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'{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}} {{short description|Relationship between violence and video games}} Since their inception in the 1970s, [[video game]]s have often been criticized by some for violent content. Politicians, parents, and other activists have claimed that violence in video games can be tied to violent behavior, particularly in children, and have sought ways to regulate the sale of video games. Numerous studies have shown no connection between video games and violent behavior; the [[American Psychological Association]] state there is little to no evidence connecting violence to video games, though do state there is an increase in aggression that can result from playing violent video games. ==Background== The [[Entertainment Software Association]] reports that 17% of [[gamer|video game players]] are boys under the age of eighteen and that 36% are women over the age of eighteen, with 48% of all gamers being women of all ages. They also report that the average age of gamers is 31.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp |title=Industry Facts |publisher=[[Entertainment Software Association]] |date=28 November 2014 |access-date=17 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128145706/http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp |archive-date=November 28, 2014 }}</ref> A survey of 1,102 children between 12 and 17 years of age found that 97% are video game players who have played in the last day and that 75% of parents checked the censor's rating on a video game before allowing their child to purchase it. Of these children, 14% of girls and 50% of boys favored games with an "M" (mature) or "AO" (adult-only) rating.<ref>{{cite web|author=Martha Irvine |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/16/survey-97-percent-of-chil_n_126948.html |title=Survey: 97 Percent Of Children Play Video Games |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=2008-10-17 |access-date=2015-02-18| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107131426/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/16/survey-97-percent-of-chil_n_126948.html| archive-date=2010-01-07}}</ref> 64% of American adults and 70% of those under 18 play video games regularly as of 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fitzgerald|first=Dylan|title=2020 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry|url=https://www.theesa.com/resource/2020-essential-facts/|access-date=2021-08-15|website=Entertainment Software Association|language=en-US}}</ref> Since the late 1990s, some real acts of violence have been highly publicized in relation to beliefs that the suspect in the crime may have had a history of playing violent video games. The 1999 [[Columbine High School massacre]] created a [[moral panic]] around video games, spurring research to see if violent video games lead to aggressive behaviors in real life.<ref>{{cite book | title = Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong | first1 = Patrick | last1 = Markey | first2 = Christopher | last2= Ferguson | year = 2017 | publisher = [[BenBella Books, Inc.]] | chapter = 2 | isbn = 978-1942952992 }}</ref> Some research finds that violent video game use is correlated with, and may cause, increases in aggression and decreases in [[prosocial behavior]].<ref name="Anderson (2001)">{{Cite journal | title = Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. | journal = Psychological Science | volume = 12 | issue = 5 | pages = 353–359| year = 2001| last1 = Anderson | first1 = Craig A. | last2 = Bushman | first2 = Brad J. | s2cid = 14987425 |doi=10.1111/1467-9280.00366|pmid=11554666}}</ref><ref name="Sherry (2001)">{{cite journal | last1 = Sherry | first1 = John | s2cid = 6322160 | title = The effects of violent video games on aggression: a meta-analysis | journal = [[Human Communication Research]] | volume = 27 | issue = 3 | pages = 4309–4319 | year = 2001 | doi=10.1093/hcr/27.3.409| url = https://semanticscholar.org/paper/d19c7d0882ae9845f34a84dd4e4dbd1d4cf0b00c }}</ref> Other research argues that there are no such effects of violent video games.<ref name="Ferguson (2009)">{{cite journal | last1 = Ferguson | first1 = Christopher J. | last2 = Kilburn | first2 = J. | title = The public health risks of media violence: a meta-analytic review | journal = [[The Journal of Pediatrics]] | volume = 154| pages = 759–763 | year = 2009 | doi=10.1016/j.jpeds.2008.11.033 | pmid=19230901 | issue=5}}</ref> This link between violent video games and antisocial behaviour was denied by the president of the [[Interactive Digital Software Association]] in 2005 in a PBS interview. In the interview, he stated that the problem is “…vastly overblown and overstated…” by people who “….don’t understand, frankly, this industry”.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents Theory, Research, and Public Policy|last=A.Anderson; A.Gentile; E.Buckley|first=Craig; Douglas; Katherine|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-19-530983-6|location=New York|pages=153}}</ref> Others have theorised that there are positive effects of playing video games, including prosocial behavior in some contexts,<ref name="Radoff (2009)">{{cite web | last = Radoff | first = Jon | title = Six wonderful things about video games | publisher = Radoff.com | url = http://radoff.com/blog/2009/12/08/six-wonderful-things-about-games | date = 8 December 2009 | access-date = 8 March 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091213043214/http://radoff.com/blog/2009/12/08/six-wonderful-things-about-games | archive-date = 13 December 2009}}</ref><ref name="Ferguson (2010)">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.chb.2010.10.026| title = Call of (civic) duty: Action games and civic behavior in a large sample of youth| journal = Computers in Human Behavior| volume = 27| issue = 2| pages = 770–775| year = 2011| last1 = Ferguson | first1 = C. J. | last2 = Garza | first2 = A. }}</ref> and argue that the video game industry has been used as a [[scapegoat]] for more generalised problems affecting some communities.<ref name="Cumberbatch (2004)">{{Cite journal| last = Cumberbatch | first = Guy | year =2004 | title = Video violence: villain or victim? | type = paper | publisher = [[Video Standards Council]] | location = London }}</ref><ref name="Sternheimer (2003)">{{cite book | last = Sternheimer | first = Karen | author-link = Karen Sternheimer | title = It's not the media: the truth about pop culture's influence on children | publisher = [[Westview Press]] | location = Boulder, Colorado | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-0813341385 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/itsnotmediatruth0000ster }}</ref><ref name="Benedetti (2008)">{{cite web | last = Benedetti | first = Winda | title = Why search our souls when video games make such an easy scapegoat? | publisher = [[NBC News]] | url = http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23204875 | date = 18 February 2008 | access-date = 17 August 2008 }}</ref> pppoopoo ==History== ===Before video games=== Elements of the type of [[moral panic]] that came with video games after they gained popularity had previously been seen with [[comic book]]s. Through the 1950s, comics were in their [[Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]], having become a widely popular form of media. As the media expanded, some artists and publishers took more risks with violent and otherwise questionable content. [[Fredric Wertham]], a psychiatrist, wrote ''[[Seduction of the Innocent]]'' in 1954, which outlined his studies asserting that violent comics were a negative form of literature and led to [[juvenile delinquency]]. Even though some of Wertham's claims were later found to be based on bad studies, the book created a [[moral panic]] that put pressure on the comic book industry to regulate their works. Later in 1954, the comic industry issued the [[Comics Code Authority]] (CCA) which put strict regulations on content that could appear in comic books sold at most stores, eliminating most violence and other mature content via self-censoring. The mainstream comic industries waned as comics had lost their edge, while an underground market for the more adult comics formed. The comic industry did not recover from Comics Code Authority regulations until the 1970s, when adherence to the Authority was weakened. By the 2000s, the Authority was generally no longer considered.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.vox.com/2014/12/15/7326605/comic-book-censorship | title = The insane history of how American paranoia ruined and censored comic books | first= Alex | last = Abad-Santos | date = March 13, 2015 | access-date = August 25, 2019 | work = [[Vox (website)|Vox]] }}</ref> Modern trends of targeting violence in video games have been compared to these events in the comic industry, and video game industry leaders have specifically avoided the use of self-censorship that could impact the performance of the industry.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.cato.org/blog/these-kids-today-long-history-complaining-about-violent-entertainment | title = These Kids Today: The Long History of Complaining About Violent Entertainment | first= Trevor | last = Burrus | date = March 9, 2018 | access-date = August 25, 2019 | publisher = [[Cato Institute]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://kotaku.com/comic-books-disastrous-self-censorship-offers-a-lesson-5975124 | title = Comic Books' Disastrous Self-Censorship Offers a Lesson for Games Publishers, Too | first= Owen | last =Good | date = January 11, 2013 | access-date = August 25, 2019 | work = [[Kotaku]] }}</ref> [[Pinball machine]]s had also created a moral panic in post-World War II America, as the teenage rebels of the 1950s and 1960s would frequently hang around establishments with pinball machines, which created fear across the [[generation gap]] of older Americans unsure of the intents of this younger crowd. To some, it appeared to be a form of gambling (which led to machines being labeled "For Amusement Only"), while more religious people feared pinball was a "tool of the devil". Because of this, many cities and towns banned pinball machines or implemented strict licensing requirements which were slowly lifted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Notably, [[New York City]]'s ban on pinball machines lasted until 1976,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/2013/1/16/3740422/the-life-and-death-of-the-american-arcade-for-amusement-only | title = For Amusement Only: the life and death of the American arcade | first = Laura | last = June | date = January 1, 2013 | access-date = August 11, 2020 | work = [[The Verge]] }}</ref> while Chicago's was lifted in 1977.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2018/05/05/chicago-once-waged-a-40-year-war-on-pinball | title = Chicago once waged a 40-year war on pinball | first =Ryan | last = Smith | date = May 5, 2018 | access-date = August 11, 2020 | work = [[Chicago Reader]] }}</ref> The appearance of video games in the early 1970s overlapped with the lifting of bans on pinball machines, and when youth were drawn to arcade games, the same concerns that were initially leveled at pinball machines as gambling machines and immoral playthings were also made about video games.<ref name="death race game studies">{{cite journal | title = The Agony and the Exidy: A History of Video Game Violence and the Legacy of Death Race | first = Carly | last = Kocurek | journal = Game Studies | volume = 12 | issue = 1 | date= September 2012 | url = http://gamestudies.org/1201/articles/carly_kocurek | access-date = August 11, 2020 }}</ref> ===1970s–1980s=== After ''Pong'' exploded onto the arcade game market, arcade game manufacturers were aware of the attention that video games were getting and tried to position games as entertainment aimed at adults, selling units preferably to bars and lounges.<ref name="death race game studies"/> This gave them more leeway with content, but still which drew criticism from some. Two arcade games had already drawn attention for amoral content prior to 1976. Atari's ''[[Gotcha (video game)|Gotcha]]'' in 1973, a maze game, initially shipped with two joystick units that were covered in pink domes as to represent women's breasts, but which were removed in later makes. The 1975 ''[[Shark Jaws]]'', also by Atari, was an unlicensed adaption of the film ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' and attempted to play on the film's violent context, though here, the player was hunted by the shark.<ref name="death race game studies"/> As arcade games spread into more locations, the ease for children to access the games also elevated concerns about their potential impacts.<ref name="death race game studies"/> The 1976 arcade game ''[[Death Race (1976 video game)|Death Race]]'' is considered the first game to be targeted for its violent content. The game, like ''Shark Jaws'', was an unlicensed adaption of the 1975 film ''[[Death Race 2000]]'', a violent film centered on driving. Within the game, the player was challenged to drive a car and run over simulated [[gremlin]]s scoring points for doing so. Besides the game's simulated content, the game cabinet was also adorned with imagery of death.<ref name="death race game studies"/> The game caught the attention of an [[Associated Press]] writer, Wendy Walker, who had contacted the game's manufacturer, Exidy, with her concerns that the game was excessively violent.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Walker|first=Wendy|date=July 2, 1976|title=It Offers That Run-Down Feeling|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/191227818/|journal=Associated Press}}</ref> Walker's concerns spread through other media organizations, including the [[National Safety Council]], who accused the game of glorifying the act of running people over when at the time they were trying to educate drivers about safe driving practices. While some arcades subsequently returned the ''Death Race'' machines due to this panic, sales of the game continued to grow due to the media coverage.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/28/archives/death-race-game-gains-favor-but-not-with-the-safety-council.html | title = Death Race | first= Ralph | last= Blumenthal | date = December 28, 1976 | access-date = August 22, 2019 | work = [[The New York Times]] }}</ref> It was recognized that many other competing arcade games at the time, like ''[[Cops 'n' Robbers]]'', ''[[Tank 8]]'', and ''[[Jet Fighter (video game)|Jet Fighter]]'', all games equally about violent actions, saw little complaint. [[Nolan Bushnell]] of Atari said that "We [Atari] had an internal rule that we wouldn't allow violence against people. You could blow up a tank or you could blow up a flying saucer, but you couldn't blow up people. We felt that that was not good form, and we adhered to that all during my tenure."<ref name="death race game studies"/> United States [[Surgeon General]] [[C. Everett Koop]] was one of the first to raise concerns about the potential connection of video games to youth behavior. In 1982, Koop stated as a personal observation that "more and more people are beginning to understand" the connection between video games and mental and physical health effects on youth, though that at that time, there was not sufficient evidence to make any conclusion.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/10/us/around-the-nation-surgeon-general-sees-danger-in-video-games.html | title = AROUND THE NATION; Surgeon General Sees Danger in Video Games | date = November 10, 1982 | access-date = August 22, 2019 | agency = [[Associated Press]] | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | title = The Great Debate | first= Howard | last = Mandel | magazine = [[VideoGames & Computer Entertainment]] | date = March 1983 | pages = 21–24 | volume = 72 }}</ref> ===1990s=== ====''Mortal Kombat'' and congressional hearings (1993–1994)==== {{see also|Controversies surrounding Mortal Kombat}} The fighting game ''[[Mortal Kombat (1992 video game)|Mortal Kombat]]'' was released into arcades in 1992. It was one of the first games to depict a large amount of blood and gore, particularly during special moves known as "[[Fatality (Mortal Kombat)|Fatalities]]" used to finish off the losing character. Numerous arcade games that used high amounts of violent content followed in ''Mortal Kombat''{{'s}} wake. However, as these games were originally exclusive to arcade machines, it was generally possible to segregate them away from games aimed for younger players.<ref>{{cite web | first = Travis |last = Fahs | url = http://uk.ign.com/articles/2011/05/05/the-history-of-mortal-kombat?page=2 | title = The History of Mortal Kombat. Follow its bloody legacy from 1992 to the present day. | work = [[IGN]] | date = May 5, 2011 | access-date = August 22, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="bbc mk hearings"/> Eventually, there was significant interest from home console manufacturers in licensing ''Mortal Kombat'' from [[Midway Games]], particularly from [[Sega]] for its [[Sega Genesis]] platform and [[Nintendo]] for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]. At the time, Sega and Nintendo were in the midst of a [[console war]] to try to gain dominance in the United States market.