Just like other 'problems' kids have, Parents and idiot lawyers (i.e. Jackass Thompson) need to find ways to put the blame on someone or something other than themselves.

It happens ALL THE TIME with Parents saying their kids are out of control because of ADD/ADHD, etc.

There are several studies that also link violence in teens/children to low family income, abuse in the family, 'hanging out with the wrong crowd', race, etc.....

Also, parents that buy under age kids video games that are clearly marked 17+ should be fined and/or jailed as if they were selling cigarettes to minors... maybe then will these morons stop blaming others!

Ultimately, the only well placed blame lies with the media.

This is a joke, rite ? Ive been playing video games for about 20 years and havent had 1 single act of violence. This is a joke. Nex theyll say it has to do with school shooting.

This is stupid and a waste of money !!!

agreed it's the most retarted thing I ever heard, parents are just trying to place the blame on anybody but themselves...and it gives them someone to sue incase their kids do something.

Just what the hell are 13 to 15 year olds doing to playing M rated (17+) games?

"...possibly leading the child to believe such actions are acceptable, according to psychologists."

So what the hell are their parents doing? It's their fault if they don't pay attention. It is their job to let their kid know that such things are NOT real and are NOT acceptable behavior.

@paulm

"Surprise, surprise!
Thankfully not all users of violent video games exhibit violent tendencies. But enough that something needs to be done, ASAP. Gun control in the USA as is in Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain etc, etc should be introduced along with banning of violent games. Enough talk. Action is needed.
"But it's my god given right" I hear people cry.
CRAP!"

I suppose we should ban porn to right? Any movie rated higher than G right? There are a LOT of very VERY good, non-porn movies out there that would disappear.

I am an adult, and you know what? Sometimes I prefer adult entertainment (and I don't just mean porn).

Surprise, surprise!
Thankfully not all users of violent video games exhibit violent tendencies. But enough that something needs to be done, ASAP. Gun control in the USA as is in Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain etc, etc should be introduced along with banning of violent games. Enough talk. Action is needed.
"But it's my god given right" I hear people cry.
CRAP!

lol what?!?! If a 14 year old is playing M rated games in the first place then the parents aren't doing their jobs!

The few cases where a kid actually behaved violently because of a video game, that's the parents fault, not only for not teaching the kid what's right and wrong, but for letting him play the game in the first place. You got all kind of violent movies, you got MUCH worse things happening in school, VIDEO GAMES are the cause of all the problems with our kids?!?!? That's the funniest thing I've ever heard.

What kind of world are these people trying to make? Some kind of hippie, fictional world-is-at-peace, love-everybody disney fantasy land?? Why don't we start giving out extasy and acid to our kids so they start loving everything, being peacefull walkin garound in bliss?? Keep those crazy, world ending VIDEO GAMES off the streets for gods sake!!!

LOL

Its common sence that increased exposure to violance on tv and games breaks down the minds acceptability of such actions, cant believe is took 20 years to get this far to be honest.

If playing video games makes you violent there's something wrong with you, not the game.
I was involved in research for this here in the UK for several months last year. Our team found that certain teenagers would get violent after playing a video game but could also get violent if losing a game of football or even a card game. It's not a game for some but a competition.

*makes his own study*

instant poll
[1] - do you play violent video games
[2] - how long have you been playing them?
[3] - do you have a record or history of anti-social or violent behaviour?

my answers:
[1] - yes
[2] - since pac man violently killed ghosts back in the 80's
[3] - no

Hmm....I loved being Kano in Mortal Kombat and pulling out my foe's heart at the end of the match. Suffice to say, I have absolutely no desire to do that in real life.
This is a political move. Not real research.

The study said that there was increased aggressiveness not the tendency to do the same thing as in the video game. However, remember the GTA incident? That guy did do what was in the video.

Too bad that the USA wants the gov to parent for them. Hey, I like violent video games. Don't try taking them away from me. That's just unfair.

Propensity for violence comes from playing violent video games? Propensity for eating s***ty food perhaps, but violence?

I've met thousands of gamers from all walks of life around the world, and none of them are particularly violent (the vast majority are pretty well balanced). If gaming does increase the tendency for violent thought, it never seems to manifest itself into anything beyond a bit of healthy competitive spirit.

Likewise I know a lot of violent people, and most of them have little to no interest in video games at all. Their focus is usually far more entrenched in real world pursuits...like sport, or crime.

Wouldn't it be more productive to have a think about what REALLY causes violent behaviour and try to address that?

Conclusions like this just don't make sense, unless you look at them in the context of the usual "family values" politicking. Video gaming has always been a scapegoat, something that arouses ire amongst the usual middle aged suspects because it conflicts with their preconceptions and fits nicely into the blame hole they've dug over the years.

Attitudes have to change about this...video games reflect reality, not the other way around.

"Part of the problem may be the lack of consequences for video game violence. The study revealed that three fourths of all violence goes unpunished in video games, possibly leading the child to believe such actions are acceptable, according to psychologists."

The problem is that bad parenting has no direct consequence. For me, after a crap day at work, I enjoy shooting people (in games). It's a release. I can tell the difference. If a kid is not well-rounded enough to delineate between conequences for actions in games versus real-life, the kid is too immature to play. *Note I didn't say young - but immature.*

i just got done playing gta and i must admit i do feel like getting a hooker, getting some sweet lovins, and then beating her down with a baseball bat to get my money back. maybe thats just me tho.

