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20 Best Video Games of 2022 — So Far

video games cause violent behavior essay

2022 has been an… interesting year for video games. Several highly anticipated titles dropped throughout Q1, but remasters and re-releases have largely dominated Q2 and Q3. Many triple-A titles like God of War Ragnarok and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will drop near the end of the year — when the odds of breaking sales records and snagging awards are at their best.

In the meantime, gamers are largely left with two options; play through Elden Ring for the zillionth time or scour the internet for something new to play. If you fall into the latter category, you’ve come to the right place. Plenty of fantastic titles are available on home consoles, PC, and even mobile devices. You just have to know where to look. These are the best video games of 2022 (so far).

Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course

Cuphead originally debuted in September 2017, and the gaming industry hasn’t been the same ever since. This loving homage to old-school shoot ’em up games and vintage 1930s cartoons charmed (and stressed out) millions of players across the globe. The Delicious Last Course DLC, which dropped on June 30, 2022, is the encore to this one-of-a-kind title.

Players will find more of everything that they loved about the base game; more challenging bosses, more enthralling hand-drawn animation, and even more immaculately composed music. At $7.99 USD, this expansion is easily worth your hard-earned coins.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Alright, here’s the scenario; it’s the late-1990s/early-2000s, and you’re heading to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate someone’s birthday. You’ve got $10, maybe $12’s worth of tokens jangling in your pocket. What’s the first/possibly only game you play? Why the frustrating yet incredibly additive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game of course!

Shredder’s Revenge is a send-up to the brutal, yet thrilling titles that Konami developed back in the day. Up to six players can raise shell together via offline or online co-op. This title also boasts a soundtrack composed by Tee Lopes, Johnny Atma, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon (The Chef), and Mega Ran!

Stray generated tons of buzz at Sony’s Future of Gaming showcase back in June 2020 — and how could it not? This game lets you explore an abandoned futuristic city as a cat. I spent my first 30 minutes with this title napping, scratching trees and rugs, nuzzling other cats, and solving puzzles… and I deeply enjoyed every last second.

BlueTwelve Studio has delivered one of the most mesmerizing experiences that the PS5 has to offer. Stray’s setting is moody and dirty, yet enticing all the same. The game also frequently uses non-verbal storytelling to build its compelling narrative.

Horizon Forbidden West

2017 was an extremely stacked year for games; titles like Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Cuphead, Super Mario Odyssey, and many more all made headlines throughout the year. Nevertheless, Guerilla Games stood out from the crowd with Horizon Zero Dawn — aka the game where you hunt mechanical dinosaurs.

Horizon Forbidden West builds upon everything that its predecessor established. Alloy’s story continues to unfold in dramatic fashion and there are more robotic dinosaurs to hunt. The market is virtually flooded with open world titles (case in point, this list), but many struggle to stand out. Horizon Forbidden West does not have that problem.

Never judge a book by its cover — or a game by its art style. Tunic might look like a cuddly children’s game on the surface, but this Zelda-inspired action adventure game from Andrew Shouldice and Finji is easily one of this year’s most hardcore offerings.

There’s no hand-holding here; no giant blinking arrows to tell you where to go, and all of the NPCs speak in a cryptic, unknown language. Certain players might find this title outright inaccessible, while others will adore the challenge.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

I’m pretty sure it’s mathematically impossible to make a bad Kirby game. Kirby’s Dream Land topped several sales charts upon release, and several spin-off games such as Kirby Air Ride attained cult classic status over time.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the latest and greatest in this long-running franchise. Up to two players can explore sprawling open worlds as Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee (esquire). Forgotten Land is a family-friendly title through and through, though there’s also plenty of challenging content for older/more experienced players.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon took the world by storm in the 1990s and has never really let up ever since. Games, movies, TV shows, trading cards — the Pokémon franchise has basically done it all over the last 26 years. Yet Game Freak, the Japanese game developers behind Pokémon , somehow find new ways to surprise long-time fans.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus dares players to “catch ‘em all” in a pre-historic land with five distinct biomes. A poignant storyline might not be one of this title’s selling points, but it wins big in terms of immersion. Arceus really captures the scale of the 242 Pokémon that currently comprise its roster. The vast amount of content on offer makes this title one of the best video games of 2022.

Martial arts films have been a major part of my life since I was in diapers. Have Sword, Will Travel (1969), Fist of Fury (1972), and Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991) are some of the first movies that I ever saw. Playing through Sloclap’s latest title Sifu makes you feel like you’re playing through a classic kung-fu film.

