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Political Issues in the Video Game Industry: Violence and Gaming

Political Issues in the Video Game Industry: Violence and Gaming. Alisdair Owens. The Situation. Video games receive a lot of negative attention in the media. Particular emphasis on potential damage to children.

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Political Issues in the Video Game Industry: Violence and Gaming

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  1. Political Issues in the Video Game Industry: Violence and Gaming Alisdair Owens

  2. The Situation • Video games receive a lot of negative attention in the media. • Particular emphasis on potential damage to children. • This presentation covers a history of violent games, the case against them, and the potential solutions to the perceived problem.

  3. Death Race • Arcade game based on the movie Death Race 2000. • Released in 1976 • Gameplay involved running over ‘gremlins’.

  4. Early 80s • Arcades wildly successful. • Violent games considered a useful tool for training children by the US army. • First game linking sex and violence.

  5. Early 90s • Games garner consistent public attention. • Mortal Kombat causes congress-level debate in the US. • Massively ‘gory’ fatalities • Less violent Nintendo version relatively unpopular. • Wolfenstein 3D banned in Germany for Nazi references. • Doom

  6. Late 90s-Current • Columbine linked to Doom. • Carmageddon • Grand Theft Auto 1-3 • Adult games massively popular among children. • Sex/violence link. • Manhunt linked to murder of a 14 year old in the UK.

  7. The Situation • Parents are worried that violent games negatively impact their children. • Some blame misbehaviour on games. • Politicians and the media have picked up on this concern, particularly in the light of Columbine. • Gamers blame parents for improper supervision.

  8. Evidence • Large body of evidence that links violent games to short term aggression increases. • Little hard evidence of this causing long term violent tendencies. • Largely theories based off work on other types of media.

  9. The Problem • Potential damage to children. • Violent games clearly attract children. • Disparity in SEGA/Nintendo MK sales. • Games are clearly getting both more violent and more realistic. • Little legal regulation. • Many parents unwilling/unable to supervise children sufficiently.

  10. Solutions • Greater parental education. • Limited efficacy? • Stronger regulation. • ‘Chipping’ consoles. • Differing regulations by country. • Doesn’t solve the issue of multiple age groups using the machine.

  11. Conclusion • Violent games are not going away. • Chipping consoles is inconvenient, and may cause difficulties for manufacturers. • Imperfect solution: • Parental education • Stronger legal regulation.

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