Video Games Do Not Cause Violence

By: Brandon Nadeau

Posted: 10/21/05

Jack Thompson, a Miami, Fla. medical malpractice lawyer, has spent more than 10 years protesting video game violence. Recently, however, he offered $10,000 to anyone who would make and market one of the most violent video games I have ever heard of.

This, of course, is Thompson's idea of satire. He hates video game violence and uses his ample hate to try to stop any form of violence entering games. Thompson has hate and little else to go on though. Thompson is the man who claimed that "Halo" inspired the Beltway Snipers in 2002 because "Halo" was a sniper rifle simulation. He also got some more airtime when he claimed "The Sims 2" contained a nude patch. His main point, though, is that video games inspire violent behavior in people.

Thompson doesn't have any facts on his side. Actually, they are all against him. Since video games became a mainstream industry, around the time the PlayStation came out in 1995, the violent crime rate has decreased significantly. By the time one of Thompson's favorite targets, "Grand Theft Auto 3," was released, the violent crime rate was 30 percent lower than it had been 20 years earlier. Oddly enough, the rate has decreased every year since 1995, resulting in a new record-low rate in violent crime every year.

This alone seems enough to refute any claim Thompson or the rest of the lobby has about video games influencing real life. But more compelling is the fact that the audience Thompson has been saying is the most heavily influenced (teenagers) has seen an extremely sharp decline in violent crime since the PlayStation was put on the market. It appears the rate was highest in the "Nintendo Era," a time when video game violence was at a minimum. (Nintendo actually had a series of rules to make sure games were fairly non-violent, such as a "no blood" rule for any game.)

Studies on how video game violence influences real-world violence have had mixed results. One study in particular, where gamers were asked to play a game for hours on end, showed the players were more friendly and amicable, as well as slower to rile than before the game was played. The researchers compared this to when someone finished watching a violent movie - the viewers were almost the exact opposite of the gamers. The reason for this, the researchers said, was that the games gave people something to do, while movies made them sit and watch, they weren't in control of what was happening, and this made them angry.

Maybe the best evidence I have against the entire "violence inspires violence" movement is me. I have played games my entire life, everything from "Super Mario Brothers" to "Manhunt" and "Halo." Yet, I have never committed a violent act. I have the equipment to do something (pellet guns, pocket knives etc.), yet I have never used them to hurt someone or something. When I shoot someone in a game, I don't think, "That would be cool to do." Actually, I don't think about it at all, it's harmless entertainment; six seconds from then, I could be killed and I know I'll come back in a few more seconds. To anyone mentally stable enough play a complex game, it is apparent it is not reality and should not be imitated.

In the end, video game violence has been given a bad spin by the media and anti-violence advocates. Peddling violent games to children is a dangerous prospect, which is why there is a ratings board that restricts which age groups can buy which games. The same parents who hate these games are the ones who are buying them for their children. I guess they should be thanked for being hypocritical. After all, they are helping create a less violent society.

Sources:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/15/video_games_and_aggression/
http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html4ever/9906.Sherry.video.html, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/24/tech/gamecore/main676446.shtml
http://gr.bolt.com/articles/violence/violence.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thompson_(attorney)
http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=5883