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Violent crimes in the US have fallen by 60% since Doom was released

avinashv.net — Since Doom was released in 1993, violent crimes in the United States have to 40% of what they used to be. Coincidence? Possibly, yes. However, the year Quake and Duke Nukem 3D were released, violent crimes fell by 4%, and a further 2% when Grand Theft Auto was released.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 24, 2007

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  • michaelaranda, on 10/11/2007, -3/+230Go out and commit a violent crime, or stay at home and give money to digital strippers in Duke Nukem 3D? The choice is obvious.
  • drewhenson, on 10/11/2007, -2/+88In other news, the decrease globally in the number of pirates has led to an increase in the average temperature of the earth.
  • Nogger, on 10/11/2007, -5/+81Obviously, crime would have fallen 328%, if it were not for video games, as any anti-game activist will tell you.
  • anarchytv, on 10/11/2007, -4/+50The internet went mainstream around the same time... I'd say a more likely cause are people are too busy plopped in front of their monitor downloading pirated music and surfing porn on the net. Computers + internet = crack like digital addiction. How many times do you play Doom a day (let alone a year.. probably never, its an old game)... but how many times do you pull up a webpage a day... (probably hundreds a day, every day)
  • satanguy, on 10/11/2007, -7/+39Also the average global temperature has risen as the number of pirates has decreased!!
    Good ol' statistics
  • atomicpoet, on 10/11/2007, -4/+34Probably coincidental, but I'm still waiting for that news story where the perpetrator of a crime says he was encouraged to commit the act after play a video game. Not saying such a story does not exist, but I've yet to hear of one.
  • dodger2020, on 10/11/2007, -2/+30Correlation does not equal causation.
  • cdnbambam, on 10/11/2007, -0/+22Shooting up a hit of Digg right now, then I'll go snort some Fark.
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+21Well of course violent crime rates have gone down since the release of Doom. One well-placed shot with a BFG can do the same amount of damage as hundreds, if not thousands of violent criminals in the past. Increased efficiency means that fewer violent criminals are needed to get the job done.
  • davecor, on 10/11/2007, -2/+17I often wonder if these studies have it backwards. Let's you have a violent personality - what are you going to prefer, checkers or a gory shooter game? There may be a correlation here, but only because people are making a choice of what suits their personalities. To argue that the game CHANGES the baseline personality is silly.
    Look at television - kids watch TONS of TV which has squeaky clean language. Does that mirror the language you hear from kids on the street? Nope.
    People choose the entertainment that appeals to them, I doubt that media changes people.
  • Fordi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+14Um, dude? Gannon exists.

    Stock up on your silver arrows.
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+14Whoever this "Bubba" guy is, he's been in jail for a long, long time by now.
  • steelmaverick, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13I think its because killing in a game doesnt end up with you being in a jail cell with "Bubba".
  • aetherFox, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13FTA: "Understand that I do take all statistics with a grain of salt–I haven’t looked into the methods of collecting data, the reliability of my sources’ source etc., but it raises interesting questions nonetheless."
  • kaczus, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13That's one way of making sure everybody gets the joke...
  • mdp8889, on 10/11/2007, -3/+15some needs to put that in a pipe and hand it to Jack Thompson
  • wassim2k, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11Yes, but there has been an increase in Plasma Gun violence.
  • Kiey, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12You should read Freakanomics, it clearly spells out in there exactly how and why the violent crimes rate dropped in this country in the 90's. And it backs it up with tons of data.
  • Nogger, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11I like to hear of someone burning a house down and saying he was encouraged by the Old Testament. Fires from the sky to eradicate the sinners and such. Actually, I wonder if the doctor murderers and abortion-clinic bomers justify their acts through religion.

    I guess the activists will mark that as unfortunate exceptions whereas games turn everyone into violent criminals.
  • theoallardyce, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10Perhaps if the government was less concerned about arresting people for smoking a joint or taking a photo of a bridge and more concerned about taking down violent gangs and rapists there would be even less crime.

    Then again, if states and parents spent more effort educating kids and bringing them up to be decent people rather than spending all their time trying to ban gay marriage and the F word on TV there would be few kids turning into criminals in the first place.

