The background and pro and con arguments were written by ProCon.org staff based upon input from the following footnotes (directly referenced) and sources (used for general research and not directly referenced):
Footnotes:
"Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry," Entertainment Software Association website, May 2009
Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl K. Olsen, Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do, Apr. 2008
Dave Grossman and Gloria DeGaetano, Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action against TV, Movie & Video Game Violence, 1999
Susan Villani, Cheryl Olson, and Michael Jellinek, "Media Literacy for Clinicians and Parents," Child Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, July 2005
Elizabeth Carll, "Violent Video Games: Rehearsing Aggression," Chronicle of Higher Education, July 2007
Michael Reagan, "US Military Recruits Children: 'America's Army' Video Game Violates International Law," Truthout website, July 23, 2008
"Crime in the United States, 2008," FBI website, Sep. 2009
"Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry," Entertainment Software Association website, May 2009
Steven Malliet, "An Exploration of Adolescents' Perceptions of Videogame Realism," Learning Media and Technology, 2006
Steven Pinker, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, 2002
"2008 CESA Game White Paper," Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA), 2008
"Crime in the United States, 2005," FBI website, Sep. 2006
"White Paper on Crime 2006," Japan's Ministry of Justice website, 2006
"Critics Zap Video Games: Senators Urge Government Action to Curb Video-game Violence," Bnet website, Jan. 3, 1994
John Harlow and Sarah Baxter, "Hillary Opens up Morality War on Violent Video Games," Times Online, Mar. 27, 2005
"Crime in the United States, 2008," FBI website, Sep. 2009
David Wilkerson, "'Call Of Duty 2' Grosses $550M In First Five Days," Wall Street Journal website, Nov. 18, 2009
Andrew Heining, "Modern Warfare 2 Airport Terror Attack Stirs Controversy," Christian Science Monitor website, Oct. 29, 2009
PricewaterhouseCoopers, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2009-2013, July, 2009
Bob Orr and Pat Milton, "Newtown Shooter Motivated by Norway Massacre, Sources Say," CBSNews.com, Feb. 18, 2013
Pete Williams, "Police: 'Mere Speculation' That Adam Lanza Was Motivated by Obsession with Other Mass Killers," usnews.nbcnews.com, Feb. 19, 2013
Sources:
"2008 CESA Game White Paper," Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA), 2008
"Policy Statement - Media Violence," American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Oct. 2009
"Resolution on Violence in Video Games and Interactive Media," American Psychological Association website, Aug. 17, 2005
Craig Anderson, Akira Sakamoto, Douglas Gentile, Nobuko Ihori, Akiko Shibuya, Shintaro Yukawa, Mayumi Naito, and Kumiko Kobayashi, "Longitudinal Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression in Japan and the United States," Pediatrics, 2008
Craig Anderson, Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescent, 2007
Christopher Barlett, Omar Branch, Christopher Rodeheffer, and Richard Harris, "How Long Do the Short-Term Violent Video Game Effects Last?," Aggressive Behavior, Feb. 2009
Christopher Barlett, Richard Harris, and Callie Bruey, "The Effect of the Amount of Blood in a Violent Video Game on Aggression, Hostility, and Arousal," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Oct. 2007
Christopher Barlett, Richard Harris, and Ross Baldassaro, "Longer You Play, the More Hostile You Feel: Examination of First Person Shooter Video Games and Aggression during Video Game Play," Aggressive Behavior, 2007
Bruce Bartholow, Brad Bushman, and Marc Sestir, "Chronic Violent Video Game Exposure and Desensitization to Violence: Behavioral and Event-related Brain Potential Data," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, July 2005
Lillian Bensley and Juliet Van Eenwyk, "Video Games and Real-Life Aggression: Review of the Literature," Journal of Adolescent Health, Mar. 2001
Raymond Boyle and Matthew Hibberd, "Review of Research on the Impact of Violent Computer Games on Young People," Interactive Software Federation of Europe website, Mar. 2005
Sandra Calvert and Barbara Wilson, The Handbook of Children, Media, and Development, 2008
Nicholas Carnagey and Craig Anderson, "The Effects of Reward and Punishment in Violent Video Games on Aggressive Affect, Cognition, and Behavior," Psychological Science, Mar. 2005
Tracy Dietz, "An Examination of Violence and Gender Role Portrayals in Video Games: Implications for Gender Socialization and Aggressive Behavior," Sex Roles, 1998
"Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry," Entertainment Software Association website, May 2009
Christopher Ferguson, "Evidence for Publication Bias in Video Game Violence Effects Literature: A Meta-analytic Review," Aggression and Violent Behavior, Feb. 2007
Christopher Ferguson, Stephanie Rueda, Amanda Cruz, Diana Ferguson, and Stacey Fritz, "Violent Video Games and Aggression: Causal Relationship or Byproduct of Family Violence and Intrinsic Violence Motivation?," Criminal Justice and Behavior, Mar. 2008
Jeanne Funk, Heidi Bechtoldt Baldacci, Tracie Pasold, and Jennifer Baumgardner, "Violence Exposure in Real-life, Video Games, Television, Movies, and the Internet: Is There Desensitization?," Journal of Adolescence, 2004
Douglas Gentile, David Walsh, Paul Ellison, Michelle Fox, and Jennifer Cameron, "Media Violence as a Risk Factor for Children: A Longitudinal Study," American Psychological Society 16th Annual Convention, May 2004
Douglas Gentile, "Examining the Effects of Video Games from a Psychological Perspective: Focus on Violent Games and a New Synthesis," National Institute on Media and the Family website, Nov. 2005
Jeffrey Goldstein, "Immortal Kombat: War Toys and Violent Video Games," Why We Watch, 1998
Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl K. Olsen, Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do, Apr. 2008
Chris Kohler, "July 29, 1994: Videogame Makers Propose Ratings Board to Congress," Wired website, July 29, 2009
Amanda Lenhart, Joseph Kahne, Ellen Middaugh, Alexandra Macgill, Chris Evans, and Jessica Vitak, "Teens, Video Games and Civics," Pew Internet & American Life Project website, Sep. 2008
Ingrid Moller and Barbara Krahe, "Exposure to Violent Video Games and Aggression in German Adolescents: A Longitudinal Analysis," Aggressive Behavior, Oct. 2008
Cheryl Olson, Lawrence Kutner, Dorothy Warner, Jason Almerigi, Lee Baer, Armand Nicholi, and Eugene Beresin, "Factors Correlated with Violent Video Game Use by Adolescent Boys and Girls," Journal of Adolescent Health, Jan. 2007
Cheryl Olson, Lawrence Kutner, and Dorothy Warner, "The Role of Violent Video Game Content in Adolescent Development: Boys' Perspectives," Journal of Adolescent Research, Jan. 2008
Cheryl Olson, "Media Violence Research and Youth Violence Data: Why Do They Conflict?," Academic Psychiatry, 2004
Mary Ellen O'Toole, "The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective," FBI website, 1999
Dorothy Salonius-Pasternak and Holly Gelfond, "The Next Level of Research on Electronic Play: Potential Benefits and Contextual Influences for Children and Adolescents," Human Technology, Apr. 2005
Stephen Siwek, "Video Games in the 21st Century," Entertainment Software Association website, 2007
Karen Sternheimer, "Do Video Games Kill?," Contexts, 2007
"The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States," United States Secret Service website, July 2004
"The Report of the Task Force on Violent Interactive Video Games," General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission website, Dec. 2008
Dmitri Williams and Marko Skoric, "Internet Fantasy Violence: A Test of Aggression in an Online Game," Communication Monographs, June 2005