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2017/8/22/16179048/nintendo-vs-sega-the-battle-over-being-cool | title = Nintendo vs. Sega: The battle over being cool | first = Mike | last = Scolars | date = August 22, 2017 | access-date =October 31, 2018 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] }}</ref> Sega's licensed version of ''Mortal Kombat'' retained all the gore from the arcade version (though required a use of a cheat code to activate it), while Nintendo had a version developed that removed most of the gore, recoloring the blood as grey "sweat" and otherwise toning down the game. Sega's version drastically outsold Nintendo's version and intensified the competition between the two companies.<ref name="bbc mk hearings"/> The popularity of ''Mortal Kombat'', along with the full-motion video game ''[[Night Trap]]'' and the light gun shooting game [[Lethal Enforcers]], gained attention from U.S. Senators [[Joe Lieberman]] and [[Herb Kohl]]. This resulted in two [[1993 congressional hearings on video games|congressional hearings in 1993 and 1994]] to discuss the issues of violence and video games with concerned advocacy groups, academics, and the video game industry.<ref name="bbc mk hearings">{{cite web | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27620071 | title = Mortal Kombat: Violent game that changed video games industry | first = Rob | last = Crossley | date = June 2, 2014 | access-date = October 30, 2018 | work = [[BBC]] | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180801170514/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27620071 | archive-date = August 1, 2018 | url-status = live }}</ref> Sega, Nintendo, and others were criticized for lacking a standardized [[Video game content rating system|content rating system]], and Lieberman threatened to have Congress pass legislation requiring a system that would have government oversight if the industry did not take its own steps.<ref name="nytimes 12-17-93">{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/17/nyregion/toys-r-us-stops-selling-a-violent-video-game.html | title= Toys 'R' Us Stops Selling a Violent Video Game | first= Tom | last =Redburn | date = December 17, 1993 | access-date = October 31, 2018 | work = [[The New York Times]] }}</ref> By the time of the second hearing, Sega, Nintendo, and other console manufacturers had outlined their agreed-upon approach for a voluntary rating system through the [[Entertainment Software Ratings Board]] (ESRB), which was in place by the end of 1994.<ref name="upi 03-04-94">{{cite web | url = https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/03/04/Video-game-makers-say-they-are-making-progress-on-ratings/1047762757200/ | title = Video game makers say they are making progress on ratings | first= Karen | last = Cohen | date = March 3, 1994 | access-date = November 2, 2018 | publisher = [[UPI]] }}</ref><ref name="Wired-kohler-chris-2009-07-29">{{cite magazine |first=Chris |last=Kohler |title=July 29, 1994: Videogame Makers Propose Ratings Board to Congress |date=July 29, 2009 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |url=https://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/07/dayintech_0729/ |publisher=[[Condé Nast Publications]] |access-date=June 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218213902/http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/07/dayintech_0729/ |archive-date=2014-02-18 |url-status=live }}</ref> This also led to the establishment of the Interactive Digital Software Association, later known as the [[Entertainment Software Association]] (ESA), a trade group for the video game industry that managed the ESRB and further supported trade-wide aspects such as government affairs.<ref name="Wired-kohler-chris-2009-07-29"/><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.engadget.com/2013/06/06/sony-microsoft-nintendo-and-the-evolution-of-the-electronic-entertainment-expo/ | title = Then there were three: Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and the evolution of the Electronic Entertainment Expo | first = Sean |last = Buckley | date = June 6, 2013 | access-date = May 9, 2017 | work = [[Engadget]] }}</ref> ====Jack Thompson lawsuits (1997)==== {{main|Jack Thompson (activist)#Video games}} American attorney [[Jack Thompson (activist)|Jack Thompson]] has criticized a number of video games for perceived obscenity and campaigned against their producers and distributors. He argues that violent video games have repeatedly been used by teenagers as "murder simulators" to rehearse violent plans. He has pointed to alleged connections between such games and a number of school massacres. ====Columbine High School massacre (1999)==== The [[Columbine High School massacre]] on April 20, 1999, reignited the debate about violence in video games. Among other factors, [[Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold|the perpetrators]] were found to be avid players of violent games like ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]''. The public perceived a connection between video games and the shooting, leading to a Congressional hearing and President [[Bill Clinton]] ordering an investigation into school shootings and how video games were being marketed to youth.<ref name="wapost 20190822"/> The report, released in 2004 by the [[United States Secret Service]] and the [[United States Department of Education]], found only 12% of perpetrators in school shootings had shown interest in video games.<ref name="wapost 20190822"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Vossekuil |first1=Bryan |last2=Fein |first2=Robert |last3=Reddy |first3=Marisa |last4=Borum |first4=Randy |last5=Modzeleski |first5=William |title=The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States |url=https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf |access-date=August 22, 2019 |publisher=[[United States Department of Education]] |date=July 2004 }}</ref> In the aftermath of the Columbine shooting, previous school shootings were re-evaluated by media and connections were drawn between Columbine and the [[Westside Middle School massacre]] of 1998. Although video games had not been identified as a factor at the time of the Westside shooting, media discussions of Columbine pointed to Westside as a similar case in that the two student perpetrators had often played ''[[GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)|GoldenEye 007]]'' together and had enjoyed playing [[first-person shooter]] games prior to the shooting.<ref>[[Steven L. Kent|Kent S.]] "The Mainstream and All Its Perils" ''[[The ultimate history of video games:...]]'' [[Three Rivers Press]], New York 2001 p544–545. {{ISBN|0761536434}}</ref><ref>Barr S. and Grapes B. "Violent children." [[Greenhaven Press]], San Diego 2000 p26 {{ISBN|0737701595}} (originally printed as "Computer Violence: Are Your Kids At Risk?" ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' January 1999.)</ref> ===2000s=== ====''Grand Theft Auto III'' and further lawsuits==== In 2001, [[Rockstar Games]] released the [[PlayStation 2]] game ''[[Grand Theft Auto III]]''. The game gave the player control of an unnamed protagonist in a contemporary urban setting taking on missions within the city's criminal underworld. The game was one of the first [[open world]] games and allowed the player to have nearly free control of how they completed missions, which included gunplay, melee combat, and reckless driving. The game was widely successful, selling over two million units within six months.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_020207.htm |title=NPD Reports Annual 2001 U.S. Interactive Entertainment Sales Shatter Industry Record |location=Port Washington, New York |last1=Radwick |first1=Dora |last2=Dolan |first2=Sean P. |publisher=[[NPD Group]] |date=February 7, 2002 |access-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040814133238/http://www.npd.com/dynamic/releases/press_020207.htm |archive-date=August 14, 2004 }}</ref> Its popularity led several groups to criticize the violence in the game, among other factors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kotaku.com.au/2011/10/grand-theft-auto-iii-the-birth-of-a-media-scapegoat/ |title=Grand Theft Auto III: The Birth Of A Media Scapegoat |last=Good |first=Owen |work=[[Kotaku]] |publisher=[[Gawker Media]] |date=October 23, 2011 |access-date=December 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6dwBwavZ2?url=http://www.kotaku.com.au/2011/10/grand-theft-auto-iii-the-birth-of-a-media-scapegoat/ |archive-date=December 21, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/10/business/backslash-mayhem-and-far-from-the-nicest-kind.html |title=BACKSLASH; Mayhem, and Far From the Nicest Kind |last=Richtel |first=Matt |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 10, 2002 |access-date=December 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/6dwEsKGG4?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/10/business/backslash-mayhem-and-far-from-the-nicest-kind.html |archive-date=December 21, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Rockstar subsequently released two follow-up games, ''[[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City]]'' in 2003 and ''[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]'' in 2004, the latter becoming controversial for the sexually explicit [[Hot Coffee mod|''Hot Coffee'' mod]]. After this incident the government decided to take action. In 2005, California banned the sale of violent video games to minors.<ref>Cohen, Adam. “California's Misguided War on Violent Video Games.” Time, Time Inc., 27 Oct. 2010, content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2027692,00.html. </ref> In the years that followed, a number of fatal murders and other crimes committed by young adults and youth were found to have ties to ''Grand Theft Auto III'' and later games that followed in its footsteps. Jack Thompson became involved to try to sue Rockstar, its publisher [[Take-Two Interactive]], and [[Sony]] on behalf of the victims for large amounts of damages, asserting that the violence in these games led directly to the crimes and thus these companies were responsible for said crimes. These cases ultimately did not lead to any action against Rockstar, as they were either voluntarily withdrawn or dismissed before judgment. Thompson agreed to no longer seek legal action against Take-Two's games, and ultimately became an activist to highlight the issues of violence in video games.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.kotaku.co.uk/2015/09/15/the-rise-and-fall-of-video-gamings-most-vocal-enemy | title = The Rise and Fall of Video Gaming's Most Vocal Enemy | first= Julian |last =Benson |date = September 15, 2015 | access-date = August 22, 2019 | work = [[Kotaku]] }}</ref> The events of this period were made into a [[BBC]] docudrama, ''[[The Gamechangers]]'', which was first broadcast in September 2015. ====Winnenden school shooting (2009)==== The shooter in the [[Winnenden school shooting]] on March 11, 2009, in [[Winnenden]], Germany, was found to have had interest in video games like ''[[Counter-Strike]]'' and ''[[Far Cry 2]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.news-times.de/Artikelsenden/10581289/Aktuelle-Nachrichten/20107239|title=Verwirrung um Therapie von Tim K. – Eltern des Amokschützen dementieren Behandlung – Schütze spielte vor der Tat Killerspiel| access-date=19 March 2009 | date=11 March 2009 | publisher=news-times.de | language=de}}</ref><ref name="spiegel3">{{cite news | url=http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/0,1518,612826,00.html | title= Polizei hat Hinweise auf Tatmotiv | access-date=12 March 2009 | date=12 March 2009 |work=Der Spiegel | language=de }}</ref> In the weeks that followed, politicians and concerned citizens tried to pressure the government into passing legislation to ban the sale of violent video games in the country, though this never came to pass.<ref name="Spiegel CSU">{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,613050,00.html| title=CSU will Killerspiel-Verbot, SPD Kontrolle über Schützenvereine|work=Der Spiegel | date=13 March 2009|language=de|access-date=13 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/,tt4l1/panorama/895/462513/text/|title=Opferfamilien fordern Killerspiel-Verbot| publisher=sueddeutsche.de| date=21 March 2009|language=de|access-date=21 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/wams_print/article3420239/Winnenden-Eine-Tat-aus-der-man-nicht-klug-werden-kann.html|title=Winnenden: Eine Tat, aus der man nicht klug werden kann|newspaper=[[Die Welt|www.welt.de]]|date=21 March 2009|language=de|access-date=24 March 2009}} </ref> ====''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2''{{'s}} "No Russian" (2009)==== The 2009 first-person shooter ''[[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2]]'' included a controversial mission in its story mode called "[[No Russian]]". In the mission, the player takes on the role of a [[CIA]] agent who has embedded himself among a Russian [[Ultranationalism|ultranationalist]] terrorist group; the leader of the group warns them to speak "no Russian" to give away their origins. The mission allows the player to participate in a terrorist attack at a Moscow airport, during which they may fire indiscriminately on civilians and security alike. Participation in the mission is not mandatory: a disclaimer before the mission begins warns the player about the violent content and gives the option to skip the level. If the player chooses to play the level, they are not required to participate in the shooting in order to complete the level. The level ends when the terrorist group's leader kills the player-character in order to frame the attack as the work of the United States, leading to a world war. The existence of the level leaked before the game's release, forcing publisher [[Activision]] and developer [[Infinity Ward]] to respond to journalists and activists that were critical of the concept of the mission. Activision defended the level's inclusion in the finished game, emphasizing that the mission was not representative of the rest of the game and that initial assessments had taken the level out of context.<ref name="GameSpot Break">{{cite web|last=Thorsen|first=Tor|url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/modern-warfare-2-massacre-not-representative-of-overall-experience-activision/1100-6238331/|title=Modern Warfare 2 massacre 'not representative of overall experience' - Activision|work=[[GameSpot]]|date=October 29, 2009|access-date=October 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820140939/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/modern-warfare-2-massacre-not-representative-of-overall-experience-activision/1100-6238331/|archive-date=2018-08-20|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{cite web|last=Stuart|first=Keith|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/oct/29/games-gameculture|title=Should Modern Warfare 2 allow us to play at terrorism?|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=October 29, 2009|access-date=August 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826031337/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/oct/29/games-gameculture|archive-date=2016-08-26|url-status=live}}</ref> Even with the full game's release, "No Russian" was still criticized, with some stating that video games had yet to mature.<ref>{{cite web|last=Orry|first=James|url=http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/cod_modern_warfare_2/news/bbc_reporter_saddened_but_not_shocked_by_mw2.html|title=BBC reporter 'saddened' but not 'shocked' by MW2|work=VideoGamer.com|publisher=Candy Banana|date=November 10, 2009|access-date=August 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817084835/http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/cod_modern_warfare_2/news/bbc_reporter_saddened_but_not_shocked_by_mw2.html|archive-date=2016-08-17|url-status=live}}</ref> The mission is considered a watershed moment for the video game industry, in how certain depictions of violence can be seen as acceptable while others, like "No Russian", are considered unacceptable.<ref>{{cite web|last=Parker|first=Laura|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/is-it-time-for-games-to-get-serious/1100-6384304/|title=Is It Time for Games to Get Serious?|work=[[GameSpot]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|date=June 26, 2012|access-date=August 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222212422/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/is-it-time-for-games-to-get-serious/1100-6384304/|archive-date=2016-02-22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.usgamer.net/articles/no-russian-call-of-duty-modern-warfare-2-infamous-mission-critics-developers-lookback-feature | title = "Remember, No Russian:" Critics and Developers Remember Call of Duty's Most Infamous Mission | first = Blake | last =Hester | date = October 28, 2019 | access-date = October 28, 2019 | work = [[USGamer]] }}</ref> ===2010s=== {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}} ==== ''Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association'' (2011) ==== {{Main|Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association}} To address violent video games, several U.S. states passed laws that restricted the sale of mature video games, particularly those with violent or sexual content, to children. Video game industry groups fought these laws in courts and won.