This game’s all about combat; swarms of enemies will bear down on you all at once, so it’s KO (via the array of intricate techniques at your disposal), or be KO’d. And should you fall, your character will advance in age — prompting you to finish your campaign before you’re too old to fight. Sifu isn’t only one of the best games of 2022, it’s also one of the most unique.

Gran Turismo 7

Authenticity has always been one of the hallmarks of the Gran Turismo series. The first game in the franchise wowed players and critics alike despite the comparatively limited capabilities of Sony’s first Playstation system. Gran Turismo 7 continues to set the standard for high-quality racing sims, even if its monetization scheme isn’t ideal.

GT7 is jam-packed with content; Career Mode will keep you engaged as you slowly but surely rise through the ranks, while Legendary Circuits will push your driving skills to the limit. A modern-day GT title wouldn’t be complete without a Car Collection mode — of which, there are over 420 cars to collect and purchase in-game.

Rogue Legacy 2

Failure isn’t an option in roguelike games — it’s practically guaranteed. Players will only progress so far in a dungeon before they perish and start another adventure. Cellar Door Games’ 2013 title Rogue Legacy played into this concept; each time players failed, they’d start a new journey as an heir of their previous character.

Rogue Legacy 2 follows in its predecessor’s footsteps while also bringing plenty of new features to the fore. The heir system makes a return, albeit with interesting twists and turns. New classes, environments, and 2.5D mechanics sweeten the deal and cement Rogue Legacy 2 as one of the best games of 2022.

I’ve never seen anything quite like Neon White , and I’ve been gaming since 1997. Over the years, I’ve played utterly mind-boggling titles like Killer 7 , Godhand, SMT: Nocturne, Bloodborne and most of the Kingdom Hearts franchise . Yet somehow, Neon White manages to be a refreshingly unique experience with its own vibe and gameplay.

I’d describe this title as an FPS /Platforming hybrid, but even that fails to fully encapsulate everything Neon White has to offer . Players must race through a variety of surreal levels while using guns as both weapons and puzzle-solving tools. This is easily one of the most challenging, stylish, abstract, and freaky games of the year — and possibly the 2020s.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Once upon a time (i.e. the 1990s/200s), Japanese Role-Playing Games (i.e. JRPGs), dominated the gaming industry. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 takes me back to that time in a way, embodying many of the best — and not-so-best — qualities of JRPGs.

Players can explore over 150 hours worth of content and immerse themselves in the incredibly eccentric world of Aionios. The story doesn’t always make sense and the characters that comprise your party can feel very archetypal, but XC3 has charm and heart in spades.

NORCO is a much-needed reminder that high-end graphics and massive budgets alone don’t make a great game, let alone a good one. This pixel art point-and-click adventure game garnered tons of praise when it was released in March. Months later, pundits still hail NORCO as a potential Game of The Year nominee.

Players will help Kay traverse a heavily cyberized version of Norco, Louisiana as she searches for her missing brother. Along the way, they’ll encounter awe-inspiring religious imagery, hostile human and non-human threats, and a narrative that critiques the oil industry’s impact on New Orleans.

OlliOlli World

Skateboarding games were all the rage throughout the 2000s; new Tony Hawk titles were released each and every year from 1999 to 2010. A house party wasn’t a party unless someone had Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 on deck. Roll7’s OlliOlli franchise hearkens back to those halcyon days, and OlliOlli World is their latest release.

Like its predecessors, OlliOlli World blends 2D platforming with frenetic, hyper-stylized skateboarding. Combos are the name of the game; the more tricks you can string together, the higher your score will skyrocket. This visually charming title is easy to learn, but very hard (yet oh so satisfying) to master.

Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak

Monster Hunter Rise enthralled players with its deep customization and gripping (pun intended) Wirebug mechanic. Sunbreak amps up everything that you loved about the base game, fixes several long-standing issues and adds even more customization into the fray.

The expansion kicks off when invasive monster species show up in Kamura. Players are invited to the Medieval-themed Elgado Outpost, where they’ll discover new friends and foes in spades. Sunbreak feels like a true expansion by adding more of what players loved about MH Rise and then some.

MultiVersus

Who’d win in a fight, Shaggy and Velma or Batman and Superman? MultiVersus lets players discover the answer for themselves by pitting various Warnes Bros. characters against each other. This platform fighter was released with 19 playable characters right off the bat and plans to add many more through subsequent seasons.

Now, a good chunk of you might be interested in this title for its sheer spectacle. Others might be tempted to write it off as another “Smash Bros. Clone” that won’t stand the test of time. Either way, consider this; MultiVersus is free to play and the devs seem genuinely passionate in the multiple vlogs/blogs they’ve uploaded.

