What You Get Is What You See

People tend to find what they look for.

When a player goes into a game seeking violence, bloodshed, and carnage, they will find it. Chances are, they didn't buy Barbie Horse Adventure. A commonly cited game for video game violence is GTA 3, and rightly so, for it is quite a violent game. But when a player turns on their PS2 and starts mowing down pedestrians in their Rumpo or blasting people away with an AK, they go into the game looking for violence. They wanted a violent video game where they could kill people without any specific reason, and they got it.

In such a case, I believe a violent video game is nothing more than an implement, a means, by which someone reaches their goal to satisfy whatever pre-existing desire there is to commit virtual violence. Like a gun, it is the user that takes responsibility towards the use of the implement. They could be Claude, the small time bank thief that becomes caught up with underbelly of Liberty City, or they could be killing people for fun. There is a fine line between immersion and vicariism, and its the player that is in control of where they stand.

Sports are another matter of discussion, however. Players need to be competitive to win, to want the victory, to fight for it. Sure, there's no violence in sports—oh, wait, US vs. Australia in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Basketball Quarterfinals, Zidane's headbutt during the 2006 World Cup, Roger Clemens throwing a shattered bat at Mike Piazza and later hitting him in the head with a pitch, hockey. Players generate a lot of aggression during competitive play and these can lead to anything from small tiffs to bench-clearing brawls. This aggression might even be worse than aggression from video games, because this aggression will be directed towards a specific individual or individuals. Sports can be played in a competitive, yet sportsmanlike conduct, but once again, the player is control of that aspect. It is not the sport or video game that promotes violence, but rather what the player brings into the game.