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2006-04-04-michigan-law_x.htm | title = Judge rules Michigan video game law is unconstitutional | work = [[USA Today]] | date= April 4, 2006 | access-date = November 1, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-6139030-7.html | title = Court rejects Illinois video game law | first = Anne |last = Broache | date= November 26, 2006 | access-date= November 1, 2010 | publisher = [[CNet]] }}</ref> The most significant case came out of a challenge to a California law passed in 2005 that banned the sale of mature games to minors as well as requiring an enhanced content rating system beyond the ESRB's. Industry groups fought this and won, but the case ultimately made it to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]. In ''Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association'', the Supreme Court ruled that video games were a protected form of speech, qualifying for [[First Amendment]] protections, and laws like California's that block sales on a basis outside of the [[Miller test]] were unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/06/violent-video-games-scotus/ | title = States May Not Ban Sale, Rental of Violent Videogames to Minors | first = David | last = Kravits | date = June 27, 2011 | access-date = June 27, 2011 | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629093204/http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/06/violent-video-games-scotus/ | archive-date = 2011-06-29 }}</ref> Justice [[Antonin Scalia]], who wrote the majority opinion, considered that violence in many video games was no different from that presented in other children's media, such as ''[[Grimm's Fairy Tales]]''.<ref name="wsj nov2">{{cite news | url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704462704575590333558912068 | title = Court Voices Doubts on Violent Videogame Law | first = Brent | last = Kendall | date = November 2, 2010 | access-date = November 2, 2010 | work = [[Wall Street Journal]] | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150724141900/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704462704575590333558912068 | archive-date = 2015-07-24 }}</ref> ====Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (2012)==== The [[Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting]] occurred on December 14, 2012. The perpetrator, Adam Lanza, was found to have a "trove" of video games, as described by investigating officials, including several games considered to be violent.<ref name="cbs sandyhook">{{cite web | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/violent-video-games-and-mass-violence-a-complex-link/ | title = Violent video games and mass violence: A complex link | first =Ryan | last= Jaslow | date = February 18, 2013 | access-date = August 22, 2019 | work = [[CBS News]] }}</ref> This discovery started a fresh round of calls against violent video games in political and media circles,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/20/opinion/ferguson-adam-lanza/ |publisher=CNN |title=Video games didn't cause Newtown rampage |last=Ferguson |first=Christopher J. |date=February 20, 2013 |access-date=November 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/sandy-hook-blame-game_n_2318334.html |work= Huffington Post |title=Sandy Hook Blame Game: Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe |last=Lohr |first=David |date=December 17, 2012 |access-date=November 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://ideas.time.com/2012/12/20/sandy-hook-shooting-video-games-are-blamed-again/ |title=Sandy Hook Shooting: Video Games Blamed, Again |work=Time |last=Ferguson |first=Christopher J. |date=December 20, 2012 |access-date=November 11, 2013}}</ref> including a meeting on the topic between U.S. Vice President [[Joe Biden]] and representatives from the video game industry.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/2013/1/12/3867398/joe-biden-video-game-industry-statement | title = Joe Biden meets with gaming industry over gun violence, but promises he's not singling it out | first= Adi | last = Robertson | date = January 12, 2013 | access-date = April 30, 2020 | work = [[The Verge]] }}</ref> The [[National Rifle Association]] accused the video game industry for the shooting, identifying games that focused on shooting people in schools.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/nra-blames-video-games-kindergarten-killer-sandy-hook-article-1.1225212 |work=Daily News|location=New York |title=NRA blames video games like 'Kindergarten Killer' for Sandy Hook slaughter |last=Beekman |first=Daniel |date=December 21, 2012 |access-date=November 11, 2013}}</ref> ====Munich Olympia Mall shooting (2016)==== The [[2016 Munich shooting]] occurred on July 22, 2016, in the vicinity of the [[Olympia-Einkaufszentrum|Olympia Shopping Mall]] in the [[Moosach (Munich)|Moosach District]] of [[Munich]], Bavaria, Germany. The perpetrator, David Sonboly, killed 10 people before killing himself when surrounded by police. As a result, the German Minister of the Interior, [[Thomas de Maizière]], claimed that the "intolerable extent of video games on the internet" has a harmful effect on the development of young people.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.zeit.de/digital/games/2016-07/killerspiele-amoklauf-muenchen-thomas-de-maiziere-debatte|title=Killerspiele: Schon wieder die K-Frage|last=Kreienbrink|first=Matthias|date=2016-07-26|work=Die Zeit|access-date=2020-01-21|language=de-DE|issn=0044-2070}}</ref> His statements were criticized by media specialist Maic Mausch, who said with regards to Maiziere's statement that "No sensible scientist can say that with such certainty. And if no scientist can do it, no minister can do that."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/digital/amoklauf-in-muenchen-zurueck-in-die-nullerjahre-de-maiziere-reanimiert-killerspiel-debatte-1.3092117|title=Amoklauf: De Maizière und die Killerspiel-Debatte|last=Brühl|first=Jannis|website=Süddeutsche.de|language=de|access-date=2020-01-21}}</ref> ====Parkland school shooting (2018)==== The [[Stoneman Douglas High School shooting]] occurred on February 14, 2018, in [[Parkland, Florida]]. In the aftermath, Kentucky Governor [[Matt Bevin]] declared that the country should re-evaluate "the things being put in the hands of our young people",<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wartman |first1=Scott |title=School shootings: Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin blames violent video games and shows, not guns |url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/02/16/school-shootings-kentucky-gov-matt-bevin-blames-violent-video-games-and-shows-not-guns/343364002/ |work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]] |access-date=April 17, 2018}}</ref> specifically "quote-unquote [[video games]]" that "have desensitized people to the value of human life".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fogel |first1=Stefanie |title=Kentucky Governor Blames Video Games for Florida School Shooting |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/news/kentucky-gov-blames-video-games-for-florida-school-shooting-w516826 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=April 17, 2018}}</ref> A month later, President [[Donald Trump]] called for several industry representatives and advocates to meet in Washington, D.C. to discuss the impact of violent video games with him and his advisors. Industry leaders included Michael Gallagher, ESA president; Patricia Vance, ESRB president; Robert Altman, CEO of ZeniMax Media; and Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, while advocates included Brent Bozell, of the [[Media Research Center]] and Melissa Henson of the [[Parents Television Council]]. While the video game industry asserted the lack of connection between violent video games and violent acts, their critics asserted that the industry should take steps to limit youth access and marketing to violent video games in ways similar to the approaches taken for alcohol and tobacco use.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/03/08/trump-talk-video-game-makers-critics-thursday-white-house-meeting/406374002/ | title = These are the video games the White House played in its meeting on game violence |first= Mike | last =Snider | date = March 8, 2018 | access-date = August 22, 2019 | work = [[USA Today]] }}</ref> ====Suzano school shooting (2019)==== The [[Suzano school shooting]] occurred on March 13, 2019, at the Professor Raul Brasil State School in the Brazilian municipality of [[Suzano]], [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]]. The perpetrators, Guilherme Taucci Monteiro and Luiz Henrique de Castro, managed to kill five school students and two school employees before Monteiro killed Castro and then committed suicide. As a result, Brazilian Vice President [[Hamilton Mourão]] claimed that young people are addicted to violent video games, while also claiming that the work routine of Brazilian parents made it harder for young people to be raised properly.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Bernardo|last=Bittar|url=https://www.correiobraziliense.com.br/app/noticia/brasil/2019/03/13/interna-brasil,742684/mourao-sobre-suzano-jovens-estao-muito-viciados-em-videogames-violen.shtml|title=Mourão sobre Suzano: 'Jovens estão muito viciados em videogames violentos'|date=2019-03-13|website=Correio Braziliense|language=pt-BR|access-date=2020-01-21}}</ref> As a result, the hashtag #SomosGamersNãoAssassinos (“#WeAreGamersNotMurderers”) gained popularity in Brazil.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/wiseup-news/do-violent-videogames-influence-young-people-what-researches-show/|title=Do violent videogames influence young people? What researches show {{!}} Texto em inglês com áudio|date=2019-03-19|website=Wise Up News: textos em inglês com áudio da Gazeta do Povo|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-21}}</ref> ====August 2019 shootings==== Two mass shootings occurring within a day of each other, [[2019 El Paso shooting|one in El Paso, Texas]] and [[2019 Dayton shooting|another in Dayton, Ohio]], in August 2019 provoked political claims that video games were partially to blame for the incidents. U.S. President Donald Trump stated days after the shootings, "We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace".<ref name="NYTimes 20190805" /> House Minority Leader [[Kevin McCarthy (California politician)|Kevin McCarthy]] also blamed video games for these events, stating, "I've always felt that it’s a problem for future generations and others. We've watched from studies, shown before, what it does to individuals, and you look at these photos of how it took place, you can see the actions within video games and others."<ref name="wapost 20190822">{{cite web | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/05/kevin-mccarthy-dan-patrick-video-games-el-paso-shooting/ | title = Politicians suggest video games are to blame for the El Paso shooting. It's an old claim that's not backed by research. | first= Timothy | last =Bella | date = August 5, 2019 | access-date = August 22, 2019 | work = [[The Washington Post]] }}</ref> News organizations and the video game industry reiterated the findings of the past, that there was no link between video games and violent behavior, and criticized politicians for putting video games to task when the issues lied within proper [[gun control]].<ref name="NYTimes 20190805" /><ref name="wapost 20190822"/> ====Halle synagogue shooting (2019)==== The [[Halle synagogue shooting]] occurred on October 9, 2019, in [[Halle (Saale)|Halle]], [[Saxony-Anhalt]], Germany, continuing in nearby [[Landsberg, Saxony-Anhalt|Landsberg]]. The suspect, identified by the media as Stephan Baillet, was influenced by far-right ideology and managed to live-stream his attack on [[Facebook]] and [[Twitch (service)|Twitch]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/09/the-german-synagogue-shooting-was-streamed-on-twitch.html|title=About 2,200 people watched the German synagogue shooting on Amazon's Twitch|last=Graham|first=Todd Haselton,Megan|date=2019-10-09|website=CNBC|language=en|access-date=2020-01-21}}</ref> In the process of the attack, he managed to kill two people before being subdued by police. Given the live-streamed nature of the attack, German Minister of the Interior [[Horst Seehofer]] claimed that "many of the perpetrators or the potential perpetrators come from the gaming scene" with regards to incidents like the shooting in Halle.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2019-10/terroranschlag-halle-seehofer-games-killerspiele|title=Anschlag in Halle: Horst Seehofer reanimiert die Killerspieldebatte|last1=Hurtz|first1=Simon|date=2019-10-13|work=Die Zeit|access-date=2020-01-21|last2=dpa|language=de-DE|issn=0044-2070}}</ref> His comments received widespread criticism from German gamers and politicians, such as [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]] general secretary [[Lars Klingbeil]], who stated that "The problem is right-wing extremism, not gamers or anything else."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/seehofer-und-die-gamerszene-die-neunziger-wollen-ihre-killerspiel-debatte-zurueck/25112874.html|title=Die Neunziger wollen ihre Killerspiel-Debatte zurück|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online|date=October 14, 2019|language=de|access-date=2020-01-21}}</ref> ===2020s=== ====School shooting in Torreon, Mexico (2020)==== Hours after a school shooting in [[Torreón]], Coahuila, Mexico, in January 2020, the governor of that state, [[Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís]], stated that the 11-year-old shooter was wearing a T-shirt with the legend ''[[Natural Selection (video game)|Natural Selection]]'' and could have been influenced by the game.<ref>[https://www.am.com.mx/noticias/Gobernador-de-Coahuila-culpa-a-los-videojuegos-por-el-tiroteo-de-Torreon-20200110-0013.html Gobernador de Coahuila culpa a los videojuegos por el tiroteo de Torreón] am.com.mx, Jan 10, 2020 [https://www.milenio.com/policia/natural-selection-juego-favorito-agresor-tiroteo-torreon Natural Selection, el videojuego que jugaba autor de tiroteo en Torreón] Milenio Digital, Jan 10, 2020</ref> The governor's comment sparked a debate about the link between violence and video games. Erik Salazar Flores of the College of Psychology of the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico]] (UNAM) stated that blaming video games for violence is an "easy way out" for authorities who wish to ignore the complexity of the problem.<ref>[https://www.palcoquintanarroense.com.mx/culpa-de-videojuegos-gobernador-de-torreon-declara-sobre-tiroteo-en-colegio/230980/ Aclara experto de la UNAM que videojuegos no provocan tiroteos] PalcoNoticias, Jan 11, 2020</ref> Dalila Valenzuela, a sociologist from [[Autonomous University of Baja California]] said that video games influence children's behavior but that the parents are most directly responsible.<ref>[https://www.elimparcial.com/tecnologia/Torreon-Videojuegos-violencia-Colegio-Cervantes-Masacre-escolar-Columbine-20200110-0119.html Los videojuegos no tienen la culpa; los padres sí: Especialista] By Amelia Obregón, El Imparcial (Mexico), Jan 10, 2020</ref> == Studies == Broadly, researchers have not found any connection between violent video games and violent behavior. The policy statement of the [[American Psychological Association]] (APA) related to video games states "Scant evidence has emerged that makes any causal or correlational connection between playing violent video games and actually committing violent activities."<ref name="NYTimes 20190805">{{cite web |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/sports/trump-violent-video-games-studies.html | title = Video Games Aren't Why Shootings Happen. Politicians Still Blame Them. | first= Kevin | last= Draper | date = August 5, 2019 | access-date = August 22, 2019 |work = [[The New York Times]] }}</ref> The APA has acknowledged that violent video games may lead to aggressive behavior, as well as anti-social behavior, but clarifies that not all aggressive behavior is necessarily violent. A 2015 APA review of current studies in this area led the APA to conclude that violent video games led to aggressive behavior, "manifested both as an increase in negative outcomes such as aggressive behavior, cognition, and affect and as a decrease in positive outcomes such as prosocial behavior, empathy, and sensitivity to aggression."<ref name="APA 2015 lit review"/> However, the APA recognized the studies tended to be disproportionate to normal demographics.<ref name="APA 2015 lit review">{{Cite web|url=https://www.apa.org/pi/families/review-video-games.pdf | title = Technical Report on the Review of The Violent Video Game Literature | date = 2015 | access-date=April 12, 2021 | publisher = [[American Psychological Association]] }}</ref> In a 2015 Resolution on Violent Video Games, the APA has vowed towards furthering research to better understand the connection between violent video games to aggression, and how aggressive activities may lead to violent actions, as well as to promote education towards politicians and media with their findings.