Study: No Strong Link Between Violent Video Games and Aggression

Champaign, Ill. -- The first long-term study of the effects of playing
violent online video games has found that "robust exposure" did not cause
any substantial real-world aggression. Conducted by researchers at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the study monitored 215
participants, some of whom played 56 hours of the massively multiplayer
roleplaying game "Asheron's Call 2" over the course of a month. The
results found no statistical difference between players and a non-playing
control group in terms of increased argumentative behaviors, and "no
strong effects associated with aggression cased by this violent game."
Dmitri Williams, the study's lead author, conceded that other games
featuring violence in outer space or urban environments may yield
different outcomes. "I'm not saying some games don't lead to aggression,
but I am saying the data are not there yet," said Williams. "Until we have
more long-term studies, I don't think we should make strong predictions
about long-term effects, especially given this finding."
http://www.news.uiuc.edu/news/05/0809videogames.html