Who's Raising Our Kids Parents or Video Games?

Who's Really Raising our Kids Parents or Video Games?

By: Darnell Alan Ayers

American Intercontinental University

Abstract

A study was performed to gather information determining the cause and effect of video game playing and behavior in children. Points were taken from both stand points with parents and many supporting adults claiming violent video game playing causes violent behavior and why it possibly could. Point were also taken on why violent games does not cause violent behavior in children and an overwhelming amount of video game players grow up to be law bidding citizens. A small history in violent video gaming will also be discussed to help support the reason why violent video games do not cause violent behavior in children.

Who's Really Raising our Kids Parents or Video Games?

For years Hollywood has spoiled us with fresh new entertainment every decade, it wasn't until the mid 1970's video games took the world by storm. With the release of Atari Computers in 1975 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney, their first game 'Pong,' was launched into our homes as the first console game ever (Mary Bellis, 2010). The instant success of 'Pong' by Atari was so big a demand for more instantly hit the streets everywhere around the United States of America. That was the beginning of a new era, a new start in entertainment everywhere in the world. From old to young every person was playing video games, it became the new fad, so of course over time the games began to get better and technology blossomed into the mid 1980's. This brings us to the beginning of the Parent vs. Video Game age; can everyone remember when the Nintendo was released? It was in February, 1986 World Wide. Now we all see over a ten year stretch of home gaming entertainment, the first with Atari then with the N.E.S. (Nintendo Entertainment System) and no major articles or complaints on violent behavior from children then. Perhaps everyone was too busy playing video games to blame this form of entertainment to be a motivator to violence. Which is the point exactly; video games have always been a form of entertainment to satisfy ones imagination, where you can be a hero and save the world or a villain and take control over everything. Video Games can't be the cause of violent behavior simply because of its content, being raised knowing right from wrong, what's real and what's just a game, is the responsibility of the parents now, just like it was then.

After the Nintendo was released and the video game era was in full effect many other companies joined in to compete for our money. One company for example made major head waves for the game it released in May 05, 1992 called Wolfenstein 3D (Moby Games, 2010). The Company id Software Inc. created Wolfenstein 3D for your home PCS (Personal Computer System) in MS Dos Mode. This game was the first to start the super violent trend to lots of video games today. It featured blood, gore and for the first time in gaming history you played as an American Soldier and the objective was to kill Nazi's and escape Hitler's Castle named Wolfenstein (great game by the way). With this title alone an up roar of, "give me more" by the public, sent shivers down a lot of parent's spines during the early 1990's. Following this game id Software Inc. released DOOM and then Quake both games showed extreme violence but were very popular among young teenagers and adult gamers. All of these games although violent, were games that featured a protagonist killing creatures or non human like beings, never people, this all change with development of Mortal Kombat by Midway. Mortal Kombat was released in July, 1992 and the gaming world would never be the same. For the first time a video game was released to the public (via arcade) that featured people, actual life like characters fighting to the death. This game consisted of blood, gore and a special form of killing called the Fatality which the character would perform a very graphic kill move.

This game was one of the fastest selling games in history selling millions of copies in weeks once it hit home consoles despite the violence. Once this game came out parents began to come together and talk with child development agencies, academic scholars about how they can put some type of control on the content of video gaming. Thus the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a non-profit, self-regulatory body established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), formerly known as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA). ESRB assigns computer and video game