After reading Controversial Issues, write a short reflection of roughly 150 words on a controversial issue in your major or your field of interest.? This is just a brief, informal assig

Chapter 10: Electronic Games and Entertainment

10.5 Controversial Issues

Media and Culture

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

�. Describe controversial issues related to modern video

games.

�. Analyze the issues and problems with rating electronic

entertainment.

�. Discuss the e�ects of video game addiction.

�. Examine the gender issues surrounding video games.

The increasing realism and expanded possibilities of video games has

inspired a great deal of controversy. However, even early games, though

rudimentary and seemingly laughable nowadays, raised controversy

over their depiction of adult themes. Although increased realism and

graphics capabilities of contemporary video games have increased the

shock value of in-game violence, international culture has been strug-

gling to come to terms with video game violence since the dawn of

video games.

Violence

Violence in video games has been controversial from their earliest days.

Death Race, an arcade game released in 1976, encouraged drivers to

run over stick �gures, which then turned into Xs. Although the program-

mers claimed that the stick �gures were not human, the game was con-

troversial, making national news on the TV talk show Donahue and the

TV news magazine 60 Minutes. Video games, regardless of their realism

or lack thereof, had added a new potential to the world of games and

entertainment: the ability to simulate murder.

The enhanced realism of video games in the 1990s accompanied a rise

in violent games as companies expanded the market to target older de-

mographics. A great deal of controversy exists over the in�uence of this

kind of violence on children, and also over the rating system that is ap-

plied to video games. There are many stories of real-life violent acts in-

volving video games. The 1999 Columbine High School massacre was

quickly linked to the teenage perpetrators’ enthusiasm for video games.

The families of Columbine victims brought a lawsuit against 25 video

game companies, claiming that if the games had not existed, the mas-

sacre would not have happened (Ward, 2001). In 2008, a 17-year-old boy

shot his parents after they took away his video game system, killing his

mother (Harvey, 2009). Also in 2008, when six teens were arrested for

attempted carjacking and robbery, they stated that they were reenacting

scenes from Grand Theft Auto (Cochran, 2008).

There is no shortage of news stories that involve young men committing

crimes relating to an obsession with video games. The controversy has

not been resolved regarding the in�uences behind these crimes. Many

studies have linked aggression to video games; however, critics take is-

sue with using the results of these studies to claim that the video games

caused the aggression. They point out that people who enact video-

game–related crimes already have psychopathic tendencies, and that

the results of such research studies are correlational rather than causa-

tional—a naturally violent person is drawn to play violent video games

(Adams, 2010). Other critics point out that violent games are designed

for adults, just as violent movies are, and that parents should enforce

stricter standards for their children.

The problem of children’s access to violent games is a large and com-

plex one. Video games present di�cult issues for those who create the

ratings. One problem is the inconsistency that seems to exist in rating

video games and movies. Movies with violence or sexual themes are

rated either R or NC-17. Filmmakers prefer the R rating over the NC-17

rating because NC-17 ratings hurt box o�ce sales, and they will often

heavily edit �lms to remove overly graphic content. The Entertainment

Software Rating Board (ESRB), rates video games. The two most restric-

tive ratings the ESRB has put forth are “M” (for Mature; 17 and older;

“may contain mature sexual themes, more intense violence, and/or

strong language”) and “AO” (for Adults Only; 18 and up; “may include

graphic depictions of sex and/or violence”). If this rating system were ap-

plied to movies, a great deal of movies now rated R would be labeled

AO. An AO label can have a devastating e�ect on game sales; in fact,

many retail outlets will not sell games with an AO rating (Hyman, 2005).

This creates a situation where a video game with a sexual or violent

scene as graphic as the ones seen in R-rated movies is di�cult to pur-

chase, whereas a pornographic magazine can be bought at many conve-

nience stores. This issue reveals a unique aspect of video games.

Although many of them are designed for adults, the distribution system

and culture surrounding video games is still largely youth-oriented.

Video Game Addiction

Another controversial issue is the problem of video game addiction. As

of the print date, the American Medical Association (AMA) has not cre-

ated an o�cial diagnosis of video game addiction, citing the lack of long-

term research. However, the AMA uses the term “video game overuse”

to describe video game use that begins to a�ect other aspects of an

individual’s life, such as relationships and health. Studies have found that

socially marginalized people have more of a tendency to overuse

games, especially online role-playing games like World of Warcraft.

Other studies have found that patterns of time usage and social dysfunc-

tion in players who overuse games are similar to those of other addictive

disorders (Khan, 2007).

Figure 10.8

Video game use can become an obsession with some

people.

Steven Andrew – Video Games – CC BY-NC 2.0.

