Obvious to most of us, but comforting nonetheless, a new study proves yet again that moms and girlfriends have nothing to worry about when their loved ones play violent video games:
"For the vast majority of players, even those who regularly play
and enjoy violent games, violence was not a plus," explained Andrew
Przybylski, a University graduate student and lead author of the study.
"Violent content was only preferred by a small subgroup of people that
generally report being more aggressive," added Przybylski, however,
even these hostile players did not report increased pleasure when
playing more gruesome games.
See, mom!
Hopefully, these findings will help lead to a decrease in video game violence, rather than an increase:
"Much of the debate about game violence has
pitted the assumed commercial value of violence against social concern
about the harm it may cause," explained Rigby. "Our study shows that
the violence may not be the real value component, freeing developers to
design away from violence while at the same time broadening their
market."
The idea is that conflict is a simple social construct that presents gamers with challenges and goals. Therefore, any kind of conflict, no matter how violent, is going to heighten the senses and hit pleasure centers. In some cases, violence even seems to get in the way. Personally, I'd play Street Fighter over Mortal Kombat any day. Not only does the excessive violence do nothing for me, it actually adds unnecessary clutter and brings down the pace of the game.
Related Links:
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