Video Game Industry: An Argumentative Analysis

The video game industry has been under repeated attack by accusations that the material in their best-selling video games has harmful effects on children and on society as a whole. With $10 billion dollars in annual sales the gaming industry has an interest in any policies that may hinder business and produce false information to the public. In the search for answers an examination of medical findings from groups such as the American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), and even the United States Surgeon General will be taken into account while investigating for the truth. The search for truth began at the New York Times online data base. After several pages of game reviews I found my first
Doug Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association, for instance stated in May 12, 2000 interview on CNN that “There is absolutely no evidence that playing video games leads to aggressive behavior.” He is also quoted in a PBS interview in 2005 that “Every independent researcher who has come to this without a preconceived notion trying to prove that video games are harmful has looked at the literature and said there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that violent video games are harmful.” (Anderson, Gentile and Buckley 153) In several court cases states and municipalities have attempted to pass legislation to restrict the sale of violent video games without parental consent. The video game industry have actively worked to nullify any such laws and have always succeeded thus far. Claiming that the parents are responsible for the decision of what their children play, the games are rated so that the parents can acknowledge what is age appropriate. They also claim that to regulate the material in their games is a violation of the 1st amendment rights (Anderson, Gentile and Buckley