Advertisement

Phew!: Waggle doesn't produce murderers


There is a popular viewpoint pushed by those who campaign against the likes of Manhunt 2, and it runs a little like this: motion-controlled on-screen violence is more likely to corrupt players than that which is played through pressing buttons. Senators have used this argument in the past, as have journalists, but they're both wrong. Gloriously, wonderfully wrong. Who says so? Science says so, that's who.

A new study from the labs of Villanova University has revealed that swinging a Wiimote and pressing a button generated the same amount of "hostility and aggressive thoughts in" 118 college students (68 female, 50 male). The participants played either Manhunt 2 or Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008, with each individual having their levels of "psychoticism" tested before and after play. Nobody completely flipped out, and whether flailing with a controller or pressing a button, levels of hostility remained even -- and thus another anti-gaming myth crumbled.

%Gallery-3148%
[Via Game|Life]