BBFC: Negative Press Sells Games
The British Board of Film Classification issued a report recently finding that negative media coverage of violent games does, in fact, promote players to buy those games. This should come as no surprise to anyone who learned about Manhunt 2's eyeball/syringe/castration features through the anti-gaming press machine, but it's nice to have a bit of research to back up common sense. (After that piece of ridiculousness, I asked JT if he thought his antics actually helped sell the games he opposed...he did not answer.)
The report also does away with the myth that violent games have an addictive, absorbing quality that turns gamers' minds to mush - on the contrary, the interaction of playing a game makes it a much more grounded experience than the passivity of watching television:
"We were particularly interested to see that this research suggests that, far from having a potentially negative impact on the reaction of the player, the very fact that they have to interact with the game seems to keep them more firmly rooted in reality."
The study found, in fact, that the media hyperbole surrounding the original Manhunt (after having been blamed for the murder of a teenager) encouraged consumers to seek out the game and fulfill their curiosity. Said respondents:
"I looked at Manhunt because there was all the stuff in the news. There was a murder and they blamed that game. So straight away I thought I would have a look at it."
"The reason that Manhunt is so difficult for everyone to deal with is that it doesn't let you dodge this fact, that you like pretending to be a murderer."
"It's an extremely good game and very moral game. It's a great shame that the games industry wasn't prepared to stand up for it."
Now, conflicting reports on the effects of video games are a dime a dozen, but this one follows so closely with basic common sense and the responses file so neatly in line with how a responsible human being who knows the difference between right and wrong should respond to a fun but violent game. That is to say, the fantasy exists as entertainment, but culturally there's an underlying reinforcement of positive social values.
There's also the element of personal involvement - unlike violent films, violent games require participation, and participation implies choice. But according to the BBFC's report, those choices made in a fantasy world may help positively reinforce the choices we make in the real world.
Negative press encourages uptake of violent games [GamesIndustry.biz]
tiny dancer
Posted to Video Games on 17 April 2007
· Comments (1)
Other stuff like this: bbfc, negative press, violent games
I literally just finished reading this article from GameDaily ("Why We Play Games" tucked down in the corner). There was a lot of interesting information on there.
However this reminds me of the message tucked into the cover of the Director's Cut of JTHM...we read/watch/play violent material so that we satisfy our natural instincts without acting them out in the real world. makes me wish I had the actual quote memorized verbatim right now though.