New Study Suggests Violent Video Games Make People More Aggressive

We've seen a mix of video game studies in the past, asking whether or not violent ones have any sort of effect on players. Some have negated the idea that they did, while others have been a little more suggestive. Well, add one more to the latter pile, as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has noted that aggression is building from players who enjoy violent video games.

The study, which can be found here, explains that research was done on players between the ages of 9 to 19 from the years 2010 to 2017, across the U.S., Germany and Japan.

Jay Hull, who serves as lead author for the study, noted, "Based on our findings, we feel it is clear that violent video game play is associated with subsequent increases in physical aggression." He noted that the effect was "relatively small, but statistically reliable. The effect does exist."

Hull had done research like this before, noting that "players may practice riskier behaviours" rather than straight up anger, though he didn't elaborate that point much further.

With that, USA Today recently delivered a counterpoint, noting the lack of evidence in the report. They said, "There's not (any) research suggesting violent video games lead to criminal behaviour."

It really depends on the individual playing the game, to be honest, although there are times that someone could get mad during a multiplayer game, even something as innocent as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or Super Mario Party, depending on how they're doing. But there haven't really been any cases showing that a violent video game influenced someone to commit a violent act or anything worse.

There are a number of games that certainly do bump up the violence, like Bethesda's Doom and Wolfenstein games; and even Fortnite, to some extent, has parents concerned about their kids "hunting" down others for the sake of attaining victory. But, again, the research, while fascinating, could probably use with more detail.

Again, you can read up on the report here and see what you think about the matter. Us? Hey, video games can be frustrating at times, but we have yet to see an instance where someone goes bonkers to the point that they hurt others. (Even with Super Mario Party…)

(Hat tip to NintendoLife for the scoop!)