Violent Video Games

Video games were introduced as home entertainment for kids and adults in 1972. In May of 1972, Magnavox pioneered the first in-home video game system called the Magnavox Odyssey. Atari furthered the popularity of this new entertainment medium with the introduction of the Pong home video game. The graphics and strategy of these games were crude and simple by today’s standards, but a spark was struck. Game systems came and went during the 1980s including the rise and fall of Atari. “Sales topped $3 billion at their early peak in 1981, only to crash two years later to just $100 million—the price of overexposure.” ¹ Nintendo tried but failed to acquire Atari during the 1980s, but by 1988 became a force in the growing video game market with the introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). “Nintendo created a buzz on Wall Street by touting the 90 percent market share it already had with the same product in Japan. Retailers bought into the hype and customers rewarded their decision. Soon, NES was the best-selling toy in North America. Two years later, Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers 3 became the best-selling video game of all time, grossing a half-billion dollars. Researchers found that, for kids, Mario was literally as famous as Mickey.” ² Currently, the most popular in-home video game systems are the Nintendo GameCube, the Sony PlayStation 2, and the Microsoft Xbox, as well as various portable, hand-held gaming systems.

The popularity of video games with children is tremendous and continues to draw their time and attention. According to the National Institute on Media and the Family, “A national survey found that 92% of children, ages 2-17, play video and computer games. According to parents, children, between the ages of two and seventeen, spend almost 6.5 hours a day in front of electronic screens (TV, video games, and computer). A study of over 2,000 8 to 18 year-olds (3^rd through 12^th graders) found 83% of them have at least one video game player in their home, 31% have 3 or more video game players in their home, and 49% have video game players in their bedrooms.” ³

As video games have evolved and the industry has matured, the technology behind the games has vastly improved. The graphics in today’s video games appears quite realistic and almost life-like. Today’s video game aficionados have a wide variety of video game genres to play including: strategy, racing, role-playing, maze-puzzle, sports, fighting, action-adventure, rhythm-dance, simulation, and educational among others. With such an enormous selection of available video game options, the video game industry provides ratings for all new video games, similar to the motion picture industry, as to the content of every video game. In 1993 the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) began rating video games as a public service, not a government mandate. Below is listed the definitions of the current video game ratings.

“Electronic Game Ratings:

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Titles rated EC—Early Childhood have content that may be suitable for ages 3 and older. Contains no material that parents would find inappropriate.

EVERYONE

EVERYONE 10+

Title rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) have content that may be suitable for ages 10 and older. Titles in this category may contain more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language, and/or minimal suggestive themes.

TEEN

MATURE

ADULTS ONLY

Titles rated AO—Adults Only have content suitable only for adults. Titles in this category may include graphic depictions of sex and/or violence. Adult Only products are not intended for persons under the age of 18.

RATINGS PENDING

Titles listed as RP—Ratings Pending have been submitted to the ESRB and are awaiting final rating.” ⁴

With the constant advance of video game technology, the ever-expanding variety of video games available, and the growing interest in children and teens to play video games, it is difficult to monitor what is available to minors. The video game industry is competitive and focused on the bottom-line. Video game companies are striving to capture this growing market share of young customers, namely children and teens. Mature-rated games are popular and are being marketed to children under 17 years old. All these factors make for an interesting business ethics question, “Should Mature-rated video games, (games with mature sexual themes, intense violence and strong language) be marketed to children and teens?” This case will argue the business ethics arguments of whether or not Mature-rated video games should be marketed to young children and teenagers.

Video game marketers contend that the top selling games are not rated Mature or Adults Only. The Inquirer (which claims to be ground zero for computer industry gossip), reported, “In 2005, less than 13 percent were rated “Mature” (M) and only one percent were rated “Adults Only” (AO). This means that 86 percent of all games sold in 2004 were rated either “Early Childhood” (EC), “Everyone” (E), “Everyone 10 and older” (E10+), or “Teen” (T).” ⁵ Tech News World reported similar statistics, “While 85 percent of all games sold in 2005 were rated “E” for Everyone, “T” for Teen, or “E10+” for Everyone 10+, M-rated games are among the best sellers in the industry.” ⁶ Wired News reported that only one Mature-rated game made it in the top-ten list for sales in 2003, “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the best selling game of 2002, was the only mature-rated game among the top 10 for 2003, according to NPD Fungroup, at No 6.” ⁷ In recent years, video game sales statistics report a low percentage of the total video games sold were Mature-rated game titles.

