The outrageous argument that violent games promote the occurrence of heinous crimes.

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This is from a little while ago,

U.S. President Trump Meets with Gaming Industry Executives on Correlation with Violent Incidents | Reuters

An article like this went viral online.

The article states that President Trump is concerned that violent games may be fueling violent crimes following a mass shooting at a high school in Florida, while the gaming industry denies any connection.

Stories like this have been talked about frequently in Japan since long ago. Overly violent games erode the mind, triggering violent incidents and ultimately murders, but is such a thing really possible?

” To start by stating my thoughts, I don’t think that killing a person (more precisely, a character modeled after a human) in a game will take advantage of that to cause killing in the real world as well.

Is there such a silly story?

For example, have you ever felt the urge to go outside after playing Street Fighter and hit someone?

No, there may also be claims that over many years, playing such violent games can gradually alter one’s personality.

Really?

I’ve been deeply hooked on games since I was little, including so-called violent ones, but I’ve never been driven by such impulses. The same goes for the game otaku around me. If anything, I feel like most people are quiet. In that sense, you could even say they are a safe race.

But still, someone who seems quiet at first glance suddenly loses his temper and stabs someone…!

I see, that’s possible. But that doesn’t matter with games anymore, right? The theory that players suddenly lose their temper when playing games is a huge leap forward.

There is also numerical evidence.
It’s a bit old, but there’s a book called ‘Don’t Call Me a NEET!’ (Kobunsha Shinsho). Here lies a precise rebuttal to this very issue: the outrageous claim that “games encourage murder.” Here is a partial quote.

Statistical data do not support the harmful media hypothesis. As mentioned earlier, during the peak of minor homicides (Graph 1), virtual cruelty experience technologies that provide strong realism, such as interactive video games, were not available, nor did we observe a phenomenon where the murder rate surged during periods when virtual technology for cruelty products improved. Contrary to advances in video technology, which can be extremely realistic, showing viscera splattering and blood splattering, the murder rate has declined.

It is almost impossible for someone to lose the ability to assess reality or reach the level of mental illness just because they are deeply immersed in

virtual experiences through the media. The logical thinking abilities of experts who make statements like “Young people today can no longer distinguish between the virtual world and reality” are rather questionable.

*All quotes from ‘Don’t Call Me a NEET! (Kobunsha Shinsho)‘

‘Don’t call me a NEET!’ (Kobunsha Shinsho) is also an excellent book that discusses educational issues, making it interesting to read, so if you’re interested, please give it a read.

Returning to the topic of games, there are games that contain violent expressions and cruel scenes, which make you feel you don’t want children to play them. Such games require age restrictions or certain regulations to soften expression.

It’s also true that playing for too long is bad for your mental health. Addiction to online games or smartphone gacha should be addressed in some way.

However, these issues and the idea that “violent games trigger violent incidents” are entirely different issues.
If someone killed someone in a game and then wanted to actually try killing someone, that person is already mentally ill outside the mental structure of ordinary people, so society should respond differently from game regulation.

I sincerely hope that heinous crimes will disappear from society as much as possible. For that reason, rather than listing games as a game, I believe there should be sincere discussions to explore the root causes.