And c’mon, you know you wanna see LeBron James and The Iron Giant go at it.

2.5D fighting games are truly a spectacle to behold; they often combine cell-shaded graphics with slick animation to create a radically unique experience. Several of the most popular 2.5D titles in the world, such as Guilty Gear Xrd and DragonBall Fighter Z , are compliments of Arc System Works. DNF Duel , a spin-off of Neople’s MORG Dungeon Fighter Online, is Arc’s latest and greatest.

Fundamentally, DNF Duel checks all the right boxes; gorgeous graphics, complex mechanics, and stylish characters are all here in the spades. However, puddle-deep storylines and noticeable balancing issues hold this title back. Here’s hoping Arc will update DNF Duel ASAP to cement its place as one of the best games of the year.

Freshly Frosted

Simplicty has a quality all its own. Freshly Frosted is an accessible pick-up and play puzzle game for the Nintendo Switch. Its narrative is extremely straightforward; a woman lies down in a grass field and imagines a donut factory in the sky.

From there, players will create all sorts of pastries purely for the sake of helping the woman relax. There are 144 puzzles available from the get-go that all vary in complexity and difficulty. If you get stuck, you can ask for a hint or even skip a particularly challenging puzzle. Freshly Frosted feels like a complete package upon release, though more donut-themed DLC would certainly be welcomed.

Supermassive Games has been in business since 2008, but the company really made a name for itself with Until Dawn in 2015. This title is an interactive horror film in essence, which means it emphasizes story and characters over gameplay. That description also fits Supermassive’s latest offering, The Quarry.

The fate of nine distinct and well-acted characters ultimately lies in your hands. The Quarry takes major cues from slasher films like Halloween and Friday the 13th . It’s much more over-the-top than Until Dawn , but player choice and a gripping narrative are just as pivotal as ever. The Quarry is a non-gamer’s game, and I mean that in the best of ways.

Was there ever any doubt that Elden Ring would grace this list? I wasn’t kidding about that “zillionth playthrough” bit in the intro. After sinking 300+ hours into this title and nabbing the Platinum trophy, I’ve (nearly) seen everything Elden Ring has to offer — and I’m still absolutely in love with it.

For many players, Elden Ring is their first FromSoftware game. It’s their first time getting crushed by a ridiculously challenging boss — and coming right back for more. It’s their first time getting invaded by some psychopath who practically lives for PvP. It’s their first time losing hundreds of times, yet earning the win despite it all.

Elden Ring is one of the best video games of 2022 and has already cemented itself as the Game of The Year in many players’ eyes.

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Do Video Games Promote Violence Essay

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Do Video Games Cause Violence: Essay Sample

Do video games cause violence: essay introduction, violence in video games essay: problem analysis, positive effect of violent video games: essay body paragraph, effects of violent video games: essay conclusion, works cited.

Video games are electronic devices that require the interaction of a user face. This enables the generation of visual feedback. Video games vary from handheld devices to mainframe computers.

Video games started as early as the mid 20 th century and today the popularity has grown tremendously and the entertainment industry that produces them has grown in leaps and bounds.

Video games have both positive and negative effects on the consumers.This paper will focus on how the exposure to violent video games can have major negative effects on children’s behavior in terms of education, aggressiveness and creativity.

In recent times, the debates about the aggressiveness in children due to exposure to video games have been rife. There is so much violence in the video games and it is estimated that “over 85% of the games contain some violence and approximately half of video games include serious violent actions” (Carnagey, Anderson and Bushman 489).

Most of the video games are rated E meaning they can be sold to children of all ages from six years. However, a close look at those games shows that the parents consider them violent. This is detrimental to the youths because exposure to violence in video games has worse effects than those caused by abusive parents, coming from a broken home or associating with antisocial peers.

Children who play violent video games have increased aggressive cognitions, aggressive behavior, psychological arousal as well as antisocial behavior. Furthermore, exposure to violence in the games leads to desensitization- “a reduction in emotion-related physiological reactivity to real violence” (Carnagey et al 490).

This means that when children are exposed to violence they become used to it and may grow up thinking violence is the norm. For example, when children are shown a violent clip for the first time they react with a lot of anxiety but a second such or worse clip does not have the same effect because they have become immune to violence. This is dangerous because it lowers the children’s responsiveness to real violence.

In the video games children are exposed to violence in a positive manner that is with music and sounds that are exciting, beautiful visual effects which are used as rewards for violent actions in the game. This leads to reduced physiological arousal for example the heart rate. Eventually desensitization occurs and such children are less likely to notice violent acts or events, sympathize with victims of violence.

