Violent in video games: will it last or will it pass?

[davidthefat]

Madden, NBA, NHL, MLB, FIFA, all the sports games, like NCAA games too...

[LeonBlade]

Oh and LittleBIGPlanet didn't just make a fuss and disappeared...
There's new stuff coming out for it all the time and new features being added that are amazing.

[trufun202]

I actually wrote a paper on this very topic in college - I wish I could find it...

I think violence will definitely last, because it evolves over time. I was 12 when Mortal Kombat 1 was released, and my friends and I friggin' loved it. And of course, our parents hated it. It was the first time things had been taken to such an extreme. Ripping out someone's spinal cord is just not something that gamers had ever experienced at the time. The game's release launched a new trend in gaming, and countless overly-violent fighting games would follow - most of which sucked.

Since then, fighting games have lost their luster, but the same trends continue to be followed. Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto, and Halo have all made their mark and started new trends. Personally, I can't wait for the current FPS warsim trend to go away. I enjoyed Battlefield 1942, but do we really need a new copy of Call of Duty every freakin' year?! (It's turning into the Madden franchise, but that's a whole different discussion. )

Bottom line, I think violence definitely has it's place in gaming, but innovation is the key. Fresh ideas keep the industry moving, and based on the success of violent games in the past, they'll keep coming.

[Moosader]

Violence is just so easy and satisfying. I've been trying to think of a game mechanic to add in an action/adventury type thing to replace fighting, but it's soo hard to think of something to do while running around that's equally as satisfying.

Games where fighting isn't really a theme-
-Animal Crossing
-Harvest Moon (though I prefer Rune Factory BECAUSE it has fighting)
-Is Braid violent? o_o
-Elite Beat Agents (at least, it seemed like my friends liked it)
-The Sims :P
-Wario games
-Guitar Hero / Rhythm games

Hmm.

[Pickzell]

Violence in games won't ever go away. Violence has been a source of entertainment for thousands of years.

In ancient Rome they had coliseums in which a gladiator would fight another gladiator, or an animal, and everyone loved it. If you didn't die after a few years, you would be released as a superstar (kind of like singers or actors are today.)
Also Nero burned Christians as fun, told his assistant to commit suicide to see if it was fun, then did it himself (although the term 666 became evil because of him, I probably shouldn't include him o_o).

In Sparta (ancient Greece) Starting at age 7, boys would go to school until they were 21 with fighting, being left out in the woods,and being taught to steal until they had no sense of fear, and dying in a fight was the highest point of honor you could get.

My point is: people have had, and always will have a sick fascination with violence, whether you want to believe it or not. Unless soccer moms take over the world, violence will always be in games.

[Netwatcher]

Violence in games won't ever go away. Violence has been a source of entertainment for thousands of years.

In ancient Rome they had coliseums in which a gladiator would fight another gladiator, or an animal, and everyone loved it. If you didn't die after a few years, you would be released as a superstar (kind of like singers or actors are today.)
Also Nero burned Christians as fun, told his assistant to commit suicide to see if it was fun, then did it himself (although the term 666 became evil because of him, I probably shouldn't include him o_o).

In Sparta (ancient Greece) Starting at age 7, boys would go to school until they were 21 with fighting, being left out in the woods,and being taught to steal until they had no sense of fear, and dying in a fight was the highest point of honor you could get.

My point is: people have had, and always will have a sick fascination with violence, whether you want to believe it or not. Unless soccer moms take over the world, violence will always be in games.

I'm guessing you watched 300 recently...

[Kcirtap1990]

I'm guessing you watched 300...

Or he went through Freshmen history in High School.

[Netwatcher]

I'm guessing you watched 300...

Or he went through Freshmen history in High School.

We may never know...

[Pickzell]

I fell asleep in 300... and Transformers 2. Don't ask how. Maybe I'm Narcoleptic?

[eatcomics]

Hey netwatcher.. I noticed your signature... game of life... rock on ... My opinion is if you can fall asleep midway through a conversation about boobs... your narcoleptic..

[zNelson24]

Seeing how violence is pratically the easiest (and most entertaining) means of making some sort of conflict, its not going to go away. I wish politicans would get off our backs about video game violence though.

[Falco Girgis]

No offense, but anybody who thinks that violence in our media or society is just a temporary "fad" should probably look back through the history of the entertainment industry or humanity in general.

It isn't going anywhere, and it never will.