Kravvitz, though I respect your opinion usually, I have to say you're wrong on this one.
Though I hate cussing, nudity, sexual content, etc. in video games and movies, violence is one thing that I have a high tollerence for. And let me tell you why.
There is no evidence to support your theory that playing violent video games makes you a violent person. Sure, there's lots of people who play bloody video games, and turn out to be murderers and etc. And the DC Sniper even played Halo before he killed all those people...
But there's just as many people on the other side of the fence, who play bloody video games and DON'T turn into crimenals. And Justin Timberlake plays Halo and he couldn't hurt anybody if he tried to!
Now I agree that there are some morons out there who aren't mature enough to play a game like Halo, because they don't have enough sense to tell the difference between the real world and fiction... but those people can be 5 years old and they can be 40 years old. That's why I despise age limits for video games and movies that are rated "R" simply for violence. Your age doesn't measure how intelligent, moral, or mature you are.
And let's be honest, if video games really have so much of an effect on people, our parents from the PacMan generation would be sitting in dark rooms popping little white pills and listening to weird techno music.
If anything, I'd say that video games actually do the opposite to you. They help you vent all of that stress that you have bottled up inside you from that hard day at work, or from that jack@$$ that cut you off 3 whole lanes on your way home, etc. You get mad, you turn on your Xbox, you bash a few aliens, you feel more relaxed.
There is, however, the scenario where a young child is playing a violent video game, and the main character is his role model. If that character doesn't have a good reason for killing those people/aliens/monsters... That could effect the kid's ethics, and make him into a less moral person. If the child becomes more violent after that, then that's your future cereal killer right there. This is why I'm not that crazy about "Grand Theft Auto 3". This is also why there are no games (at least that I know of) on the market where you play the part of a murderer who breaks into innocent people's houses at night and kills them and their families while they're asleep and then sets fire to their homes.
But say there's a game where you play the part of a heroic Spartan Mark V Cyborg that goes to a mysterious Ring world and has to defeat the evil aliens in order to save earth... In that game he's killing MORALLY. I can't think of a single bad attribute a kid could get from playing that game other than him playing it too much.
So, in conclusion, no, video games can't turn you into a murderer, but they can turn you into a nerd.
If you wish to continue this discussion, I'd suggest moving it to the general discussion forum, since this isn't really the place to talk about video game ethics...
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