They also have a less negative attitude towards violence and generally believe the world is unsafe and thus the need for violence to protect oneself. Such children are less likely to seek for help in case of violence because they have a decreased perception of injury. in addition, such children have increased aggression and are more likely to unleash violence towards other children at school.

Some children spend a considerable amount of time playing video games and this impacts their school performance negatively. This is because they devote a lot of time playing the video games at the expense of schoolwork. this is especially the case with children who have a problem with schoolwork initially.

They prefer to play video games instead of doing homework especially if they keep failing. To enjoy a bit of success they turn to video games where they achieve success for example killing the villain in the game and get rewarded with points, music or sounds. The negative effect on education is more evident among children who begin playing the video games at a very young age.

These children become addicted to video games and thus do not pay attention to schoolwork. Video games also impact children’s education in that most of the time they will be talking about their video games heroes instead of discussing useful things that might help them to improve their academics.

Some children can remember all the aspects of the video games but can find it difficult to remember simple mathematical or science concepts taught in class. Some children will play the video games for long periods and may fail to get enough sleep and this may lead to lack of concentration in class the following day. Thus, they fail to grasp the content taught by teachers ad jeopardize their educational growth.

The evidence is in lower grades in school examinations and tests. On the other hand, some scholars argue that video games are good for the children as they help to improve their cognitive and motor skills. this is because the “skills learned during game playing may be applied in instructional setting” ( Vorderer and Bryant 336).

Video games have killed creativity in children. This is because children spend most of their time sitting in front of computers playing games. They engage in activities of shooting, killing, kidnapping instead of doing creative things that might help to improve their cognitive skills.

They do not have an opportunity to engage with the environment or even play with their peers (Lakhanpal 1). This kind of environment gives the children an opportunity to develop people skills, become inquisitive by asking questions regarding their surroundings as well as learn about daily activities. On the contrary, “being glued to the video games all the time hinders this”(Lankhanpal 1).

Conversely, video games provide children with virtual worlds where they can practice skills such as leadership. These are the same skills necessary in real life. The children get a chance learn the skills through taking roles. For instance, a child may take the role of a police officer in the game and while at it learn a thing or two about the roles of a police officer. This is because the games “mimic social structure” (Kiefabar 1).

Finally, it is the responsibility of parents to control how their children play video games. Too much exposure to the games has many negative effects than positive ones. Parents should therefore protect their children from the negative effects of the games.

Just like they would not allow their children to watch X rated movies so should they stop the children from playing video games that have a lot of violence disguised in cartoon characters. Just as a healthy diet keeps a child fit and keeps off illness so is a regulated violence free video game.

Carnage, Nicholas, Craig Anderson and Brad Bushman. “The effect of video game violence on physiological desensitization to real-life violence.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43 (2007): 489-496.

Kiefabar, Matt. Video Games. 2009. Web.

Lakhanpal, Bhardwaj Priyanka. Is addiction to video games killing creativity . 2010.

Vorderer, Peter and Bryant Jennings. Playing Video Games: Motives, Responses, and Consequences. New York: Routledge, 2006.

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Essay on Do Violent Video Games Cause Behavior Problems?

Whenever there is a mass shooting in the United States of America, it does not take long before pundits blame violent video games and movies. At the same time, some people often take an opposing side claiming that it is not viable to video games and movies for the increased rate of crime in the country, especially when a younger person is involved in shooting spree among his or her colleagues. In this sense, it is a case of a contentious issue drawing debates from either side of the divide. Each side notably has a point that can be used to justify the standpoint. As to whether video games cause behavior problems, this paper seeks to be on the yes side, supporting it. Children who spend a lot of time watching video games at home are more likely to express violent and obscene behaviors at school or anywhere.

Video games such as those involving guns, teach people on how to shoot to kill. For example, the US military has resorted to using video game developers to accustom games that involve shooting to kill option that can be used to train soldiers. For example, Shoot Em Up game released by the army in some years back encouraged the public to get access to some gun techniques, which would otherwise not have existed (Etchells et al. 56). As a result, people get to know things that they would want to try out in real life. Notably, the net consequence is enormous as it not only prompts the urge of practicing killing option in reality but also deactivates the customary psychological irons that bar them from acting ins such a manner.

