The science on why games are not harmful

abc.net.au has recently published a feature that links to the raw research on the effects of violent video games.  To see the article, click here

The latest newsletter from the ESA shows new research highlights positive affects of Video Game Play

August 2010 – the latest newsletter from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) in the US provides a brief outline of some recent studies which were unddertaken by Dr Christopher Ferguson of Texas A&M Universtiy which called into question research findings that perpetuate some of the misconceptions about computer and video games.

In June, the Review of General Psychology published Dr. Ferguson’s study titled “Blazing Angels or Resident Evil? Can Violent Video Games be a Force for Good?” Ferguson conducted an in-depth analysis of existing research on the impact of violent video game play on aggressive behavior. He found that many of these studies were marred by inconsistent findings or weak methodology and had not been sufficiently scrutinized by the broader scientific community. He also noted that the violent crime rate has dropped dramatically at the same time that video games have gained in popularity, suggesting that “the violent video game issue is a crusade in search of a crisis.”

To read on, click here

The R18+ classification is not about children

In this opinion piece for The Punch, the CEO of iGEA, Ron Curry gives his thoughts on R18+ being an issue about adults.  He responds to some of the ACL and YMA comments and welcomes Prof Anderson’s support of an R18+ classification.

Dr Christopher Ferguson discusses Craig Anderson’s metastudy on violence and video games

Dr Christopher Ferguson , co-author of the paper Much Ado About Nothing: The Misestimation and Overinterpretation of Violent Vido Game Effects in Eastern and Western Nations: Comment on Anderson et al. (2010), discusses with Peta Waller-Bryant from 2SER his views on Anderson’s metastudy on violence and video games.

You can listen to Peta’s interview here:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayFYWibyHBM

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOZ1O1Q5xvk

For those who want to read through Chris Ferguson and John Kilburns’ paper, you can find it here.

Hat tip to Aaron  from Grow Up Australia for getting this interview up on Youtube.