Are games becoming too violent?

[Bodhesatva]

twingo said:
Are movies to violent ? Adults buy consoles, why shouldn't there be adult games. Gaming is not just for kids.

Art imitates life.

Actually, this isn't totally fair. Of course some adults buy consoles, but it's not nearly as many as we had previously believed.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/ref=pd_ts_c_th_more/103-7236659-6878255?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=right-5&pf_rd_r=1K35DHHJPEM9Y9FJAH1H&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=294472301&pf_rd_i=507846

The relevant text:

Interestingly, the Heavy Gamer segment is a lot younger than one might think too. "What always seems to surprise people, especially those that talk about the 18-34 year-old 'core gamer,' is that a majority of the heavy gamer segment is kids ages 6-17! This is true also for the 'Avid Console' gamer segment. Alternatively, the Avid PC gamer segment is older, with just over 40% represented by 18-34 year-olds," Anita Frazier, NPD industry analyst explained.

In short, it's the PC gamers that are more adult thus far, not the console owners: the console owner still is, on average, somewhere between 6-17. Based on word of mouth, The Sims, Civilization, and online puzzle games such as Bejeweled are the leading games for mature entertainment (the designers of all these games have openly boasted that their games have drawn a much older -- and in the case of Bejeweled and The Sims, more feminine -- demographic).

However, I think this point is moot anyway. The suggestion that violence is more adult is something I'd challenge in the first place: I believe that very violent and/or sexual material tends to appeal more to 16-25 year olds, not to actual adults. Evidence:

http://www.actiontrip.com/rei/comments_news.phtml?id=070507_8 

In fact, I think this violence is the very thing that has held adults away from gaming for so long. Over the past 10+ years, we've made almost no headway into the adult market with games (or, for that matter, into the female market); in the last year, the Wii has made substantial headway into the adult (and female) market with almost no violence whatsoever. What this suggests, logically, is that violence was either unrelated to adult enjoyment, or even a direct impediment to it.

Not saying that violent/sexual entertainment should go away, by any means, I just challenge the suggestion that this type of entertainment is actually "mature" (if by "mature" we mean aimed at adults). I tend to think extreme violence and general badassery is aimed squarely at the male, 18-25 year old demographic.