STUDY = EXCUSE

im sure that violent video games dont help any but hey we have violence in everything now. there going to regulate games to death. its becomming like pot, its bad for you so were banning it. no its not bad for me you just dont understand why we enjoy these things so you want to get rid of them.

i need my violent video games and i need my weed.

If only these "studies" would be used to help parents become better parents instead of being used as an excuse for the lack of parenting that exists.

I too can lay claim to the fact that I've grown up on video games since I was a little tot. I've gone through every system since the Atari and played most of the more extreme violent games. Oddly enough, I'm the exact opposite when it comes to reality. I have absolutely no violent tendencies what so ever. The sight of actual blood can even make me squeemish. It's almost funny to keep hearing studies of what video games have done to me... if I believed even half of them I think I'd be too scared to leave the house for fear of what I might do to others.

The one study I would like to see... now that violent video games are selling into the millions, if you include all the violent games sold (Halo, GTA, Doom 3... etc...) sales would probably be extremely high. Perhaps hundreds of millions of people have been exposed to these extremely high violence video games that "lead to violent behavior"... so why haven't violent crime rates seen a dramatic rise? Last I heard most violent crime rates were down remarkably. I'd say the actual evidence almost points to violent video games/music/movies lowering violent attacks and crime. At the very least, that opinion seems to have as much validity as these "studies". What a joke.

This is crap, I've been playing video games for as long as I cn remember. People don't see me running around capping someone in the head. there is the fact thought that my parents were responsible enough to teach me that it was ok to do that in a video game but not in real life.

I have a small issue with this study. An experiment needs a control. Basically they need to take 2 almost identical people and tell one to play the game and the other to not. You can't just take 2 random people, (one that played and one that didn't) and validate off of that. It would be like taking Hitler and having him play the games and then take Mother Theresa and have her not play games and see who comes out more violent. There are more inner workings in the mind.

Lack of socialization, lack of sunlight, lack of physical activity... and then focusing someone on violence... yes, that's about the same as constantly reading violent novels, or constantly watching violent movies, or constantly listening to violent music....

A wise man once said, "all things in moderation".

There we have a winner. However, if the purpose of this study is for parents to sue the video game vendors--don't be morons. That is not HIS room or HIS privacy you're invading. You/your spouse paid for that house/apartment, that room is YOURS, and you can take that game away from him whenever you want, even if he paid for it. If he disagrees, make him buy his own food next week, we'll see which one he really can't live without.

Again don't take me literally here I'm making a point. These statistics show issues with parents and out-of-control kids, not video game manufacturers. VENDORS ONLY MAKE GAMES THAT PEOPLE BUY. So...maybe games are violent BECAUSE our teens are violent.

Did Hitler play video games? Did Ted Bundy? Maybe Mussalini did? No, no of them did and they all were sick, deranged mad men. This video game violence thing is BS. Your kids are screwed up because of bad parenting and not showing enough love. People are just too scared to blame themselves.

Parents definately have something to do with the cause in some cases, but I believe in the end only one person should be blamed--the one who committed the crime. I do not believe games cause violence. Some may encourage it, or give young people a vision of what "real" violence is, but this is definately a little overrated.

I DO know that if you play violent video games as a child you were probably more likely to have been violent or angry--but that isn't because of the games. Most violent people take out their anger or alleviate stress by playing games, and games are some lonely kids' best friend. They can chat online and have no fear of rejection (pc online games for the lonely, low self-esteem), they can give their parents "what they deserve" (FPS 12,000 bullet holes in the head, for the angry), or alleviate stress (command and conquer/RTS/strategy games, for those who are depressed, have to get their mind off the pain, use video games like drugs). Guess what? Often times (again not everyone who plays games plays for reasons above, don't misread me) people play video games BECAUSE they are violent, not the other way around.

Absolutely agree! Bad parenting is certainly one of the major causes of problems with kids today. Too many parents want the government to babysit their kids and "protect" them from all these "evils." Parents...YOU had the kids, now take the responsibility to raise them. Both parents and kids need to learn something about personal responsibility. Throwing statistics around does not give people an excuse to avoid personal responsibility!

Actually, it is a fact that Bundy's problems began by looking at pr0n, and then it progressed when that wasn't enough for him. So, the principle still holds true that "virtual" experiences do impact real life. Besides, do you have to be as insane as Hitler, Bundy, or Mussalini to be considered violent?

Maybe they confuse cause with consequence. Violent games are mechanism of sublimation.
Well brought up man with stable mentality will not cause any violence, while he's in his senses. Maybe they should do something with education?

Actually, I know first hand that it can lead to violent behavior. But so can getting on your brothers nerves, eating the last peice of pie before yur son gets a peice...get my point.

Yep... getting fragged by the LPB caused me to slam my fist on my desk...

Quake needs to be banned. For the sake of desks everywwhere.

Yeah, whatever.

New Study finds that 90% of all studies relating to the correlation of violence in RL and violent video games are BS.

In related news, Statistics show that 88% of all statistics are merely numbers pulled out of the author's ass.

Thank you, and good night.

I feel sorry for the parents who frack each other so much that they don't have time for their kids and then the kids play games and go towards violence. Please try to be a better parent, see what your kid is getting, don't blame the gaming industry for producing violent games. As for the Hillary clinton who is behind all this enchilladas, she should take care of her husband and bother of her own problems and not to worry about America...

This is a free country and I feel people like clinton are ruining the word FREE.