Violent Content in Video Games

A common misconception about video games is that the people who play them - often referred to as "gamers" - are mostly young children or teenagers. In fact, the average gamer in the U.S. is about thirty years old. As the video-game players have matured, so too have video games themselves. Games today are far more complex than arcade games from the 1970s; some games today can take hundreds of hours to finish. Modern games are also far more graphically rich than their earliest ancestors--new video-game systems such as Nintendo Co.'s Wii and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 are many, many times more powerful than old consoles.

Additionally, modern games are more inclined than older games to feature so-called mature content. Such games typically contain graphic and often bloody violence. They can also contain sexual content, as well as references to drugs and alcohol. Such mature video-game content, however, has been sharply criticized--particularly the more violent content. Although most gamers are adults, millions of children and young teenagers still play video games every day. Many parents and some politicians have expressed concern that the violent content in some video games is harming children, making them desensitized to violence. Some maintain that the video-game industry needs to work harder to shield young minds from violent imagery, while others say that violent video games are not a big problem in modern society. Are today's video games too violent for children, and should minors be legally barred from purchasing violent games?

Supporters of the video-game industry argue that video-game violence has never been proven to cause real-world violence. Indeed, they argue, actual violent acts are the result of a veritable galaxy of complex motivating factors--mentally healthy children do not become violent killers by playing a video game, they maintain. Some supporters argue that video games can actually be healthy for a developing mind, as they encourage the use of higher-level problem solving skills.

Critics, however, argue that young people can easily become desensitized to violence by playing games in which they are encouraged to kill and brutally harm others. The enhanced realism of modern games has only exacerbated that problem, they contend. Many critics argue that the sale of violent video games to children should be outlawed by the federal government, or, failing that, by state or local governments. Children cannot purchase harmful substances such as alcohol and tobacco, they note--violent video games should be similarly kept out of their possession.