I really see opinions on this subject being a bit bimodal... in two dimensions, actually.
There are the people who are adults (or insolent pups
) who have played the games for years, and find themselves feeling vaguely accused of some sort of latent evil for even wanting to pursue them. These adults (or pups) KNOW that they are not unusually violent people, and so, therefore, forthwith, and in conclusion, the games must not make people violent.
Logical.
Then, there are the people who HAVE children, or are teachers of children, who start to question the usefulness of filling a child's head with visions of incredible violence, and "training" them... for it is training, of course, training is accomplished by practicing the same behavior over and over again... to see these events as "normal". "Entertaining". Even "fun".
Surely, as a parent, I am allowed to introduce into my child's life the concept that there are other sources of interest and fun? Surely, as a person who loves a certain small human and wants them to be well-rounded and empathetic and to have some love for the humanity that surrounds them, I can be forgiven, without accusations of puritism, to have a moment of distaste and censure when I walk past my boy's computer and hear something like "Head Shot! Double points!"?
That's logical, too.
I also feel like there may be just a bit of girl-normal vs. boy-normal going on, here. I saw a preview of a movie the other day with the whole premise based on a group of pre-adolescent kids having a contest about eating worms.
Now, I must confess, hopefully without any eliciting any concerns about a possible covertly puritanical Save-The-Worms stance, that I, personally, haven't the slightest interest in seeing such a movie, and am somewhat baffled why anyone would.
My 11-year old boy can't WAIT.
Boys are just DIFFERENT.
Certainly there are girls who do enjoy the violent video games, but I would suspect that most of the ardent adherents are male.
I think these violent games might just appeal to guys more. As a gal who's not all that interested in them even without the additional concerns mentioned here, I don't see why they would be so tough to just avoid, especially when there are so many other video games out there to choose from.
"What do you fear, lady?" Aragorn asked.
"A cage," Éowyn said. "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King