When footage of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 leaked onto the Internet before its release, it sparked much controversy in and out of the gaming world for its graphic depiction of terrorism and the killings of innocent civilians.
Studies by psychologist Craig Anderson indicate that violence in video games negatively affect its audience because the games are highly interactive and engaging, they reward aggressive behavior and children repeat these behaviors as they play.
Read Anderson’s essay, Violent video games: myths, facts and unanswered questions for more information.
Activision, the game’s publisher stated, “Modern Warfare 2 is a fantasy action game designed for intense, realistic game play that mirrors real life conflicts, much like epic, action movies. It is appropriately rated 18 for violent scenes, which means it is intended for those who are 18 and older.”
Federal judges have rejected attempts to regulate video game content in eight states since 2001, citing the Constitution’s right of free speech.
Judge Richard A. Posner wrote, “Violence has always been and remain a central interest of humankind and a recurrent, even obsessive theme of culture both high and low. It engages the interest of children from an early age. To shield children right up to the age of 18 from exposure to violent descriptions and images would leave them unequipped to cope with the world as we know it.”
Should video games be subject to tighter restrictions regarding their violent content? Do these games negatively affect their audience?
In my opinion, while violence is found in movies, television and music, these interactive video games are a new medium and should be regulated more closely. Video games allow players to become immersed in the violence from a first person perspective.
Tell us what you think.
Even though games have been getting more realistic in their violence I don’t think that games themselves have an affect on peoples actions. In Japan, a country where violent video games are everywhere and accessible to most of the population, the violent crime rate is still much less than that of the United States.
I think it is interesting to consider how video games and movies are different: are kids more at risk by interacting with video games than they are with movies? If so, does that mean that video games should be more strictly regulated? If so, who should be regulating: parents? government?
Obviously, I have no answers.