ecutives and copy writers in those days were men.
Hypoder-
From the late 1980s and the first early PC games there was created
, there has been a heated debate between the moral majority and
the games manufacturers around the negative influence these
games have on young people. Its been the same since Victorian
times and the concept that that which we see, corrupts. In the UK
the media stir up national concerns and outrage each time there is
a high profile violent crime, desperately trying to find something
else to blame other than society itself. The much believed and
quoted theory is that children who watch and play in violent games
either online or at home, become influenced and then go on to play
out their games in real life.
When people made the argument of games affecting peoples be-
haviour by making them more violent, they often used the Hypo-
dermic Needle theory which is the theory about the power of
the media and the effects that it can have on its audiences.
The theorys name provides the powerful illustration of how
specific messages can be injected into the minds of the audi-
ence primarily without them truly being aware of the conse-
quences of the underlying meaning. Some people call this the-
ory a magic bullet, a similar process of delivering messages
into the audiences subconscious and delivering the tenets of
the message deep within the recipient. Hypodermic needle
theory was used to reinforce gender stereotypes used so
much in the advertising of the 1950s when advertising was in
its infancy. If an audience saw a woman doing the washing up
on the TV then it was deemed acceptable and normal and
segregated society into housewives and male workers. It
should not be forgotten that the vast majority of advertising ex-
mic needle is used to attract a passive audience. For exam-
ple, some people have suggested that this theory encourages
the audience to commit violence because they have watch
horror films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and A Clockwork
Orange, or indeed the powerful and influential speeches of
Hitler in the 1930s, especially Nuremberg. Horror movies have
been banned in countries all over the world, because of the vi-
olent content in these films and the immediate assumption
that local children and vulnerable people will go out and copy
the crimes that are being portrayed. The director of A Clock-
work Orange, Stanley Kubrick actually withdrew the film from
UK cinemas after a number of serious crimes, and after the
police raised their concerns to him directly. In the film a boy
beat ups a homeless man to death just for an irrelevant
amount of money, and this was staring to become a regular
occurrence in the pre-punk UK. A 17-year-old girl was raped
in Lancashire by a gang chanting singing in the rain, a refer-
ence to a violent scene in A Clockwork Orange. There was
also a 16-year-old boy who had beaten a younger child while
wearing similar clothes to the main character, Alexs, uniform
of white overalls, black bowler hat and combat boots. In es-
sence society was gripped by incident after incident that had
formed a horrible trend which has been inspired by this
wretched film. How much of this was caused by the film and
would not have just happened anyway, a sad reflection of the
decaying society of 1970s Britain, with mass unemployment,
strikes, yob culture, football violence and deep levels of pov-
erty is not known, however it certainly burnt a fire deep within
those who were not content in the first place. this theory us
brought up by parents, or certain pressure groups during
moral panics as they bring up the argument on why society
shouldn't be exposed to certain texts or images as they fear
that the influences might be negative by them becoming more
violent in their behaviour. this theory has been more popular
when violence in films has come up as they fear people might
try to copy the actions of characters from movies such as
clock work orange or Texas chainsaw massacre to name a
couple. but even then, they are very popular in society and
people like politicians can blame them for increasing violence
in society thus saving themselves from the blame.
These are the sorts of headlines seen every few years, in our
popular or mainstream papers :
the fact that for many years software was missed off the censors
scope, and only recently (in the UK) that a separate, independent
body was set up to rate the content and game play within the
game, helping parents decide if their children are old or mature
enough to play certain games thus advise shops and parents alike
on who should be playing these games. As much as you wouldnt
take your 9 year old child to watch a scary, violent 18 rated film, the
idea is that you wouldnt allow the same child to play games in the
same category.A lot of people say that there is a link between vio-
lence and video games. Video games, such as grand theft auto have
many theories behind them and if by playing these types of video
games encourages violence in their players. Psychologist have done
in-depth research and tests on people to try and find out if aggres-
sion, mental health and stress are linked to playing video games but
it still isnt scientifically proven that it is. A reason psychologists
think they might be linked is because most of these games involve
violence and sexual images and gamers could start to develop
metal health problems or already have problems. Then by them
playing these games, they start to become desensitised about kill-
ing because as these games make it seem like a normal thing to do.
Each time there has been a scientific study that has found in favour
of the gamers ,the media has taken what the report has said and
changed what the report actually meant in order to serve their own
agenda. There have been a substantial number of complex studies
done on the effects of violent games on children and stu-
dents.Many psychologists did tests to examine the violence of
someone who plays these video games compared to someone who
doesnt play violent video games. They do this so they can get an
accurate amount of results to help back up these investigations.
