In light of recent mass shootings in the U.S., and the myriad of ideas of how to prevent them, violent video games have come up as one potential reason shootings have become prevalent. Walmart even stopped showing them on displays in their stores.
To understand how this may impact the gaming community, CivicScience ran a quick survey.
Among gamers or those who purchase video games, the impact is small, but still there. Fourteen-percent of gamers indicate they are less likely to play video games depicting violence in light of recent events.
Interestingly, gamers of all ages are less likely to play violent video games at very similar rates, but Baby Boomers, followed by Gen Z, and then Gen X, are the most likely to say they’re ‘much less likely’ to buy or play these games. Millennials, who have maybe gotten used to these sorts of games or images, are the least likely to say they’re much less likely to play them.
Age’s impact on this survey could have a lot to do with being around kids, or not wanting to purchase these games for the youth in your life. Parents and grandparents are much more likely than non-parents to be less likely to play or purchase violent video games after recent events.
Those who are not at all less likely to play or buy violent video games are slightly more likely to be on Twitch than those who are more likely to halt it.
Female gamers or game purchasers are twice as likely to say they’ll view much less violent game content than men are.
When it comes to other content, those on social media the most are much less likely to scale back their consumption of violent video game content.
Overall, it seems most gamers aren’t connecting recent events to their own gaming — and don’t see a need to cut back. It will be interesting to see how, if at all, a smaller inclination towards violent video game content, namely by parents, could impact the industry.