Surprisingly, some societies still do have negative perceptions of women in society. Studies based on sex and violence on women have denoted that games featuring women often foster violence toward the women with those playing it developing an attitude of rape hostility (Gabbiadini et al. 34). A practical example is the Grand Theft Auto V in which the developers allowed the gamer was given the ability to murder a prostitute to recover money (Gabbiadini et al. 23). In this case, the concern is that the user can be violent toward women in the game something, which they can replicate easily in real life. Notably, the exposure may encourage the rape attitude, which is more grievous.

Violent video games often encourage a person to develop a little to no empathy in life. In this case, a child who spends most of his or her time playing a violent video game is more likely to show little compassion to colleagues, something, which then matures as he or she grows into adulthood (Adachi et al. 61). In this viewpoint, older people who play violent video games are less likely to aid others who may have a problem while children who indulge in violent gaming often are less moral to the peers who are not. The disparity between video game and any other violent media is that the user can participate in the events unfolding in real time. In this perspective, the gamer is not just a viewer but an active participant in what is coming forward and even making decisions based on the situation. At the same time, one can experience the effect of the decision made. A child is at a learning stage and is most likely to imitate things they see and use in life.

In sum, violent video games expand the behavior of violence among gamers. It fosters little empathy among the adults and low moral values in children. Also, it teaches the users some real skills such as shoot to kill without a second thought. In this case, someone may shoot people aimlessly without a feeling of having developed such an ability from playing video games. The worst outcome is those traits, which may foster violent behaviors toward women in a society such as encouraging rape activity. As a recommendation, unless some lessons and teaching plan is reinforced in schools to educate on ethics and values of playing video games, the impacts of violence in the streets of the US will remain a grievous thing.

Adachi, Paul JC, et al. “From outgroups to allied forces: Effect of intergroup cooperation in violent and nonviolent video games on boosting favorable outgroup attitudes.” Journal of experimental psychology: general 145.3 (2016): 259.

Etchells, Peter J., et al. “Prospective investigation of video game use in children and subsequent conduct disorder and depression using data from the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children.” PloS one 11.1 (2016): e0147732.

Gabbiadini, Alessandro, et al. “Grand Theft Auto is a “Sandbox” Game, but There are Weapons, Criminals, and Prostitutes in the Sandbox: Response to Ferguson and Donnellan (2017).” (2017): 2460-2466.

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Video games have exhibited exponential growth in the past few decades. They have advanced from their humble origins in the computer lab to a contemporary status as one of the leaders in the multibillion dollar global entertainment industry (Newman 1). Most of the popular video games in the present times are characterized by their ability to allow players to role-play in various scenarios. Owing to the market appeal of violence, most of the scenarios involve acts of violence and destruction which are performed by the player on screen. Concerns have been raised as to the effect that this overexposure and subsequent desensitization to violence is having on people especially bearing in mind that video games are quickly becoming the most fashionable pass time activity for children in the developed world. Arguments have been forwarded that the violence in video games is directly responsible for the rise in violence by young people. On the other hand, other arguments propose that personal responsibility takes precedence and as such video games do not result in any violent behavior. As can be deduced from this, there are various opposing views on the effect that violent video games have on people. This paper shall examine several of the arguments raised so as to draw a conclusion as to whether video games actually do cause violence in people. The paper shall also discuss the various arguments advanced by proponents and opponents to consider their merit.

One of the factors that make video games especially prone to leading to violence in real life is the high level of engagement that video games have. Funk et al. theorizes that the intense engagement may increase the probability that game behaviors will generalize outside the game situation as a result of the active participation that video games require of the gamer (34). Qualitative researches further on show that children who were exposed to violent video games engaged in fantasy play’s in which they copied the actions of the violent video characters. This effectively demonstrates that the high involvement of video games results in youths desiring to play out the violent actions in real life. This inevitably leads to the perpetration of violence by people as a result of the influence of video games. Video game enthusiasts negate his point by arguing that people have the capability to differentiate simulations from real life. While this may be the case, it does not take into consideration the high impressionability of youths and the influence that media and in particular video games have on the lives of people. The correlation between video-game violence and increased aggression amongst the youths is unnerving. Anderson and Bushman hypothesize that it is no coincidence that recent cases of high school and campus violence are in most cases perpetrated by individuals who habitually played violent video games (353). Studies indicate that the reason for increased aggression with increased exposure to violence scenes is because aggression is largely based on the learning function of the brain and as such, each violent episode is in essence one more learning trial (Dill 83). However, it may be argued that aggression is a function of nature and video games cannot influence a non-violent person into violence. While these assertions may be true, Anderson and Bushman demonstrate that video violence lead to the reinforcement of aggressive behavior which in some cases leads to full blown cases of violence and destruction (353). One of the logical consequences of exposure to violence is desensitization; which implies the elimination of cognitive, emotional or even behavioral response to violence (Funk et al. 25). An interesting fact with regard to desensitization to violence is that it occurs in subtle and minute quantities and one is seldom aware of its occurrence. In other words, engaging in violent video games results in an increase for tolerance for violent behavior in real life. Supporters of video games assert that video games are in no way the only source of violent material as media and even real-life experiences contain some episodes of violence. As such, it stands to reason that video games should not be held accountable for desensitization to violence as it is evident that there are many other avenues through which violence is presented to people. However, research indicates that the high interaction levels of video games leads to blunted empathic responding and higher emotional desensitization that by any other media due to the active involvement of a person as they play. This subsequently results in stronger pro-violence attitudes which have been repeatedly blamed on the prevalence of violent videos.

