'Call of Duty' Most Wanted Video Game; But What Influence Do Violence Scenes Have on Children?
Activision's next installment for "Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 3," is this holiday's most wanted video game but ethical issues and real life occurrences still surround the series.
Survey firm Nielsen recently conducted a survey that asked participants what video game they want the most for this holiday season. The game most requested on the list turned out to be COD: Modern Warfare 3. 27 percent of the interviewees said they wanted the game.
Five thousand people took part in Nielsen's survey.
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The series however raises concerns about the game's main objective and the crimes committed in real life because of it. For instance, a 46-year-old man recently attacked a 13-year old boy simply because the boy killed his online avatar in the video game. Mark Bradford became infuriated, rushed round to find the boy and then proceeded to choke the boy.
The boy's mother was forced to intervene as she pulled Bradford off the boy, who was scratched and left with a reddening mark on his neck. The mother, 33, said "If you can’t handle losing to a child then you shouldn’t be playing games."
This video game series depicts scenes of gun violence and is set in various war periods. Characters in the game attack and eventually kill their opponents with the firearms they come across, which has raised the ire of some parents and politicians.
Keith Vaz, a British politician, condemned the content in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: "I am absolutely shocked by the level of violence in this game and am particularly concerned about how realistic the game itself looks."
Some say the game is indeed violent and unethical in some areas, but those same people also feel the game is no different from other forms of media. Another British politician by the name of Tom Watson stated, "I have seen the content of the video game. It is unpleasant, although no worse than in many films and books."
He then advocated that other politicians should “support the many thousands of game designers and coders, and the many millions of game users.”
Video games have come under fire and have been blamed for school violence and the decreased mental capacity of today's youth. But some say that the video games themselves aren't to blame, but that parents, individuals and society as a whole needed to take the blame.
Researchers Paul Adachi and Teena Willoughby noted in a study that they "found that video game competitiveness elevated aggressive behavior in the short-term, regardless of the level of violent content, as the two most competitive video games, Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe (violent) and Fuel (nonviolent), produced the greatest levels of aggressive behavior.
We also found that a moderately competitive game (Left 4 Dead 2), even when paired with a high level of violence, was not sufficient to elevate aggressive behavior compared with a less competitive, nonviolent game (Marble Blast Ultra).”
Both of the politicians’ differing viewpoints are valid for several other violent video games besides the Call of Duty series. Nevertheless, this year's installment is highly anticipated and requested by many gamers. But the debate over violent video games and their potential effects on young children will continue to rage on.
