My Research Paper. Got a 153 out of 160 on the paper and 58 out of 60 on the presentation.

After 14-year-old Stefan Pakeerah was savagely murdered in England by a friend, his parents claimed the murderer had been obsessed by the violent computer game "Manhunt," which awards points for savage killings. Warren Leblanc, 17, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to the murder, had beaten Stefan with a hammer and stabbed him repeatedly after luring him to a local park, the press reported. Stefan's parents blamed the game and asked retailers to stop selling it. "It's a video instruction on how to murder somebody; it just shows how you kill people and what weapons you use," Patrick Pakeerah said last year, after several major British retailers agreed to stop selling the game. There is substantial debate among psychologists over whether violent behavior can be blamed on video games; since game players are often exposed to violence from other sources, such as TV or their own lives. Although few long-term studies have been done to see if the effects are long-lasting, many U.S. psychologists are alarmed. Last year, the American Psychological Association adopted a resolution recommending that all violence be reduced in video games marketed to children and youth. The policy decision came after an expert committee reviewed research indicating that exposure to video-game violence increases youths' aggressive thoughts and behavior and angry feelings. (Glazer 7)

Although events such as these occur it is difficult to find the source of those acts. While the obvious choice would be violent video games it may not be the case. Video games date back to the 70's and the 8-bit era. Quickly developing into another reality, a virtual reality that seems to be as much a part of our world as any Hollywood movie. The question lies, what makes video games so distant from other forms of media. Greater yet, do video games make people violent?

