There has been a lot of research around the gaming industry in general and violent games in particular. While these past studies have all centered on the detrimental effects of gaming, more recent studies are showing that the notion of children subsisting on a steady diet of violent video games and falling into antisocial tendencies is simply unsubstantiated.
Henry Jenkins, PhD, Provost's Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts at University of Southern California, detailed this notion in his article titled "Reality Bytes: Eight Myths about Video Games Debunked" on www.pbs.org (accessed Jan. 13, 2010):
"According to federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low. Researchers find that people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crimes than the average person in the general population. It's true that young offenders who have committed school shootings in America have also been game players. But young people in general are more likely to be gamers - 90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play. The overwhelming majority of kids who play do NOT commit antisocial acts.”
Further studies have shown that gamer demographics have changed significantly over the years. Now, according to the statistics on the ESRB website, the average gamer is 34 years old and has been playing for more than 12 years. 40% of all gamers are female, and 48% of parents play computer and video games with their children at least weekly. This final statistic is significant because it shows that parents may be taking a more active role in their child’s entertainment options. In fact, the statistics claimed that parents report always or sometimes monitoring the games their children play 97% of the time. Both video gaming and desktop gaming appear to have much more parental involvement than other forms of entertainment.
It is also relevant to point out that of the top 25 games for sale right now (as of Oct. 8), only six of them were rated M for violence. Of these six, only one involves shooting other human beings, and that is only involving futuristic, augmented humans. Two of them involved shooting zombies, and the other two target aliens. This suggests that most of the video game industry is based around games that have pro-social or neutral influence, rather than the suspected push toward violence.
Many other studies focused on some of the physical and mental benefits of gaming, most of which went beyond the traditional claim of improving hand-eye coordination. Fordham University psychologist Fran C. Blumberg, PhD, and Sabrina S. Ismailer, MSED, for example, studied 122 kids between fifth and seventh grade and observed their problem-solving behavior while playing a video game they had never played before. The results showed how playing games improved their cognitive and perceptual skills.
Another study, by Iowa State University psychologist Douglas Gentile, PhD, and William Stone, BS, took a look at 33 laparoscopic surgeons. Those who played video games were 27% faster at advanced surgical procedures and made 37% fewer errors than the surgeons who did not play games.
One hypothesis for these benefits is the unique way in which video games rely on what was called the “regime of competence principle.” In basic terms, this means that games have the ability to push someone to the limits of their physical and mental skill and then refuse to let them proceed until a skill is completely learned or a puzzle is solved – pushing them with a challenge, but making it possible to overcome with the right skills. As a result, in order to be a successful gamer, the player must focus, have patience, be willing to delay gratification, and show the ability to prioritize scarce resources. All of these characteristics are important for a real thinker.