Video Games and Cigarettes

Is it possible that playing a violent video game can be considered the same as smoking a pack of cigarettes? According to one Congressmen from California, yes. On Wednesday, January 26th, U.S. Representatives Joe Baca (D-CA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) introduced a bill called the Video Game Labeling Act. 

According to this bill, video games that have a rating higher than teen (T) would have to warning that reads " WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”. The rating system for video games in America is handled by an independent group called the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) but according to Congressmen Baca ESRB stands for Electronic  Software Rating Board. In my opinion, if someone is trying to get a bill to pass, that person should do a little research and become knowledgeable about the topic first.

In defending the bill Congressmen Baca stated the following:  (quote from ars technia, Ben Kuchera.)
“The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families, and to consumers—to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products. They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility. Meanwhile, research continues to show a proven link between playing violent games and increased aggression in young people. American families deserve to know the truth about these potentially dangerous products.”

I believe that this statement does not make much sense in the argument because the video game industry already does warn parents, families, and consumers about what games contain as far as violent content. Every single game a person buys from the store has a warning on the front and on the back of the game is the explanation of that rating. For example I will use the rating on "Call of Duty: Black Ops". This game is rated M for Mature 17+ on the front of the game; on the back of the game the rating is explained by blood and gore, intense violence, and strong language.

As far as research that has proven a link between playing violent games and increased aggression, most people opposed to this bill argue that there is not enough research to make that statement. They feel that any studies done on the links between violent games and aggression are conducted under conditions that far too different from those conditions in which people play video games. Those opposed to the bill believe that this leads to misleading information in the studies.

In my opinion there is no need to add an extra warning to games that are rated over T because there is already ample warning on the games. I do not see this bill getting enough support to make it through all of the required steps to pass.

 This video is of a man opposed to the bill.

This is a video of Congressmen Baca defending his bill.

   

NFL Players Turning to Video Games for New Plays....Perhaps!

There are 28 seconds left in the opening game for the Denver Broncos and they are down by one and the ball is on their own 13 yard line. On second down quarterback Kyle Orton drops back and lets the ball fly and the ball is tipped, heart break right, not quite wide receiver Brandon Stokely comes up with the pass and runs towards the end-zone. Now here is the part where video games come into play, once Stokely gets to the goal-line instead of going into the end-zone he runs along the goal-line and takes an extra six seconds to run off the clock! That is a play that Madden players have been running for years.
When Stokley was asked if running along the goal-line was something he learned from Madden Stokley replied "it definitely was, I think everyone that has played those games has done that." Believe it or not many NFL stars are actually playing these video games, and in large quantities at that.

Sports video games have been around since the creation of video games themselves, in fact it is believed that the first ever video game was a sports game. This game was called Tennis for Two.

For a lot of today's NFL players they have not known a world without EA Sports, the company that makes Madden NFL. Since these athletes have been playing these football games for years it only makes sense that they would start to bring what they do on the television to the field. Why wouldn't these athletes want to play these games nowadays, they are so realistic and they are actually part of the game so they can make themselves and their teammates do things that are not possible in real life. Now I am not expecting NFL coaches to start calling plays as if they were playing Madden, but it is crazy that video games are spilling over into the NFL.

Not only is Madden NFL changing the way some players are playing the game, but I think the bigger impact of Madden is how people watch the game. I believe that Madden is making people more interested in the NFL because of the fact how much a person can learn from playing the video game. When you play a game of Madden NFL you are completely immersed in the game, you're the coach, you're the quarterback then you're the running back or the wide receiver. I feel that Madden can almost be considered a new NFL for Dummies, or a first hand NFL rules training book.

Test!

 Here is a test post. In honor of the Steelers making it to the AFC championship game I will post this Steelers link.
I think I have the hang of this and it should be fun and interesting to learn to become a better blogger.