The debate over violent video games can be traced back to the 1976 release of the game Death Race” (ProCon.org). The effects of video games on children is a debate regarding the mentality of children as they play these games. A mother buys a video game for her son that has been begging for days. She walks in without bothering to look at the rating. Although on the case the game is rated “M” for mature audiences. The boy plays for hours on end as soon as he gets the game. Every day for the next week he sits and plays the game. He is immersed in the game, shooting enemies on the battlefield. He begins behaving aggressively at school towards his classmates. His mother wonders why, but it finally clicks that this did not happen until after the video game. She needs to find a solution and fast before this starts getting out of hand. The solution that makes the most sense is for children to be moderated as they play violent video games by their parents.

Did you know that more than half of the 50 top-selling video games contain violence? I’ve been playing video games since I was six and 5 of my friends and I haven’t even been in a physical fight. Violent video games do not make kids violent, because kids can release anger or stress, kids know better they can tell the difference between the real world and fantasy, and crime rates go down as violent video game sales go up.