They look at the people who play these video games and monitor
their emotions to see if they trigger violence or acts of violence.One
of the tests that the psychologists did was show both gamers and
non-gamers images of murders to see how they would react to
what they have seen. The results from this varied from people be-
ing shocked and discussed at what they saw to other people who
laughed at it. How much was down to playing games, or watching
TV/Movies or indeed seeing images on the news or real-life has
been hard to prove.
1. Video Games and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Be-
havior in the Laboratory and in Life Craig A. Anderson
University of MissouriColumbia Karen E. Dill Lenoir-
Rhyne College 2000
Their findings showcase Violent video games provide a forum for 2. Violence exposure in real-life, video games, television,
learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations. movies, and the internet: is there desensitization?
The effect of violent video games appears to be cognitive in nature.
In the short term, playing a violent video game appears to affect ag- Jeanne B. Funk*, Heidi Bechtoldt Baldacci, Tracie Pasold, Jennifer
Baumgardner 2003
gression by priming aggressive thoughts. Longer-term effects are
likely to be longer lasting as well, as the player learns and practices
The research showcases The purpose of the present study was to
new aggression-related scripts that become more and more acces-
examine relationships among violence exposure in the media and in
sible for use when real-life conflict situations arise. The connection
real-life and desensitization as reflected in empathy and attitudes
here is that people who play aggressive and violent games, when
toward violence. the study reflected that , exposure to video game
they stop and are tested, show a marked increase in self-aggression
violence was associated with lower empathy and stronger pro vio-
which means they get pumped up. Those who played a different
lence attitudes. This finding provides further support for concern
game did not show as much.however, they chose a very sedate
about childrens exposure to video game violence, particularly if
game as the alternative, if theyd used a sporting game they may
granted that lower empathy and stronger pro violence attitudes in-
have found similar results. moreover, it states that The active na-
dicate desensitization to violence.
ture of the learning environment of the video game suggests that
this medium is potentially more dangerous than the more heavily
investigated TV and movie media.That was back in 2000 soon after 3. Exposure to violent video games increases automatic ag-
the Columbine Massacre a horrific event in USA history and one gressiveness
that got many Americans thinking about violent video games. Af-
ter the attacks, victims' families sued more than two dozen game (Eric Uhlmanna,*, Jane Swansonb aDepartment of Psychology, Yale Univer-
makers, saying titles such as Doom, a first-person shooter that the sity; 2 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06520, USA bDepartment of Psy-
chology, University of Washington, USA Received 30 October 2003)
two teen gunmen played, desensitized them to violence. A judge
dismissed the lawsuits, but the post-Columbine uproar led more re-
The research showcases games in positive light by saying Despite
searchers to begin dissecting games, much as Bandura did for TV, in
the misleading debate in the news media over whether exposure to
search of the roots of aggression. (Scientific American)
violent television, movies and video games leads to an increase in
aggressive behaviour, the empirical evidence that it does so has be-
come overwhelming.
So in order for life to follow the games, for the scientists theories the Lancet (Is Exposure to Media Violence, 2008) and Nature
what should have happened at the advent of these games is a rise (Editorial: A Calm
in crime, especially crime specifically aligned to a game culture. View, 2003), the latter
specifically calling on re-
searchers to tone down
as you can see here, there was a constant drop in crime rates the crusading rhetoric
until we know more (p.
355). There was even
the belief being put
around that ideological
biases were damaging
scientific credibility and
in 2007 John Sherry
(communications
scholar) asked why do
throughout the years some researchers con-
tinue to argue that
video games are danger-
then with the decrease in crime, and the huge increase in young ous despite evidence to
people playing games, with the arrival of the pre-2000 gamers into the contrary? (Sherry,
adulthood, the majority of findings have leant towards the concept 2007, p. 244).
that the effects are not as bad as those previously thought out to
be. After all the different
tests and experiments
In 2005 a combined experimental/prospective study of video game the psychologists real-
violence concluded that exposure to video game violence had no ised that more people were affected by the violent image than by
impact on relational aggression or normative beliefs in aggression playing a violent video game. By them seeing these images it
(Williams & Skoric, 2005). This was the first of many reports and showed that stress levels of people who dont play video games
court cases where people realised that the case for a definitive link
may have been overstated as shown in such scientific journals like
had increased by 80% but for those who did play games this only in-
creased by 12%.
British video game developer DMA Design began the series in 1997.