While proponents of video games as a major cause of violence among youths point out that these games represent violence and murder as “cool and fashionable, it should be noted that video games are not the only media through which such notions are spread. Ferguson highlights the fact that violence as entertainment has always been an aspect of mainstream media and as such, video games and their effects should not be viewed in isolation (13). As such, violence in youths should take into consideration the various TV and Newspaper presentations of violence and Hollywood films romanticizing of violence instead of laying the blame principally on video games. Owing to the many studies which propose the negative effects of video games, it would logically follow that laws would be put in place to ensure that this social vice is controlled. However, this has not been the case and production of violent video games continues to be rife. Ferguson documents that despite the research on the effects of media violence on children and the subsequent findings that media violence is mostly detrimental to children’s psychology, there are no enforcement mechanisms in place that deter the sale of violent games to children (13). This lack of legislation is mostly because the various censorship laws proposed have been challenged in courts mostly on constitutional and scientific grounds. Ferguson highlights that some judges particularly criticized opponents of video games who were blamed for biased presentation of the existing research on effects of video game violence therefore greatly decreasing the objectivity and credibility of these anti-game scholars (14). Opponents of media violence point to the rise in crime waves during the 1970’s and 1980’s which was largely assumed to be caused by violence in television. Subsequently, anti-game scholars indicate that the same could happen as a result of video violence. Ferguson reiterates that this is a fallacy since records indicate that violent crimes in the U.S. population decreased in the 1990s, which is when the violent video games began to become popular and increasingly violent as the years progressed due to technological advances (13). As such, the assertion that video games result in increased violence cannot be backed up by data therefore suggesting that violent video games may be more benign that is currently thought. However, opponents of video games point out that the mere fact that violent crimes decreased at the same time that video games came into the picture is hugely coincidental and does not indication that violent video games have no negative effect on people.

The prevalence of video games in the lives of younger age groups is evident and as such, the impact that this exposure may have on them is of great significance. It has been suggested that there is a correlation between violent video games and real life violence. Supporters of video games propose that this correlation is not causation but rather, they argue that the fact is that violent children prefer to play violent games. As such, video games do not create violent people as opponents of video games suggest. While this argument may hold some truth, numerous research findings indicates that video games lead to an increase in the violent levels of the people who engage in the games. It is therefore plausible that while video games are played by violent children, the aggression level of such people is significantly increased as a result of the violence in the video games. The effects of exposure to violent video games are also undoubtedly higher to the younger age groups since they are still developing their moral values and therefore are more impressionable. As such, a violent game which may have little effect on an adult can have lasting impact on children whose moral reasoning principles are still being molded (Funk 34). However, despite the negative sentiments that are associated with video games, they present a great means of telling stories to the youth. As such, the socially responsible thing to do would be to endorse and encourage behaviors that are sociable through these games (Kahne, Middaugh & Evans 8). In addition to the alleged increase in violence levels, video game violence has also been blamed for frequent reduction of pro-social behavior by the players. This greatly negates the civil potential of the games and leads to a prevalence of anti-social behavior. From this, it is clear that the negative effect of violent video games is far reaching and not only limited to aggressive behavior and an increase in violence by youths. While there are many experts who criticize the existing violent video game research literature, their credibility is uncertain since most of this experts working with or for the video game industries. It would therefore be absurd to expect them to make declarations that would be detrimental to their industry. On the other hand, anti-game experts are mostly psychologists and scholars who have no vested interest in the results. This greatly adds to the credibility of they studies, most of which indicate that there is a strong relationship between youth violence and video game violence.

