After the release of a video depicting American troops shooting down a group of Iraqis last week, there has been a lot of controversy about the soldiers actions. Within hours of the videos release on Wikileaks, Reuters posted a story on their website that described the video and its release. In the article there is a quote from Julian Assange, a spokesperson from Wikileaks, that states that the soldiers acted like “they are playing a computer game and their desire is to get a high score.” This casual reference is quite damning to the gaming industry that has been fighting against negative media for years. Recent video games have mirrored reality to an extreme that has never been seen in this industry. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare from Activision contains a level that is almost identical to the posted video which has raised concerns that these games are becoming too real and are desensitizing those who play them. The comparison between the attitudes of the soldiers and playing computer games is improper. These soldiers are trained to withdraw from reality and view the enemy in black and white terms. While this is similar to the dispassionate way people play video games, there is a distinct difference between the physical and simulated act of killing. Whenever these comparisons are made, it adds more weight to the arguments against video games. Every form of media went through a period of attack when they were first introduced. Hopefully this period will end soon and the public will realize that they have wasted their time persecuting video games.
What Are You Talking About? 