Mortal Kombat, Doom, Grand Theft Auto, and Call Of Duty. These are some of the most controversial video game series’ due to their levels of graphic violence.
These games are blamed for violent crimes, including the Columbine High School shooting, in which Doom (1993) was blamed, due in part to a video in which one shooter said it would be “Just like Doom.”
This has led to a general consensus that violent video games lead to real life violence, leading to attempted censorships, and bans.
An example of censorship attempts is Jack Thompson, an activist who has mainly been involved in censoring the Grand Theft Auto games, with little success.
This being said, it has never been proven that violent video games cause violent crimes, as no research has found a proper link.
Furthermore, South Korea and Japan individually consume more video games than the United States, however, the level of violent crime within those countries is much lower than it is in the United States.
When asked about the topic, WJPS junior Alexandros Argyros stated “The fact that video games are being blamed for causing violence is a myth that people say without evidence.”
WJPS senior Daniel Ian stated “It’s just a reason to get people riled up. They always have to blame something in society.”