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.apa.org/about/policy/violent-video-games | title = Resolution on Violent Video Games | date = August 2015 | access-date = August 22, 2019 | publisher = [[American Psychological Association]]}}</ref> Further, the APA issued a policy statement in 2017 aimed at politicians and media to urge them to avoid linking violent video games with violent crimes, reiterating the subject of their findings over the years.<ref>{{cite magazine | url = https://div46amplifier.com/2017/06/12/news-media-public-education-and-public-policy-committee/ | title = News Media, Public Education and Public Policy CommitteeNews Media, Public Education and Public Policy Committee | authors = Chris Ferguson, Dana Klisinan, Jerri Lynn Hogg, June Wilson, Patrick Markey, Andy Przybylski, Malte Elson, Jimmy Ivory, Deborah Linebarger, Mary Gregerson, Frank Farley, & Shahbaz Siddiqui | magazine = The Amplifier Magazine | publisher =[[American Psychological Association]] | date = June 12, 2017 | access-date = August 22, 2019 }}</ref> In a follow-up statement in 2020, the APA reaffirmed that there remains insufficient evidence to link video games to violent behavior. They had found that there was "small, reliable association between violent video game use and aggressive outcomes, such as yelling and pushing", but could not extend that to more violent activities.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/03/violent-video-games-behavior | title = APA Reaffirms Position on Violent Video Games and Violent Behavior | date = March 3, 2020 | access-date = March 4, 2020 | publisher = [[American Psychological Association]] }}</ref> [[Christopher Ferguson (psychologist)|Christopher Ferguson]], a professor at [[Stetson University]] and a member of the APA, has researched the connection between violent video games and violent behavior for years. Through [[Longitudinal study|longitudinal studies]], he has concluded that "[t]here’s not evidence of a correlation, let alone a causation" between video games and violence.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/08/video-game-violence-became-partisan-issue/595456/ | title = Video-Game Violence Is Now a Partisan Issue | first= Ian | last= Bogost | date = August 5, 2019 | access-date = August 22, 2019 | work = [[The Atlantic]] }}</ref> Ferguson's more recent studies have shown that there is no predictive behavior that can be inferred from the playing of violent video games.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Aggressive Video Games are Not a Risk Factor for Future Aggression in Youth: A Longitudinal Study. | first1 = Christopher | last1 = Ferguson | author-link1 = Christopher Ferguson (psychologist) | first2 = JCK | last2 =Wang | date = August 2019 | journal = [[Journal of Youth and Adolescence]] | volume = 48 | issue= 8 | pages = 1439–1451 | doi = 10.1007/s10964-019-01069-0 | pmid = 31273603 | s2cid = 195807704 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title = A longitudinal analysis of shooter games and their relationship with conduct disorder and cself-reported delinquency. | first1 = S | last1 = Smith | first2 = C | last2 = Ferguson | author-link2 = Christopher Ferguson (psychologist) | first3 = K | last3 = Beaver | journal = [[International Journal of Law and Psychiatry]] | date = May 2018 | volume = 58 | pages = 48–53 | doi = 10.1016/j.ijlp.2018.02.008 | pmid = 29853012 }}</ref> ==Negative effects of video games== Theories of negative effects of video games tend to focus on players' modeling of behaviors observed in the game. These effects may be exacerbated due to the interactive nature of these games. The most well-known theory of such effects is the General Aggression Model (GAM), which proposes that playing violent video games may create cognitive scripts of aggression which will be activated in incidents in which individuals think others are acting with hostility.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=DeWall, Anderson & Bushman|year=2011|title=The General Aggression Model: Theoretical Extensions to Violence|url=https://public.psych.iastate.edu/caa/abstracts/2010-2014/11DAB.pdf|journal=Psychology of Violence|volume=1|issue=3|pages=245–258|doi=10.1037/a0023842|access-date=2017-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812083034/http://public.psych.iastate.edu/caa/abstracts/2010-2014/11DAB.pdf|archive-date=2017-08-12|url-status=dead}}</ref> Playing violent video games, thus, becomes an opportunity to rehearse acts of aggression, which then become more common in real life. The ''general aggression model'' suggests the simulated violence of video games may influence a player's thoughts, feelings and physical arousal, affecting individuals' interpretation of others' behavior and increasing their own aggressive behavior.<ref>Kooijmans T. [http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/kooijmans.html "Effects of video games on aggressive thoughts and behaviors during development."]''[[Rochester Institute of Technology]]'' December 2004.</ref> Some scholars have criticized the general aggression model, arguing that the model wrongly assumes that aggression is primarily learned and that the brain does not distinguish reality from fiction.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ferguson & Dyck|year=2012|title=Paradigm change in aggression research: The time has come to retire the General Aggression Model|url=http://christopherjferguson.com/Paradigm%20Change.pdf|journal=Aggression and Violent Behavior|volume=17|issue=3|pages=220–228|doi=10.1016/j.avb.2012.02.007}}</ref> Some recent studies have explicitly claimed to find evidence against the GAM.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ballard|first1=Mary|last2=Visser|first2=Kara|last3=Jocoy|first3=Kathleen|s2cid=144482524|date=2012-11-19|title=Social Context and Video Game Play: Impact on Cardiovascular and Affective Responses|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271207163|journal=Mass Communication and Society|volume=15|issue=6|pages=875–898|doi=10.1080/15205436.2011.632106|issn=1532-7825}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sauer|first1=James D.|last2=Drummond|first2=Aaron|last3=Nova|first3=Natalie|s2cid=40548080|date=2015-09-01|title=Violent video games: The effects of narrative context and reward structure on in-game and postgame aggression|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied|volume=21|issue=3|pages=205–214|doi=10.1037/xap0000050|issn=1939-2192|pmid=26121373|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/dc422cd67b37b86f06795a36c2930f82b64513d9}}</ref><ref name="McCarthy 13–19">{{Cite journal|last1=McCarthy|first1=Randy J.|last2=Coley|first2=Sarah L.|last3=Wagner|first3=Michael F.|last4=Zengel|first4=Bettina|last5=Basham|first5=Ariel|date=2016-11-01|title=Does playing video games with violent content temporarily increase aggressive inclinations? A pre-registered experimental study|journal=Journal of Experimental Social Psychology|series=Special Issue: Confirmatory|volume=67|pages=13–19|doi=10.1016/j.jesp.2015.10.009}}</ref> Parents can protect their children from violence used in video games by limiting game usage and privileges. Some biological theories of aggression have specifically excluded video game and other media effects because the evidence for such effects is considered weak and the impact too distant. For example, the ''catalyst model'' of aggression comes from a [[diathesis–stress model|diathesis-stress]] perspective, implying that aggression is due to a combination of genetic risk and environmental strain. The ''catalyst model'' suggests that stress, coupled with antisocial personality are salient factors leading to aggression. It does allow that proximal influences such as family or peers may alter aggressiveness but not media and games.<ref>Ferguson C. et al. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110928204414/http://www.tamiu.edu/~cferguson/CJBGames.pdf "Violent video games and aggression: Causal relationship or byproduct of family violence and intrinsic violence motivation?"] Criminal Justice and Behavior 2008 35 p311–332.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ferguson | first1 = C. | last2 = Beaver | first2 = K. | year = 2009 | title = Natural born killers: the genetic origins of extreme violence, aggression and violent behavior | journal = Aggression and Violent Behavior| volume = 14 | issue = 5| pages = 286–294 | doi = 10.1016/j.avb.2009.03.005 }}</ref> ===Research methods=== Research has focused on two elements of the effects of video games on players: the player's health measures and educational achievements as a function of game play amounts; the players' behavior or perceptions as a function of the game's violence levels;<ref>Schulzke M. [http://gamestudies.org/0902/articles/schulzke "Moral decision making in fallout."] Game Studies 2009 9(2). Accessed 29 November 2013.</ref> the context of the game play in terms of group dynamics; the game's structure which affects players' visual attention or three dimensional constructional skills; and the mechanics of the game which affects [[hand–eye coordination]].<ref>Gentile D. et al. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2678173/ "The effects of prosocial video games on prosocial behaviors: international evidence from correlational, longitudinal and experimental studies."] National Institute of Health. Accessed 24 April 2013.</ref> Two other research methods that have been used are experimental (in a laboratory), where the different environmental factors can be controlled, and non-experimental, where those who participate in studies simply log their video gaming hours.<ref name="Anderson (2001)" /> ===Scientific debate=== A common theory is that playing violent video games increases aggression in young people. Various studies claim to support this hypothesis.<ref name="Anderson (2001)"/><ref>Studies supporting the hypothesis that playing violent video games increases aggression in young people: *{{Cite journal|title=Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|last1=Anderson|first1=Craig A.|first2=Dill|last2=Karen E.|s2cid=9606759|date=April 2000|volume=78|issue=4|pages=772–790|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.78.4.772|pmid=10794380|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/46f00a1f1d09b26ef4f640e593922708ebdb28c4}} *Funk H. et al. "Aggression and psychopathology in adolescents with a preference for violent electronic games." Aggressive Behavior 2002 28(2) p134–144. {{DOI|10.1002/ab.90015}} *Gentile D. A. (ed.) and Anderson C. A. "Media violence and children. Violent video games: the newest media violence hazard." Praeger publishing, Westport, CT. *Unnamed study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006 160(4) p348–352. {{DOI|10.1001/archpedi.160.4.348}} *[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/108/5/1222.full.html "Media violence."] Committee on Public Education, AAP publications website. Accessed 1 August 2013. *[http://yvpc.sph.umich.edu/2011/08/24/video-games-influence-violent-behavior/ "Do video games influence violent behavior?"] Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center 24 August 2011. Accessed 1 August 2013. *{{cite web|url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?sortby=pubdate&hl=en&user=4NylLU4AAAAJ&pagesize=100&view_op=list_works|title=Craig A. Anderson - Google Scholar Citations|access-date=17 February 2015}} *BD Bartholow, et al. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7557317_Correlates_and_consequences_of_exposure_to_video_game_violence_hostile_personality_empathy_and_aggressive_behavior/file/9fcfd512398b1b9414.pdf Correlates and Consequences of Exposure to Video Game Violence: Hostile Personality, Empathy, and Aggressive Behavior] *Elly A. Konijin, et al. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6231181_I_wish_I_were_a_warrior_the_role_of_wishful_identification_in_the_effects_of_violent_video_games_on_aggression_in_adolescent_boys/file/79e4150770c66480dd.pdf I wish I were a warrior: The role of wishful identification in the effects of violent video games on aggression in adolescent boys.] *Anderson C. and Bushman B. [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bbushman/01ba.pdf "Media violence and the American public: scientific facts versus media misinformation."] American Psychology June 2001 56(6) p477–489. Accessed 7 March 2014. </ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rothmund|first1=Tobias|last2=Bender|first2=Jens|last3=Nauroth|first3=Peter|last4=Gollwitzer|first4=Mario|date=2015|title=Public concerns about violent video games are moral concerns—How moral threat can make pacifists susceptible to scientific and political claims against violent video games|journal=European Journal of Social Psychology|language=en|volume=45|issue=6|pages=769–783|doi=10.1002/ejsp.2125|issn=1099-0992}}</ref> Other studies find no link.<ref>Studies that didn't find a link between the two: *Kutner L. and Olson C. "Grand theft childhood: the surprising truth about violent video games." 2008. {{ISBN|0-7432-9951-5}} *Hillis S. [http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN0725760620080512?sp=true "Video games don't create killers, new book says."] Reuters 9 May 2008. Accessed 12 July 2011. *Bensley L. and Van Eenwyk J. "Video games and real life aggression." Journal of Adolescent Health 2001 29. *Griffiths M. "Video games and health." BMJ 2005 331. *{{cite journal | last1 = Sherry | first1 = J. | s2cid = 6322160 | year = 2001 | title = The effects of violent video games on aggression: a meta-analysis | url = https://semanticscholar.org/paper/d19c7d0882ae9845f34a84dd4e4dbd1d4cf0b00c| journal = Human Communication Research | volume = 27 | issue = 3| pages = 409–4319 | doi=10.1093/hcr/27.3.409}} *{{cite journal | last1 = Ferguson | first1 = C. | last2 = Kilburn | first2 = J. | year = 2009 | title = The Public health risks of media violence: a meta-analytic review | journal = Journal of Pediatrics | volume = 154 | issue = 5| pages = 759–763 | doi=10.1016/j.jpeds.2008.11.033 | pmid=19230901}} *Ferguson C. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111220212209/http://www.tamiu.edu/~cferguson/Video%20Games%201%20Year.pdf "Video games and youth violence: a prospective analysis in adolescents."] Journal of Youth and Adolescence. *Williams I. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080303032209/http://www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2184836/link-video-games-violent-teens "US teen violence study exonerates video games."] IT Week. 6 March 2007. Accessed 10 December 2007. *{{cite journal|author1=Elson, Malte|author2=Breuer, Johannes|author3=Van Looy, Jan|author4=Kneer, Julia|author5=Quandt, Thorsten|title=Comparing apples and oranges? Evidence for pace of action as a confound in research on digital games and aggression|journal=Psychology of Popular Media Culture|volume=4|issue=2|year=2015|pages=112–125|doi=10.1037/ppm0000010|url=https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/63779}} *{{Cite journal|title=The Effect of Violent Videogame Playtime on Anger|journal=Australian Psychologist|volume=47|issue=2|pages=98–107|doi=10.1111/j.1742-9544.2010.00008.x|year=2012|last1=Devilly|first1=Grant James|last2=Callahan|first2=Patch|last3=Armitage|first3=Grenville|s2cid=143265170}}</ref><ref name="plosone.org">{{cite journal|volume=8|issue=7|pages=e68382|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0068382|pmid=23844191|pmc=3700923|year = 2013|last1 = Tear|first1 = Morgan J.|title=Failure to Demonstrate That Playing Violent Video Games Diminishes Prosocial Behavior|journal=PLOS ONE|last2=Nielsen|first2=Mark|bibcode=2013PLoSO...868382T|doi-access=free}}</ref> Debate among scholars on both sides remains contentious, and there is argument about whether consensus exists regarding the effects of violent video games on aggression.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2014-41977-001|title=There is broad consensus: Media researchers agree that violent media increase aggression in children, and pediatricians and parents concur.|last1=Bushman|first=Brad|year=2014|last2=Gollwitzer|first2=Mario|last3=Cruz|first3=Carlos|journal=Psychology of Popular Media Culture}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2014/oct/10/violent-video-games-research-consensus-or-confusion|title=Violent video games research: consensus or confusion?|last1=Etchells|first1=Pete|date=2014-10-10|last2=Chambers|first2=Chris|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|access-date=2017-01-03}}</ref> ====Primary studies==== In 1998, Steven Kirsh reported in the journal ''[[Childhood (journal)|Childhood]]'' that the use of video games may lead to acquisition of a ''[[hostile attribution bias]]''. Fifty-five subjects were randomized to play either violent or non-violent video games. Subjects were later asked to read stories in which the characters' behaviour was ambiguous. Participants randomized to play violent video games were more likely to provide negative interpretations of the stories.