Video Game Controversy
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Video game controversies refers to a wide range of debates on the social effects of
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s on players and broader society, as well as debates within the
video game industry The video game industry encompasses the development, marketing, and monetization of video games. The industry encompasses dozens of job disciplines and thousands of jobs worldwide. The video game industry has grown from niches to mainstream. , ...
. Since the early 2000s, advocates of video games have emphasized their use as an expressive medium, arguing for their protection under the laws governing
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
and also as an educational tool. Detractors argue that video games are harmful and therefore should be subject to legislative oversight and restrictions. The positive and negative characteristics and effects of video games are the subject of scientific study. Academic research has examined the links between video games and
addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...
,
aggression Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
,
violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...
, social development, and a variety of stereotyping and
sexual morality Sexual ethics (also known as sex ethics or sexual morality) is a branch of philosophy that considers the ethics or morality or otherwise in sexual behavior. Sexual ethics seeks to understand, evaluate and critique interpersonal relationships and ...
issues.


Areas of controversy


Related to video game content


Violence

Video games since their inception have been the subject of concern due to the depictions of violence they may contain, which have heightened as the technology behind video games improve the amount of visual detail and realism of games. Video games are often seen as a possible cause to violent actions, notably in the aftermath of the 1999
Columbine High School massacre On April 20, 1999, a school shooting and attempted bombing occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, 12th grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher. ...
, but academic studies have yet to identify solid evidences linking violence in video games and violent behavior. The
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...
stated, in 2015, that a correlation between the use of violent video games and aggressive behavior was observed. However, it was noted, "the interpretations of these effects have varied dramatically, contributing to the public debate about the effects of violent video games." In 2017, Division 46 (Society for Media Psychology and Technology) of the American Psychological Association stated that "Scant evidence has emerged that makes any causal or correlational connection between playing violent video games and actually committing violent activities." Despite the lack of solid evidence and academic consensus, politicians and activists have sought for ways to restrict the sale of violent video games, particularly to minors, on the basis that they can lead to violent behavior. Within the United States, the issues of video game sales regulation led to both the formation of the
Entertainment Software Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
in 1994, and the 2011
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
landmark case '' Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association'' that ruled that video games are a protected class of free speech and blocking legislation on such sales restrictions. According to The Pew Research Center, in 2008, a study found that 97% of kids from the ages 12–17 engaged with video games, and two-thirds of the kids in the study played some sort of action or adventure game which tended to contain violent content. Another analysis discovered that more than 50% of all games rated by
ESRB The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
included violence, which encompasses more than 90% of the games rated as suitable for kids 10 years or older.


Sexual themes

Tolerance of sexual themes in video games varies between nations. Controversy over sexual themes has occurred in the US. For instance, in June 2005, an entire portion of unused code was found within the main script of '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', allowing the player to simulate sexual intercourse with the main character's girlfriends. This mode, ''Hot Coffee'', could be accessed in the PC version via
mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
, and through
Action Replay Action Replay is the brand name of a cheating device (such as cheat cartridges) created by Datel. The Action Replay is available for many gaming systems including the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation ...
codes in the
PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia o ...
and
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
versions. The scene was left on the disc and could be accessed by altering a few bytes of the game's code via a
hex editor A hex editor (or ''binary file editor'' or ''byte editor'') is a computer program that allows for manipulation of the fundamental binary data that constitutes a computer file. The name 'hex' comes from ' hexadecimal', a standard numerical format f ...
. This feature prompted the
Entertainment Software Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
(ESRB) to change the rating of San Andreas on 20 July 2005 to "adults only". Furthermore, the game was withdrawn from sale in many stores.
Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
posted a loss of $28.8 million in that
financial quarter A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ju ...
. This event was dubbed the '' Hot Coffee'' mod controversy. In Japan, controversy over an
eroge An ''eroge'' ( or , ''erogē''; ; a portmanteau of ''erotic game'' , ''erochikku gēmu'') is a Japanese genre of erotic video game. In 1982, Japan's Koei, founded by husband-and-wife team Yoichi and Keiko Erikawa (and later known for strategy ...
called ''Rape'' in 1989 led to the game being banned a few months after its release. The game ''
RapeLay is a 3D eroge video game made by Illusion, released on April 21, 2006, in Japan. Compared to Illusion's previous games, the main story is shorter, it features an improved 3D engine and is mainly played through mouse control. The game centers on ...
'', a Japanese eroge with a storyline centering on the player's character stalking and raping a mother and her two daughters, also caused controversy. Campaigns against the sale of the game resulted in its being banned in many countries. ''RapeLay'''s publisher, which intended the game only to be available in Japan, withdrew it from distribution. Since 2018, Sony has now issued new regulations for
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
games with sexual content and fan service. For the localized release of ''Senran Kagura Burst Re: Newal'', "Intimacy Mode", a mode where the player can play with the characters' bodies was removed, but by comparison, the same mode that was featured in previous titles like '' Senran Kagura: Estival Versus'' and '' Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash'' was not removed. PC release of ''Burst Re: Newal'' was not changed. The PS4 release of '' Nekopara Vol. 1'' was censored for similar reasons, resulting in the game receiving an "E" rating by the ESRB by comparison to the "M" rating for versions on
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
and PC. Sony claimed it was their decision to ban '' Omega Labyrinth Z'' outside of Japan due to its content. According to
Idea Factory International is a Japanese video game developer and publisher founded by former Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 15 ...
, the localized release of '' Date a Live: Rio Reincarnation'' will feature changes to certain event scenes and removal of illustrations that show characters in suggestive positions, although the PC version won't be changed.


Content regulation and censorship

Support for video game regulation has been linked to
moral panic A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usua ...
. Even so, governments have enacted, or have tried to enact, legislation that regulates distribution of video games through
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
based on content rating systems or banning. In 2005, David Gauntlett claimed that grant funding, news headlines, and professional prestige more commonly go to authors who, in good faith, promote anti-media beliefs. Tom Grimes, James A. Anderson, and Lori Bergen reiterated these claims in a 2008 book examining sociological effects on the production of media effects research. In 2013, the
Entertainment Software Association The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) and renamed on July 21, 2003. It is based in ...
, the lobbying group for the video game industry, had enlisted over 500,000 members to the "Video Game Voters Network", a "grassroots" lobbying group to mobilize gamers to act against public policy that may negatively impact the gaming industry. The VGV was launched in 2006 by the ESA, and uses social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to inform members of allies and opponents. In 2013, the ESA spent over US$3.9 million on lobbying, including but not limited to against VGV legislation. This included opposing a bipartisan federal bill that would direct the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
to study the effects of all forms of violent media. Such bills themselves had come under criticisms from some scholars for pressuring scientists to find specific outcomes rather than studying the issues neutrally.
Video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...
s were banned in
Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
in June 2000. This ban was finally lifted in January 2014. However, the Chinese would still police video games which would be "hostile to China or not in conformity with the outlook of China's government". Reported by
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...
, metaphorically speaking, Cai Wu, head of China's Ministry of Culture, said "We want to open the window a crack to get some fresh air, but we still need a screen to block the flies and mosquitoes."


=Voluntary regulation

= Voluntary rating systems adopted by the video game industry, such as the
ESRB The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
rating system in the United States and Canada (established in 1994), and the
Pan European Game Information PEGI () or Pan-European Game Information is a European video game content rating system established to help European consumers make informed decisions when buying video games or apps through the use of age recommendations and content descripto ...
(PEGI) rating system in Europe (established in 2003), are aimed at informing parents about the types of games their children are playing (or are asking to play). Some ratings of controversial games indicate they are not targeted at young children ("Mature" (M) or "Adults Only" (AO) in the US, or 15 or 18 in the UK). The packaging warns such games should not be sold to children. In the US, ESRB ratings are not legally binding, but many retailers take it upon themselves to refuse the sale of these games to minors. In the United Kingdom (UK), the BBFC ratings are legally binding. UK retailers also enforce the PEGI ratings, which are not legally binding.