As of 2014, it has eleven stand-alone games and four expansion
packs. The third chronological title, Grand Theft Auto III, is consid-
ered a landmark title, as it brought the series to a 3D setting and
more immersive experience. GTA5 though held 6 world records and
only Call of Duty was able to prise some of these away.
critically acclaimed and commercially successful, having
shipped more than 235 million units, as of September
2015. Within 24 hours of its release, Grand Theft Auto V generated
more than $800 million in worldwide revenue, equating to approxi-
mately 11.21 million copies sold.In total Sales of Grand Theft Auto
products have generated $2.3 billion for Take Two since GTA5
launchIn 2006, Grand Theft Auto featured in a list of British design
icons in the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and
the Design Museum.
In 2013 The Telegraph ranked Grand Theft Auto among Britain's
most successful exports.The controversy for GTA were its story
lines unpleasant representations of the lowest form of living
drug infested slums, where you, as a player, are encouraged to
fight, steal, and kill (shoot, knife, run over blow up) as well as ab-
sorb yourself in the world of pimps, prostitutes, hustlers, murderers
and bribery.
the use and gratifications theory puts the focus onto the audience
instead of trying to put messages in their heads. It takes the stance
of focussing on what people do with media, rather than on what
media does to people. This theory is based on the fact that the au-
dience will interpret a message in any way they choose. The audi-
ence is in charge the audience seeks out the media it will ascer-
tain whether the media content is suitable and respond ac-
cordingly, either positively or negatively. The while premise of
the theory is that the audience will find the media suitable for
its needs it will look to get what it is wanting it is an active
participant in the process. A Gamespot reviewer, Carolyn Petit,
noted whilst reviewing GTAV that women in the game were
mostly treated and/or played as "strippers, prostitutes, long-
suffering wives ,humourless girlfriends and goofy, new-age
feminists", and felt that the satirical representation of misog-
yny legitimises it Dubious add-ons like Hot Coffee Mod where
players can engage in a crudely rendered, fully clothed sexual
intercourse mini-game. (http://gta.wikia.com/). When playing
these games there is no doubt, no matter how good the
graphics are, that you are playing a game. There is no link be-
tween what you witness, what you do and the normal every-
day life we lead as that is a make believe world and most of
the time is a fictional world making a clear difference between
our world and the of the game thus why playing sorts of
games like that which helps them scape reality for a few hours
in order to forget any problem, stress they might be going
through and just focus on the game and become detached which it-
self is a dangerous concept if done 24 hours a day 7 days a week
but for those people, who represent the vast majority of gamers,
who dont immerse themselves completely then the effects on the
psyche is minimal. Yes both games pull you in and you want to
play more, but then all games tend to do that even Minecraft.
Call of Duty is a 2003 first-person shooter video game developed The media, general public and the criminal (in some cases) use the
by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the first of many involvement with violent games as a way of excusing their behav-
instalments in the Call of Duty franchise. The game simulates infan- iour, or indeed societys. I believe it is becoming more evident and
try and combined arms warfare of World War II.As of February increasingly more likely for the future, that people are being drawn
2016, the Call of Duty series has sold over 250 million copies.Sales to violence, and violent behaviour, not through playing a video
of all Call of Duty games topped US$15 billion. Call of Duty is not an games, but by listening and reacting to opinions aired on the news,
naturally iconic game but it has become incredibly popular, espe- in newspapers or on social media as certain people are portrayed in
cially in North America. Its popularity is in fighting the baddies and a certain light making people point fingers towards them and mak-
the ultra-realism in its ever improving graphics.It is for this same ing them a target of violence.
reason that it was believed to be irresponsible and bad for chil-
dren. It was believed that the shooting of the enemy was too
graphic, and that the game play allowed the user to kill whoever
they wanted whether friend or foe, and not just by shooting, but
knife, beating to death, or blowing up. They do also tend to not
help themselves with plot lines called No Russian, in which civil-
ians were mown down, and the London scene in Modern Warfare 3
in which the recent bombings were represented with a mother and
child being killed.
It has also been accused of being homophobic, anti-Semitic, and
racist and sexist but then most games these days are.It does now
come with a filter setting that stops characters swearing and re-
duces the graphic content displayed.
Do these sorts of games make the weak sad lonely people in the
world go out and kill, in my opinion they don't and when such peo-
ple do go out and kill, they are most likely to be mentally unstable
from reality , distanced from the killing switched off from family,
friends and society much before they ever picked up remote con-
trol to play their first 18+ video game.