Violent Videogames Linked to Aggressive Behavior and the Potential Aftermath

baby and gun

Give a kid a videogame, what happens next?

A recent, and apparently reputable, study has “confirmed” that violent videogames cause aggressive behavior among America’s youth. Given that this topic has been beaten to a bloody Jared Leto in Fight Club pulp, I’m not as interested in the study’s validity as much as the repercussions. Given the new data, what will happen the next time anti-gaming fervor grips lawmakers eager to impress the people?

We can rest assured the next battle for decency will get plenty of media coverage, with Fox turning their hysteria generators up to “11″ and CNN possibly serving up a frothy blend of over-enunciation and down-talking. Meanwhile, most gaming journalists will glower on the sidelines, bereft of any compelling defense. If pressed with a ban or a scaling back on “mature content” (read: stuff with sex and violence), all of gamerdom would almost surely assemble Voltron-style into the real-world oughts version of Project Mayhem, with myself posing as ‘Jack’ and routinely slipping into Tyler form to deal with recalcitrant detractors and enemies…not.

If Capitol Hill’s undies get sufficiently bundled, the real outcome will probably include stricter enforcement and/or restructuring of the ratings system. Big whoop. No matter how hard the champions of decency try to bend the medium, too much meddling could dampen profits in the entertainment industry’s most promising sector–something few politicians want no matter how many pixels get slashed, hacked, punched, kicked, shot, blown up, incinerated, or seduced by mobsters.

Speaking of which, no underworld connections here, ever.

Who knows? Taking a fine-tooth comb to the system and reevaluating the qualifying criteria for each rating might spark a mighty blast of creativity from designers. Or maybe casual and non-gamers might start to get a hint of how silly those criteria can be.

Lately, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) has been on a roadblocking tizzy. The Joker’s original fatality in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe had the life ripped right out of it in order to meet the ESRB’s standards of what can appear in a “Mature”-rated game (equivalent to an “R” movie). Open-world, post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 3 also recently suffered ESRB-mandated modifications, swapping real-world, recreational drug names out with make-believe ones and seriouly stepping on the realistic, immersive experience developer Bethesda spent years trying to craft.

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Meanwhile, the gore-sex Saw series and drug-themed films like Requiem for a Dream and Spun merrily skip on by.

The current attitude among gamers and industry players towards the rating system is “it’s better than nothing” and/or “it’s better than having the government regulate it.” Sadly, our complacency–on all sides–is a red carpet for boring releases. Interest from publishers in releasing “Mature” and “Adults Only” titles that could actually be defended on the grounds of artistic merit might act as a catalyst for consumer action and (hopefully) positive change. But we gamers need to stand strong, work together, and remind big shots of all stripes that we’re the people who cook their meals, hauls their trash, connects their calls, drives their ambulances and guards them while they sleep.

Do not...