Video games are a major source of entertainment today, millions of people around the world play them and even use them to make a living. Video games have come a long way from the 1st generation systems released back in the 70’s to the 7 generation systems that we have now. The new 7g systems that we have now are the reason video games have become so popular with new game consoles like the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the Wii. According to the lecture these consoles are next generation systems thanks to their high quality graphics and audio. With these consoles you can play almost any game you can imagine and they can literally make you feel like you’re in the game. From sports to shooters and adventure game whatever you like to play one of these consoles will have it. Video games have now even started to become used to help people get into shape. With the Wii fit you can workout in your home by using your body as the controller to play games like boxing and dancing. Now Xbox 360 has started to use this technology with their Microsoft Kinect which is going even further to increase the popularity of video games. With so many people using video games many critics have started to question the kind of affect that some games have on the youth. Many people and even some government officials have tried to blame video games for some of the violent acts that adolescents and have even gone as far as to try and ban certain video games like Grand Theft Auto. According to the article “Beyond the Shooter Game” however this is not the case. In this article it is said that while some video games do trigger emotions like competition and frustration they are not to blame for the violence of individuals. I believe that video games are a technology that is a great source of entertainment today and will continue to grow in popularity as the years go on.
Eastin, Matthew S; Griffiths, Robert P. (2006). Beyond the Shooter Game: Examining Presence and Hostile Outcomes Among Male Game Players. Communication Research. Vol.33 (6), pg. 448-466.
