The Jack Thompson Interview

[Kamikazie]

I'm fourteen so I'm too young to play most of the games I play (I just say I'm fithteen at the store.) I know fourteen year olds who are gamers and fourteen year olds who aren't and I'd have to say that the gamers are definatly less violent and aggresive, how can this be so?

i think that the gamers can take all their anger out on the bad guys (e.g. counter-strike, BF2, etc.) but the non-gamers have to take it out on their pillows, walls, etc. so they get tired of the old walls and take it out on real people...thats my story and im sticking to it (unless someone has a better one...then i might change to theirs )

 

[Yuri]

i think that the gamers can take all their anger out on the bad guys (e.g. counter-strike, BF2, etc.) but the non-gamers have to take it out on their pillows, walls, etc. so they get tired of the old walls and take it out on real people...thats my story and im sticking to it (unless someone has a better one...then i might change to theirs )

I don't think it has anything to do with that at all. You realize this is only the exact opposite of Jacko's rationale, right? Instead of making people go crazy, you're saying that games make people more relaxed. I don't think either of these things are true... I think its the person who makes themselves aggressive or withdrawn, and games have no affect on that.

I think it has much more to do with the general personality differences between those who are gamers, and those who aren't. This is assuming we are talking the 4-hour a day gamers and not the dudes with a PS2 that they sometimes play Call of Duty on. Stereotypes work for a reason, and gamers tend to be the withdrawn, "dorky" sort. And once and a while, gamers are the disturbed angry kids who scream at all school authority every single day, and should be kicked out, but aren't because its too difficult to do.