Child advocate groups have long argued that violent video games are harmful for young children and teenagers. Laws are now being written in various states to restrict the sale of violent video games. This trend began after the 1999 Columbine High School shootings where the young killers were avid players of violent video games. ““Pediatricians and psychologists have been warning us that violent video games are harmful to children”, said Mary Lou Dickenson, a Democratic legislator in Washington state who wrote a law now being challenged in federal court—banning the sale of some violent games to kids. “I’m optimistic that the courts will heed their warnings.”” ⁸ Laws to limit violent content in video games have mostly failed because of First Amendment protection. These laws appear to have more than the video game industry fighting against them. A video game proponent reported, “The 33 scholars, from institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of London, have described the law as misguided. Most studies and experiments on video games containing violent content have not found adverse effects, a brief logged with the court said.” ⁹ Here is another argument against regulating violent video games, “People can continue to claim that psychological research suggests that video games lead to violence and that porn leads to promiscuity, but in the real world the evidence seems to suggest otherwise. That’s an argument against regulating video games—and it’s an argument for taking other claims of impending social doom with a grain of salt.” ¹⁰ Video game producers would argue that laws regulating video games are inappropriate and unnecessary.

Despite the claims of increased violent behavior among players of violent video games, there is evidence supporting the opposite point of view. “No significant differences in aggressiveness were found between students after playing a non-aggressive, a moderately or a highly aggressive video game. Scott concludes that there is a general lack of support for the commonly held view that playing aggressive computer games causes an individual to feel more aggressive.” ¹¹ Another study found violent video game play is not a precursor of aggressive behavior. “The second study, by Williams & Skoric, found that players who played “Asheron’s Call 2”, an average of 56 hours over the course of a month were not statistically different from the non-playing control group in their beliefs on aggression. The researchers also reported that game play was not a predictor of aggressive behaviors. This is reported to be the first longitudinal study of a game.” ¹² Another argument supporting violent video games states, “Experts on childhood and adolescence have long recognized the importance of violent fantasy play in overcoming anxieties, processing anger and providing outlets for aggression.” ¹³ Does violent video game play really lead to increased aggression in children and adolescents?

If the popularity of violent video games is on the rise among children and teenagers and if participation with such violent toys causes an increase in aggression, why then have the statistics for violent crimes been decreasing in recent years? According to crime statistics released by the FBI, “The violent crime rate has further dropped 2.2% since 2003. The number of murders is down by 2.4%. And our violent youth? As for trends in arrests of juveniles for violent crime, a comparison of 2004 data with those of 2003 indicated that the number of juveniles arrested for violent crimes declined 0.8 percent, 5.5 percent compared with 2000 data, and 30.9 percent compared with 1995 figures. So according to the FBI, the murder rate hit a new 40 year low in 2004. The best selling video game of 2004? Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.” ¹⁴ Another video game proponent states, “Much more telling is the fact that as graphically violent video games have become more popular, incidents of youth violence continue to drop when you would expect it to go the other way.” ¹⁵ If violent video games cause kids to exhibit aggressive behavior, why are violent crime statistics down? According to Beck and Wade, “In reality, juvenile crime statistics dropped sharply (along with crime in general) at the very beginning of the period when the level of video game violence was hitting critical mass. According to Lawrence Sherman, a criminologist at the University of Pennsylvania, “Just as violent video games were pouring into American homes on the crest of the personal computer wave, juvenile violence began to plummet. Juvenile murder charges dropped by about two-thirds from 1993 to the end of the decade and show no signs of going back up. The rate of violence in schools hasn’t increased, either—it just gets more media coverage. If video games are so deadly, why has their widespread use been followed by reductions in murder.”” ¹⁶ Since crime statistics are down, violent video game proponents would argue that marketing video games to children and teenagers should remain unrestricted.

Video games are said to be good for children and teenagers. “Besides being fun, some of the games provide practice in problem solving and logic as well as strategizing.” ¹⁷ Video game play does reap positive benefits for its participants. “Research has also identified benefits associated with creative and prosocial uses of video games, as in physical rehabilitation and oncology. Proponents of video games suggest that they may be a friendly way of introducing children to computers, and may increase children’s hand-eye coordination and attention to detail.” ¹⁸ Marketing video games to children and teens provides these young customers the opportunity to experience these helpful benefits at an early age.

Children and teenagers are growing and maturing physically and their brains are still developing. “The 15-year-old brain is not the same as a 30-year-old brain, and so things are not going to affect it the same. And that’s true of alcohol, and it’s true of violent video games.” ¹⁹ Violent video games may have a bigger consequence on children and teens than originally thought. According to the American Psychological Association, “Cartoonish and fantasy violence is often perceived (incorrectly) by parents and public policy makers as safe even for children. However, experimental studies with college students have consistently found increased aggression after exposure to clearly unrealistic and fantasy violent video games. Indeed, at least one recent study found significant increases in aggression by college students after playing E-rated (suitable for everyone) violent video games.” ²⁰ Children are prohibited from alcohol, tobacco, and pornography because these substances are deemed for adults only and could have stronger effects on young children and teenager’s brains than on mature, grown-up adults. It could be argued that these substances are harmful and lead to serious addictions for all age groups, not just children. Walsh stated, “Children (and adults) who play more violent video games are more likely to experience aggressive feelings, thoughts, and actions, and are also less likely to behave in positive, prosocial ways. This appears to be true for both boys and girls, and surprising, also for children who are not naturally aggressive.” ²¹ Perhaps violent video game play does lead to increased aggression in children and adults who participate.

