The Guardian - Quotes

Where is Game Violence Going?

''Game violence, whatever the narrative context, is about taking pleasure in dishing out death – if it wasn't fun we wouldn't do it.''

''The realism won't just be skin deep. Slowly, a new age of anatomical authenticity is dawning.''

''The depiction of violence may become more self-conscious and stylised.''

Action on Computer Game Violence

"Video games are different to films or videos and not all parents have grown up playing games in the way our children do. We need to look carefully at how we improve content warnings and strengthen sales enforcement."

The Seduction Secrets of Video Game Designers

''Consistently, he says, the most successful games are the ones that provide us with interesting tools such as weapons or magic (or even angry birds) and allow us time to experiment with them. ''

''In highly successful shooters such as Call of Duty and Bulletstorm, when an enemy is shot, they don't just collapse to the floor, they explode into chunks. In casual puzzles, titles such as Zuma and Peggle, a completed level is accompanied by pixelated firework displays, sparkling rainbows and messages declaring: "Ultra Extreme Fever". These contrasting forms of graphical over-elaboration aren't just there for window-dressing, they're a charm offensive on the brain's pleasure centres: you're good, you're a success – you're powerful. ''

Study Downplays link of Video Games to Violence

The games can improve children's decision-making and instil 'positive learning traits', some research suggests.

Violence helps children 'conquer fears and develop a sense of identity'

'The changing nature of childhood in a modern world'.

Game Violence

The study in the United States showed an increased likelihood of getting into a fight at school or being identified by a teacher or peer as being physically aggressive five to six months later in the same school year. It focused on 364 children ages 9 to 12 in Minnesota and was first included in a 2007 book, "Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents."

Japanese researchers studied more than 1,200 Japanese youths ages 12 to 18. In all three studies, researchers accounted for gender and previous aggressiveness.