=US government legislation

= No video game console manufacturer has allowed any game marked AO to be published in North America; however, the PC gaming service Steam has allowed AO titles such as ''Hatred'' to be published on its platform. No major retailers are willing to sell AO-rated games. However, ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' was rated AO after the presence of the ''Hot Coffee'' add-on became evident. The add-on was later removed and the game rated ''M''. In the 109th Congress and 110th Congress, the Video Games Enforcement Act was introduced to the US House of Representatives. The act required an identification check for the purchase of M and AO rated games. The bill and others like it did not succeed because of likely
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
violations. Although no law mandates identification checking for games with adult content, a 2008 survey by the
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
showed that video game retailers have voluntarily increased ID verification for M- and AO-rated games, and sales of those games to underage potential buyers decreased from 83% in 2000 to 20% in 2008. A further survey in April 2011, found that video game retailers continued to enforce the ratings by allowing only 13% of underage teenage shoppers to buy M-rated video games, a statistically significant decrease from the 20% purchase rate in 2009. On 7 January 2009, Joe Baca, representative of California's 43rd District, introduced H.R. 231, the ''Video game health labelling act''. This bill called for a label to be placed in a "clear and conspicuous location on the packaging" on all video games with an ESRB rating of T (Teen) or higher stating, "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior." The proposed legislation was referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. On 24 January 2011, Joe Baca reintroduced the ''Video game health labelling act'' as H.R. 400 of the 112th Congress. The bill was once again passed onto the subcommittee. On 27 June 2011, the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruled on '' Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association''. Video games were protected speech under the First Amendment. The case centered on a California law that sought to restrict sales of violent video games to minors. The video game industry, led by the
Entertainment Merchants Association The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) is the not-for-profit international trade association dedicated to advancing the interests of the $32 billion home entertainment industry. The Mission of EMA is to promote, to protect, and to ...
and the
Entertainment Software Association The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) and renamed on July 21, 2003. It is based in ...
, successfully obtained an injunction on the bill, believing that the definition of violence as stated in the California law was too vague and would not treat video games as protected speech. This opinion was upheld in lower courts, and supported by the Supreme Court's decision. The majority of the justices did not consider the studies brought to their attention as convincing evidence of harm, and stated that they could not create a new class of restricted speech that was not applied to other forms of media. However, Justice Breyer's minority decision found the evidence more convincing. Deana Pollard Sacks,
Brad Bushman Brad J. Bushman (born May 14, 1960, in Salt Lake City, Utah) is the Margaret Hall and Robert Randal Rinehart Chair of Mass Communication Professor at Ohio State University. He also has an appointment in psychology. He has published extensively on t ...
, and Craig A. Anderson objected to the ruling, claiming that the thirteen experts who authored the Statement on Video Game Violence on the Brown side were considerably more academically merited, and had on average authored over 28 times as many peer-reviewed journal articles about aggression/violence based on original empirical research as the signatories supporting the EMA, whereas the over 100 signatories supporting Brown had on average authored over 14 times as many. Richard Hall, Ryan Hall, and Terri Day replied: "It is not surprising that Anderson and Bushman found their own qualifications and the qualifications of those who agree with them to be superior to the qualifications of those who disagree with them", and claimed that they might have used methodology which have undercounted contributions of some scholars. On 3 April 2013,
Dianne Feinstein Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( ; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who serves as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she was ...
, a Californian senator and Democrat, spoke in San Francisco to a group of 500 constituents about gun violence. She said video games have "a very negative role for young people, and the industry ought to take note of that" and that Congress might have to step in if the video game industry did not cease to glorify guns.


Portrayal of religion

While religion is seen as a serious topic, video games are considered entertainment. As such, the use of religion and religious motifs in video games can sometimes be controversial. For example, '' Hitman 2: Silent Assassin'' (2002) sparked controversy due to a level featuring the killing of
Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
s within a depiction of their most holy site, the Harmandir Sahib.


Portrayal of gender

Some scholars have expressed the concern that video games may have the effect of reinforcing sexist stereotypes. In 1998, a study by Dietz, conducted at the
University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
, found that of thirty-three games sampled, 41% did not feature female characters, 28% sexually objectified women, 21% depicted violence against women, and 30% did not represent the female population at all. Furthermore, characterizations of women tended to be stereotypical: highly sexualized ("visions of beauty with large breasts and hips"), dependent ("victim or as the proverbial ''Damsel in Distress''"), opponents ("evil or as obstacles to the goal of the game"), and trivial ("females depicted in fairly non-significant roles"). However, the study is criticized for not including a wide range of video games for study and for including old games published up to twenty years ago which do not represent current industry standards, for example, an increased presence of strong female characters. In 2002, Kennedy considered the characteristics of the character,
Lara Croft Lara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the video game franchise ''Tomb Raider''. She is presented as a highly intelligent and athletic British archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins around th ...
in the ''
Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, th ...
'' video game series. She is presented as a beautiful, clever, athletic, and brave English archaeologist-adventurer. Lara Croft has achieved popularity with both males and females as an action heroine, although depending on what perspective is applied she can either represent 'a positive role model for young girls' or a 'combination of eye and thumb candy for the boys'. Dietz's findings are supported by a survey commissioned in 2003 by Children Now. The survey found that gender stereotypes pervade most video games: male characters (52%) were more likely than females (32%) to engage in physical aggression; nearly 20% of female characters were hyper-sexualized in some way, while 35% of male characters were extremely muscular. In 2004, the game developer,
Eidos Eidos may refer to: * Eidos (philosophy), a Greek term meaning "form" "essence", "type" or "species". See Plato's theory of forms and Aristotle's theory of universals * Eidos plc, a British software company, which created video game publisher Eido ...
, remodeled Lara Croft for '' Tomb Raider: Legend''. The character was modified to have a more believable figure with less revealing clothing. In 2005, Terry Flew, academic, expressed a similar opinion:
gender bias Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
and stereotyping exists in many games. Male characters are portrayed as hard bodied, muscled men while female characters are portrayed as soft bodied, nearly naked women with large breasts, portrayed in a narrowly stereotypical manner. Females are usually constructed as visual objects in need of protection who wait for male rescue, whereas men are portrayed with more power. According to Flew, such depiction of females in games reflects underlying social ideas of male dominance and themes of masculinity. Although not all video games contain such stereotypes, Flew suggests that there are enough to make it a general trait and that "...different genders have different gaming."


Portrayal of sexual orientation and gender identity

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) characters have been depicted in some video games since the 1980s, with '' Caper in the Castro'' in 1989 as one of the first games focusing on LGBT themes. LGBT content has been subject to changing rules and regulations by game companies. These rules are generally examples of
heterosexism Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of female–male sexuality and relationships. According to Elizabeth Cramer, it can include the belief that all people are or should be heterosexual and that heterosexua ...
in that heterosexuality is normalized while homosexuality is subject to additional censorship or ridicule.
Sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
and
gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...
were significant in some console and PC games, with the trend being toward greater visibility of LGBT identities, particularly in Japanese popular culture and games marketed to LGBT consumers.


Portrayal of race, nationality, and ethnicity

Video games may influence the learning of young players about
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
and
urban culture Urban culture is the culture of towns and cities. The defining theme is the presence of a great number of very different people in a very limited space - most of them are strangers to each other but still try to be polite to each other more times ...
. The portrayal of race in some video games such as the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, ''
Custer's Revenge ''Custer's Revenge'' (also known as ''Mystique Presents Swedish Erotica: Custer's Revenge'') is an adult action game published by American Multiple Industries for the Atari 2600, first released in November 1982. The game gained notoriety owing to ...
'', '' 50 Cent: Bulletproof'', and '' Def Jam: Fight for NY'' has been controversial. The 2002 game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City'' was criticized as promoting
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
. The game takes place in 1986, in "Vice City", a fictionalized
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. It involves a gang war between
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
an and
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n refugees which involves the player's character. However, it is possible to play the game without excessive killing. The 2009 game ''
Resident Evil 5 ''Resident Evil 5'' is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. It is a major installment in the ''Resident Evil'' series, and was announced in 2005—the same year its predecessor ''Resident Evil 4'' was released. ' ...
'' is set in Africa, and as such has the player kill numerous African antagonists. In response to criticism, promoters of ''Resident Evil 5'' argued that to censor the portrayal of black antagonists was discrimination in itself. War-themed video games such as '' Medal of Honor: Warfighter'' and '' Call of Duty: Black Ops II'' have been criticized for how they portray Arab people and predominantly Islamic countries like Pakistan.