<ref name="third">{{cite journal|last=Kirsh|first=Steven|s2cid=143735522|title=Seeing the world through Mortal Kombat-colored glasses: Violent video games and the development of a short-term Hostile Attribution Bias|journal=Childhood|year=1998|volume=5|issue=2|pages=177–184|doi=10.1177/0907568298005002005|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/b72dd6b0303198f1a7bc1a2a50de56263fdd28f6}}</ref> Another study done by Anderson and Dill in 2000 found a correlation in undergraduate students between playing violent video games and violent crime, with the correlation stronger in aggressive male players,<ref name="Anderson (2000)">{{Cite journal|title=Video games and aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in life.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|last1=Anderson|first1=Craig A.|first2=Dill|last2=Karen E.|s2cid=9606759|date=April 2000|volume=78|issue=4|pages=772–790|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.78.4.772|pmid=10794380|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/46f00a1f1d09b26ef4f640e593922708ebdb28c4}}</ref> although other scholars have suggested that results from this study were not consistent, and that the methodology was flawed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ferguson|s2cid=7145392|display-authors=etal|year=2008|title=VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AND AGGRESSION Causal Relationship or Byproduct of Family Violence and Intrinsic Violence Motivation?|url=http://christopherjferguson.com/CJBGames.pdf|journal=Criminal Justice and Behavior|volume=35|issue=3|pages=311–332|doi=10.1177/0093854807311719|citeseerx=10.1.1.494.950}}</ref> In 2001, [[David Satcher]], the [[Surgeon General of the United States]], said "We clearly associate media violence to aggressive behavior. But the impact was very small compared to other things. Some may not be happy with that, but that's where the science is."<ref>Wright B. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080219020823/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/fun.games/12/19/games.ratings/ "Sounding the alarm on video game ratings."] CNN website 18 February 2004. Accessed 10 December 2004.</ref> A 2002 US [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] study of 41 individuals who had been involved in school shootings found that twelve percent were attracted to violent video games, twenty-four percent read violent books and twenty-seven percent were attracted to violent films.<ref>Vosekuill B. [http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf "Safe school initiative final report."] U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education May 2002 p26.</ref> Some scholars have indicated that these numbers are unusually low compared to violent media consumption among non-criminal youth.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ferguson|first=Christopher J.|s2cid=62812428|date=2008-01-01|title=The school shooting/violent video game link: causal relationship or moral panic?|journal=Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling|language=en|volume=5|issue=1–2|pages=25–37|doi=10.1002/jip.76|issn=1544-4767|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/1b2b60bbe54cc345d2d7036c295d5b712a3a0170}}</ref> In 2003, a study was conducted at Iowa State University assessing pre-existing attitudes and violence in children.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Funk|first1=J.B.|last2=Buchman|first2=D.D.|last3=Jenks|first3=J.|last4=Bechtoldt|first4=H.|title=Playing violent video games, desensitization, and moral evaluation in children|journal=Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology|date=2003|volume=24|issue=4|pages=413–416|doi=10.1016/S0193-3973(03)00073-X}}</ref> The study concerned children between ages 5 and 12 that were assessed for the typical amount of time they played video games per week and pre-existing empathy and attitudes towards violence. The children played a violent or non-violent video game for approximately 15 minutes. Afterwards, their pulse rates were recorded, and the children were asked how frustrating the games were on a 1-10 scale. Last, the children are given drawings ([[Vignette (model)|vignettes]]) of everyday situations, some more likely to have aggressive actions following the depiction, while others an empathetic action. Results show that there were no significant effects of video game playing in the short term, with violent video games and non-violent video games having no significant differences, indicating that children do not have decreased empathy from playing violent video games. Conversely, children who play more violent video games over a long period of time were associated with lower pre-existing empathy, and also lower scores on the empathy inducing vignettes, indicating long-term effects. It is possible that video games had not primed children for the particular aggression scenarios. This data could indicate desensitization in children can occur after long-term exposure, but not all children were affected in the same way, so the researchers deduced that some children may be at a higher risk of these negative effects. It is possible that fifteen minutes is not quite long enough to produce short-term cognitive effects. In 2003, Jeanne B. Funk and her colleagues at the Department of Psychology at the [[University of Toledo]] examined the relationship between exposure to violence through media and real-life, and [[desensitization (psychology)|desensitization]] (reflected by loss of empathy and changes in attitudes toward violence) in fourth and fifth grade pupils. Funk found that exposure to video game violence was associated with lowered empathy and stronger proviolence attitudes.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Funk J. B.|journal=Journal of Adolescence|volume=27|issue=27|pages=23–39|url=http://wpmedia.blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2010/06/study_2.pdf|title=Violence exposure in real-life, video games, television, movies, and the internet: Is there desensitization?|year=2004|access-date=23 April 2015|display-authors=etal|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140327041826/http://wpmedia.blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2010/06/study_2.pdf|archive-date=27 March 2014|doi=10.1016/j.adolescence.2003.10.005|pmid=15013258}}</ref> Another study from 2003, by John Colwell at the University of Westminster, found that violent video game playing was associated with reduced aggression among Japanese youth.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Colwell|first1=John|last2=Kato|first2=Makiko|s2cid=144813700|date=2003-08-01|title=Investigation of the relationship between social isolation, self-esteem, aggression and computer game play in Japanese adolescents|journal=Asian Journal of Social Psychology|language=en|volume=6|issue=2|pages=149–158|doi=10.1111/1467-839X.t01-1-00017|issn=1467-839X|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/e40c9784e0c835afbfc5067e983de754736b70f0}}</ref> The [[American Psychological Association]] (APA) released an official statement in 2005, which said that exposure to violent media increases feelings of hostility, thoughts about aggression, suspicions about the motives of others, and demonstrates violence as a method to deal with potential conflict situations, that comprehensive analysis of violent interactive video game research suggests such exposure increases aggressive behavior, thoughts, angry feelings, physiological arousal, and decreases helpful behavior, and that studies suggest that sexualized violence in the media has been linked to increases in violence towards women, rape myth acceptance and anti-women attitudes. It also states that the APA advocates reduction of all violence in videogames and interactive media marketed to children and youth, that research should be made regarding the role of social learning, sexism, negative depiction of minorities, and gender on the effects of violence in video games and interactive media on children, adolescents, and young adults, and that it engages those responsible for developing violent video games and interactive media in addressing the issue that playing violent video games may increase aggressive thoughts and aggressive behaviors in children, youth, and young adults, and that these effects may be greater than the well documented effects of exposure to violent television and movies. They also recommend to the entertainment industry that the depiction of the consequences of violent behavior be associated with negative social consequences and that they support a rating system which accurately reflects the content of video games and interactive media. The statement was updated in 2015 (see below.) Some scholars suggested that the APA's policy statement ignored discrepant research and misrepresented the scientific literature.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://onmediatheory.blogspot.com/2014/01/four-respond-to-228-responding-to-apa.html#!/2014/01/four-respond-to-228-responding-to-apa.html|title=On Media Theory...: UPDATE: Four Respond to 228, Responding to the APA: Dissent Within the Academy Regarding Media Violence (#ECA14 Panel)|publisher=Onmediatheory.blogspot.com|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Violent video games and the Supreme Court: Lessons for the scientific community in the wake of Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association|author= Ferguson, Christopher J.|journal=American Psychologist|volume=68|issue=2|year= 2013|pages=57–74|doi=10.1037/a0030597|pmid=23421606}}</ref> In 2013 a group of over 230 media scholars wrote an open letter to the APA asking them to revisit and greatly amend their policy statement on video game violence, due to considering the evidence to be mixed. Signatories to the 2013 letter included psychologists [[Jeffrey Arnett]], [[Randy Borum]], [[David Buss]], [[David Canter]], [[Lorenza Colzato]], [[M. Brent Donnellan]], [[Dorothy Espelage]], [[Frank Farley]], [[Christopher Ferguson (psychologist)|Christopher Ferguson]], [[Peter Gray (psychologist)|Peter Gray]], [[Mark D. Griffiths]], [[Jessica Hammer]], [[Mizuko Ito]], [[James C. Kaufman]], [[Dana Klisanin]], [[Catherine McBride-Chang]], [[Jean Mercer]], [[Hal Pashler]], [[Steven Pinker]], [[Richard M. Ryan]], [[Todd K. Shackelford]], [[Daniel Simons]], [[Ian Spence (psychologist)|Ian Spence]], and [[Dean Simonton]], criminologists [[Kevin Beaver]], [[James Alan Fox]], [[Roger J.R. Levesque]], and [[Mike A. Males]], game design researchers [[Bob De Schutter]] and [[Kurt Squire]], communications scholar [[Thorsten Quandt]], and science writer [[Richard Rhodes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/223284732/Scholar-s-Open-Letter-to-the-APA-Task-Force-On-Violent-Media-Opposing-APA-Policy-Statements-on-Violent-Media|title=Scholar's Open Letter to the APA Task Force On Violent Media Opposing APA Policy Statements on Violent Media|publisher=Scribd.com|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="chronicle.com">{{cite web|url=http://chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2013/10/16/a-hornets-nest-over-violent-video-games/|title=A Hornet's Nest Over Violent Video Games – The Conversation - Blogs - The Chronicle of Higher Education|publisher=Chronicle.com|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> In 2005, a study by Bruce D. Bartholow and colleagues at the [[University of Missouri]], [[University of Michigan]], [[Vrije Universiteit]], and [[University of North Carolina]] using [[event related potential]] linked video game violence exposure to brain processes hypothetically reflecting desensitization. The authors suggested that chronic exposure to violent video games have lasting harmful effects on brain function and behavior.<ref>B.D. Bartholow, et al. [http://videogames.procon.org/sourcefiles/Desensitization.pdf Chronic violent video game exposure and desensitization to violence: Behavioral and event-related brain potential data]</ref> In 2005, a study at [[Iowa State University]], the [[University of Michigan]], and [[Vrije Universiteit]] by Nicholas L. Carnagey and colleagues found that participants who had previously played a violent video game had lower [[heart rate]] and [[galvanic skin response]] while viewing filmed real violence, demonstrating a physiological desensitization to violence.<ref>Nicholas L. Carnagey, et al. [http://lol.medieraadet.dk/upload/mulige_aasager_social_hensynsloeshed.pdf The effect of video game violence on physiological desensitization to real-life violence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516081043/http://lol.medieraadet.dk/upload/mulige_aasager_social_hensynsloeshed.pdf |date=2013-05-16 }}</ref> In 2007, a study at the [[Swinburne University of Technology]] found that children had variable reactions to violent games, with some kids becoming more aggressive, some becoming less aggressive, but the majority showing no changes in behavior.<ref>[http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/04/study_kids_unaf.html "Kids unaffected by violent games."] Wired, 2 April 2007.</ref> In 2008, a longitudinal study conducted in Japan assessed possible long-term effects of video game playing in children.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Shibuya|first1=A.|last2=Sakamoto|first2=A.|last3=Ihori|first3=N.|last4=Yukawa|first4=S.|s2cid=145062731|title=The effects of the presence and contexts of video game violence in children: A longitudinal study in Japan|journal=Simulation & Gaming|date=2008|volume=39|issue=4|pages=528–539|doi=10.1177/1046878107306670}}</ref> The final analysis consisted of 591 fifth graders aged 10–11 across eight public elementary schools, and was conducted over the course of a year. Initially, children were asked to complete a survey which assessed presence or absence of violence in the children's favorite video games, as well as video game context variables that may affect the results and the aggression levels of the children. Children were assessed again for these variables a year later. Results reveal that there is a significant difference in gender, with boys showing significantly more aggressive behavior and anger than girls, which was attributed by the authors to boys elevated interest in violent video games. However the interaction between time spent gaming and preference for violent games was associated with reduced aggression in boys but not girls. The researchers also found that eight context variables they assessed increased aggression, including unjustified violence, availability of weapons, and rewards. Three context variables, role-playing, extent of violence, and humor, were associated with decreased aggression. It is unknown if the observed changes from the two surveys are actually contextual effects. The researchers found that the context and quality of the violence in video games affects children more than simply presence and amount of violence, and these effects are different from child to child. In 2008 the [[Pew Internet and American Life Project]] statistically examined the impact of video gaming on youths' social and communal behaviors. Teens who had communal gaming experiences reported much higher levels of civic and political engagement than teens who had not had these kinds of experiences. Youth who took part in social interaction related to the game, such as commenting on websites or contributing to discussion boards, were more engaged communally and politically. Among teens who play games, 63% reported seeing or hearing "people being mean and overly aggressive while playing," 49% reported seeing or hearing "people being hateful, racist or sexist while playing", and 78% reported witnessing "people being generous or helpful while playing".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewinternet.org/2008/09/16/teens-video-games-and-civics/|title=Teens, Video Games and Civics|date=16 September 2008|work=Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519093724/https://tamiu.edu/newsinfo/newsarticles/documents/video_game_study.pdf|archive-date=2014-05-19|url=https://tamiu.edu/newsinfo/newsarticles/documents/video_game_study.pdf|title=Call of (civic) duty: Action games and civic behavior in a large sample of youth|journal=Computers in Human Behavior|volume=27|issue=2|date=March 2011|pages=770–775|doi=10.1016/j.chb.2010.10.026|author1=Christopher J. Ferguson|author2=Adolfo Garza}}</ref> In 2009, a report of three studies conducted among students of different age groups in Singapore, Japan, and the United States, found that prosocial mostly nonviolent games increased helpful prosocial behaviour among the participants.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Douglas A. Gentile|display-authors=etal|title=The Effects of Prosocial Video Games on Prosocial Behaviors: International Evidence From Correlational, Longitudinal, and Experimental Studies|pmc=2678173|doi=10.1177/0146167209333045|pmid=19321812|volume=35|issue=6|journal=Pers Soc Psychol Bull|pages=752–63|year=2009}}</ref> In 2010, Patrick and Charlotte Markey suggested that violent video games only caused aggressive feelings in individuals who had a preexisting disposition, such as high neuroticism, low agreeableness, or low conscientiousness.