Cutting Edge or Bleeding Edge - Should Video Games Be Regulated? (Paperback)

"A game is a rule-based system with a variable and quantifiable outcome, where different outcomes are assigned different values, the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome, the player feels emotionally attached to the outcome, and the consequences of the activity are negotiable." - Jesper Juul. In this book, I address the question, "Is there sufficient evidence that playing video games (a) causes harm or (b) constitutes a form of moral wrong to the gamer and/or the public at large?" A review of experimental video game research examines evidence for harm due to violent gameplay causing aggression, hostility, desensitization and other negative behaviours in the player. Next, an experience-based critique of individual games is used as a basis for assessing the potential of several games as a form of harm or moral wrong to the player. Finally, the review and critique are integrated into a holistic discussion of the most appropriate way to regulate games. This includes recommendations for an improved ethics-based video game ratings system that modifies the ESRB's current system of assigning age-appropriateness labels to games.