Related to video game culture


Gaming addiction, gaming disorder, and other health-related concerns

Video game addiction is the excessive or
compulsive Compulsive behavior is defined as performing an action persistently and repetitively. Compulsive behaviors could be an attempt to make obsessions go away. The act is usually a small, restricted and repetitive behavior, yet not disturbing in a pa ...
use of computer and video games that interferes with daily life. Instances have been reported in which users play compulsively, isolating themselves from family and friends or from other forms of social contact, and focus almost entirely on in-game achievements rather than broader life events. The first video game to attract political controversy for its "addictive properties" was the 1978
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...
''
Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter and set ...
''. One study from
Chung Ang University Chung-Ang University (CAU; ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is widely regarded as one of the best universities in South Korea. The university operates two campuses: main campus located in Dongjak Di ...
observed that other structures affected by the use of video games include the
anterior cingulate cortex In the human brain, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is the frontal part of the cingulate cortex that resembles a "collar" surrounding the frontal part of the corpus callosum. It consists of Brodmann areas 24, 32, and 33. It is involved ...
and
orbitofrontal cortex The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a prefrontal cortex region in the frontal lobes of the brain which is involved in the cognitive process of decision-making. In non-human primates it consists of the association cortex areas Brodmann area 11, 12 ...
. The results from this experiment suggest an increase in stimulation of these areas, resembling a pattern similar to those with
substance dependence Substance dependence, also known as drug dependence, is a biopsychological situation whereby an individual's functionality is dependent on the necessitated re-consumption of a psychoactive substance because of an adaptive state that has develope ...
. Researchers interpreted their results of this increase in activity of the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortices to be an indication of an early stage of
video game addiction Video game addiction (VGA), also known as gaming disorder or internet gaming disorder, is generally defined as the problematic, compulsive use of video games that results in significant impairment to an individual's ability to function in vario ...
. The
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
has included "gaming disorder" in the 11th edition of the
International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is a globally used diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. The ICD is maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is the directing and coordinating ...
, which was approved by May 2019. It was defined as "a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour ('digital gaming' or 'video-gaming')", defined by three criteria: the lack of control of playing video games, priority given to video games over other interests, and inability to stop playing video games even after being affected by negative consequences. The addition was contested by the video game industry and several academics, believing that its inclusion was too early and that more studies were needed. Outside of mental health, medical researchers are concerned that long-term playing of video games can lead to musculoskeletal issues, vision impairment, and obesity.


Gaming culture and online harassment

A further issue that can occur through gaming is online harassment or bullying behaviors. Esports communities seem to be particularly suffering from toxic behaviors. Especially in competitive esports games, negative behavior, such as harassment, can create barriers to players achieving high performance and can reduce players' enjoyment which may cause them to leave the game. With its largely young, male-dominated population, gamers may exhibit habits and behaviors sometimes seen by outside groups as toxic and misogynistic, leading to harassment of other players. A specific example of harassing behavior occurring within a game can be found in
Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...
services. With its online chat and party system, this leaves the service open to unwanted harassment, trolling, or bullying to occur between players. To address these concerns, Microsoft made improvements with reputation levels for a player's Xbox Live account. The system is set to warn, then punish bad behavior in hopes of better regulating Xbox Live accounts. The anonymous nature of the internet may be a factor of encouraging anti-social behavior. This type of behavior expands to other parts of the internet separate from gaming, such as online forums, social media sites, etc. Lack of accountability for one's actions on the internet may encourage others to engage in harassing behavior. Without minimal threat of punishment, some may find it easier to carry out negative behavior over online gaming. The
Gamergate controversy Gamergate or GamerGate (GG) was a loosely organized online misogyny, misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. It was conducted using the hashtag "# ...
that started in 2014 drew media attention to the negative portions of the culture of the video game community, highlighting the need to take steps against online harassment. Regarding whether attitudes towards women in games and gaming culture extend as far as
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...
, opinions have been divided. For example,
VentureBeat ''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. It publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos. History The ''VentureBeat'' company was founded in 2006 by Matt Marshall, a ...
writer Rus McLaughlin sees it as a status quo "ingrained in video-game DNA", while Joe Yang (writing for the same source) regards such claims to be misleading, and sees misogyny as a problem where it does occur, but disputes that it is inherent or normative, or that the whole culture should be described that way. A further issue related to online behavior is the presence of younger players who may be exposed to behaviors of more mature players beyond the ability for parents to control this exposure, coupled with issues such as harassment and bullying. In the past, this has typically been controlled through the closed online environments from each of the major console systems that could maintain a safe environment, but with the wider availability of
cross-platform play In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. It is c ...
to allow console players on one system to play with those on other systems or with players on personal computers, these environments are no longer as controlled. In December 2020, the three major console manufacturers
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
,
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
, and
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
announced a joint plan to promote safer gaming based on the three principles of prevention, partnership, and responsibility to combat harassing and troubling behavior.


Video game impacts on youth

Related to video game content (particularly violence), gaming addiction, and online harassment, there is ongoing concern that video games may have a negative impact on the development of children. Video games are commonly marketed towards younger audiences, and in a 2008
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
study, 97% of teenagers from ages 12 to 17 played video games, with games featuring violent content generally among the preferred types of games these minors played. Many of the studies related to linking violence and gambling addiction to video games are performed in consideration of how younger minds can be more susceptible to the possible effects. There has also been studies to try to consider positive effects of video games on youth development, since they encourage cognitive skills and thinking and cooperative participation. Some countries have adopted laws or regulations to limit minors' access to video games. Most notably is China, which was the first country to classify video games as having potentially addictive measures in 2008. Since 2005, China has passed regulations that are aimed to regulate how long a minor can play a video game, with new regulations imposing more stricter means to track this. As of 2019, the current Chinese law limits minors to 90 minutes of video games each weekday, and three hours on weekends. Other countries enforce content limits for video games that may be purchased by minors. The
Australian Classification Board The Australian Classification Board (ACB or CB) is an Australian government statutory body responsible for the classification and censorship of films, video games and publications for exhibition, sale or hire in Australia. The ACB was establis ...
's content ratings have legal weight, preventing games that are refused classification from being sold and requiring strict checks on a purchaser's age for those given a rating of MA15+, R18+, or X18+. Germany's ''
Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (''Entertainment Software Self-Regulation'', abbreviated USK) is the organisation responsible for video game ratings in Germany. In Austria, it is mandatory in the state of Salzburg, while PEGI is mandator ...
'' also has similar restrictions on retail of games that are considered harmful to minors. Otherwise, these content rating systems are used as guidelines that are otherwise not directly enforceable, but typically still practiced in retail to prevent direct sale of mature titles to minors. For example, with the U.S.'s
ESRB The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
system, retailers generally will check age identification before selling M (mature) rated games to minors, and will refuse to stock AO (Adults Only) games. Other options to monitor and regulation video game playing by youth are given through
parental control ''Parental Control'' is a reality television show about people looking for love produced by MTV. The two directors, Brendon Carter and Bruce Klassen, have also created other MTV shows. In Asia, this show was aired on Channel V from 2007–2009. ...
s implemented in hardware or software. According to the
Entertainment Software Association The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) and renamed on July 21, 2003. It is based in ...
(ESA) and the
Entertainment Software Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
(ESRB), parents believe that parental controls on gaming consoles are useful. Parents have resources they can use to gain more knowledge about the media that their children are consuming. Researchers of video game violence, Dr. Cheryl Olson and Dr. Lawrence Kutner, have compiled a list of advice for parents who want to better monitor their children. The Entertainment Software Rating Board provides easy access to the ratings of a large database of video games. Common Sense Media is database which shows the ratings of movies, games, TV shows, and other media. For each piece of media, it lists a suggested age rating, and scales that measure positive messages, language, violence, drug use, and consumerism. It also provides a summary of the content of the media from a fellow-parent's perspective. The ESRB's website states that "Our rating system was established with the help of child development and academic experts, based on an analysis of other rating systems and what kind of information is valuable to parents. We found that consumers respond best to an age-based rating system that includes information about the content of a game. As games evolved, we found that parents place equal importance on understanding the ways in which some
ideo IDEO () is a design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 700 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, enviro ...
games are played, such as interacting with others online and spending money on in-game items."


Alt-right and far-right associations

A connection between video gaming and the
alt-right The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...
has been suggested, tied to the
Gamergate controversy Gamergate or GamerGate (GG) was a loosely organized online misogyny, misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. It was conducted using the hashtag "# ...
in 2014, which contributed to a
culture war A culture war is a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal value ...
at that time that continued with the election of
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
as United States President. The interactivity of video games may encourage players to gain enjoyment from far-right themes, which may potentially lead them to be more open to the extreme right positions, effectively being an incubator for the far right. Based on this, some alt- and far-right groups have been discovered to be organizing efforts to reach out to other players in various competitive online games and forums, typically to the younger and male ones, to indoctrinate them into their ways of thinking. Since these game chats and forums typically go unmoderated, it has been difficult to detect and prevent such recruitment from occurring. This has further been pushed by violent events, such as the 2017
Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...
where the
Discord Discord is a VoIP and instant messaging social platform. Users have the ability to communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media and files in private chats or as part of communities called "servers".The developer documenta ...
chat application developed for video game players was found to be hosting the far-right groups that were planning the rally. A 2021 report by the
Institute for Strategic Dialogue The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a think tank founded in 2006 by Sasha Havlicek and George Weidenfeld that specialises in research and policy advice on hate, extremism, and disinformation. It is headquartered in London, United Kin ...
found that gaming services like Steam, Discord, DLive, and Twitch had drawn groups of far-right and neo-Nazi people together in shared communities, some which try to use propaganda to recruit new members but most as a means for the multinational groups to congregate. The Institute found that Steam had the largest population of such groups, attributed to the lack of moderation used on the service's social features. Video game advocates have challenged the notion that video games are inherently right-wing. They argue games may allow play towards what would be alt- or far-right actions, but they can also be played to more liberal goals as well, and it is how the player chooses to play that should be of concern. Advocates caution that there is a lack of scale in the concerns raised; not all games foster the environments that would promote alt-right ideals or recruits, and many games are apolitical, simply meant to be enjoyed.