Video games have been around for close to forty years. The popularity rapidly increasing as time goes by. It all started in 1971 when Computer Space was the first video game released to the public, although it was difficult to play and was not very welcomed by the public (Herman 3). A year later in 1972 the smash hit Pong is released. The game was named after the sound that it made and the name "Ping Pong" had already been copyrighted (Herman 3). Although Pong was a hit the games to follow did not quite compare to the bar Pong had set. Video games began to lose popularity again. A slump hit the industry till 1985 when a Japanese toy company that had recently changed their name to Nintendo released a home console called the Nintendo Entertainment System or NES. The system was only launched in New York, where stores were promised that extra inventory would be bought back if it did not sell. While this was a very risky move it turned out to be a great one. The next year the NES was released worldwide with the smash hit Super Mario Bros. (Herman 6). Following the success of their home system they released a portable version they called the Game Boy. It had a monochrome screen with a contrast adjust dial to allow for play in all forms of lighting, retailing for 109 dollars worldwide (Herman 7). Nintendo continues to be the leading video game developer for years to come. Supported heavily by Super Mario Bros. 3 releasing in 1990, becoming the bestselling video game cartridge of all time (Herman 7). Nintendo dominated the 8-bit era and bolstered their success with the Super Famicom selling for 250 dollars in 1991, later to be known as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States (Herman 7). With other companies, like Sega trying to compete, no one quite had the same success until Sony entered the game industry with the Playstation in 1995. Sony priced the Playstation at 299 dollars later to be dropped 100 dollars the next year. Sony and Nintendo were neck and neck until 2000. When the Playstation 2 dominated the next video game generation, selling better than Nintendo's GameCube and the newcomer Microsoft's Xbox, and becoming the best selling console as of 2008.
One of the most rapid technological advancements comes from computers and its graphical abilities. They have become more than recognizable pixels on a screen to games that, at a glance, can be mistaken for a movie with real people. Games can also be used to teach very effectively. Experts are urging teachers to incorporate video games, and their ability to teach students, into school programs (Glazer 1). Video games also teach important life skills. Gamers playing multiplayer games interact and communicate with other players for a common goal which is a valuable ability in the workplace and is greatly looked for by employers (Glazer 5). Games are unlike movies because you are more than just a spectator; rather they become a simulation and another world (Haugen 63). Games use techniques known to be effective in teaching people to drive cars or go to war (Haugen 63). Although a rising concern is that as video games have better graphics and become more realistic the content has more of an effect on the player (Nakaya 41). Though experts still waver on whether it has more of an effect or not.
While much of the effects video games have can be debated there are still some concrete facts. Experts claim playing games is good for the player's abilities to solve problems, literacy, learning to test hypotheses, and researching information from a variety of sources. Games are not quite as good for understanding humanities and reading literature (Glazer 1). Compared to the time the average gamer spends playing; they spend three times more time with activities like volunteering, reading, exercising, playing sports, and attending cultural activities (Glazer 3). Games can be a good source of learning which is good to know considering more than nine out of every ten American children play video games (Haugen 64). With the typical day, 40% of kids with systems play them (Glazer 1). Out of the Americans that own televisions, 70% of them two to eleven years old own a game console to go with it (Nakaya 4 and there are enough video games sold each year to put two of them in every American household (Haugen 4). Most children play on consoles hooked up to a television and not as much on the computer. Since, 93% of computer game buyers are over eighteen years old (Nakaya 4. Also, heavy gamers who play more than one hour a day only make up thirteen percent of adolescents; and it has been found that heavy gamers spend more time reading for pleasure than teens that play no video games (Glazer 2).
Over the years games may have become more violent but there are also many more games all around. In 2005 the top ten selling games for consoles and on the computer were all rated Everyone (E) or Teen (T) (Glazer 2). In addition, according to Adam Thierer, "the vast majority of video games sold each year do not contain intense violence," less than 13% of the games reviewed by the ESRB were rated Mature (M) or Adults Only (AO), which are the categories that critics are concerned about for their violent content. Although 89% of video games have violence in them and half contain significant violence towards other characters in the game (Nakaya 17). The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) states that depictions of violence and violent speech are included in the protection of the first amendment. The government does not have the right to limit expression solely because any listener or a majority of the community is offended by the content; including video games. If material was suppressed based on the actions of unstable people, no works of art or even fiction would be safe from censorship (Nakaya 19-20).
Everyone has heard of the legendary Columbine school shooting; the rage of the students claimed to be fueled by video games. On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold began firing upon people in the school after the explosives they had planted did not go off as according to plan. There were twenty-three wounded and the lives of twelve students, one teacher, and two killers taken. They both came from solid families; two parents and older siblings, involved in sports like soccer and baseball (Rosenberg 1). A passage recovered from Harris's journal read "Doom is so burned into my head my thoughts usually have something to do with the game... the fact is I love that game and if others tell me, 'hey it's just a game' I say 'hey, I don't care." Other entries talked about their plans for the shooting where he compared it to past events in history like WWII, the Oklahoma bombing, LA riots, Vietnam, Duke and Doom (two violent video games) all mixed together so that they would leave a lasting impression on the world (Gamepolitics 1).
Not all murderers are addicted to video games; there are just as many cases where video games were not a factor at all. August 15, 1982, bodies were discovered in the Green River of Washington. Gary Leon Ridgway known as the Green River Killer confessed to killing more than ninety women; though he was charged with only the forty-eight that were actually proven to be killed by him.
Critics feel that video games make kids more socially isolated. Research supports that playing violent video game causes children to have increased violent thoughts and aggressive behavior. There is also strong evidence aggressive behavior can be increased with exposure to violent media (Chairman 3). The younger the person is the more impressionable they are and the more the violent media has an effect on their thoughts; if children watch or play video games they will mimic what they have seen on the screen right afterwards (Glazer 6). Due to the fact that the victims in violent video games are made into something much less than human. Games filled with human atrocities help young easily influenced people to practice killing without care. Players are rewarded for numerous acts of violence, and must practice with repetition in order to achieve the goals a game sets for them. A video game can be looked at as more than just an experience but also as a simulation. Simulations are designed to hone the instincts to build habits that can be carried out quickly, without second thoughts (Haugen 63). In the games you practice all of the aspects of violence, decision-making and carrying it out. Making a certain kind of decision makes you better at making the decision, like practicing your multiplication tables makes you better at multiplication. To prove that violent video games are capable of getting into the hands of the youth Mothers Against Violence sent underage children into brand name stores and fifteen out of seventeen of the stores sold adult games to children under twelve; proving that the claims that mature games are just for adults do not really stand (Haugen 64).
While some experts believe that video games spawn violence many still contend that they do not and are no different from other forms of media. No signs have been found that show that video games, in the absence of other violent media, cause even the slightest injury to children. Some research evens shows that the more realistic the video games appears the less real the violence in them seems to the player so as time goes by games have less of an impact on the player. Since, video games require that holding a game controller players are constantly reminded that they are just playing a game and not interacting with the real world (Nakaya 41). Neil Gerstein states that "as long as children develop moral values and are given guidance and love by their parents or parent, then all of the violent video games in the world would not have a negative effect on them."
In addition to their fun and educational values, video games can also be quite relaxing if the player allows them to be. According to Mickey Suhn Lee of the Journal of Young Investigators, gamers may find playing video games a way to improve their mental focus and attention. The mental stimulation also provides a way of actively mediating relaxation from diversion of stresses and focusing on the fun (Nakaya 41). They also help to settle frustrations and give players the feeling of control in at least one aspect of their life. Killian states that, the various video game related events like gaming tournaments and conferences have had zero physically violent incidents and there is no evidence that video game players are more violent than any other cross section of society (Nakaya 43).
Video games are pointed out all the time but they are not the only ones that sport violent content. According to OracleXIII of Gamespot "what's so bad about a game with some blood and violence, if the kids pray to an image of Jesus Christ nailed to the cross?" Things throughout history more violent than video games are taught in school all the time. Kids learn about wars like WWI, WWII, Vietnam, and the Holocaust. There are also the crusades where whole civilizations were brutally murdered because they worshiped the wrong god. Schools teach of the Romans and how they hurried to the Coliseum to see humans battle and be ripped apart by animals; their sieges and the destruction of Carthage (OracleXIII 1). Even in recent American history the Salem Witch trials took place where many people were hung, or even crushed to death. Violence is a part of us and our nature, it has to come from somewhere.
Do video games make people violent? Experts still remain divided on whether video games produce violent behavior because many research studies have been conducted with widely varying results have been found (Nakaya 27). It seems that "drawing a straight line from violence in the media to violence in reality remains difficult if not impossible. The cause-and-effect relationship cannot be reproduced reliably in the lab nor demonstrated plausibly in real life," according to McMasters (Nakaya 43).
While video games may stem some acts of violence it is not wide spread enough to be blamed as the direct reason for the levels of violence in society. Just like anything in life video games and all forms of media provide different feedback for every user and the results vary upon many unknown factors. The way an individual is raised deeply roots and effects their beliefs and sights on life. There are good reasons to restrict mature content from younger children but the time at which the content becomes appropriate all hinges on the individual and how they can handle what they are experiencing and how they perceive all of it in relation to the rest of the world they reside in.