The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
There was a time when "violence" in video games consisted of Super Mario flattening a Goomba creature with a single bound. Now gamers are more likely to bludgeon a street thug or steal a car on their way to victory. The Manitoba government is to be commended for keeping up with the times by introducing legislation to rate video games just like movies. The law would forbid retailers from selling or renting inappropriate games to miners. Those caught breaking the rules would be fined up to $5,000. Will this keep all kids from getting their hands on these games? No, but it certainly doesn't hurt. One need only read the instruction manuals for some of today's games to get a sense of the troubling situation. Titles like "Vice City" and "Grand Theft Auto III" allow gamers to solicit prostitutes and murder police officers. In "Manhunt," depending on your weapon, you can decapitate, maim, castrate, impale, or amputate your enemies. While the violence and gore is clearly escalating, it's not new. Popular games from the mid-1990s include "Mortal Kombat," which involved combatants ripping out each other's spines, and "Doom," which gave gamers an assassin's eye view of gory shootings. Common sense seems to say that the developing minds of children who play these games will endure some negative impact. Evidence backs up that sentiment. Studies have appeared in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggesting that playing violent video games can increase aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. The researchers believe that these games are worse than violent TV and movies "because they are interactive, very engrossing, and require the player to identify with the aggressor." Another set of studies conducted at Iowa State University found that teenagers with non-aggressive personalities who played violent video games nine hours or more a week were ten times more likely to get into a physical fight than teens who didn't play such games, including those who had an aggressive personality. To its credit, the video game industry has voluntary implemented a rating system, but its effectiveness is questionable. A Harvard School of Public Health study, for instance, found that many video games rated for minimal violent content actually contained a high level of violence. More has to be done, and this provincial legislation would be a good start.