Criminal activity, online safety, and cybersecurity

Other common occurrences include online casino scams, phishing, cell phone dialers, malware in illegal downloads, and
money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
. Others have found ways to use a built-in systems for illegal profit, notably the use of
skin gambling In video games, skin gambling is the use of virtual goods, often cosmetic in-game items such as "Skin (computing)#Video gaming, skins", as virtual currency to bet on the outcome of eSports, professional matches or on other games of chance. It is ...
tied to games like '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' drew attention to how in-game virtual items could be used for gambling for real-world funds. Players have increasingly been targeted by cybercriminals. According to cybersecurity firm Akamai, between July 2018 and June 2020, 1 in 10 of the 100 billion credential stuffing attacks recorded were targeted at the video game industry and its players, along with 1.4 in 10 of the web application attacks (152 million out of 10.6 billion). Cybercriminals attack video game players to steal their credentials, ID or data, as well as to steal payment card details or cash held in gaming accounts. Part of the motivation for attacking players is that they are seen as both a honeypot (they have something worth stealing), are a relatively vulnerable target (because many are young people or children) and some of their activities increase the opportunity to attack them (social behaviour, accessing cheats, downloading and sharing free games). Sometimes the target of attacks is not the players themselves but the companies who produce the games, with cybersecurity researchers finding over a million compromised corporate accounts of game companies in January 2021. Cyber attacks targeted at this sector include: * DDoS attacks - according to NexusGuard, DDoS attacks increased by 287% in Q3 2020 and 77% of these attacks targeted the online gaming and gambling industries * Teslacrypt, a ransomware attack that stops players from playing their favourite games unless they pay. * ESEA hack compromised 1,503,707 player profiles leaving them open to further attacks and exploitation * Syrk, a type of ransomware attack, which was disguised as a Fortnite cheat hack and which encrypts players’ files and deletes them every two hours until they pay.


Cheating

Video games have nearly always been subject to cheating by players. Early on, prior to online games, cheating had little impact to other players and was considered innocuous: players would find secret
cheat code Cheating in video games involves a video game player using various methods to create an advantage beyond normal gameplay, usually in order to make the game easier. Cheats may be activated from within the game itself (a cheat code implemented by ...
s in games typically left as testing codes by the developer (such as the
Konami code The Konami Code ( ja, コナミコマンド, ''Konami Komando'', "Konami command"), also commonly referred to as the Contra Code and sometimes the 30 Lives code, is a cheat code that appears in many Konami video games, as well as some non-Konam ...
that would give them numerous lives or other bonuses), or there were devices that could edit a game cartridge's memory on the fly, such as the
Game Genie Game Genie is a line of video game cheat cartridges originally designed by Codemasters, sold by Camerica and Galoob. The first device in the series was released in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, with subsequent devices released for th ...
. Players often developed
trainers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used f ...
to extend options and give a player additional cheats for games with more advanced personal computer games. These cheats would allow players to complete games, and rarely would have any further advantage for the player. As multiplayer games developed which used a client-server architecture, certain players began developing a number of tools like
aimbot Cheating in online games is the subversion of the rules or mechanics of online video games to gain an unfair advantage over other players, generally with the use of third-party software. What constitutes cheating is dependent on the game in ...
s and
wallhack Cheating in online games is the subversion of the rules or mechanics of online video games to gain an unfair advantage over other players, generally with the use of third-party software. What constitutes cheating is dependent on the game in ...
s that modified the game on the client side for the benefit of that player, giving them an advantage over others. With the potential to earn in-game or real-world prizes within
virtual economies A virtual economy (or sometimes synthetic economy) is an emergent economy existing in a virtual world, usually exchanging virtual goods in the context of an online game, particularly in massively multiplayer online games (MMOs). People enter th ...
from online games, these tools became more sophisticated with more and more features, with developers charging money to use these tools. This in turn led to game and middleware developers creating anti-cheat technology solutions to try to detect when these tools were being used to automatically ban such players from the game. This has led to a constant battle between the game developers and publishers to eliminate cheaters from their games, and cheat creators to find new methods to bypass these automated detection tools. As these cheats often violate acceptable use policies and other conditions for using the game, developers and publishers have also been successful in litigation against cheat developers as another means to stop their use. Related to cheating are similar means of exploiting video games for financial gains. Examples of such include
gold farming Gold farming is the practice of playing a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) to acquire in-game currency, later selling it for real-world money.
, paying low-income labors to level characters or earn in-game items that can then be sold to players at a profit, and
twinking Twinking is a type of behavior in role-playing games that is disapproved of by other players. A player who engages in such behavior is known as a twink. The precise definition of twinking varies depending on the variety of role-playing game: *In ...
or smurfing, paying skilled players to quickly level low-level characters.


Related to the video game industry


Workplace concerns

Just as with representation of women, LGBT, and minorities in video games themselves, these groups also can be marginalized within the video game development industry in Western markets. The industry is primarily made up of Caucasian, heterosexual males, according to 2017 industry studies, a result of the marketing of video games during the 70s and 80s. Experts have stressed the need to draw underrepresented groups into the industry to help developers gain broader insights for the stories and characters for video games, so that new games will appeal to the largest possible audiences. While the industry has had isolated cases where minorities reported mistreatment, there had not yet been a moment like the
Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...
in other entertainment fields as of 2021. However, with major legal cases of sexual misconduct towards female employees at
Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...
,
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
and
Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Santa Monica, California. It was founded in July 2008 through the merger of Activision, Inc. (the publicly traded parent company of Activision Publishing) and Vivendi ...
filed from 2018 to 2021, some analysts and academics see such a watershed moment for the video game industry to be approaching. Video game developers are considered creative professionals and thus typically do not qualify for
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
pay. Larger studios, particularly those backed by Triple A publishers, will frequently set game completion deadlines, and require employees to complete their tasks by this deadline, often requires several weeks of overtime work. This has become known as " crunch time" within the industry. While infrequent periods of crunch time are tolerated, there have been several reported cases where developers have been forced into a crunch time mode for months at a time, even well before a game's set completion deadline. Such practices have caused developers and other groups starting in 2018 for discussing
unionization The organizing model, as the term refers to trade unions (and sometimes other social-movement organizations), is a broad conception of how those organizations should recruit, operate, and advance the interests of their members, though the specific ...
within the industry and establishing reasonable limits on crunch time and other workers' rights.


Lack of crediting

A 2015 ''
Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
'' article stated that crediting "has long been a sensitive topic in the game industry". There have been instances of employees, or even entire studios, not being listed in the credits of a game. Sometimes, this is mutually agreed upon by publishers and developers, or even desired by the developing party; see for more information on this. In other instances, it is against their wishes, or something they reluctantly consent to because it's the only work they can get. Lack of crediting has been a contended issue since the early days of the industry. In the 1970s and 80s,
Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...
never credited developers, which game designer
Warren Robinett Joseph Warren Robinett Jr. (born December 25, 1951) In the A. Miller interview, Robinett says he was 26 in November 1977. is a designer of interactive computer graphics software, notable as the developer of the Atari 2600's ''Adventure'' — ...
said was "a power play to keep the game designers from getting recognition and therefore more bargaining power". This led Robinett to create the first well-known
Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
in ''
Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
'' (1980) to acknowledge his authorship. In-game credits serve as official references, and are aggregated by websites such as
MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
and
Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' mag ...
. If a person is not credited, they could still include their work experience in their
portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a ...
or CV, but they might have difficulties backing this up during a job interview. Moreover,
non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...
s might actually prevent them from doing so. In 2006, a survey by the
IGDA The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) is a nonprofit professional association whose stated mission is to "support and empower game developers around the world in achieving fulfilling and sustainable careers." The IGDA is incorpo ...
found that 35% of the respondents either "don't ever" or "only sometimes" receive official credit. In subsequent years, Mythic,
Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in Octo ...
, and
Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...
all self-confirmed that they at some point had a policy of only crediting employees who stayed until the end of development. This has been denounced as a way of trapping workers in the company, and punishing them if they leave. Rockstar, which was particularly criticized over this, eventually abolished the policy. A 2021 ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' article stated the issue was still "a huge area of concern". Švelch (2021), in ''
Games and Culture ''Games and Culture'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the field of culture and media studies, specializing on the socio-cultural, political, and economic dimensions of gaming. The editor-in-chief is Tanya Krzywinska (Falmouth Univer ...
'', found that credit omission frequently occurs when work is outsourced, and is particularly common in
freemium Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium," is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical (o ...
games.


