Anti game-blame article I did a while back for college.

Video gaming will be forever etched into our society and culture for many more years to come; but will it be for the good? After all, video games make us fat, make us violent, make us addicts and destroy social lives. Well according to the media anyway. Cases from death and murder to exhaustion and obesity have all been linked to video games in the mass media. But what is the truth about Video games? How well do they fit in today’s society and the most important question of them all… Are they welcome?

A history of Violence

In April 1999, Columbine High School was the centre of a horrible tragedy that shook America. Two young males, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, age 18 and 17, stormed into school one morning bearing guns. They murdered 12 students, a teacher and injured 23 others before killing themselves in the library. This act of inhume brutality was the first time video games were put under the spotlight. Along with movies and musicians such as Marilyn Manson, video games were under scrutiny for their portrayal of violence and how they may have contributed to the killers mindset and motivation. After all, it was widely publicised that the both shooters were fans of a popular shooting game called “Doom” and that the massacre they would commit would be “just like Doom”. A lawsuit was filed against the publishers of the game ID but was unsuccessful. Motivations regarding social issues were brought up during the investigations. Both killers were outcasts and frequently bullied by the “jocks” of school. Given the established motivation of the killers, can video games still be held accountable? Graeme Kennedy - a post graduate student of the industry believes that video games do not cause people to be violent. He states “I don’t think games cause violent behaviour. I have seen studies which suggest video games can actually reduce stress”.
From Columbine onwards, video games have been popping up in the news relating to various murders and crimes.
In 2001 a 16 year old in America blamed his obsession with Grand Theft Auto 3 during court while on trail for murder. In 2003 an 18 year old killed two cops and claimed that another Grand Theft Auto game caused him to do it. These two cases, along with many other similar examples, in the end excluded video games in court.
The media, of course latched onto this aspect each and every time a crime reared it’s ugly head. Video games would be stigmatised over and over again.
Graeme Kennedy says “I think it is a step to far to blame on particular game for a persons actions. The media is too quick to use video games as a scapegoat, it does nothing to identify or solve the real problems.”
Graeme is right. The media - and especially within the USA - continued to emphasis the terrible effects on our society by violent video games. In America, this claim is in fact far from the truth.
The Department of Justice and Bureau of statistics in America have recorded that violent behaviour amongst young people is in fact at an all time low. Coincidently or not, their flow chart displays youth crime decreasing significantly from 1999 onwards. 1999 was of course the release of one of the biggest selling game console - The Playstation one. Another report from the FBI in 2004 claimed that violent behaviour dropped even further (by 2.2% since 2003) and hit an all time low on record. Another coincidence, if one believes so, is that the release of the biggest selling PS2 game was released. The very violent and controversial fourth instalment of the Grand Theft Auto series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Grand Theft Auto was always a media favourite for attack, surely a game so corrupt couldn’t be played by the most un-violent youth in history?


Digital Junkies

Added to the accusation of being violence mad, video games have also been linked to addiction. In September 2007, a man in China died after playing Internet video games for three consecutive days in an Internet café. The game was the ever expanding popular role playing game World Of Warcraft, which sees millions of players engaging each other online. There are other similar cases, some involving deaths as well.
In response to such incidents there have been established clinics to cope with video game addiction around the world. Are they necessary, and is it a major problem?
Graeme notes “I think some video games can be very addictive, They are designed to engage the player to continue giving it a go.”
The case examples are very rare and do not apply to most people. When questioned on his gaming habits Graeme had this to say - “I play videogames regularly, about 2 to 3 times a week. But I have never had any problems separating my gaming time from my work or social life.”
Graeme also adds on the subject “It is no worse than being addicted to a favourite sport. Only when taken to extremes it is negative”.


The good, the healthy and the educational

A strange concept amongst the ravaging bad press on video games is the many benefit’s the medium has. Graeme observes “Video games can reduce stress, increase reaction times and improve concentration”. As many games incorporate puzzle solving tasks, frequent challenges to overcome and encourages strategic thinking in order to complete; they can has positive educational outcomes in which the player still has fun. More recently the Nintendo Wii has released many self-benefiting products including the Wii Fit which is essentially an interactive work out game that can contribute greatly towards healthy exercise.
Games nowadays can also be considered works of art like music, movies and books. Games such as Metal Gear Solid 4 have in-depth plots and developed characters with emotional attachment that can be seen in other types of fiction. The Metal Gear Solid series also has important themes on war, weapons technology and the nature of humanity.


So video games can be highly entertaining, educational, stress reducing and can now be played socially with family and friends, thanks to party games such as Buzz! Quiz and the Nintendo Wii.
Video game mythology, icons and characters are world wide recognised by the public, the market continues to grow and is speculated to thrive even in times of the glooming credit crunch. Not bad at all.
Video games fit nicely into out modern culture and they contribute hugely to it. Are they welcome? Hell yes they are.