# The correlation between mass shootings and video games **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 8, 2018, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221 "2018-03-08T04:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/41 "2018-03-22T06:15:45Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > It ignores the fact that the vast majority of violent video games typically involve killing non-human monsters/fictional creatures or enemies in the context of war or decided criminals (mafia figures, drug cartels, etc) and not random people on the street. You won’t find a triple-A title that involves entering a school and shooting it up. Or picking off random civilians from a tall tower. Also of course games where you shoot fairly-realistic humans generally have a minimum age for purchase. Kids can’t purchase such games. So “let’s give rape games to kids” is in no way analogous to anything. And that’s before we get to explaining how the idea that playing shooting games makes people more likely to commit mass shootings is demonstrably false. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/42 "2018-03-22T06:45:18Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Also of course games where you shoot fairly-realistic humans generally have a minimum age for purchase. Kids can’t purchase such games. It also ignores the fact that the rest of the countries in the world play the same video games we do and none of them have mass shootings every couple days. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/43 "2018-03-22T06:52:37Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If killing people for hours and hours a day is just good clean fun on a computer then shouldn’t we be giving rape games to kids? It’s not like anyone dies from being raped. So, A) People absolutely do die from being raped. And B) the reasons we don’t do that isn’t because we’re afraid the kids are going to turn into rapists. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/44 "2018-03-22T07:57:09Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If killing people for hours and hours a day is just good clean fun on a computer then shouldn’t we be giving rape games to kids? It’s not like anyone dies from being raped. they have them…mostly Asian tho …look up rapelay on wiki …its _tame_ these days ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/45 "2018-03-22T12:27:05Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If killing people for hours and hours a day is just good clean fun on a computer then shouldn’t we be giving rape games to kids? It’s not like anyone dies from being raped. It’s mostly because it would be considered pornography and wouldn’t be sold through any mainstream outlets. There are many, many cheaply made flash games that have rapes in them, but no one is going to spend AAA-game development money to make a game that they couldn’t sell through Amazon, Walmart, Target, Steam, etc. It’s the same reason there aren’t any big budget X rated movies – there’s no place to show them. Also, everyone else’s points above, of course. Agreed? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/46 "2018-03-22T14:56:15Z")
> [@anomalous1](#): > > Anyone remember the game Postal 2? […] That game was solely created to piss off the people who tried to censor games, well lets be honest, to piss off everybody. It was a terrible game though, in every aspect. But it was made for a purpose. Someone tried to capture the same premise a few years ago with “Hatred”. A fair amount of hand-wringing but also a lot of apathy and the game, when released, was a boring dud. > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > And for good reason - most people don’t like morally black/gray killing even in their video games except perhaps in the cases they are so ridiculously over the top they no longer resemble reality and represent pure satire. And even in cases where you play a “bad guy” protagonist (such as the Mafia series), you’re still better than those _other_ bad guys who are sadistic creeps, unhinged, etc. You’re usually the nicest bad guy of the group which generally precludes you raping people, torturing children or whatever other “Well, let’s make a X game then!” example gets drummed up. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/47 "2018-03-22T20:03:36Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > And even in cases where you play a “bad guy” protagonist (such as the Mafia series), you’re still better than those _other_ bad guys who are sadistic creeps, unhinged, etc. You’re usually the nicest bad guy of the group which generally precludes you raping people, torturing children or whatever other “Well, let’s make a X game then!” example gets drummed up. There are still some pretty vile video games out there like [Hatred](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatred_(video_game)) from a few years ago. Turned out it wasn’t a very good game anyway so it just faded away but it caused a stir when it was new. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/48 "2018-03-23T02:34:06Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > And even in cases where you play a “bad guy” protagonist (such as the Mafia series), you’re still better than those _other_ bad guys who are sadistic creeps, unhinged, etc. Uh huh. And who’s the bad guy in the eyes of a mass murderer? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/49 "2018-03-23T03:33:32Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Uh huh. And who’s the bad guy in the eyes of a mass murderer? You’ve never encountered the concept of an anti-hero before? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/50 "2018-03-23T03:49:48Z")