Groups such as Online Gamers Anonymous have developed a 12-step

program similar to that of Alcoholics Anonymous to help gamers deal

with problems relating to game overuse. This group is run by former on-

line gamers and family members of those a�ected by heavy game use

(On-line Gamers Anonymous). This problem is not new, but it has be-

come more prevalent. In the early 1990s, many stories surfaced of indi-

viduals dropping out of college or getting divorced because of addiction

to MUDs (Greene, 1998). In addition, heavy video gaming, much like

heavy computer use in an o�ce setting, can result in painful repetitive

stress injuries. Even worse are the rare, but serious, cases of death re-

sulting from video game overuse. In the early ’80s, two deaths were

linked to the video game Berzerk. The players, both in their late teens,

su�ered fatal heart attacks while struggling to achieve top scores

(Arcade History). The issue of video game addiction has become a larger

one because of the ubiquity of video games and Internet technology. In

countries that have a heavily wired infrastructure, such as South Korea,

the problem is even bigger. In 2010, excessive game use was problem-

atic enough that the South Korean government imposed an online gam-

ing curfew for people under the age of 18 that would block certain sites

after midnight. This decision followed the death of a 3-month-old baby

from starvation while her parents played an online game at an Internet

café (Cain, 2010).

Another side of video game addiction is told well by Jim Rossignol in his

book This Gaming Life: Travels in Three Cities. The book describes

Rossignol’s job as a journalist for a �nancial company and his increasing

involvement with Quake III. Rossignol trained a team of players to com-

pete in virtual online tournaments, scheduling practices and spending

the hours afterward analyzing strategies with his teammates. His intense

involvement in the game led to poor performance at his job, and he was

eventually �red. After being �red, he spent even more time on the game,

not caring about his lack of a job or shrinking savings. The story up to

this point sounds like a testimonial about the dangers of game addiction.

However, because of his expertise in the game, he was hired by a

games magazine and enjoyed full-time employment writing about what

he loved doing. Rossignol does not gloss over the fact that games can

have a negative in�uence, but his book speaks to the ways in which

gaming—often what would be described as obsessive gaming—can

cause positive change in people’s lives (Rossignol).

Sexism

Figure 10.9

Games such as Tomb Raider and Dead or Alive Xtreme

have been criticized for their demeaning depiction of

women.

Joshua | Ezzell – TOMB RAIDER 2013 | Simpli�ed – CC

BY 2.0.

It is no secret that young adult men make up the majority of video

gamers. A study in 2009 found that 60 percent of gamers were male,

and the average age of players was 35 (Entertainment Software

Association, 2009). While the gender gap has certainly narrowed in the

past 30 years, video gaming is still in many ways a male-dominated

medium.

Male in�uence can be seen throughout the industry. Women make up

less than 12 percent of game designers and programmers, and those

who do enter the �eld often �nd themselves facing subtle—and not so

subtle—sexism (Media Awareness Network). When Game Developer

magazine released its list of top 50 people in the video game industry

for 2010, bloggers were quick to note that no female developers ap-

peared in the list (Doctorow, 2010). In 2007, scandal erupted over a

pornographic comic featuring Jade Raymond, current managing director

of the French video game publisher Ubisoft, that surfaced on an online

forum. The motivation behind the comic was to allege that Raymond did

not deserve her position at Ubisoft because she earned it based on her

looks, rather than on her abilities and experience.

Sexism in video games has existed since the early days of the medium.

The plot of the infamous Custer’s Revenge, released for the Atari 2600

in 1982, centered on the rape of a Native American woman. Popular NES

games such as Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda featured a

male �gure rescuing a damsel in distress. Both the protagonist and an-

tagonist in the original Tomb Raider game had hourglass �gures with

prominent busts and nonexistent waists, a trend that continues in the

franchise today. In 2003, the �ghting series Dead or Alive released a

spin-o� game titled Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball that existed

to showcase the well-endowed female characters in swim attire (Strauss,

2010). The spin-o� was so popular that two more similar games were

released.

Some note that video games are not unique in their demeaning portrayal

of women. Like movies, television, and other media forms, video games

often fall back on gender stereotyping in order to engage consumers.

Defenders point out that many male video game characters are also de-

picted lewdly. Games such as God of War and Mortal Kombat feature hy-

persexualized men with bulging muscles and aggressive personalities

who rely on their brawn rather than their brains. How are men a�ected

by these stereotypes? Laboratory studies have shown that violence and

aggression in video games a�ect men more than women, leading to

higher levels of male aggression (Bartholow & Anderson, 2002). While

sexism is certainly present in video games, it seems sexual stereotyping

a�ects both genders negatively.