<ref>[http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/gpr-14-2-82.pdf "Video Game Violence Use Among "Vulnerability to violent video games: A review and integration of personality research."]</ref> In 2010, after a review of the effects of violent video games, the [[Attorney general#Australia|Attorney General's]] Office of Australia reported that even though the Anderson meta-analysis of 2010 was the pinnacle of the scientific debate at that time, significant harm from violent video games had not been persuasively proven or disproven, except that there was some consensus that they might be harmful to people with aggressive or psychotic personality traits.<ref name="Australia (2010)">[http://www.apa.org/divisions/div46/Australian%20Govt_2010_Literature%20review%20on%20the%20impact%20of%20playing%20violent%20video%20games%20on%20aggression.pdf "Literature review on the impact of playing violent video games on aggression"] Australian government 2010.</ref> The attorney general considered a number of issues including: * Social and political controversy about the topic. * Lack of consensus about definitions and measures of aggression and violent video games (for example, whether a cartoon game has the same impact as a realistic one). * Levels of aggression may or may not be an accurate marker for the likelihood of violent behaviour. * The playing of violent video games may not be an [[independent variable]] in determining violent acts (for example, violent behaviour after playing violent video games may be age dependant, or players of violent video games may watch other violent media). * Studies may not have been long or large enough to provide clear conclusions.<ref name="Australia (2010)"/> In 2010, researchers Paul Adachi and [[Teena Willoughby]] at [[Brock University]] critiqued experimental video game studies on both sides of the debate, noting that experimental studies often confounded violent content with other variables such as competitiveness.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Adachi|first1=Paul J. C.|last2=Willoughby|first2=Teena|date=2011-01-01|title=The effect of violent video games on aggression: Is it more than just the violence?|journal=Aggression and Violent Behavior|volume=16|issue=1|pages=55–62|doi=10.1016/j.avb.2010.12.002}}</ref> In a follow up study, the authors found that competitiveness but not violent content was associated with aggression.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Adachi & Willoughby|year=2013|title=The Effect of Video Game Competition and Violence on Aggressive Behavior: Which Characteristic Has the Greatest Influence?|url=https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/vio-1-4-259.pdf|journal=Psychology of Violence}}</ref> In 2011, a thirty-year study of 14,000 college students, published by the [[University of Michigan]] which measured overall empathy levels in students, found that these had dropped by 40% since the 1980s. The biggest drop came after the year 2000, which the authors speculated was due to multiple factors, including increased societal emphasis on selfishness, changes in parenting practices, increased isolation due to time spent with information technology, and greater immersion in all forms of violent and/or narcissistic media including, but not limited to, news, television and video games. The authors did not provide data on media effects, but referenced various research of the topics.<ref>Sarah H. Konrath. Edward H. O'Brien. Courtney Hsing. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/45508353_Changes_in_dispositional_empathy_in_American_college_students_over_time_a_meta-analysis/file/60b7d51a576ebb8b20.pdf "Changes in Dispositional Empathy in American College Students Over Time: A Meta-Analysis"] Personality and Social Psychology Review</ref> In 2011, in a [[longitudinal study]] of youth in Germany, von Salisch found that aggressive children tend to select more violent video games. This study found no evidence that violent games caused aggression in minors. The author speculated that other studies may have been affected by "single responder bias" due to self-reporting of aggression rather than reporting by parents or teachers.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Von Salisch | first1 = M.| s2cid = 145764509| year = 2011 | title = Preference for violent electronic games and aggressive behavior among children: the beginning of the downward spiral? | url = https://semanticscholar.org/paper/23db6f937a48150aee3a45749c830404d0d93317| journal = Media Psychology | volume = 14 | issue = 3| pages = 233–258 | doi = 10.1080/15213269.2011.596468 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> In 2012 a Swedish study examined the cooperative behavior of players in ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]''. The authors argued that attempts to link collaborative or aggressive behavior within the game to real life behavior would rely on unwarranted assumptions regarding equivalencies of forms of cooperation and the material conditions of the environment in-game and out-of-game.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1007/s11412-011-9136-6 | title=How gamers manage aggression: Situating skills in collaborative computer games | journal=International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning | date=2011 | volume=7 | issue=1 | pages=43–61 | first1=Ulrika | last1=Bennerstedt |first2=Jonas |last2=Ivarsson |first3=Jonas |last3=Linderoth| s2cid=1595007 }}</ref> One study from Morgan Tear and Mark Nielsen in 2013 concluded that violent video games did not reduce or increase prosocial behavior, failing to replicated previous studies in this area.<ref name="plosone.org" /> In 2013, Isabela Granic and colleagues at [[Radboud University Nijmegen]], the Netherlands, argued that even violent video games may promote learning, health, and social skills, but that not enough games had been developed to treat mental health problems. Granic et al. noted that both camps have valid points, and a more balanced perspective and complex picture is necessary.<ref>Granic G. et al. [http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-a0034857.pdf "The Benefits of Playing Video Games"] APA 2013.</ref> In 2014, Ferguson and Olson found no correlation between video game violence and bullying or delinquency in children with preexisting [[attention deficit disorder]] or depressive symptoms.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Video Game Violence Use Among "Vulnerable" Populations: The Impact of Violent Games on Delinquency and Bullying Among Children with Clinically Elevated Depression or Attention Deficit Symptoms|doi=10.1007/s10964-013-9986-5|pmid=23975351|volume=43|issue=1|journal=Journal of Youth and Adolescence|pages=127–136|year=2013|last1=Ferguson|first1=Christopher J.|last2=Olson|first2=Cheryl K.|s2cid=207207723}}</ref> In 2014, Villanova professor Patrick M. Markey conducted a study with 118 teenagers suggesting that video games have no influence on increased aggression of users; however, he did find that when used for the right amount of time (roughly 1 hour) video games can make children nicer and more socially interactive. This information was provided by the teens teachers at their local schools.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Villanova Professor: Violent video games don't cause real life violence in most cases|url = http://www.timesherald.com/lifestyle/20140930/villanova-professor-violent-video-games-dont-cause-real-life-violence-in-most-cases|website = www.timesherald.com|date = September 30, 2014|access-date = 2015-10-20}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2017}} A 2014 study by Andrew Przybylski at Oxford University examined the impact of violent content and frustration on hostility among video game players. In a series of experiments, Przybylski and colleagues demonstrated that frustration, but not violent content, increased player hostility. The authors also demonstrated that some previous "classic" violent video game experiments were difficult to replicate.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1037/a0034820 | pmid=24377357 | title=Competence-impeding electronic games and players' aggressive feelings, thoughts, and behaviors | journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology | date=2014 | volume=106 | issue=3 | pages=441–457 | first=Andrew | last=Przybylski| s2cid=5651868 | url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/6acdd986c2a8669b7e27a1d5f530cf0df5278ec9 }}</ref> One longitudinal study from 2014 suggested that violent video games were associated with very small increases in risk taking behavior over time.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hull|first1=Jay G.|last2=Brunelle|first2=Timothy J.|last3=Prescott|first3=Anna T.|last4=Sargent|first4=James D.|date=2014-08-01|title=A longitudinal study of risk-glorifying video games and behavioral deviance|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=107|issue=2|pages=300–325|doi=10.1037/a0036058|issn=1939-1315|pmc=4151190|pmid=25090130}}</ref> In 2015, the [[American Psychological Association]] released a review that found that violent video games caused aggressive behavior, with Mark Appelbaum, the chair of the task force that conducted the review, saying that "the link between violence in video games and increased aggression in players is one of the most studied and best established in the field." However, Appelbaum also characterized the size of the correlation as "not very big". The same review found insufficient evidence of a link between such video games and crime or delinquency. Critics, including Peter Gray and Christopher Ferguson, expressed concerns about methodological limitations of the review. Ferguson stated that "I think (the task force members) were selected because their opinions were pretty clear going in." At least four of the seven task force members had previously expressed opinions on the topic; critics argued this alone constitutes a conflict of interest, while a task force member defended that "If it were common practice to exclude all scientists after they render one conclusion, the field would be void of qualified experts".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2015/08/violent-video-games.aspx | title=APA Review Confirms Link Between Playing Violent Video Games and Aggression | work=American Psychological Association | date=13 August 2015 | access-date=16 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newsweek.com/apa-video-games-violence-364394|title=APA Says Video Games Make You Violent, but Critics Cry Bias|magazine=[[Newsweek]]|date=20 August 2015|access-date=19 December 2015}}</ref> A 2015 study examined the impact of violent video games on young adults players with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The study found no evidence for an impact of playing such games on aggression among ASD players. These results appeared to contradict concerns following the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, that individuals with ASD or other mental conditions might be particularly susceptible to violent video game effects.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1177/0956797615583038| pmid=26113064| title=Effects of violent-video-game exposure on aggressive behavior, aggressive-thought accessibility, and aggressive affect among adults with and without autism spectrum disorder| journal=Psychological Science| date=2015 | volume=26 | issue=8 | pages=1187–1200 | first=Christopher| last=Engelhardt| s2cid=17630510| url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/a9f9ffdbdfa1feb3ea4d7c2347203a434d62590c}}</ref> One study from 2016 suggested that "sexist" games (using games from the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series as exemplars) may reduce empathy toward women. Although no direct game effect was found, the authors argued that an interaction between game condition, masculine role norms, gender and avatar identification produced enough evidence to claim causal effects. Comments by other scholars on this study reflect some concerns over the methodology including a possible failure of the randomization to game conditions (see comments tab).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gabbiadini|first1=Alessandro|last2=Riva|first2=Paolo|last3=Andrighetto|first3=Luca|last4=Volpato|first4=Chiara|last5=Bushman|first5=Brad J.|date=2016-04-13|title=Acting like a Tough Guy: Violent-Sexist Video Games, Identification with Game Characters, Masculine Beliefs, & Empathy for Female Violence Victims|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=11|issue=4|pages=e0152121|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0152121|issn=1932-6203|pmc=4830454|pmid=27074057|bibcode=2016PLoSO..1152121G|doi-access=free}}</ref> In 2016, a preregistered study of violent video game effects concluded that violent video games did not influence aggression in players.<ref name="McCarthy 13–19"/> The preregistered nature of the study removed the potential for the scholars to "nudge" the results of the study in favor of the hypothesis and suggests that preregistration of future studies may help clarify results in the field. ====Meta-analyses==== Because the results of individual studies have often reached different conclusions, debate has often shifted to the use of [[meta-analysis]]. This method attempts to average across individual studies, determine whether there is some effect on average, and test possible explanations for differences between study results. A number of meta-analyses have been conducted, at times reaching different conclusions. A 2001 meta-analysis reviewing the relationship between video game violence and aggression in teenagers (n = 3,033) found a significant and positive correlation, indicating that high video game violence does lead to greater aggression among teenagers.<ref name="Anderson (2001)" /> Another meta-analysis conducted the same year by John Sherry was more skeptical of effects, specifically questioning whether the interactivity of video games made them have more effect than other media.<ref name="Sherry (2001)" /> Sherry later published another meta-analysis in 2007, again concluding that the influence of video game violence on aggression was minimal. Sherry also criticized the observed dose-response curve, reporting that smaller effects were found in experimental studies with longer exposure times, where one might expect greater exposure to cause greater effects.<ref>Sherry J. "Mass media effects research: advances through meta-analysis." 2007 p244. "[http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2006-12100-015 Violent Video Games and Aggression: Why Can't We Find Effects?]"</ref> In 2010, Anderson's group published a [[meta-analysis]] of one hundred and thirty international studies with over 130,000 participants. He reported that exposure to violent video games caused both short-term and long-term aggression in players and decreased empathy and pro-social behavior.<ref>Anderson C. et al. [https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=4NylLU4AAAAJ&pagesize=100&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=4NylLU4AAAAJ:9ZlFYXVOiuMC "Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in Eastern and Western countries."] Psychological Bulletin 2010 136 p151–173.</ref> However, other scholars criticized this meta-analysis for excluding non-significant studies and for other methodological flaws.<ref>Ferguson C. [https://web.archive.org/web/20111220212209/http://www.tamiu.edu/~cferguson/Video%20Games%201%20Year.pdf "Blazing angels or resident evil: can violent video games be a force for good?"] Review of General Psychology 14 p68–81.</ref><ref>Ferguson C. and Kilburn J. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120417141902/http://www.tamiu.edu/~cferguson/Much%20Ado.pdf "Much ado about nothing: the mis-estimation and overinterpretation of violent video game effects in eastern and western nations. A comment on Anderson et al. (2010)."] Psychological Bulletin 2010 136(2) p174–178.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/09/18/violence-video-games-a-weak-meaningless-correlation/|title=Violence & Video Games: A Weak, Meaningless Correlation|work=Psych Central.com|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> Anderson's group have defended their analysis, rejecting these critiques.<ref>Anderson C. et al. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/41654699_Much_ado_about_something_Violent_video_game_effects_and_a_school_of_red_herring_Reply_to_Ferguson_and_Kilburn_(2010)/file/d912f50a6744045e6f.pdf "Much ado about something: violent video game effects and a school of red herring. A reply to Ferguson and Kilburn (2010)."] Psychological Bulletin 2010 136 (2) p182–187</ref> [[Rowell Huesmann]], a psychology and social studies academic at the University of Michigan wrote an editorial supporting the Anderson meta-analysis.<ref>L. Rowell Huesmann: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2848956/ "Nailing the coffin shut on doubts that violent video games stimulate aggression"]</ref> A later re-analysis of the Anderson meta-analysis suggested that there was greater publication bias among experiments than Anderson and colleagues had accounted for. This indicated that the effects observed in laboratory experiments may have been smaller than estimated and perhaps not statistically significant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2017-26558-001|title = APA PsycNet}}</ref> A reply by Anderson and colleagues acknowledged that there was publication bias among experiments, but disagreed that the degree of bias was large enough to bring the effect into question.