Anti-consumer practices

Video games as computer software are potentially easy to copy and duplicate outside of the copyright owner's control, which can lead to widespread
copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
. Prior to digital distribution, some games included an in-game step that required the player to check part of the game's printed manual or material shipped with the game such as a
code wheel {{Refimprove, date=September 2008 A code wheel is a type of copy protection used on older computer games, often those published in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It evolved from the original "manual protection" system in which the program would ...
, which they entered into the game to validate ownership, though such simply checks were easily defeated through photocopies and shared information. With wide availability of the Internet making such physical schemes impractical to control copyright infringement, many developers and publishers turned to
digital rights management Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM) such as access control technologies can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. ...
(DRM) to control the use of digital content and devices after purchase and to protect an entity's intellectual property from public access. DRM technologies typically tie the specific installation of a game to the computer it is installed on, preventing a user from sharing the same files with a second user; however this also can limit legitimate reuse of the installation of the game by the purchaser on different computers they own. Because of limitations placed on what a user can do with purchases games bundled with DRM, consumers argue it inconveniences legitimate customers and allows big business to stifle innovation and competition. In some types of "always-in DRM", the DRM must have a persistent connection to an external server, which has raised further concerns about the ability for a user to play a game if they temporarily lack an Internet connection, and the fate of the game if the DRM server should be discontinued. With the advent of
digital distribution Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content (media), content such as Sound recording and reproductio ...
and online storefronts for video games, publishers and developers sought ways to further
monetize Monetization (American and British English spelling differences, also spelled monetisation) is, broadly speaking, the process of converting something into money. The term has a broad range of uses. In banking, the term refers to the process of co ...
the game as to obtain further revenue after the initial sale. Larger expansion packs led way to the nature of
microtransaction Microtransactions, often abbreviated as mtx, are a business model where users can purchase virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransact ...
s, small purchases, typically under for a small benefit in the game. One of the first examples of this was a piece of horse armor for '' The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion'', which proved controversial. Publishers and developers would continue to develop other monetization methods, such as
freemium Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium," is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical (o ...
games that are free to play but the player benefits by spending real-life money for in-game boosts. A more recent approach is the idea of
loot box In video games, a loot box (also called a loot crate or prize crate) is a consumable virtual item which can be redeemed to receive a randomised selection of further virtual items, or Loot (video gaming), loot, ranging from simple customization ...
es, popularized in games like ''
Overwatch ''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games f ...
'', where the player can purchase with either in-game or real-life funds a virtual box that contains a set of in-game items, with the items being distributed by various rarity levels. Loot boxes came under intense government and media scrutiny in 2018 as it felt these mechanics were too close or were like gambling, and would violate their local laws. Some countries like Denmark and the Netherlands banned the use of loot boxes, while other countries like the United States and United Kingdom urged the video game industry to voluntarily regulate the use of loot boxes.


Environmental concerns

The video game industry does contribute towards environmental concerns with how large it has grown in the 2010s. Both the sourcing of electronics hardware to make consoles and personal computers, and the generation of electricity for playing games are considered part of the industry's environmental footprint. Newer game technology such as cloud gaming utilize data centers which is also generally less energy efficient compared to traditional computing, though provide performance benefits. In the United States, as of 2019, it was estimated that the total power used by video games was about 34 TWh/year or 2.4% of the total domestic energy market, and associated 24 MT/year of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to that of 5 million gas-engine automobiles. Major console manufactures Sony and Microsoft have both committed to improving their console hardware to be more
sustainable Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...
and reducing power requirements.


Publicized incidents


In the United States

On 22 November 1997, Noah Wilson, aged 13, died when his friend, Yancy, stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife. Wilson's mother, Andrea Wilson, alleged her son was stabbed to death because of an obsession with the 1995 Midway game ''
Mortal Kombat 3 ''Mortal Kombat 3'' is a 1995 arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into arcades in 1995. It is the third main installment in the '' Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1993's ''Mortal Kombat II''. As in the p ...
''; that Yancy was so obsessed with the game that he believed himself to be the character,
Cyrax This is a list of Player character, playable and boss (video games), boss characters from the ''Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise and the games in which they appear. Created by Ed Boon and John Tobias, the series depicts conflicts between ...
, who uses a
finishing move Finishing can refer to: *Finishing (whisky), a whisky making method that involves aging of multiple casks *Finishing (bookbinding), the process of embellishing a book * Finishing (manufacturing), processes that are applied to a workpiece's surface ...
which Wilson claims involves taking the opponent in a headlock and stabbing them in the chest, despite the fact that Cyrax has never used this Fatality in any game he has appeared in. The court found "Wilson's complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." There have also been video game-related crimes which took place at schools. On 24 March 1998, 13-year-old Mitchell Johnson and 11-year-old Andrew Golden killed four students and a teacher in the
Westside Middle School massacre West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham E ...
. Although no connection to video games was drawn by the press at the time, the case was re-examined by commentators a year later, subsequent to the events of the Columbine High School massacre, and it was determined that the two boys had often played '' GoldenEye 007'' together and they enjoyed playing
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
games. On 20 April 1999,
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold Eric David Harris (April 9, 1981 – April 20, 1999) and Dylan Bennet Klebold (; September 11, 1981 – April 20, 1999) were an American mass murder duo who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Harris and Klebold ...
killed 12 students, a teacher, and themselves in the
Columbine High School massacre On April 20, 1999, a school shooting and attempted bombing occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, 12th grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher. ...
. The two were allegedly obsessed with the video game ''
Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...
''. Harris also created
WADs WADS (690 AM; "Radio Amor") is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish language Christian radio format, licensed to Ansonia, Connecticut, it serves the Bridgeport area. The station is currently owned by Radio Amor, Inc. WADS has been silent si ...
for the game, and created a large
mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
named "Tier" which he called his "life's work". Contrary to rumor, however, neither student had made a ''Doom'' level mimicking the school's layout, and there is no evidence the pair practiced the massacre in ''Doom''.