In recent years, game designers have sought to move away from these

clichéd representations of gender. The popular game Portal, released in

2007, features a female protagonist clad in a simple orange jumpsuit

who relies on her wits to solve logic puzzles. Series such as Half-Life

and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney star male heroes who are intellectuals

instead of warriors. Other games, like the Mass E�ect series and Halo:

Reach, allow gamers to choose the gender of the main character without

altering elements of the plot or game-play. However, despite recent

strides forward, there is no doubt that as the video game industry contin-

ues to evolve, so too will the issue of gender.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Video game violence has been an issue since the 1976

game Death Race. The potential of video games to sim-

ulate murder created a new issue in entertainment

media.

A great number of news stories link video games with

violent crimes. Studies have found a correlation be-

tween aggressive behavior and video games, but critics

claim that these studies do not prove that video games

cause violent acts.

The video game rating system informs purchasers

about the content of a game. The highest rating, Adults

Only, hurts video game sales, so companies try to make

games that are rated Mature. Critics charge that video

game ratings are inconsistent with other schemes, such

as the movie rating system.

Video game addiction is associated more with online

games, although many instances of single-player obses-

sions exist as well. It has become a high-pro�le issue

with the rise in popularity of online gaming.

The American Medical Association has not developed a

diagnosis for video game addiction. Instead, it uses the

term “video game overuse” to describe a state where

an individual’s gaming habits have a detrimental e�ect

on his or her personal life.

Sexism and gender issues are hot topics in the video

game industry, as female gamers and developers often

struggle for equal footing. Controversy has arisen over

character stereotypes; however, modern games are be-

ginning to break through conventional barriers of

gender.

EXERCISES

Choose video game violence or video game addiction and

search for it on the Internet. Examine the research that is asso-

ciated with the issue you chose. Then consider the following

questions:

�. What is your opinion of the issue in light of the

research?

�. Has your issue been researched thoroughly?

�. Visit message boards and forums and search for journal

articles related to video game addiction or violence.

What actions would you suggest to research these is-

sues more fully?

References

Adams, Jill U. “A Closer Look: E�ects of Violent Video Games,” Los

Angeles Times, May 3, 2010, http://www.latimes.com/news/health/la-

he-closer-20100503,0,5586471.story.

Arcade History, “Berzerk, the Video Game,” http://www.arcade-

history.com/?n=berzerk&page=detail&id=236.

Bartholow, Bruce D. and Craig A. Anderson, “E�ects of Violent Video

Games on Aggressive Behavior: Potential Sex Di�erences,” Journal of

Experimental Social Psychology 38, no. 3 (2002): 283–290.

Cain, Geo�rey. “South Korea Cracks Down on Gaming Addiction,” Time,

April 20, 2010,

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983234,00.html.

Cochran, Lee. “Teens Say: Video Game Made Them Do It,” ABC News,

June 27, 2008, http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5262689.

Doctorow, Cory. “Gamasutra’s Most Important Gamers List Is a Boy’s

Club,” BoingBoing (blog), April 14, 2010,

http://boingboing.net/2010/04/14/gamasutras-most-impo.html.

Entertainment Software Association, Essential Facts About the

Computer and Video Game Industry: 2009.

Greene, R. W. “Is Internet Addiction for Worrywarts or a Genuine

Problem?” CNN, September 23, 1998,

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9809/23/netaddict.idg/index.ht

ml.

Harvey, Mike. “Teenager Daniel Petric Shot Parents Who Took Away

Xbox,” Times (London), January 13, 2009,

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article

5512446.ece.

Hyman, Paul. “Video Game Rating Board Don’t Get No Respect,”

Hollywood Reporter, April 8, 2005,

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?

vnu_content_id=1000874859.

Khan, Mohamed. Emotional and Behavioral E�ects of Video Games and

Internet Overuse, American Medical Association, Council on Science and

Public Health, 2007, http://www.ama-

assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/443/csaph12a07-fulltext.pdf.

Media Awareness Network, “Gender Stereotyping,” http://www.media-

awareness.ca/english/parents/video_games/concerns/gender_videog

ames.cfm.

On-line Gamers Anonymous, “About OLGA & OLG-Anon,”

http://www.olganon.org.

Rossignol, This Gaming Life, 4–11.

Strauss, Michael. “A Look at Female Characters in Video Games,”

Associated Content, July 16, 2010,

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5487226/a_look_at_femal

e_characters_in_video_pg2.html?cat=19.

Ward, Mark. “Columbine Families Sue Computer Game Makers,” BBC

News, May 1, 2001,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1295920.stm.

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