Violence in VideogamesBy Michael McNamara

What are Videogames?• Video games are games that are displayed

on screen and require user interface.

How do you play video games?

• It all depends on what you are playing your game on whether it’s a personal computer or another platform system.

• With most games you use an external plug-in controller ,or even a keyboard.

What are other types of platform systems?

• There are many types of systems which can be a pc, Xbox, Sony, or Nintendo.

• (there have been many different types of systems before these).

How did they start?• The idea of videogames was conceived in

1947 when Thomas T. Goldsmith JR. and Estle Ray Mann developed interactive display screens.

• Videogames didn’t take off until the late 70’s when the first videogame consoles like the Atari came out.

The first of the games• Some of the first games that came out were

popular titles that are still heard of today.• These were nonviolent games like Pong,and

Pac Man.

Pong

Pac Man

The first of the games cont.• When videogames were first coming out they

weren’t considered a problem. • They considered as just another form of

entertainment.

Controversy arises • When new consoles and computer were

developed with better programming the visual graphics became better.

• With better graphics the programmers could make videogames’ longer, with bigger areas, better character modeling, but also with more violence.

DOOM

Violent games hit stores• When violent videogames hit stores an

argument came up that said violent videogames were corrupting children.

• Because of this the ESRB rating system was put in place.

• It put a rated all games from Everyone to Adult depending on the content of the game.

Controversy still goes on• Even after the amount of years that have

passed the argument that videogames taint youth wages on.

• One of the many people who oppose violent videogames is a lawyer named Jack Thompson.

Jack Thompson• Jack Thompson is an attorney from Florida

who has battled against lyrical content in music, radio personalities, and more recently is battling videogames.

• He was the attorney that took the case against the entertainment industry because of the Heath High School shooting that occurred in 1997. (The case was eventually was thrown out because he couldn’t present proof.)

Jack Thompson cont.• His recent focus is on the videogame

company Rockstar North and the Grand Theft Auto series.

• His argument is that the Grand Theft Auto series is a car jacking, civilian killing simulator that will make children disturbed mentally.

Jack Thompson quote

My argument • I don’t think that videogames will make a

person into a killer. I think that videogames are just another form of entertainment that can help people relax.

• However, I believe that violent videogames should not be allotted to children. I also don’t think that it’s the videogame companies fault if children obtain the game.

My argument cont.• I think that Parents who don’t want

videogames in the hands of their children should complain to the stores that sold them the game rather than the game companies.

Jack Thompson on G4• Jack Thompson on

G4tv debating the release of the game Bully.

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are needed to see this picture.

Videogame Violence• Moral Outrage or

Moral Panic.

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are needed to see this picture.

Violent Game Ban • Washington state is one of the areas

that ban the sale of violent games to minors.

American psychological Association

• The American Psychological Association have done a study that says young teens who play violent videogames have increased levels of aggression,and may lead to real world violence.

APA cont.• However, the U.S. Secret Service intensely

studied each of the 37 non-gang and non-drug-related school shootings and stabbings that were considered "targeted attacks" that took place nationally from 1974 through 2000.

• The Secret Service found that there was no accurate profile. Only one in eight school shooters showed any interest in violent video games,and only one in four liked violent movies.

Closing• Most of the studies done on this topic have

come out to be inconclusive, and there may never be an absolute answer to the question of whether or not violent games have an effect on young teens and small children.

My Thoughts • I think that violent games may have an affect

on young children because their mind is still developing and they might have trouble processing what they are seeing.

• However, I don’t think that violent games will make a killer out of a person with a healthy mindset.

Works Cited• http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/419019• http://jackthompson.org/about_thompson/index.htm • http://jackthompson.org/video_game_cases/bully.htm• http://jackthompson.org/games_in_the_court/paducah_shooting.htm • http://jackthompson.org/games_in_the_court/life_is_a_videogame.htm • http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html • http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html• http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/20/technology/gaminglaw/index.htm • http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/familyresources/a/

vidgameviolence.htm • http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/08/15/

video_games_and_aggression/