Violent Wii and MMOGs++:
It may be that the more interactive a game is, the greater the influence that the lessons in the game have. This effect may be true both for violent games and for pro-social games that teach positive behaviors or reinforce healthy behaviors (e.g., taking your medication). When GuwM was being conducted, the popularity of Wii increased substantially from 32% at Wave 2 to 52% at Wave 3. The Wii is a home video game console which includes a wireless controller that can be used as a handheld pointing device that detects movement in three dimensions. It seemed likely that the Wii game environment and other particularly interactive gaming environments such as that of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs)—multiplayer games played in Internet environments that can include many, many players simultaneously in at least one persistent world—may qualify as environments in which the game experience is heightened through greater interactivity.Questions were added at Wave 2 to better understand how youth were using and experiencing games through the Wii and MMOGs. Youth who reported playing Wii (NWave2 = 389; NWave3 = 597); or MMOGs (NWave2 = 316; NWave3 = 349), were asked, in the last 12 months, how many Wii and MMOG games (respectively) showed violence, such as physical fighting, hurting, shooting, or killing.
++In Wave 2 and Wave 3, additional questions were included that asked specifically about violence in Wii and MMOG games.
Less than half of youth who played games on Wii in the past 12 months reported violent content in the games.
As shown in the figure below, almost half (44%) of youth at Wave 2 who had played Wii games in the past 12 months reported at least some of the Wii games they played were violent in nature; this decreased to 36% one year later. This is lower than rates of exposures to violence reported by gamers generally (59-62% over time).
Violent game play was more commonly reported among youth who played MMOGs than Wii in the past 12 months.
About 3 of every 4 youth at both time points who had played MMOGs in the past 12 months reported at least some of the MMOGs they played were violent (see Figure below).
About half of youth (47-62%) who played violent Wii games or MMOGs in the past 12 months said that those games were somewhat or almost exactly like real life. Furthermore, there was an increase over time in youth who said that those games were representative of real life.
| Wii/ MMOG games played showing physical fighting, shooting, killing in past 12 months are ‘like real life’ | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
| Wii | (n =209) | (n =199) |
| Almost exactly like real life | 9% | 5% |
| Somewhat like real life | 29% | 40% |
| Nothing like real life | 62% | 54% |
| MMOG | (n =247) | (n =263) |
| Almost exactly like real life | 4% | 8% |
| Somewhat like real life | 33% | 45% |
| Nothing like real life | 62% | 47% |
A much smaller percentage of youth (21-30%) who played violent Wii games or MMOGs in the past 12 months believed that the game characters were kind of or just like them or people they knew than reported that these games were representative of real life.
| Wii/ MMOG games played showing physical fighting, shooting, killing in past 12 months are ‘like me or people I know’ | Wave 2 | Wave 3 |
| Wii | (n =209) | (n =199) |
| Just like me or people I know | 5% | 4% |
| Kind of like me or people I know | 16% | 26% |
| Nothing like me or people I know | 79% | 70% |
| MMOG | (n =247) | (n =263) |
| Just like me or people I know | 2% | 5% |
| Kind of like me or people I know | 19% | 21% |
| Nothing like me or people I know | 79% | 74% |
Wii and MMOG players reported rates of perceived realism in the game similar to those reported for players of video, computer, and Internet games. It may not be then, that players of these more intensive or interactive games are more likely to deem the experience or characters to mimic real life.
Favorite video game**:
Perhaps in addition to one’s general media diet, one’s favorite game is predictive of aggressive and violent behavior because it is a particularly salient influence on the gamer.
Over half of youth who had a favorite video game (n=1,054) reported that their favorite video game was not at all violent.
** Questions regarding favorite video games were asked only at Wave 2.
Game players were asked to name their favorite computer, video, or Internet game. Those who had a favorite game were asked to rate how violent it is. Over half deemed their favorite game ‘not at all violent’ whereas less than 1 of every 20 thought it was ‘very violent’.Among youth who said that their favorite game was at least ‘a little violent’ (n=461), 2 of every 5 said that the violence was at least somewhat like real life and 18% said that the characters in their favorite video game were at least somewhat like themselves or people they know (see Figure below). Again, these rates were similar to those reported about video, computer, and Internet games in general, as well as those reported for Wii games and MMOGs.