2000s

Controversy related to video games was sparked again in November 2001, when twenty-one-year-old Shawn Woolley committed suicide in a state his mother described as an addiction to ''
EverQuest ''EverQuest'' is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) originally developed by Verant Interactive and 989 Studios for Windows PCs. It was released by Sony Online Entertainment in March 1999 in North Americ ...
''. Woolley's mother said, :"I think the way the game is written is that when you first start playing it, it is fun, and you make great accomplishments. And then the further you get into it, the higher level you get, the longer you have to stay on it to move onward, and then it isn't fun anymore. But by then you're addicted, and you can't leave it." Later video game controversies centered on whether some murderers were inspired by crime simulators. In February 2003, 16-year-old American Dustin Lynch was charged with aggravated murder. He pleaded insanity in that he was obsessed with '' Grand Theft Auto III''.
Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports * Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City * Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Brig ...
, an attorney and an opponent of video games, offered to represent Lynch. Thompson encouraged the father of the victim to pass a note to the judge that read "the attorneys had better tell the jury about the violent video game that trained this kid ndshowed him how to kill our daughter, JoLynn. If they don't, I will." Lynch later retracted his insanity plea. His mother, Jerrilyn Thomas, said, :"It has nothing to do with video games or
Paxil Paroxetine, sold under the brand names Paxil and Seroxat among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, ...
, and my son's no murderer." On 7 June 2003, 18-year-old American Devin Moore shot and killed two policemen and a dispatcher after grabbing one of the officers' weapons following an arrest for the possession of a stolen vehicle. At trial, the defense claimed that Moore had been inspired by the video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Vice City''. On 25 June 2003, two American step brothers, Joshua and William Buckner, aged 14 and 16, respectively, used a rifle to fire at vehicles on
Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
in
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, killing a 45-year-old man and wounding a 19-year-old woman. The two shooters told investigators they had been inspired by '' Grand Theft Auto III''. In June 2007, 22-year-old Texan Alejandro Garcia shot and killed his cousin after arguing over whose turn it was to play the game '' Scarface: The World Is Yours''. He pleaded guilty at his murder trial on 6 April 2011, and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. In September 2007, in Ohio, 16-year-old
Daniel Petric Daniel Petric (; born August 24, 1991) is a convicted murderer from Wellington, Ohio. At age 16, he shot both of his parents after his father confiscated his copy of the video game ''Halo 3''. His mother died, but his father managed to recover ...
sneaked out of his bedroom window to purchase the game ''
Halo 3 ''Halo 3'' is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the ''Halo'' franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in 2001's '' Halo: Combat Evolved'' and continued in 2 ...
'' against the orders of his father, a minister at New Life Assembly of God in
Wellington, Ohio Wellington is a village in Lorain County, Ohio. The population was 4,799 at the time of the 2020 census. History Some say the village was named after William Welling, a local resident, while others believe the name is derived from the title of ...
,
U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
His parents eventually banned him from the game after he spent up to 18 hours a day with it, and secured it in a lockbox in a closet where the father also kept a 9mm handgun according to prosecutors. In October 2007, Daniel used his father's key to open the lockbox and remove the gun and the game. He then entered the living room of his house and shot both of them in the head, killing his mother and wounding his father. Petric was sentenced to life in prison without parole, which was later commuted to 23 years in prison. Defense attorneys argued that Petric was influenced by video game addiction. The court dismissed these claims. The judge, James Burge, commented that while he thought there was ample evidence the boy knew what he was doing, Burge thought the game had affected him like a drug, saying "I firmly believe that Daniel Petric had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents they would be dead forever." In December 2007, 17-year-old Lamar Roberts and his 16-year-old girlfriend, Heather Trujillo, were accused of beating a 7-year-old girl to death. They were said to have been imitating the content of ''
Mortal Kombat ''Mortal Kombat'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of video games originally developed by Midway Games in 1992. The development of the first game was originally based on an idea that Ed Boon and John Tobias had of making a v ...
''. In July 2008, Heather was sentenced to 18 years in prison and 6 years in a youth-offender program, and, on 16 January 2009, Lamar was sentenced to 36 years in prison. In June 2008, four teens allegedly obsessed with ''
Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...
'' went on a crime spree after being in New Hyde Park, New York. They first robbed a man, knocking out his teeth and then they stopped a woman driving a black BMW and stole her car and her cigarettes. In April 2009, Joseph Johnson III was charged with murder after shooting his friend, Danny Taylor, during a quarrel over a video game in Taylor's apartment in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
.


2010s

In January 2010, 9-year-old Anthony Maldonado was stabbed to death by his 25-year-old relative, Alejandro Morales, after an argument regarding Maldonado's recently purchased copy of '' Tony Hawk: Ride'' and a
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
console. On 29 November 2010 in
South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street (Philadelphia), South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.claw hammer after she took away his
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
. After the
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...
on 14 December 2012, initial media reports mis-identified the shooter as Ryan Lanza, the brother of the perpetrator. After discovering that Ryan had liked ''
Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn and Preston Watamaniuk. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the known univers ...
'' on Facebook, an internet mob immediately attacked the game's Facebook page, labelling the developers "child killers". Once it was discovered that it was his brother, Adam, who had carried out the massacre, initial news stories claimed a link to two video games, ''
StarCraft ''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance am ...
'' and ''
Dance Dance Revolution (''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance V ...
''. After a UK tabloid claimed that Lanza had a ''
Call of Duty ''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter video game Media franchise, franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold W ...
'' obsession, this was widely repeated across the internet, Subsequently, a small town near Sandy Hook organized the collection and burning of video games in exchange for a gift certificate. A report by CBS claimed that anonymous law enforcement sources suggested a link to video games, which was later dismissed by the Connecticut police, saying that it was "all speculation". However, the incident prompted a wave of legislative and bureaucratic efforts against violent video games in the following months, including a meeting between US vice president, Joe Biden, and representatives from the video game industry on the topic of video game violence. The official investigation report, released on 25 November 2013, discussed video games only briefly in the 48-page document and did not suggest they contributed to Lanza's motive. The report revealed that Lanza played a variety of video games, although he was most fond of non-violent video games such as ''Dance, Dance Revolution'' and ''Super Mario Brothers''. The report particularly focused on ''Dance, Dance Revolution'' which he played regularly, for hours, with an associate. In the wake of the El Paso, Texas shooting on 3 August, and the Dayton, Ohio shooting on 4 August in 2019, President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
partially attributed the shootings to video games. Trump stated "We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence." Similar concerns were raised by House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...
.


Outside the United States

In April 2000, a Spanish 16-year-old, José Rabadán Pardo, murdered his father, mother, and his sister with a
katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
, proclaiming that he was on an "avenging mission" for
Squall Leonhart is a fictional character and the main protagonist of '' Final Fantasy VIII'', a role-playing video game that was produced by Square (now Square Enix). In ''Final Fantasy VIII'', Squall is an 17-year-old student at Balamb Garden, a prestigious ...
, the main
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
of the video game ''
Final Fantasy VIII is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation console. Released in 1999, it is the eighth main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Set on an unnamed fantasy world with science fiction elements, t ...
''. On 27 February 2004, in
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
, England, 17-year-old Warren Leblanc lured 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah into a park and murdered him by stabbing him repeatedly with a claw hammer and a knife. Leblanc was reportedly obsessed with ''
Manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...
'', although investigation quickly revealed that the killer did not even own a copy of the game. The victim's mother, Giselle Pakeerah, has been campaigning against violent video games in the UK ever since. The police investigating the case have dismissed any link. In October 2004, a 41-year-old Chinese man named Qiu Chengwei stabbed 26-year-old Zhu Caoyuan to death over a dispute regarding the sale of a virtual weapon the two had jointly won in the game ''
The Legend of Mir 3 ''The Legend of Mir 3'' was a sprite based isometric 3-D massively multiplayer online role-playing game, developed by WeMade Entertainment. It is a sequel to '' The Legend of Mir 2''. The basic game mechanics remains largely unchanged from the ...
''. On 27 December 2004, 13-year-old Xiao Yi committed suicide by jumping from a twenty-four story building in
Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
, China, as a result of the effects of his
video game addiction Video game addiction (VGA), also known as gaming disorder or internet gaming disorder, is generally defined as the problematic, compulsive use of video games that results in significant impairment to an individual's ability to function in vario ...
, hoping to be "reunited" with his fellow gamers in the afterlife, according to his suicide notes. Prior to his death, he had spent thirty-six consecutive hours playing ''
Warcraft III ''Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' is a high fantasy real-time strategy computer video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment released in July 2002. It is the second sequel to ''Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', after ''Warcraft II: Tides ...
''. In August 2005, 28-year-old South Korean
Lee Seung Seop Video game addiction (VGA), also known as gaming disorder or internet gaming disorder, is generally defined as the problematic, compulsive use of video games that results in significant impairment to an individual's ability to function in vario ...
died after continuously playing ''
StarCraft ''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance am ...
'' for 50 hours. In September 2007, a Chinese man in
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, China, died after playing internet video games for three consecutive days in an internet cafe. In December 2007, a Russian man was beaten to death over an argument about ''
Lineage II ''Lineage II'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows and the second game in the ''Lineage'' series. It is a prequel to ''Lineage'' and is set 150 years before the first game. It has become popular sinc ...
''. The man was killed when his
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
and a rival challenged each other to a real-life brawl. On 2 August 2008, Polwat Chinno, a 19-year-old
Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...
teenager, stabbed and killed a
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
taxi driver during an attempt to steal the driver's cab in order to obtain money to buy a copy of ''
Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...
''. A police official said that the teen was trying to copy a similar act in the game. As a consequence, officials ordered the banning of the game and later the
series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...
, which led its distributor, New Era Interactive Media, to withdraw it, including its installment, from shops across
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. On 13 October 2008, the disappearance of Brandon Crisp and his subsequent death involved, according to his parents, obsessive playing of '' Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'' has been referenced in discussions about video game obsession and spawned a report aired by CBC's '' The Fifth Estate'' TV show on video game addiction and Crisp's story titled "Top Gun", subtitled "When a video gaming obsession turns to addiction and tragedy".


