Xbox 360 Game News, Reviews, and Columns - XboxFocus

The Outside Perception of Gamers

by Dick Ward May 26th 2008 8:16 PM CDT3 Comments

As gamers we often fail to see the bigger picture, the world outside of gaming. Since we take our games so seriously and play them so passionately, we tend to completely write off people that don’t game, and with good reason. It’s difficult to talk to them, they don’t understand why our Shotgun Spree was so great, they get creeped out when we talk about “Little Sisters”, and don’t even try telling them about your recent accomplishment of being a Master Romancer for Flutterscotches. We know they think we’re weird, but some people honest to god believe that we’re stone cold killers in training.

This week, we’ll be exploring that perception and where it comes from, a deeper look into concerns with Xbox Live, and of course, contributions, questions and musings from you for the final segment on Saturday.

Of course, as with anything, we must start at the source. Whether the reason is spite, fear, or just complete ignorance of what videogames are and what they do, there is an entire generation of people who honestly believe that videogames are dangerous. From politicians to 24 hour “news” stations and even real news sources, there is a whole lot of misinformation out there.

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It all comes down to bad science and the conclusions that our scoop hungry media draws from it. A hasty read through of a paper or book published on the subject of videogame violence, especially one read by one unfamiliar with the scientific process can give the impression of a positive result when really the result is inconclusive or negative.

One of the prime examples is the mistake of confusing correlation with causation. The finest example of this is sadly one of the greatest national tragedies America has ever seen. At 11:19am of April 20th, 1999, Eric Harris and Dennis Klebold began to open fire on fellow students in a massacre that would not end until an hour later with 13 innocent lives taken, 27 people injured and the suicide of both Klebold and Harris. Even as the Columbine massacre was going on, media analysts and ‘specialists’ were brought in to try to find the cause of such an atrocity.

Everyone with an axe to grind or an agenda to push came out of the woodwork and the media was more than happy to fill even more of their day with self proclaimed experts offering up opinions. This of course included those, like gaming’s favorite whipping boy, Jack Thompson, that would state that it was videogames that caused the boys to become horribly murderous. True, the boys played games, but so did many of their classmates. It could also easily be said that both boys had guns, or for that matter, wore socks and were fond of breathing a mix of nitrogen and oxygen.

Still, scientific studies show a link between videogames and violent behavior, right? Well, no, they don’t. Legitimate studies on the subject, featuring a proper use of the scientific method have revealed that indeed, continued exposure to videogame violence desensitizes children to videogame violence. Of course, the story is picked out by the news channels, eager to put any new information out to keep viewers interested and summarized as “Videogames desensitize our children”. In fact, while studies show a correlation between people predisposed to violent behavior and a choice of violent games, they point out much stronger correlations between such behavior and childhood abuse, broken families, and the male chromosome.

Even more recently, the unspeakable act of Tyrone Spellman, who beat his 17 month old daughter to death, after she apparently knocked over his Xbox 360. Of course, being an ‘obsessive gamer’ who spent much of his day on the 360 playing Ghost Recon, public perception says that this was bound to happen.
So why is this problem for the average Xbox player, getting in a few hours of Call of Duty 4 after work or school? Does this really affect the millions of gamers not out there killing people? The answer is a strong yes; this affects those of us gaming and living responsibly more than anyone.

Countless times over, game regulation proposals have been entered into legislation, and then shot down as unconstitutional. Still more and more laws regulating the sales or playing of games are getting proposed, and if one gets through, we’re all in trouble. In the US, there are currently 7 pieces of legislature that are considered to be in progress trying to fine or criminally prosecute those selling games marked as Mature to minors.

Even those unconcerned with game criminalization should be concerned about what gamers must look like to others. The stigma of playing “murder simulators” like Halo 3 or the thought that we may kill a child who interferes with our gaming certainly doesn’t provide any help when talking to non gamers who already think that we’re weird and obsessive.

Luckily there are steps we can take to further the cause of games. The first step is the simplest. If someone tells you that games are dangerous to children, do some research, and then do your best to inform them with intelligent well reasoned arguments. Share your hobby with others, and show them that games like Call of Duty 4 and BioShock can be art as well as entertainment. Show them the notorious drunk driving scene in Grand Theft Auto IV, the choices that are available to the character and the consequence for choosing to drive while intoxicated.

The next step of course is taking it to the reporters, pundits, and politicians that are spreading the false information and trying to ban our games. Both the ECA (Entertainment Consumer’s Association) and the ESA (Entertainment Software Associations) have resources available to gamers for this very purpose. Write a well reasoned intelligent email, make a call, send snail mail; anything will help.

When it comes to an issue like this, the worst thing we can do is fail to act.

Don’t forget to check out my next column on Thursday which will dig into the stigma surrounding Xbox Live and what it means to you. Got something to say? Comment on this article or send an email to DickWard@XboxFocus.com and your thoughts may be featured in Saturday’s column!