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2017-26558-002|title = APA PsycNet}}</ref> A 2015 meta-analysis of video game effects suggested that video games, including violent games, had minimal impact on children's behavior including violence, prosocial behavior and mental health.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/christopher-j-ferguson/do-angry-birds-make-for-angry-children_b_8276610.html|title=Do Angry Birds Make for Angry Children?|last1=Psychology|first1=Christopher J. Ferguson Associate Professor of|last2=University|first2=Stetson|date=2015-10-13|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=2017-01-03}}</ref> The journal included a debate section on this meta-analysis including scholars who were both supportive<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Markey|first=Patrick|s2cid=20511943|year=2015|title=Finding the Middle Ground in Violent Video Game Research: Lessons From Ferguson (2015)|url=http://interpersonalresearch.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/4/0/10405979/perspectives_on_psychological_science-2015-markey-667-70.pdf|journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science|volume=10|issue=5|pages=667–670|doi=10.1177/1745691615592236|pmid=26386003}}</ref> and critical<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Boxer|first1=P.|last2=Groves|first2=C. L.|last3=Docherty|first3=M.|s2cid=206778387|date=2015-09-19|title=Video Games Do Indeed Influence Children and Adolescents' Aggression, Prosocial Behavior, and Academic Performance: A Clearer Reading of Ferguson (2015)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282047776|journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science|volume=10|issue=5|pages=671–673|doi=10.1177/1745691615592239|pmid=26386004|issn=1745-6924}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rothstein|first1=H. R.|last2=Bushman|first2=B. J.|s2cid=206778373|date=2015-09-19|title=Methodological and Reporting Errors in Meta-Analytic Reviews Make Other Meta-Analysts Angry: A Commentary on Ferguson (2015)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282044430|journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science|volume=10|issue=5|pages=677–679|doi=10.1177/1745691615592235|pmid=26386006|issn=1745-6924}}</ref> of this meta-analysis. The original author also responded to these comments, arguing that few coherent methodological critiques had been raised.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ferguson|first=Christopher|s2cid=9788428|year=2015|title=Pay No Attention to That Data Behind the Curtain: On Angry Birds, Happy Children, Scholarly Squabbles, Publication Bias, and Why Betas Rule Metas|url=http://christopherjferguson.com/Angry%20Birds%20Curtain.pdf|journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science|volume=10|issue=5|pages=683–691|doi=10.1177/1745691615593353|pmid=26386008}}</ref> In 2016, Kanamori and Doi replicated the original ''Angry Birds'' meta-analysis and concluded that critiques of the original meta were largely unwarranted.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kanamori & Doi|s2cid=37271687|year=2016|title=Angry Birds, Angry Children, and Angry Meta-Analysts: A Reanalysis|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303436603|journal=Perspectives on Psychological Science|volume=11|issue=3|pages=408–14|doi=10.1177/1745691616635599|pmid=27217253}}</ref> In 2018, a meta-analysis of the relationship between violent video game play and physical aggression over time found that "violent video game play is positively associated with aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, and aggressive affect, as well as negatively associated with empathy for victims of violence and with prosocial behavior".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Prescott|first1=Anna T.|last2=Sargent|first2=James D.|last3=Hull|first3=Jay G.|date=October 2, 2018|title=Metaanalysis of the relationship between violent video game play and physical aggression over time|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume=115|issue=40|pages=9882–9888|doi=10.1073/pnas.1611617114|issn=1091-6490|pmc=6176643|pmid=30275306|doi-access=free}}</ref> A 2020 meta-analysis of long-term outcome studies concluded that evidence did not support links between earlier playing of violent games and later aggression. The authors found an overall correlation of {{math|''r'' {{=}} ''0.059''}}, and stated that better quality studies were less likely to find evidence for effects than poorer quality studies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Drummond |first1=Aaron |s2cid=220666659 |title=Do longitudinal studies support long-term relationships between aggressive game play and youth aggressive behaviour? A meta-analytic examination |journal=Royal Society Open Science |date=2020 |volume=7 |issue=7 |page=200373 |doi=10.1098/rsos.200373 |pmid=32874632 |pmc=7428266 |bibcode=2020RSOS....700373D |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hern |first1=Alex |title=Playing video games doesn't lead to violent behaviour, study shows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/jul/22/playing-video-games-doesnt-lead-to-violent-behaviour-study-shows |work=The Guardian |date=July 21, 2020 |access-date=31 July 2020}}</ref> ====fMRI studies==== Some scholars worry there may be an effect of violent video games on brain activity, although such concerns are highly contentious. Some scientists have attempted to use [[functional magnetic resonance imaging]] to study this hypothesis. Some studies suggested that participants who engaged with VVGs displayed increases in the functioning of their [[amygdala]] and decreases in the functioning of their [[frontal lobe]].<ref name="first">{{cite journal|last=Wendling|first=Patrice|title=Violent videos alter brain functioning, study shows|journal=Internal Medicine News|date=February 2007|volume=40|issue=3|page=20|url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA171952399&v=2.1&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w|doi=10.1016/s1097-8690(07)70088-4}}{{subscription needed}}</ref> Some scholars argue that the effect on the frontal lobe may be similar to the deactivation seen in [[disruptive behavior disorders]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Jarrett|first=Christian|title=Neural effects of media violence|journal=Psychologist|date=August 2005|volume=18|issue=8|page=462|id={{ProQuest|211742666}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Kalnin|first=A. J.|author2=Edwards, C. R. |author3=Wang, Y. |author4=Kronenberger, W. G. |author5=Hummer, T. A. |author6=Mosier, K. M. |author7=Mathews, V. P. |s2cid=45802431|title=The interacting role of media violence exposure and aggressive-disruptive behavior in adolescent brain activation during an emotional Stroop task|journal=Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging|year=2011|volume=192|issue=1|pages=12–19|doi=10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.11.005|pmid=21376543}}</ref> However, potential funding conflicts of interest have been noted for some of these studies. During the Brown Vs. EMA legal case, it was noted that the studies conducted by Kronenberger were openly funded by "The Center for Successful Parenting", which may mean a conflict of interest.<ref name="sblog.s3.amazonaws.com">[http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/AmicusSS.08-1448.pdf "Arnold Schwarzenegger. Edmund G. Brown Jr. v. Entertainment Merchants Association, and Entertainment Software Association"]</ref> Further, other studies have failed to find a link between violent games and diminished brain function. For example, an fMRI study by Regenbogen and colleagues suggested VVGs do not diminish the ability to differentiate between real and virtual violence.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The neural processing of voluntary completed, real and virtual violent and nonviolent computer game scenarios displaying predefined actions in gamers and nongamers|author1=Regenbogen C. |author2=Herrmann M. |author3=Fehr T. |s2cid=205925197 |doi=10.1080/17470910903315989|year=2010|volume=5|issue=2|pages=221–40|pmid=19823959|journal=Society for Neuroscience|url=https://semanticscholar.org/paper/44c77fd1cd6ce684d4af1f234444c25c04f8246d }}</ref> Another study from 2016 using fMRI found no evidence that VVGs led to a desensitization effect in players.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Szycik|first1=Gregor R.|last2=Mohammadi|first2=Bahram|last3=Hake|first3=Maria|last4=Kneer|first4=Jonas|last5=Samii|first5=Amir|last6=Münte|first6=Thomas F.|last7=Wildt|first7=Bert T. te|s2cid=4399285|date=2016-04-16|title=Excessive users of violent video games do not show emotional desensitization: an fMRI study|journal=Brain Imaging and Behavior|volume=11|issue=3|language=en|pages=736–743|doi=10.1007/s11682-016-9549-y|pmid=27086318|issn=1931-7557}}</ref> In a recent BBC interview, Dr. Simone Kuhn explained that the brain effects seen in prior fMRI studies likely indicated that players were simply able to distinguish between reality and fiction and modulate their emotional reaction accordingly, not becoming desensitized.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06cjypk|title=Are Video Games Really That Bad?, 2014-2015, Horizon - BBC Two|website=BBC|access-date=2017-01-03}}</ref> ====Studies on the effect on crime==== In 2008, records held by the US [[Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention]] and [[Office of Justice Programs]] indicated that arrests for violent crime in the US had decreased since the early 1990s in both children and adults.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/JAR.asp |title=Juvenile Arrest Rates |publisher=Ojjdp.gov |access-date=2015-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/gvc.htm#serious|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211201006/http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/gvc.htm |archive-date=December 11, 2009 |publisher=Ojp.usdoj.gov|access-date=17 February 2015|title=Home }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/4meastab.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211203117/http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/4meastab.htm |archive-date=December 11, 2009 |publisher=Ojp.usdoj.gov|access-date=17 February 2015|title=Home }}</ref> This decrease occurred contemporaneously with increasing sales of violent video games and increases in graphically violent content in those games.<ref>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514213432.htm "Could violent video games reduce rather than increase violence?"] Science Daily website 15 May 2008. Accessed 12 July 2011.</ref><ref>Kierkegaard P. "Video games and aggression." International Journal of Liability and Scientific Inquiry p411–417. 2008</ref> Studies of violent video game playing and crime have generally not supported the existence of causal links. Evidence from studies of juveniles<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Breuer|first1=Johannes|last2=Vogelgesang|first2=Jens|last3=Quandt|first3=Thorsten|last4=Festl|first4=Ruth|date=2015-10-01|title=Violent video games and physical aggression: Evidence for a selection effect among adolescents.|journal=Psychology of Popular Media Culture|language=en|volume=4|issue=4|pages=305–328|doi=10.1037/ppm0000035|issn=2160-4142|url=https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/59021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=DeCamp|first=Whitney|date=2015-10-01|title=Impersonal agencies of communication: Comparing the effects of video games and other risk factors on violence.|journal=Psychology of Popular Media Culture|language=en|volume=4|issue=4|pages=296–304|doi=10.1037/ppm0000037|issn=2160-4142}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Przybylski|first1=Andrew K.|last2=Mishkin|first2=Allison F.|date=2016-04-01|title=How the quantity and quality of electronic gaming relates to adolescents' academic engagement and psychosocial adjustment.|journal=Psychology of Popular Media Culture|language=en|volume=5|issue=2|pages=145–156|doi=10.1037/ppm0000070|issn=2160-4142}}</ref> as well as criminal offenders<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Surette|first1=Ray|last2=Maze|first2=Allison|date=2015-10-01|title=Video game play and copycat crime: An exploratory analysis of an inmate population.|journal=Psychology of Popular Media Culture|language=en|volume=4|issue=4|pages=360–374|doi=10.1037/ppm0000050|issn=2160-4142}}</ref> has generally not uncovered evidence for links. Some studies have suggested that violent video game playing may be associated with reductions in some types of aggression, such as bullying.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.springer.com/about+springer/media/springer+select?SGWID=0-11001-6-1433942-0|title=Video games do not make vulnerable teens more violent|newspaper=springer.com|access-date=2017-01-03}}</ref> Studies of mass shootings have, likewise, provided no evidence for links with violent video games. A 2002 report from the US Secret Service found that school shooters appeared to consume relatively low levels of violent media.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf|title=Final Report and Findings of the Safe Schools Initiative|publisher=US Secret Service and US Department of Education|access-date=2017-01-03}}</ref> Some criminologists have specifically referred to claims linking violent video games to mass shootings as a "myth".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Fox|first1=J. A.|last2=DeLateur|first2=M. J.|s2cid=145184251|date=2013-01-13|title=Mass Shootings in America: Moving Beyond Newtown|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270480045|journal=Homicide Studies|volume=18|issue=1|pages=125–145|doi=10.1177/1088767913510297|issn=1088-7679}}</ref> Some studies have examined the consumption of violent video games in society and violent crime rates. Generally, it is acknowledged that societal violent video game consumption has been associated with over an 80% reduction in youth violence in the US during the corresponding period.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ferguson|first=Christopher J.|date=2014-11-01|title=Does Media Violence Predict Societal Violence? It Depends on What You Look at and When|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267875432|journal=Journal of Communication|volume=65|issue=1|pages=E1–E22|doi=10.1111/jcom.12129|issn=1460-2466}}</ref> However, scholars note that, while this data is problematic for arguments that violent video games increase crime, such data is correlational and can't be used to conclude video games have caused this decline in crime.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141105084828.htm|title=No link between movie, video game violence and societal violence? More violent video game consumption, less youth violence: Study|date=November 5, 2014|website=www.sciencedaily.com|access-date=2017-01-03}}</ref> Other studies have examined data on violent video games and crime trends more closely and have come to the conclusion that the release of very popular violent video games are causally associated with corresponding declines in violent crime in the short term. A 2011 study by the [[Center for European Economic Research]]<ref name="ceer">{{cite web | url=https://www.econstor.eu/dspace/bitstream/10419/48154/1/663765870.pdf | title=Understanding the effects of violent video games on violent crime | publisher=Center for European Economic Research | work=ZEW Discussion Papers 11-042 | date=2011 | access-date=11 November 2014 |author1=Cunningham, A. Scott |author2=Engelstätter, Benjamin |author3=Ward, Michael R. | page=25}}</ref> found that violent video games may be reducing crime. This is possibly because the time spent playing games reduces time spent engaged in more antisocial activities. Other recent studies by Patrick Markey<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Violent video games and real-world violence: Rhetoric versus data|doi=10.1037/ppm0000030|author1=Markey, Patrick M.|author2=Markey, Charlotte N.|author3=French, Juliana E.|journal=Psychology of Popular Media Culture|volume=4|issue=4|pages=277–295|date=Oct 2015}}</ref> and Scott Cunningham<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cunningham|first1=Scott|last2=Engelstätter|first2=Benjamin|last3=Ward|first3=Michael R.|date=2016-04-01|title=Violent Video Games and Violent Crime|journal=Southern Economic Journal|language=en|volume=82|issue=4|pages=1247–1265|doi=10.1002/soej.12139|issn=2325-8012}}</ref> have come to similar conclusions. ===Public debate in US=== [[File:JackThompsonAttorney.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Jack Thompson (activist)|Jack Thompson]], an activist, filed lawsuits against the makers of violent games, alleging that simulated violence causes real-world violence.]] In the early 1980s, Ronnie Lamm, the president of the [[Long Island]] [[Parent-Teacher Association|PTA]] sought legislation to govern the proximity of [[video game arcade]]s to schools.