2010s

In January 2010, Gary Alcock punched, slapped and pinched his partner's 15-month-old daughter in the three weeks leading up to her death before he delivered a fatal blow to the stomach which tore her internal organs because she interrupted him playing his Xbox. She died from internal bleeding after suffering thirty-five separate injuries including multiple bruises, rib fractures and brain damage, which were comparable to injuries suffered in a car crash. Alcock was jailed for life and must serve at least 21 years. In May 2010, French gamer Julien Barreaux located and stabbed a fellow player known only as "Mikhael" who had stabbed Barreaux in the game ''Counter-Strike'' 6 months earlier. The judge at his trial called him "a menace to society". On 9 April 2011 in
Alphen aan den Rijn Alphen aan den Rijn (; en, "Alphen upon Rhine" or "Alphen on the Rhine") is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The city is situated on the banks of the river Oude Rijn (Old Rhine), where the r ...
, the Netherlands, 24-year-old
Tristan van der Vlis On 9 April 2011, six people were killed by a gunman who entered the Ridderhof mall in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands, a town approximately south-west of Amsterdam. Using a rifle, 24-year-old Tristan van der Vlis shot several people and then ...
opened fire in a shopping mall, firing more than a hundred times with a
semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...
and a handgun, killing 6 people and wounding 17 others, after which he also killed himself. A fair amount of attention was given to Van Der Vlis' playing of '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' and to the alleged similarities between the events in Alphen a/d Rijn and the controversial "No Russian" mission in the game, where the player can choose to (or choose not to) partake in the killing of a large group of innocent people inside an airport terminal. On 22 July 2011,
Anders Behring Breivik Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...
perpetrated the
2011 Norway attacks The 2011 Norway attacks, referred to in Norway as 22 July ( no, 22. juli) or as 22/7, were two domestic terrorist attacks by neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik against the government, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League (AUF) ...
, detonating a car bomb in the executive government quarter, and then travelled to a summer camp for teenagers, where he proceeded to stalk and kill a large number of people. Seventy-seven people were killed in the attacks, a majority of them being teenagers who were at the summer camp. Hundreds were injured by the car bomb explosion. Breivik himself claimed in court that he had deliberately used the 2009 video game '' Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2'' to train for the attacks, specifically by practicing his aim using a "holographic aiming device". He stated in his manifesto that he had been planning the attacks since 2002. On 24 March 2012, 14-year-old Noah Crooks was accused of shooting Gretchen, his 32-year-old mother, dead with a .22 caliber rifle after a failed attempt to rape her. He was charged with first-degree murder and assault. During the dispatch call to 911 shortly following the murder, Crooks revealed that his mother had taken away his ''Call of Duty'' video game because his grades had turned poor and that this was the reason why he snapped. According to dispatch, Crooks did not seem emotional even though he had killed his mother a couple of hours earlier. On the night of 14 April 2012, in Clydebank, Scotland, a 13-year-old boy slashed his friend's throat after a session of ''
Gears of War 3 ''Gears of War 3'' is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the third installment of the Gears of War, ''Gears of War'' series. Originally due for re ...
''. The wound was deep enough to expose his
trachea The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is a Cartilage, cartilaginous tube that connects the larynx to the bronchi of the lungs, allowing the passage of air, and so is present in almost all air-breathing animals with lungs. The trachea extends ...
and required 20 staples after his surgery. In March 2013, Brian Docherty, a chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, commented that "These games are rated 18 and shouldn't be played by children of this young age" and that "We need to look again at what we can do to
revent children from playing games meant for adults Emily Sophie Hastings Brooke (born November 1985) is a British inventor, industrial designer and entrepreneur known for having developed the Beryl (formerly Blaze) Laserlights used for Santander Cycles (the London bike rental scheme). Beryl ...
" Similar and other effects were denounced in 2004 by
Gary Webb Gary Stephen Webb (August 31, 1955 – December 10, 2004) was an American investigative journalist. He began his career working for newspapers in Kentucky and Ohio, winning numerous awards, and building a strong reputation for investigative ...
in his article ''The Killing Game'', exposing the use of increased reality video games by the US Army. In February 2018, after 15-year-old Ben Walmsley of
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, committed suicide, his father Darren stated that he believed the
visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...
''
Doki Doki Literature Club! ''Doki Doki Literature Club!'' (''DDLC'') is a 2017 freeware visual novel developed by American independent game studio Team Salvato for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux. The game was initially distributed through itch.io, and later became a ...
'' may have contributed to "dragging" his son into a dark place, due to a subplot of the game involving two characters (Sayori and Yuri) suffering from depression who independently commit suicide. Walmsley also claimed that Ben had been frequently awoken at night due to text messages he attributed to coming from the game's characters, despite no such function existing in the game. In June 2018, the controversy was discussed by
Victoria Derbyshire Victoria Antoinette Derbyshire is a British journalist, newsreader and broadcaster. Her eponymous current affairs and debate programme was broadcast on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel from 2015 until March 2020. She has also presented ''News ...
on
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
, and she called the game a "risk to children" and thought it should've had a higher age rating. The game being blamed for Walmsley's death, as well as the BBC interview discussing the controversy, was met with criticism on social media, with some being sick of video games being blamed for instigating tragic events, while others thought the game's discussion on the BBC was not necessary. Darren Walmsley was also criticized for claiming the video game characters had literally been sending his son text messages due to it not being a feature in the game.


Positive effects of video games

Some researchers claim that video games, more than causing no harm, are beneficial to social and cognitive development and psychological well-being. Certain scholars admit that games can be addictive, and part of their research explores how games connect to the reward circuits of the human brain. But they recognize the cognitive benefits of playing video games: pattern recognition, system thinking, and patience.


Cognitive skills

Action video game players have better hand–eye coordination and visuo-motor skills, such as resistance to distraction, sensitivity to information in the peripheral vision and ability to count briefly presented objects, than non-players. Through the development of the
PlayStation Move is a motion game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Initially released in 2010 for use with the PlayStation 3 home video game console, its compatibility was later expanded to its successor, the PlayStation 4 in 2013, its Pla ...
,
Kinect Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flig ...
and
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
, video games can help develop motor skills through full body movement. Furthermore, video games have also been linked with increased visual and attentional skills. Studies have shown that video game players were not only able to track 2 more objects on average than non video-game players, but were also more likely to recognize targets in a cluttered area. Experiments have indicated increases in cognition and problem solving skills in professional gamers. A common viewpoint is that playing video games is an intellectually lazy activity, but research suggests it may actually strengthen children's spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception skills. In 1994, a study conducted by the University of California in which fifth graders played extensive hours of video games, they managed to gain better spatial skills. The children were split into two groups, with the experimental group playing ''Marble Madness'', while the control group played ''Conjecture''. The distinction is important because ''Marble Madness'' requires spatial skills while ''Conjecture'' does not. The results may not be generalizable, since the sample of kids is taken from a single private school, and may not necessarily be representative of the population. The children practiced their respective game for forty-five minutes per session for three sessions, all on separate days. Appropriate pre- and post-tests were also assessed for
spatial ability Spatial ability or visuo-spatial ability is the capacity to understand, reason, and remember the visual and spatial relations among objects or space. Visual-spatial abilities are used for everyday use from navigation, understanding or fixing equi ...
, on the day before and after the sessions. Irrespective of gender, practicing ''Marble Madness'' significantly increased spatial ability, especially in the children who had low performance on the spatial ability pre-test. Conversely, playing ''Conjecture'' did not increase children's spatial skills. This indicates that the type of game is important to consider when changes to cognitive abilities appear to be present. It is unknown if these increases in spatial ability persist into the long-term. This could mean that any benefits to practicing may only last if practice sessions are done at least intermittently.


Relief from stress

Olsen suggests video games can have social benefits for children, for example, video games can provide a topic of discussion and something over which children can bond, and can help children make friends; playing video games can increase a child's self-esteem when they are struggling in one aspect of their life, but are able to do something correctly in a video game; and, children can also learn to take on leadership roles within a multi-player online game. Christopher Ferguson, a psychologist well known for his video game research, conducted a study in which results suggest that violent games reduce depression and hostile feelings in players through mood management. According to a research paper done by Radboud University, creating positive emotions help to build motivation, relationships, and cope with failure. It also helps to monitor negative emotions such as anger, frustration or anxiety and control these emotions in order to achieve a goal (Isabela Granic, Adam Lobel, and Rutger C.M.E. Engels). By learning to motivate themselves, students could push themselves to achieve goals and improve their performance academically as they would improve their performance similarly in their video games. Also, social games that rely on interactions with other people would promote healthy relationships and better communication between their fellow students, teachers and others outside of school. This could also benefit the students to work harder in class to achieve better grades and learn from their mistakes and improve rather than become frustrated. As video games are a favored pastime among many students, having a game that promotes positive emotions will help to alleviate stress in the classroom, making the environment fun and sociable. A 2020
Oxford Internet Institute The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) is a multi-disciplinary department of social and computer science dedicated to the study of information, communication, and technology, and is part of the Social Sciences Division of the University of Oxford ...
study involving over 3000 adult players involving the games '' Animal Crossing: New Horizons'' and '' Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville'' during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
found that those that played games longer felt happier and were less stressed. The researches concluded that these effects were partially contributed by a combination of the competence and social interaction brought through the games, and suggested that longer play times could improve a player's well-being. However, the researchers also identified other factors that could influence this benefit, including the player's experiences outside of the game which may actually lead to a negative impact on well-being with longer playtimes.


