7 Reasons We Should Be Worried About Video Game Violence

4. Stricter Controls Leading To Less Brave Games

With the increase in game ratings and restrictions, there's the risk that video games might follow their Hollywood counterparts. For example, the Hunger Games films are far less gory and violent on screen than they are in Suzanne Collins's novels. This was so that the film could receive lower censor ratings and therefore attract larger audiences at the box office. By taking out the bloodshed and the horror, what should have been a harrowing tale questioning how far an individual would go to survive, becomes a family action-adventure movie. With games ratings getting tougher, the pressure on developers will be to ensure that their games are successful - and unfortunately all too often success is measured in sales. For example Sony have confirmed the recent Beyond: Two Souls was edited to stay within a PEGI 16. Sony say the edit was around 5-10 seconds of gameplay that was done to keep Beyond available to as many people as possible. Whilst this may not seem like much of a sacrifice, it represents the rating system having an influence on a games content, and with that comes the vicious commercial circle. A game has to be projected to be profitable in order to get financial backing and get made; but in order to be profitable it has to hit as wide an audience as possible. Granted your GTAs seem to buck this trend, but if GTA was first conceptualised today, there's a good chance it would never have been made. So what can we do to keep games brave? The answer to that question is in itself a double edged sword, as it has both seen some remarkable and despicable creations...