<ref>Gonzalez L. [http://www.gamespot.com/features/6090892/index.html "When two tribes go to war: a history of video game controversy."] [[GameSpot]] website. Accessed 3 August 2008.</ref> In the 1990s, [[Joe Lieberman]], a [[United States Senate|US Senator]], chaired a hearing about violent video games such as ''[[Mortal Kombat (1992 video game)|Mortal Kombat]]''.<ref>Arnett J. (ed.) and Skalskil P. "Encyclopedia of children, adolescents, and the media: regulation, electronic games." SAGE 2007 p705–707. {{ISBN|9781412905305}}, Accessed 11 March 2013.</ref> [[Dave Grossman (author)|David Grossman]], a former [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] psychology professor and lieutenant commander, wrote books about violence in the media including: ''[[On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society|On Killing]]'' (1996) and ''Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill'' (1999).<ref>[http://www.larouchepub.com/other/interviews/2002/2920hzl_grossman.html "Violent video games reward children for killing people."] Executive Intelligence Review. LaRouche Publications. Accessed 24 April 2013.</ref> He described [[first-person shooter]] games as ''murder simulators'', and argued that video game publishers unethically train children in the use of weapons and harden them emotionally towards commitments of murder by simulating the killing of hundreds or thousands of opponents in a single typical video game.<ref>Ferguson C. J. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120417145742/http://www.tamiu.edu/~cferguson/Shooters.pdf "The school shooting/violent video game link: causal relationship or moral panic?"] Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 2008 5 p25–37.</ref> In 2003, [[Craig A. Anderson]], a researcher who testified on the topic before the U.S. Senate, said, :"[S]ome studies have yielded nonsignificant video game effects, just as some smoking studies failed to find a significant link to lung cancer. But when one combines all relevant empirical studies using meta-analytic techniques, it shows that violent video games are significantly associated with: increased aggressive behavior, thoughts, and affect; increased physiological arousal; and decreased pro-social (helping) behavior."<ref>Anderson C. [http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2003/10/anderson.aspx "Violent video games: myths, facts and unanswered questions."] APA 24 October 2003.</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Royal | first1 = H. | title = Violence and video games | journal = The Phi Delta Kappan | volume = 81 | issue = 2 | pages = 173–174 | date = October 1999 }}</ref><ref>Anderson C. [http://www.psychologicalscience.org/pdf/pspi/pspi43.pdf "The influence of media violence on youth."] Psychological science in the public interest website. December 2003.</ref><ref>Lynch P. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060213172144/http://www.fragtopia.com/currrent-news-images-etc/Violent%20Video%20Games.pdf "The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent aggressive attitudes and behaviors."] Society for Research in Child Development April 2001.</ref> In 2005, Anderson was criticized in court for failing to give balanced expert evidence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediacoalition.org/legal/esa%20blagojevich/12.2.05%20Illinois%20Decision.pdf |title=Entertainment Software Association v Illinois |publisher=Webcitation.org\accessdate=18 February 2015 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326165715/http://www.mediacoalition.org/legal/esa%20blagojevich/12.2.05%20Illinois%20Decision.pdf |archive-date=March 26, 2009 }}</ref> In 2008, in ''[[Grand Theft Childhood|Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do]]'', [[Lawrence Kutner (psychologist)|Kutner]] and [[Cheryl K. Olson|Olsen]] refuted claims that violent video games cause an increase in violent behavior in children. They report there is a scientifically non-significant trend showing that adolescents who do not play video games at all are most at risk for violent behavior and video game play is part of an adolescent boy's normal social setting. However, the authors did not completely deny the negative influences of violent (M-rated) video games on pre-teens and teenagers: Kutner and Olson suggested the views of alarmists and those of representatives of the video game industry are often supported by flawed or misconstrued studies and that the factors leading to violence in children and adolescents were more subtle than whether or not they played violent video games.<ref>Kutner L and Olsen C. ''Grand theft childhood: the surprising truth about violent video games.'' 2008. {{ISBN|0-7432-9951-5}}</ref><ref>[http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080418/005355882.shtml "Interview with Kutner and Olsen"] G4 Techdirt website 2008.</ref> [[Henry Jenkins]], an academic in media studies, said, :"According to federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low. Researchers find that people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crimes than the average person in the general population. It's true that young offenders who have committed school shootings in America have also been game players. But young people in general are more likely to be gamers—90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play. The overwhelming majority of kids who play do ''not'' commit antisocial acts. According to a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General's report, the strongest risk factors for school shootings centered on mental stability and the quality of home life, not media exposure. The moral panic over violent video games is doubly harmful. It has led adult authorities to be more suspicious and hostile to many kids who already feel cut off from the system. It also misdirects energy away from eliminating the actual causes of youth violence and allows problems to continue to fester."<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html "The video game revolution: eight myths about video games debunked."] [[PBS]] Impact of gaming essays webpage. Date not given. Retrieved 7 March 2014.</ref> In 2013, Corey Mead, a professor of English at [[Baruch College]], wrote about how the U.S. military financed the original development of video games, and has long used them for both training, recruitment purposes, and treatment of [[post traumatic stress disorder]]. He also argues that the two industries are currently intertwined into each other in a "military-entertainment complex".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/playing-war-how-the-military-uses-video-games/280486/|title=Playing War: How the Military Uses Video Games|author=Hamza Shaban|date=10 October 2013|work=The Atlantic|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> Writing in 2013, scholars James Ivory and Malte Elson noted that, although research on video game effects remained inconclusive, the culture of the academic field itself had become very contentious and that politicians had put pressure on scientists to produce specific research findings. The authors concluded it is improper for scholars or legislators to, at present, portray video games as a public health crisis.<ref name="chronicle.com"/> Research by Oxford psychologist Andrew Przybylski has shown that Americans are split in opinion on how video game violence links to gun violence. Przybylski found that older people, women rather than men, people who knew less about games and who were very conservative in ideology were most likely to think video games could cause gun violence.<ref name="Przybylski">{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/5241528|title=Americans Skeptical of Link Between Mass Shootings and Video Games|author=Andrew Przybylski|publisher=Academia.edu|access-date=17 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811002244/http://www.academia.edu/5241528/Americans_Skeptical_of_Link_Between_Mass_Shootings_and_Video_Games|archive-date=11 August 2014|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Several groups address video game violence as a topic that they focus on. Groups such as Parents Against Violence, Parents Against Media Violence and [[One Million Moms]] take stances aimed at limiting the violence in video games and other media.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220201120/http://parentsagainstviolence.org/expose|title=Exposé|archive-date=20 February 2013|url=http://parentsagainstviolence.org/expose}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://onemillionmoms.com/about|title=Purpose of One Million Moms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808043844/http://onemillionmoms.com/about|archive-date=August 8, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pamv.net/|title=Parents Against Media Violence|publisher=Pamv.net|access-date=17 February 2015}}</ref> Groups such as the [[Entertainment Software Association]] seek to refute their claims.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theesa.com/facts/violence.asp|title=Games & Violence|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141126120024/http://www.theesa.com/facts/violence.asp|archive-date=November 26, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Video games, particularly violent ones, are often mentioned as a cause for major gun crimes in the wake of school shooting by young adults. For example, Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old shooter at the [[Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting]], was found to have numerous video games in his possession, leading for some people to blame video games for the shooting;<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ideas.time.com/2012/12/20/sandy-hook-shooting-video-games-blamed-again/ |title=Sandy Hook Shooting: Video Games Blamed, Again |work=Time |last=Ferguson |first=Christopher J. |date=December 20, 2012 |access-date=November 11, 2013}}</ref> however, the State Attorney did not link video game to the event in their final report of the incident, though identified that [[video game addiction]] may have been connected.<ref name = "final_report">{{cite web|url=http://www.ct.gov/csao/lib/csao/Sandy_Hook_Final_Report.pdf|title=Sandy Hook Final Report. Office of the State's Attorney, Judicial District of Danbury. Stephen J. Sedensky III, State's Attorney|work=ct.gov|date=November 25, 2013|access-date=November 28, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/27/opinion/ferguson-sandy-hook/|title=Adam Lanza's motive a mystery in Sandy Hook killings|publisher=CNN|date=November 27, 2013 |access-date=November 28, 2013}}</ref> In February 2018, following the [[Stoneman Douglas High School shooting]] in Florida, President [[Donald Trump]], among others, said "the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts".<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43168774 | title = Trump says violent video games 'shape' young minds | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date = February 23, 2018 | access-date = February 23, 2018 | work = [[BBC]] }}</ref> Rhode Island state representative [[Robert Nardolillo]] also proposed legislation to tax violent video games (those rated "Mature" or higher by the ESRB) to use funds for supporting mental health programs in the state.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/features/rep-robert-nardolillo-iii-discusses-video-game-sin-tax-w517042 | title = Rhode Island Lawmaker Wants to 'Do Something Positive' With Proposed Violent Video Game Tax | first = Stefanie | last= Fogel | date = February 22, 2018 | access-date = February 23, 2018 | work = [[Glixel]] }}</ref> Following the Stoneman Douglas shooting event, President Trump arranged to meet with several video game industry professionals on March 8, 2018; in attendance beyond Trump and other Congressmen included Mike Gallagher, the president and CEO of the ESA; Pat Vance, the president of the ESRB; Strauss Zelnick, CEO of [[Take Two Interactive]], Robert Altman, CEO of [[ZeniMax Media]]; [[L. Brent Bozell III|Brent Bozell]], founder of the [[Media Research Center]]; and Melissa Hanson, program manager for the [[Parents Television Council]]. The meeting was not designed to come to a solution but only for the invited parties to present their stance on video games and their relationship to violent activity as to try to determine appropriate steps in the future.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://variety.com/2018/politics/news/trump-video-games-2-1202721889/ | title = Trump Meets With Video Game Industry, Watchdog Groups to Talk Gun Violence | first = Ted | last = Johnson | date = March 8, 2018 | access-date = March 12, 2018 | work = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] }}</ref> At the start of the meeting, the President showed the attendees a short 88-second video of numerous violent video game segments put together by his staff, including the infamous "[[No Russian]]" level from ''[[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2]]'', which featured the player watching and potentially participating in a massacre of civilians in an airport.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamespot.com/articles/president-trumps-video-games-meeting-included-a-vi/1100-6457255/ | title = President Trump's Video Games Meeting Included A Violent Game Montage |first = Chris | last = Pereira | date = March 10, 2018 | access-date = March 12, 2018 | work = [[GameSpot]] }}</ref> The White House later released the video to YouTube, where it quickly became popular due to the controversy over the relationship between video games and real-life violence; despite being unlisted shortly after being uploaded, it has reached a 2.7 thousand to 93 thousand like-to-dislike ratio as of April 5, 2018.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/trump-white-house-violent-video-game-viral-1202722952/ | title = Trump White House's Horribly Violent Video-Game Reel Goes Viral | first = Todd | last =Spangler | date= March 9, 2018 | access-date = March 12, 2018 | work = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] }}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Violence in Video Games|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C_IBSuXIoo|language=en|access-date=2018-04-05}}</ref> The video is still accessible via URL, and media outlets like IGN included links to the original in their responses to the matter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ign.com/articles/2018/03/09/heres-the-violent-video-game-reel-trump-shared-at-the-white-house|title=Here's The "Violent Video Game Reel" Trump Shared At The White House|last=O'Brien|first=Lucy|date=2018-03-09|website=IGN|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-05}}</ref> [[Games for Change]] made an 88-second video of their own, composed of video game segments and cutscenes more cinematic and emotional in nature; their video has received upwards of 463,000 views as of April 5, 2018, as well as a 13 thousand to 203 like-to-dislike ratio.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|last=Games for Change|title=#GameOn - 88 Seconds of Video Games|date=2018-03-12|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWZtbfBGjIg|access-date=2018-04-05}}</ref> In the description of the video, they said,<blockquote>"After seeing that the White House produced a video depicting video games as ultra-violent, we felt compelled to share a different view of games. Video games, their innovative creators and the vast community of players are so much more than what is depicted in the White House’s video. We wanted to create our own version, at the same length, to challenge the White House’s misdirected blame being placed upon video games. To all you game developers and players who create and enjoy games – this is for you! #GAMEON"<ref name=":0" /></blockquote> == Nation-specific factors == ===Australia=== Video games are rated in Australia by the [[Australian Classification Board]] (ACB), run out of the federal [[Attorney-General's Department (Australia)|Attorney-General's Department]]. ACB also oversees ratings on films and applies the same ratings system as to video games. Broadly, the ratings system is based on a number of factors including violence. The ACB can refuse to classify a film or game if they felt the content was beyond allowable guidelines for the strictest ratings. Titles refused classification by ACB are thus illegal to sell within Australia and assess fines fort those that attempted to import such games, while allowing titles with more mature ratings to be sold under regulated practices. Prior to 2011, video games could only qualify up to a "MA15+" rating, and not the next highest tier of "R18+" which were allowed for film. Several high-profile games thus were [[List of banned video games in Australia|banned in Australia]]. The ACB agreed to allow video games to have R18+ ratings in 2011, and some of these games that were previously banned were subsequently allowed under R18+. == References == {{reflist}} == External links == * {{Wikinews-inline|US Supreme Court rules video games are protected speech}} {{Video game controversy}} [[Category:Video gaming]] [[Category:Violence in video games]] [[Category:Video game controversies]] [[Category:Moral panic]]'