That’s an odd rejoinder considering the despicable **real life** murderers who judged the innocent people they were killing (Muslims, Americans, Jewish people, minorities, LBGQT, liberals, etc) worse than themselves for nonsensical and worse reasons, most of whom did not get their justification or inspiration from mainstream video games. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/51 "2018-03-23T13:36:03Z")
Why the fuck is anyone even talking about this shit? There is no correlation. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/52 "2018-03-23T13:52:22Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Why the fuck is anyone even talking about this shit? There is no correlation. To distract the conversation away from gun control. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/53 "2018-03-23T14:57:27Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Why the fuck is anyone even talking about this shit? There is no correlation. We are talking about it because the president along with Fox News are trying to dflect blame for gun violence onto video games and movies. - [Trump’s talk with video game execs recalls Senate’s concern that rock was possible root of teen problems](https://www.google.com/amp/www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/03/18/trumps-talk-with-video-game-execs-recalls-senates-concern-that-rock-was-possible-root-teen-problems.amp.html) - [Are video games linked to real world violence](https://youtu.be/29EN9Anic9Q) Plenty more where those came from. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/54 "2018-03-23T16:36:42Z")
There isn’t any. Next question? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/55 "2018-03-23T16:49:12Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > they have them…mostly Asian tho …look up rapelay on wiki …its _tame_ these days Yeah. [Battle Raper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Raper_(series)) came out in 2002, which is the year Japan started experiencing monthly school shootings … oh, wait, no. It’s not Japan that has regularly school shootings. It was that other country … shoot, what was its name? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/56 "2018-03-23T22:11:36Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > That’s an odd rejoinder considering the despicable **real life** murderers who judged the innocent people they were killing (Muslims, Americans, Jewish people, minorities, LBGQT, liberals, etc) worse than themselves for nonsensical and worse reasons, most of whom did not get their justification or inspiration from mainstream video games. That’s an amazing bit of logic. A mass murder didn’t play a video game, therefore they have no influence or correlation. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/57 "2018-03-23T23:18:34Z")
As someone else pointed out, cracking down on video games is likely to backfire. The political side that does so won’t pick up much, if any votes, from being the “anti-gaming side,” but it does stand to lose votes from doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/58 "2018-03-24T02:44:03Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > That’s an amazing bit of logic. A mass murder didn’t play a video game, therefore they have no influence or correlation. That wasn’t what I claimed, so nice try. As a matter of fact, that particular post of mine didn’t really argue either way regarding video games, only (in admittedly a rather roundabout way) that it was bizarre to draw a correlation between video games and mass shooting through a rather poor inference alone. But it is a rather good example of another deflection attempting to attack a post perceived to be on the weak side rather than address the point by, ya know, producing any any facts, figures, scientific research, etc. rather than “common sense”, just-so theories and stories that have the unfortunate problem of being totally unsupported by years of results showing the opposite, namely that after decades of research but also simultaneously increasingly realistic violence in games, no such correlation has been found. This shouldn’t even be controversial, but somehow it’s been picked up as a flag to bear in the culture wars. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/59 "2018-03-24T05:12:54Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > …but somehow it’s been picked up as a flag to bear in the culture wars. It’s not rocket science. This was a dead issue. There was a lot of fretting over it in the 90’s and early 00’s but study after study after study debunked any link between video games and making people more violent. It was literally resurrected by Trump and the NRA and Fox to try and find something else to blame than guns for the recent school shooting in Florida. Pure deflection and a weak attempt at that. Nothing else to it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221/60 "2018-03-24T12:27:48Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > It’s not rocket science. This was a dead issue. There was a lot of fretting over it in the 90’s and early 00’s but study after study after study debunked any link between video games and making people more violent. > > It was literally resurrected by Trump and the NRA and Fox to try and find something else to blame than guns for the recent school shooting in Florida. > > Pure deflection and a weak attempt at that. Nothing else to it. Oh well, a study. There you go. Anything like the dietary studies the government based it’s food pyramid on that were completely wrong about everything? But go ahead and blame an inert object for behavior issues and ignore correlations between acts committed thousands of times in games and those in real life. Forget the obvious feedback loop for psychotic behavior. We’ll just link occasional cruelty to animals to such behavior and ignore daily reinforcement found in games. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-correlation-between-mass-shootings-and-video-games/810221.md?page=4)