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Violence is defined as ‘physical force exerted for the purpose of violating, damaging or abusing’. It is a ubiquitous feature of society thus making it a ubiquitous feature within the media. It is both reported on, as well as portrayed in film, music, television, and videogames. Yet many groups question the role of violence within these media forms and express concern about the effects it has on audiences. There are many reasons why violence is seen as such a powerful element across media and why it is incorporated into so many genres.
A major reason why violence is such an inherent part of many entertainment media is largely to do with economy. This is none more so highlighted than in videogames. With sales of leisure software products reaching ₤1.26 billion in the United Kingdom in 2003, the enormity of the industry rivals that of Hollywood <http://elspa.co.uk/about/pr/pr.asp?mode=view&t=1&id=405&ref=home> 1 October, 2004. Parallels between Hollywood and the gaming industry extend to the economics of production. To make a movie or a videogame, a significant investment needs to be made by developers, which sometimes reaches many millions of dollars. As a result, for a game or movie to make a return on investment, it needs to have as broad appeal as possible. Distribution of games and movies in today’s globalised world extends across both geographical and cultural borders. As a result, games and movie developers need to be able to ‘speak’ as many languages as possible. Unfortunately, violence transcends all borders and is understood by all people. This notion, which has been referred to as the ‘dumbing down’ of cultural products, means that universally understood action sequences and violent scenes are favoured over complex storylines and narratives that are culturally specific <http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/business_media_violence.cfm> 1 October, 2004.
Blockbuster videogames, such as Mortal Kombat in 1992, Grand Theft Auto in 1999, The Sims in 2000 and Halo 2 in 2004 generate many millions of dollars for their producer companies. This revenue supports less successful titles and allows other games to be created. As a result, many developer companies rely on blockbuster games to remain viable thus demonstrating the need for these titles to penetrate as much of the market as possible. However, not all blockbuster games are violent and many bestsellers fall into traditionally non-violent genres.
Since 1962, the year that heralded the creation of the first commercial videogame Spacewar, game companies have marketed a diverse array of different types of genres. While trying to classify games in generic structures can be problematic, Newman offers a schema for consideration. These include the genres of:
Surprisingly, the most popular games are sports and driving games which continually top the list of NDP Playworld’s compilation of top selling titles in America. These games are not commonly associated with explicit violent themes. While there is no denying the large following of violent-genre games such as shoot ‘em ups and beat ‘em ups, they do not have the market domination that many critics would assume. However, subversive violence can be also found in sports, action and fantasy games. Despite this, it is wrong to assume that violence is an inherent aspect of every videogame.
Dictionary.com (2004) Retrieved 16 October, 2004 from: http://www.dictionary.reference.com/search?q=violence
The Business of Media Violence (2004) Retrieved 1 October, 2004, from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/business_media_violence.cfm
The Entertainment and Leisure Software Producers Association (2004) Retrieved 1 October, 2004, from http://www.elspa.co.uk/about/pr/pr.asp?mode=view&t=1&id=405&ref=home
AmandaTaylor 00:41, 27 Oct 2004 (EST)
