The prime audience for video games is boys aged 7 to 14; and the most popular games with this group are the "action adventure" and "sports" genres—both of which often contain violence. The 1998 study Video Game Culture showed that sixty per cent of male teens who are heavy players prefer video games with lots of action and fighting.

Interactive media are relatively new, so we don't know how people are affected by the combination of interactivity and violence. There is growing evidence, however, that performing violent actions repeatedly in video games may promote aggression in some kids, especially those who already exhibit high levels of anger and hostility.

In his book Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman suggests that video games provide "an easily accessible 'practice range' where children can perfect their aim and sharpen their 'killing instinct'."

Each new generation of video games ups the ante for realism and violence. The Mature-rated game Grand Theft Auto 3 (GTA3) was banned in Australia in 2000 because of its graphic violence and sexual content. 

The popularity of GTA3, one of the top selling games in the world, has sparked a trend away from the traditional "good versus evil" theme in video games. The players have now become the bad guys, acting out criminal fantasies and earning points for attacking and killing innocent bystanders.

It's not difficult for young children to access games with violent content. Many retailers routinely rent and sell adult-rated games to minors. In an informal survey conducted by an Ottawa newspaper in July 2000, two fourteen-year-old boys were able to rent violent Mature-rated (for persons ages 17 and older) games from every video store they tried, no questions asked.

There has been some talk in Canada about restricting children's easy access to inappropriate games. In September 2000, the federal government announced it would examine the possibility of a Canadian rating system for video games, much like the one used for movies, to reduce children's exposure to violent content. The proposed initiative would give provincial governments the power to create and legislate their own video-game ratings.