The lights are on
The United States Senate is considering a bill that could lead to a study on the impact of violent video games on children if approved. S.134, The Violent Content Research Act of 2013 would task the National Academy of Sciences to investigate a correlation between exposure to violent video games and behavior in youth.
In response, Activision has engaged the firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld according to a lobbying disclosure firm. The document doesn't state Activision's position on the bill.
The bill was introduced in January and sent to full Senate by the Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee at the end of June. A vote is not yet scheduled. Activision decline to comment.
[Source: US Senate via Joystiq, Washington Post]
Our TakeWithout knowing Activision's position on the bill, it's impossible to interpret the publisher's actions. It's possible that engaging a lobbyist is less about the study and more about being prepared for any potential fallout that could come from it. Getting in the game early would enable Activision to be ready should a study lead to potentially debilitating legislation.
Activision's filing related to hiring the firm wisely lists their work as "art." This potentially sets up a first amendment conversation should the situation arise in which the US government tries to legislate video game content.
So now video games in the US are going to get restricted as well nice. I think the reasons we all play violent video games is becasue we enjoy the ability to test the waters and do stuff we would not likely be able to do otherwise.
This isn't going to change anything, worst case scenario we get a warning on our games saying that they're violent or sexual but the government won't just cut off a significant portion or it's economy (and of the most successful parts of it as well.) The way I see it is that the study is targeted toward youth so people who are adults or, you know, smart get to keep playing whatever they want but not even the federal government is dumb enough to put the axe to the games industry.
So government officials, can you explain to me how violent video games are the cause of violence if most acts of violence, especially many of the most brutal and deadliest, occurred before video games? Did playing with those rolling hoops or getting snake eyes time after time make them lose it? Or was it something like the persons' brain chemistry, their natural predisposition to violence, or maybe the environment they grew up in? Not like this study will even matter seeing as correlations don't mean anything, if they want to see any connection they will have to study many people in psychological experiments.
You mean the same study we had in the uk a few years back that concluded that there was little to no correlation between video games and violent behaviour? The same conclusion that most other countries seem to have come to as well?