Video games are an ever-present youth experience and they can offer wide ranges of experiences to the individual. As has been demonstrated by the arguments presented in this paper, video games can be used to promote certain notions. This paper highlights the reality that violence can in fact be promoted by use of violent video games. From this paper, it is clear that the youth are the ones who are most susceptible to being made violent and it is therefore the obligation of parents to ensure that the exposure of their children to these harmful games is limited. However, it should be remembered that games can also be used for nonviolent and even educational purposes. Game designers should therefore be urged to create less violent video games and rather focus on the benign and beneficial facet of video games. By doing this, the tremendous educative power that the games wield can be harnessed for the betterment of the society.

Anderson, A. Craig. “An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games.” Journal of Adolescence 27 (2004) 113–122. Anderson, A. Craig and Brad J. Bushman. “Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior.” American Psychological Society. VOL. 12, NO. 5, 2001. Dill, Karen, E. “How Fantasy Becomes Reality: Seeing Through Media Influence.” Oxford University Press US, 2009. Print. Ferguson, Christopher. “Violent Video Games.” 2008. Web. Funk, Jeanne, B., et al. “Violence Exposure in Real-life, Video Games, Television, Movies, and the Internet: is there Desensitization?” Journal of Adolescence 27 (2004) 23–39. Kahne, Joseph., Middaugh, Ellen, and Evans, Chris. “The Civic Potential of Video Games.” 7 Sept 2008. Web. https://www.civicsurvey.org/publications/civic-potential-of-video-games Newman, James. “Videogames.” Routeledge, 2004. Print.

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Do Violent Video Games Lead to Violence?

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A long-standing debate over whether violence depicted in video games can trigger real-world violence has taken on renewed vigor in the wake of mass shootings in recent years. The gunman who killed 22 people and injured 24 others at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on August 3 made a fleeting reference to video game soldiers, indicating that he was familiar with video violence, and many politicians were quick to blame video games for this and other mass shootings. Yet it seems clear that the El Paso gunman was primarily motivated by ethnic hatred. His manifesto said the attack was “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

The main reason to worry about video games is a slew of studies claiming to find a link between violence in video games and real-world aggression, but countervailing studies have found no persuasive link. The main reason to be skeptical of a causal link is that video games have spread widely around the world without driving other countries to the levels of violence in this country.

Then there is the question of what can be done to sanitize video violence without violating First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech, which the Supreme Court has applied to works of art, films, and video games that many might find repugnant. A Supreme Court decision in 2011 struck down a California law that sought to ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors on the grounds that its vague and ill-defined language violated the First Amendment rights of the entertainment merchants.

I have no personal experience with violent video games but the amount of violence depicted in some current video games is astounding. The gore was graphically described by Justice Samuel Alito in a concurring opinion to the 2011 Supreme Court decision. In obvious disgust, he wrote that victims are killed with every imaginable implement, including machine guns, clubs, hammers, and chainsaws, among others. Victims are dismembered, decapitated, disemboweled, set on fire, and chopped into little pieces. They cry out in agony and beg for mercy. Blood gushes, splatters, and pools. Severed body parts and gobs of human remains are graphically shown.

Some games exploit antisocial themes, he continued. There are games in which a player can re-enact the killings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech. The goal of one game is to rape a mother and her daughter, of another game to rape Native-American women. There is an ethnic cleansing game in which players can choose to gun down African-Americans, Latinos, or Jews.

Fortunately, there is no hard evidence yet that such games lead to mass murders or grisly killings. Indeed, most correlation studies show at most a small effect.

The late Justice Antonio Scalia, writing for the majority in the 2011 Supreme Court decision, scoffed at the notion that violent video games cause real-world violence. Most of the research studies suffer from admitted flaws in methodology, he wrote. “They show at best some correlation between exposure to violent entertainment and minuscule real-world effects, such as children feeling more aggressive or making louder noises in the few minutes after playing a violent game than after playing a nonviolent game.”

Professional societies have struggled with the issue and waged battles within their ranks without reaching a clear conclusion.

In 2007, the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Council on Science and Public Health issued a report likening excessive use of video games to a gambling addiction, although it acknowledged there was insufficient research to be sure it was an addiction. The council urged the AMA to contact the American Psychiatric Association (APA) about including internet and video game addiction in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , a text used by psychiatrists around the world. But when the recommendations were put to a vote at the AMA’s annual meeting, the delegates backed away and simply called for more research and a review of a video game ratings system that was set up when in the wake of Senate hearings in 1993 to help parents decide whether to let their children play a video game.

The APA was also split internally. The association’s official position, expressed in a resolution adopted in August 2015, is that the link between violent video game exposure and aggressive behavior is “one of the most studied and best established.” However, that aggressiveness included insults, threats, hitting, pushing, hair pulling, biting, and other forms of verbal and physical aggression. There was insufficient research on whether violent video games cause lethal violence. Studies have also shown that video game use is associated with a decrease in empathy and other socially desirable behavior.

