Violence in Video Games
Sean Y. Gyatso
Assignment 7
CS 100-32
Technology has come a long way over the years. In the present
time we are seeing more and more violence as technology
advances. The main targets are young kids from ages 8 to 24 who
are involved in playing video games. Some of the graphics on
video games are affecting the kids in a psychological way. Where
aggression, violent behavior and health are at risks. The video
game industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that are making
parents concerned about the kids spending to much time playing
games. Therefore, we’ve raised the following questions: If you play
video games with high violent content, does that mean that the
gamer will show a greater degree of aggressiveness and violent
towards others in everyday lives? If not, why not? Does the
outcome depend on the personal and social characteristics of the
gamer such as age, gender, and educational level? What are the
advantages and disadvantages? The application of science,
especially to industrial or commercial objectives.
For example, on the market there is the Sony Playstation, Sony
Playstation II, the X-Box, Nintendo 64, etc. However, the majority of
games still consist of punching, kicking, whipping, shooting, or
otherwise killing the opponent in order to win the game. “According,
to Ken Writ, assistant vice-president of NEC, violent games are the
most popular because the people who spend the most money on
games are boys ages 10-16. People enjoy the action in violent games.
In fact, between 1952 and 1964, television saw a 90% increase in
violent programming. Advertisers and producers created more violent
shows because it quickly became apparent that Americans would
soon watch something violent than something non-violent. Video
game is like a virtual world where you have to complete the mission of
the game and get points for reward. From the beginning, video games
have contained violence whether it is destruction or killing the bad
guys. Early games like space invaders contain violence because the
player destroys waves of alien aircrafts towards you. Some people
might argue that this is not a violent game because it has cartoon like
graphics and not to detailed, but the question is what happens when
the story line involves human characters and the graphics are much
more detailed, with advancement of new technology and programming
techniques.
In a nut shell
On the other hand, good-quality video games offer lots
of benefits to kids such as
•
provide a fun and social form of
entertainment
•
encourage teamwork, and increase
children's self-confidence and selfesteem as they master games
•
make kids feel comfortable with
technology—particularly important
for girls, who don't use technology
as much as boys
•
develop skills in reading, math, and
problem-solving
•
improve eye-hand coordination and
fine motor skills
The main concern that crosses many people’s mind is
how violent games have become. Parents blame
the companies for creating the aggression with held
in the games. In 1990 the Nintendo Entertainment
System sold over
 7.2 million control decks,
 60 million game packs
 3.2 million Game Boy portable hand-held
units
 9 million Game Boy game packs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, although there are many studies
examining the effects of video games and violence,
these studies seem to focus mainly on the possible
short-term aggressive effects. There are very few and
incomplete studies of long-term effects from violent video
games. Further studies on the long-term effects from
violent video games are needed as experts mentioned. I
felt that the games are not the problem, but the lack of
parents being there for their kids. Also, it’s up to the
individual to control themselves, which involves emotions
and making the right decisions.
Credit
• Buchman, D., & Funck, J. (1996). Playing Violent and Computer
Games and Adolescent
Self-Concept. Communication, Vol.26
(2),19-32.
• Violence and Video Games (n.d). Retrieved April 9, 2003,
from
http://www.gamezero.com
•
Quittner, J., (1999). Are Video Games Really so Bad?. Time,
Vol.153 (18), 30-34.
• Griffiths, M. (1999). Violent Video Games and Aggression: A Review
of Literature.
Aggression and Violent Behavior, Vol.4 (10), 203212.