Moldy Peaches

The August 6th issue of the Economist, as usual, had a great expose on the real impact of video games.

Gaming has gone from a marginalized activity two decades ago to mass entertainment. In fact, video games resemble movies more and more each year. Game consoles are the most mass produced computer in the world. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are all set to launch new consoles soon that will attempt to reach out to non-traditional gamers.

The video game industry has recently been getting some heat in the United States from politicians - mainly from Democrats like Hillary Clinton - who are pandering to the soft centre. A single game - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - is causing politicians, social advocates and traditionalists to notice the gaming industry. All these groups have renewed claims that video games are rotting America's youth and this must be stopped. Their arguments, however, are not grounded in any scientific fact.

The most commonly cited reason to curb video games is that they are violent and as a result produce (and encourage) violent behaviour. In fact, multiple studies and statistics show something completely different. According to United States crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime is at a 30-year low. It is true that the rates may have dropped further and faster without game exposure, but there is definitely no causation - correlation maybe, but that would be no different than television, music or film - inferred from these data.

Also, researchers have found that people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crimes than the average person in the general population. It's true that young offenders who have committed school shootings in America have also been game players. But young people in general are more likely to be gamers — 90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play. The overwhelming majority of kids who play do NOT commit antisocial acts. Other test groups (short-term, but still conclusive) - one gamers and another not - have proved no conclusive connection between gaming (and playing violent games) and violence.

Another commonly cited problem is that video games are waste of time and kids could be exercising or learning instead of fixating on Mario and Friends. This is simply an oversimplification, likely a misread of the actual situation and a generational divide.

Video games are increasingly complex. Many players are forced to choose between good and evil and these choices determine how the game unfolds. The majority of games have no educational intent, but are in fact very enlightening. Most require players to learn a great deal. Gamers must create hypothesis about the game world, learn the rules through trial and error, solve problems and puzzles, develop strategies and get assistance from other players. In short, games cause people to informally learn.

The demographic divide on video games is easy to explain. People under 40 have grown up with some form of a video game console and haven't stopped playing. In fact, three quarters of all gamers are under the age of 40. The largest cohort of players come from the age bracket, surprisingly, of 18-49 years at 43%. This is slightly higher than the under 18 crowd at 35%. Maybe equally surprising is that nearly 1 in 5 adults over 50 are gamers. In the US, the average age of gamers is 30 - quite a bit higher than the average person would think.

Marc Prensky at games2train sums it up best:

Most under the age of 40 are digital natives who grew up surrounded by technology. He describes the older generation as digital immigrants who, like newcomers anywhere, have had to adapt in various ways to their new digital surroundings. Digital immigrants have had to learn to use technologies such as the internet and cell phones, however, very few have embraced or even expressed any interest in game consoles. For this group, the very word game confuses matters, since it evokes childish playthings. These folks don't understand that the average game is complex, takes between 40-100 hours (mainly over a certain holiday at a certain house) to complete and is often played by young adults not teenagers.

Games can also be used for education and training. Many companies are incorporating games into training sessions (e.g. PriceWaterhouseCoopers). The military has long used games to prepare soldiers for combat and train pilots. Even secondary schools are getting into the act by teaching using Sim City and Rollercoaster Tycoon. These games often provide students with model economies that they must grow and help various populations flourish.

The inclusion of sexual and violent content in games is likely a larger symbol of just how entrenched gaming is in society. Games are a powerful medium and will be around for a long, long time. The Economist sums it up brilliantly: Once the young are old, and the old are dead, games will be regarded as just another medium and the debate will have moved on.