    And perhaps if George Bush had put more money into fixing his own country instead of wasting millions of dollars a day fueling up aircraft and hummers to patrol wars of attrition in Iraq and Afghanistan there would be more resources available to deal with domestic social and criminal justice problems.
  • silentdud, on 10/11/2007, -3/+13That certainly poor reasoning on the writers part. To imply that crime rates falling a priori violent video games is childish. Crime is a function of an indefinable number of dynamic factors. I am also tired of seeing these blog rants move up on Digg so quickly because of inter site connections.
  • Pixelante, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10Are you saying you don't believe in Ganon's existence?
    HERETIC!!!
  • xxTazxx, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10And yet when the media blames an increase in the playing of violent video games with an increase in crime, that is NOT seen as a coincidence?
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8I attribute the global rise in temperature to a decrease in witch hunts.
  • MondayJBlack, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Damn, beat me to it. Here's a gold star.
  • TRUEPATRIOT, on 10/11/2007, -2/+9the choice is violent crime right?
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7http://www.geek.com/teenage-killers-blame-gta-victims-family-sues/
    Teenage killers blame GTA, victim’s family sues
    People have tried to do it.
  • dRuNk3nIrIsHmEn, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8Actually, "Bubba" was just let out of prison for good behavior and is looking for you!
  • nikkesen, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Video games make violence so much easier. All you need is a computer and mouse. No more need to get off one's ass. Life is so much simpler now and not to mention cleaner!! All the joys of killing a man without the mess! :)
  • fasda, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Praise be to his noodley appendage- Ramen
  • nikkesen, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Obviously sarcasm is not one of your fortes.
  • Fordi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5The GNAA would be highly offended by that comment.
  • MatttK, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Coincidental? I don't think so! Violent crime would be at ZERO PERCENT right now if it wasn't for video games! Right?
  • 0ceanic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5just because crime has dropped since violent videogames have been mainstream does not mean violent videogames had anything to do with the drop at all.

    the only conclusion you can draw is that videogames have not increased violent crime in our society, becuase NOTHING in our society has increased violent crimes in the past 15 years.

    p.s.
    ***** You Jack Thompson
  • secretsather, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4And they want to ban MANHUNT 2
  • control7, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Man do I tire of the Bubba cliche.
  • HyperJack, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4oh dear ! jack thompson won't be happy
  • tonich03, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Oh, media does change people... but people change media too... it's an awkward relationship.
  • Jadart, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Found something interesting looking at the other stats. 78% of adult gamers vote, much higher then the national average.
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Guess when you have an outlet for your aggression anything's possible.
  • EvilOtto, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5hhhmmm....what else might have happened in 1993. something more relevant to violent crime rates maybe. Oh yeah, the brady bill which included more strict background checks for handgun purchases.
    Oh wait that might make sense, let's go with the video game theory.
  • cruzlee, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4"Shake 'em baby..."
    and
    "Time to kick ass, and chew bubble gum. And I'm all out of gum."
  • NYCTulanian, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5I've aged 14 years since Doom was released-- has anyone else experienced this?
  • Jugalator, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I agree with you, although I *think* the article was in reaction to equally ridiculous ideas of video game violence bearing a relationship to real world violence *in the other direction*. I think it's thought provoking that this idea seems so ridiculous to most, while many (unfortunately) will still go more "hmmm!" about video games possibly causing more violence.
  • djruden, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6That's interesting of you to say as I recall a story (link -- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4625603/ ) of a woman killing her children because she was having delusions of Satan telling her to do so or something to that effect. She was "deeply religious" and she now gets to plead insanity. A government appointed psychaitrist even testified that she was mentally ill.

    Change Satan into Ganon and "deeply religious" into harcore gamer and you would never get away with an insanity plea. Despite one story being as fictitious as the next to an atheist or someone else that doesn't believe in Satan and whatever religion he's from.
  • neszis, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Correlation does not imply causation. Come on. It's insulting to say that violent video games have caused the drop.
  • geoff1210, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3dugg for recently having stats class...
  • Wildren, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Anyone else think they're going waaaaayyy too far? Okay, maybe there IS a correlation between violent video games and the number of violent crimes, but that doesn't prove me violent video games make the number of violent crimes drop. You'd have to look at the countless other things that happened since 93. Also, has there been increases in the number of crimes the years no big violent games were released?
  • cliffzdude, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Violent crime has dropped due to intertubes. Proof: In 1993 the web browser Mosaic version 1.0 is released.

    There, now we have that stragith.
  • EXreaction, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3"population grows faster than crime diminishes"

    That makes absolutely no sense at all. More people = MORE crime, you don't get less crime by having more people, because everyone becomes a little more desperate.
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