Physical rehabilitation

Studies have also tried using video games to assist in physical rehabilitation. Researchers used video games to provide physical therapy, improved disease self-management, distraction from discomfort, and increased physical activity, among other things. All of the above studies showed a significant improvement among testers. In addition, research done in Taiwan has shown that video game therapy can be used to improve the physical health of children with developmental delays.


Education

Other studies have examined the benefits of
multiplayer video games A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
in a family setting; the use of video games in a classroom setting; online gaming; and the effects of video game playing on dexterity, computer literacy, fact recall processes and problem solving skills. Glazer, a researcher, suggests, "A kid in the classroom has to worry about looking like an idiot. In a game, they're raising their hand all the time, and true learning comes from failing." Not all video games are mindless. According to John L. Sherry, assistant professor at Michigan State University, 'educators are increasingly using educational games in the classroom as a motivational tool. The right video games help children master everything from basic grammar to complex math without the drudgery of old-school flash cards.' Certain studies indicate that video games may have value in terms of academic performance, perhaps because of the skills that are developed in the process. "When you play ... games you're solving puzzles to move to the next level and that involves using some of the general knowledge and skills in maths, reading and science that you've been taught during the day," said Alberto Posso, an associate professor at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, after analysing data from the results of standardized testing completed by over 12,000 high school students across Australia. As summarized by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', the study ublished_in_the_''International_Journal_of_Communication''.html" ;"title="International_Journal_of_Communication.html" ;"title="ublished in the ''International Journal of Communication">ublished in the ''International Journal of Communication''">International_Journal_of_Communication.html" ;"title="ublished in the ''International Journal of Communication">ublished in the ''International Journal of Communication'' "found that students who played online games almost every day scored 15 points above average in maths and reading tests and 17 points above average in science". However, the reporter also stated that "[the] methodology cannot prove that playing video games were the cause of the improvement". ''The Guardian'' also reported that a Columbia University study indicated that extensive video gaming by students in the 6 to 11 age group provided a greatly increased chance of high intellectual functioning and overall school competence. In a study done in 2017 by the International Conference Educational Technologies they explored the educational purposes of the video game Minecraft. The results that they concluded from this experiment was that it increased collaboration between groups, increased problem solving skills, improved computer skills and more. In an interview with CNN,
Edward Castronova Edward "Ted" Castronova is a professor of media at Indiana University Bloomington. He is known in particular for his work on the economies of synthetic worlds. Biography Castronova obtained a BS in international affairs from Georgetown University i ...
, a professor of Telecommunications at Indiana University Bloomington said he was not surprised by the outcome of the Australian study but also discussed the issue of causal connection. "Though there is a link between gaming and higher math and science scores, it doesn't mean playing games caused the higher scores. It could just be that kids who are sharp are looking for a challenge, and they don't find it on social media, and maybe they do find it on board games and video games," he explained.


Business skills

In 1997, Herz and in 2006, Wade and Beck, authors, suggested video game playing may increase entrepreneurial skills. Herz argued that many so-called negative effects of video games, such as aggression and lack of pro-social behavior, are both necessary and useful traits to have in a
capitalistic Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private pr ...
society. Specifically, Herz argued that many academic researchers have an anti-capitalist bias, and thus failed to notice the benefits of such traits.


Pro-social behavior

In 2010, Tobias Greitemeyer and Silvia Osswald conducted a series of 4 experiments where some people played a prosocially themed video game, and others played a neutral video game. They found that the people who played the prosocial game were more helpful compared to the people who played the neutral game when another person had a mishap and asked for help. The people who played prosocial games were also more likely to assist in further experiments as a favor to the researcher, and more likely to step in and calm down a situation where someone was being harassed. In 2012, a study approved by Iowa State University assessed whether prosocial games could promote helpful behavior in children. In this study, children aged 9–14 years old played three different types of video games. They were first assessed for aggression in order to avoid confounding. Afterwards, they completed a puzzle task with a partner and then assigned tangrams to a fictitious person in another room. The participants were told that the person in the other room, who they did not know was not actually real, had an opportunity to win a prize. The children were told they were not eligible for the gift card. The measure for helpful or hurtful behavior was based on how many easy or difficult tangrams they assigned to the fictitious person. Results indicated that playing prosocial games significantly more helpful behaviors in children than those who played violent video games. Conversely, playing violent video games had significantly more hurtful behaviors in children than the children who played prosocial games. Deviations from the expected pattern were also non-significant. The short-term effects observed after only thirty minutes of playing are substantial enough to consider the possibility that the longer amount of time a child plays a video game, the more effect it will have on their behavior. The researchers concluded that playing prosocial games affects a child's social cognition, because it changes their attitudes and affect. It is also important to note that outside the confines of a study, playing a video game may affect how a child acts, but it is not the only factor present that can affect this. A study conducted in June 2014 at the
University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...
concluded that violent behavior in a virtual environment could lead to players' increased sensitivity of the moral codes that they violated, due to immoral behavior in video games eliciting guilt in players.


Mental health disorders

Studies have shown that video games, whether they are designed to be therapeutic or not, can be used to lower anxiety levels of those who suffer from chronic anxiety issues. Furthermore, a study done on children with mental disorders showed specifically designed therapeutic games, that provide a "lifelike alternate reality", which can help treat problems such as schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and ADHD.Concepcion, H., (2017). "Video Game Therapy as an Intervention for Children With Disabilities Literature Review and Program Protocol". (Vol. 51, ''Therapeutic Recreation Journal'') Retrieved from http://search.lib.virginia.edu/articles/article?id=s3h%3A125493486


See also

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Folk devil Folk devil is a person or group of people who are portrayed in folklore or the media as outsiders and deviant, and who are blamed for crimes or other sorts of social problems; see also: '' scapegoat''. The pursuit of folk devils frequently int ...
*
Think of the children "Think of the children" (also "What about the children?") is a cliché that evolved into a rhetorical tactic. In the literal sense, it refers to children's rights (as in discussions of child labor). In debate, however, it is a plea for pity th ...
* Game brain * Greek electronic game ban * List of banned video games *
List of controversial video games This is a list of video games considered controversial. The list includes games that have earned controversies for violence, sexual content, LGBT themes, racism, and review bombing from fans. Some of the video games on this list have been bann ...
*
Media influence In media studies, mass communication, media psychology, communication theory, and sociology, media influence and the media effect are topics relating to mass media and media culture's effects on individual or an audience's thoughts, attitudes, a ...
*
Research on the effects of violence in mass media The studies of violence in mass media analyzes the degree of correlation between themes of violence in media sources (particularly violence in video games, television and films) with real-world aggression and violence over time. Many social scient ...
*
Nanny state Nanny state is a term of British origin that conveys a view that a government or its policies are overprotective or interfering unduly with personal choice. The term likens such a government to the role that a nanny has in child rearing. An early ...
*
Videogame Rating Council The Videogame Rating Council (V.R.C.) was introduced by Sega of America in 1993 to rate all video games that were released for sale in the United States and Canada on the Sega Master System, Genesis, Game Gear, Sega CD, 32X, and Pico. The rating h ...
Examples: *
Gamergate controversy Gamergate or GamerGate (GG) was a loosely organized online misogyny, misogynistic online harassment campaign and a right-wing backlash against feminism, diversity, and progressivism in video game culture. It was conducted using the hashtag "# ...
* '' Islamic Fun'' * ''
Super Columbine Massacre RPG! ''Super Columbine Massacre RPG!'' is a role-playing video game created by Danny Ledonne and released in April 2005. The game recreates the 1999 Columbine High School shootings near Littleton, Colorado. Players assume the roles of gunmen Eric H ...
'' * ''
Tropes vs. Women in Video Games ''Tropes vs. Women in Video Games'' is a YouTube video series created by Anita Sarkeesian examining gender representation in video games. The series was financed via crowdfunding, and came to widespread attention when its Kickstarter campaign t ...
'' * '' V-Tech Rampage''


References

{{Video game controversy Violence in video games