Violent video games are often compared to violent movies or violent television programs. However, according to child advocate, Bill France, video games are not movies and they are not spectator sports, rather they are simulations. “Simulation is designed to hone the trainee’s instincts, to help them build habits that they can carry out quickly, without second thoughts. Video games laced with human atrocities help young, impressionable people practice killing without care.” ²² According to Walsh, video games have a greater impact than movies or TV for the following reasons: “1. Children are more likely to imitate the actions of a character with whom they identify. In violent video games the player is often required to take the point of view of the shooter or perpetrator. 2. Video games by their very nature require active participation rather than passive observation. 3. Repetition increases learning. Video games involve a great deal of repetition. If the games are violent, then the effect is a behavioral rehearsal for violent activity. 4. Rewards increase learning, and video games are based on a reward system.” ²³ Also similar findings were obtained from the American Psychological Association website, “Violent video games may have even stronger effects on children’s aggression because (1) the games are highly engaging and interactive, (2) the games reward violent behavior, and because (3) children repeat these behaviors over and over as they play.” ²⁴ These arguments would suggest that violent video game play has a greater effect on young participants than violent movies or television programs.

The ESRB has been blamed for relaxed video game rating standards, for under-rating violent video games, and for inconsistently assigning game content descriptors to violent games as necessary. The ESRB rating process appears to be defective; they don’t even play the actual video game before awarding the video game rating. “Unlike the movie industry’s rating board which reviews the entire content of a film, the ESRB rates games based on very limited viewing of the game and rely almost entirely on information provided to them by the game manufacturer.” ²⁵ Perhaps an E-rating is not what we think it should be, perhaps E-rated video games are not appropriate for “Everyone” as the rating suggests. “The definition for the E-rating states that the game may contain minimal violence, yet our experience shows that many E-games contain a significant amount of violence and demonstrates ambiguity in what constitutes minimal violence. An E rating does not automatically signify a level of violence acceptable for very young players. Physicians and parents should understand that popular E-rated video games may be a source of exposure to violence for children that rewards them for violent actions.” ²⁶ According to a Harvard School of Public Health study, the researchers found, “Nearly two thirds of a sample of E-rated games involved intentional violence, and that injuring or killing characters is rewarded or required for advancement in 60% of the games.” ²⁷ Thompson, who helped conduct the Harvard study, stated, “It’s time for the industry to provide complete, consistent, and clear information about what is really in games so that parents can make more informed decisions when selecting games for and with their children.” ²⁸ California legislator, Leland Yee feels strongly that the ESRB rating system can not be trusted and needs legislation to improve it, “The ESRB again has failed our parents and clearly has shown they can not police themselves. Plain and simply, the current rating system is drastically flawed and here is yet another reason why we need legislation to assist parents and protect children.” ²⁹ These arguments would suggest that the video game rating system is broken and needs a major overhaul to fix it.

Ultimately, parents are responsible for what their children are allowed to do in their spare time. In the end, they are responsible to know what video games their children play and have the authority to regulate what video games their children play or how much time they are allowed to play video games. Despite the flawed ESRB video game rating system, there is information available about every video game. “The amount of literature on nearly every video game release is staggering, and it is all easily accessible. Parents just need to look. Even the smallest of titles will receive dozens of previews or reviews from both print and online outlets.” ³⁰ Parents need to observe and control violent video games for their children as they deem appropriate. “Unfortunately, the limited data that exist on parental supervision of media suggests that parents are less likely to supervise video games than other entertainment media.” ³¹ Parents need to talk more with their kids about their experience with video games and be more involved when their children express an interest in video games. “Half the parents who participated in our survey said they do not allow their children to play M-rated games, but nearly two-thirds of surveyed students said they owned their own M-rated game. What could explain this gap? Maybe this statistic: only half of the parents say they were with their children the last time they purchased a game.” ³² At the end of the day, parents have the final say as to what video games they allow their children to play and need to be actively involved when their children purchase video games.

There are many arguments both supporting and opposing violent video game play for children and teenagers. “Research into the effects of violent video games needs to become more sophisticated and take into account the nature of the game being studied. It appears that some graphically-oriented games where the game’s characters model violence and players rehearse violent behaviors can lead to an increase in real world violence. Other video games, such as role playing games, may not have the same effect.” ³³ More research studies are warranted to validate each side’s arguments. “The medical and public health communities should actively engage in efforts to inform parents about violence in children’s entertainment media and support additional research to better understand the effects.” ³⁴ The bottom line is that parents need to be involved in their children’s lives and observe first-hand how their children spend their time playing video games, violent or not.