A component of the association, the APA’s division for media psychology and technology, was much more dismissive of any causal link. In a policy statement on June 22, 2017, it found “scant evidence” of any causal connection between playing violent video games and actually committing violent activities” and “little evidence” that playing such games “produces violent criminal behavior.”

The warring positions on the issue were judged closer to agreement than most think in a recent analysis. A paper published in Perspectives on Psychological Science on June 12 used what it called “novel analyses” to determine whether conflicting results of meta-analyses were an artifact of reporting practices that masked an underlying consensus. The paper found that “all of the meta/analyses do in fact point to the conclusion that, in the vast majority of settings, violent video games do increase aggressive behavior but that these effects are almost always quite small.”

That judgement was consistent with views expressed in separate articles by Benedict Carey and Kevin Draper in the New York TImes on August 5, just after the mass murders in El Paso and Dayton Ohio.

One respected organization, the National Center for Health Research, a non-profit non-partisan organization that critiques medical research, leans in the direction of worrying about triggering lethal assaults. It published an article on “Violent Video Games and Aggression” which found that: “Very few studies have looked at whether playing violent video games increases the chance of later delinquency, criminal behavior, or lethal violence. Such studies are difficult to conduct and require very large numbers of children. It makes sense that since playing violent video games tends to increase the level of aggressive behavior it would also result in more lethal violence or other criminal behaviors, but there is no clear evidence to support that assumption.”

That paper and many others stress that video game exposure is only one of many risk factors for aggressive behavior and violence. Various scholars point to such factors as racism and ethnic hatred, certain psychiatric disorders, adverse social environments, and easy access to guns and other lethal weapons, which may be the most critical factor of all.

Focusing on violent video games as the cause of mass shootings almost certainly distracts legislators and government officials from the pressing need to deal with more fundamental causes. It is a moral imperative for federal and state legislators, government officials, and all others concerned with lethal violence to confront the underlying problems and not take symbolic refuge in blaming violent video games.

Phil Boffey is former deputy editor of the New York Times Editorial Board and editorial page writer, primarily focusing on the impacts of science and health on society. He was also editor of Science Times and a member of two teams that won Pulitzer Prizes.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not imply endorsement by The Dana Foundation.

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A major opposition to violence video games leading to aggression is that the research that was done is not a valid research. Henry Jenkins said “...most of those studies are inconclusive and many have been criticized on methodological grounds” (2). The studies are not inconclusive because in the studies that the researchers do they

Do violent video games lead to violence?

With the development of technology, violent video games invaded every house, and now it played by every teenage in every family, whether on mobile phones, computers or gaming devices. Some people do not believe that those violent video games effect on the children, while others believe that the government should prevent the selling of these games. However, violent video games made a negative influence on everyone, on children brain like thinking skills, which made their behavior aggressive, on their physiological energy and feeling leading to segregation and violence between siblings in the same family, also on the parenting role of the parents, who are do not know anymore what they should do with their children. Violent video games help the players in their way of thinking. In many researches these games can be used to train soldiers and surgeons because they train the brain to make quick decisions, also they help with managing resources that are limited and deciding the best use of these resources, like in shooting games the player must coordinate brain’s interpretation and reaction with the movement in his hands and fingertips, which requires a great deal of eye-hand coordination. However, violent video games change brain function in young men whereas there is plenty of evidence to prove that these games have a prolonged negative neurological effects, which may translate into behavioral changes over long periods of game play. For example, if a person listens to classical music all day, at some point, he will start to sing the melodies, the same way as if a person plays violent video game all day, he will start to believe that violence is normal. In addition, according to many researches those who play the violent video games h... ... middle of paper ... ...) After all, the researchers have proved that violent video games made a negative influence on children brain like thinking skills which made their behaviour aggressive, on their physiological energy leading to segregation in the family, and on the parenting role of the parents. Violence, at this point in time, is definitely part of video games. Many of the newer games are becoming even more violent, so it is important to demand to prevent the selling of the violent video games, in order to protect the children from all forms of violence and to keep them safe. Works Cited 1- Violent Video Games Lead To Aggressive Behavior, APA Says by Stephen Totilo 08/18/2011 2- Children and Violent Video Games By Dr.phill 2012 3- Do Video Games Make Kids Violent? By Joshua Gardner Dec 17, 2012 4- Do Video Games Influence Violent Behavior? By alisonrg August 24, 2011

video games cause violent behavior essay

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