Videogames and Violence

Videogames & Violence

Videogames & Violence

Videogames became popular in the 1980s and grew to be more influential in our everyday lives. Videogames touch and affect many age groups. Today, adults, children, males, females, and people of many ethnic backgrounds are impacted by the world of gaming. The use of videogames has been partly blamed for the various school shootings that have taken place in our society, as of late. Video gamers praise them, while parents, politicians and the press frequently criticize videogames, which lead to the many ways of how videogames affect our society.

In an article dated, July 23, 2009, Douglas A. Gentile, Ph.D., stated that the European Parliament has been debating whether to limit children’s access to videogames (Douglas A. Gentile, 2009). In a press statement about the report that resulted from its deliberations, the parliament concluded that games could have “harmful effects on the minds of children.” Reporting on this statement, however, the headline in the Guardian read, “Videogames are good for children” (Douglas A. Gentile, 2009).

Time Period

The birth and history of videogames can be traced back to the early 1950s, such as “Noughts and Crosses.” This particular game was developed by A.S. Douglass, which was a "Tic-Tac-Toe" game, which ran on a Cambridge University computer. In the 1970s, arcade style Videogames surfaced in public and social arenas. During the 1970s, a popular game called “Ping Pong”, developed by Ralph Baer, who was known as “the father of videogames.” He helped create the first home game console, called the Odyssey. Then during the 1980s, more gaming manufacturers surfaced, such as Namco, along with midway, to bring the popular game called “Pac-Man” to light.

Popular games or game manufacturers, such as Nintendo and Atari, helped to create more advanced systems. As of today, there are still a few leading game developers in the market. Our focus and topic of discussion where it relates...