I have a cousin coming of age who's downright excited to join the military and become a sniper. I have little doubt that war video games are partly responsible for that.
Now, I don't think violent games are inherently bad, and relatively few people playing them will actually sign up to go blow up insurgents in the desert.
But there is a significant difference between Modern Warfare and Hitman, Doom, GTA, etc.: most other violent games are either clearly fictionalized, or you knowingly play a villain. While a few nutcases might emulate the game, no reasonable person, not even most children, will draw the conclusion that the game activity is normal, real or justified.
But wars really happen, and they are seldom sexy or heroic. Even if you accomplish the most kick-ass mission ever, you probably lost friends in the process. Any soldier anywhere would happily give up their medals and glory if it meant the fallen got to go home to their families.
War is hell. While I would never advocate any form of censorship, selling video games that hides this reality is socially irresponsible.
Many violent video games are, in effect, murder simulators.
I wonder how much more realistic they'd have to get before most people who gladly play them now would object to them.
In many games you can already hear the screams of the victims and even the victims pleading for their lives, and see quite a bit of gore as the murder is carried out.
However, you can't yet feel your hands around someone's throat, feel the blood pumping in their veins as you slowly squeeze their throat until they die. You can't feel their warm blood spurt out of their bodies or feel the knife plunge in.
It's probably just a matter of time until improvements in virtual reality do let you experience just that. You will be able to more effectively feel just what it's like to kill somebody.
Would you object to those sorts of games? Would they even still be games at that point? What effect do you think such realistic experiences of simulated murder have on the players?
Now, I don't think violent games are inherently bad, and relatively few people playing them will actually sign up to go blow up insurgents in the desert.
But there is a significant difference between Modern Warfare and Hitman, Doom, GTA, etc.: most other violent games are either clearly fictionalized, or you knowingly play a villain. While a few nutcases might emulate the game, no reasonable person, not even most children, will draw the conclusion that the game activity is normal, real or justified.
But wars really happen, and they are seldom sexy or heroic. Even if you accomplish the most kick-ass mission ever, you probably lost friends in the process. Any soldier anywhere would happily give up their medals and glory if it meant the fallen got to go home to their families.
War is hell. While I would never advocate any form of censorship, selling video games that hides this reality is socially irresponsible.