Read: Do video games cause violence? After schoolwork, chores and practice, free time means video game time for many American kids. As many as 97 percent of kids ages 12 to 17 in the United States play video games. Children are large contributors to the tens of billions of dollars that U.S. video game makers and sellers earn each year. There seem to be countless types of video games to choose from. They include sports, racing, dancing and simulations. More than half of the 50 top-selling video games contain violence. Some think this may be a problem. Violent video games have been blamed for school shootings, bullying and violence toward women. Critics argue that these games desensitize players to violence. They worry that these games teach children that violence is acceptable. On the other hand, video game supporters say there is no evidence that video games cause social violence. They argue that violent video games may provide a safe outlet for angry feelings. This may actually reduce crime. Congress Considers Regulating Sale Of Video Games: The debate over violent video games started in 1976 with "Death Race." Players drove over " gremlins" that resembled stick-figure humans. Protestersdragged " Death Race" machines out of arcades and burned them in parking lots. Production of the game was stopped. In 1993, there was no more public outcry over the violent video games "Mortal Kombat" and "Night Trap." Congress discussed regulating the sale of video games. In response, the video game industry established the Entertainment Software Rating Board ( ESRB) to rate video game content. The ratings are: " Early Childhood," " Everyone 10 +," " Teen," "Mature" and " Adults Only." Of all the games rated by ESRB in its 20-year history, 94 percent have been rated " Everyone 10 + " or " Teen." "However, there are still thousands of games rated " Mature." Many kids ages 12 to 17 still play " Mature" or "Adults Only" video games though. In a 2008 survey, 50 percent of boys and 14 percent of girls said a games with one of these ratings was among their favorite games. Possible Link Between Video Games And Violence Toward Women" Through the years, the issue of video game violence resurfaced. In 2005, the American Psychological Association called for less violence in video games marketed to youth. The group said there might be links between video games and violence toward women. Critics argue that playing violent video games is responsible for the increasing rates of bullying in recent years. Some researchers are concerned that violent video games teach children that violence is an acceptable approach to solving conflicts and achieving goals. Attention on video game violence was renewed again in 1999. The two teenage shooters of the Columbine High School mass killings in Colorado often played violent video games. Many focused on the role of video games in the school shooting. There also have been mass shootings where the shooter did not play video games. The 2007 Virginia Tech shooting is one such example. U.S. Supreme Court Rules: Several states and cities have passed laws against the sale of violent video games to kids. However, the restrictions were struck down. Courts have said there is no clear link between video game violence and real-world violence. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a California law banning the sale of violent video games to minors violated the right to free speech. Defenders of violent video games agree. They argue that the research has failed to show video games cause real-world violence. These video game supporters say links between video games and violent behavior can be explained. They say that youth who would cause violence anyway are being attracted to violent entertainment. Additionally, they say there would be an expected increase in youth violent crime as more kids play these games, but there has not. From 1994 to 2014. game sales increased by more than 200 percent. During those same 10 years, murders by youth acting on their own fell 76 percent and violent crime rates dropped 37 percent. Still, several games have been heavily criticized in the past 15 years. They include " JFK Reloaded," which is a reenactment of former President John F. Kennedy's assassination, and " Supper Columbine Massacre RPG!," which is a reenactment of the . ( Question 1: Write a short response to summarize the disagreement between any two people or organizations in the article. If you were to support the claims made by only one of these parties, who would it be? Why? write a summary of minimum of 8 sentences/ supporting details in your own words.
