The firestorm of controversy surrounding computer and video games containing mature content has been raging for years, with games like Doom and Grand Theft Auto raising questions from concerned citizens and inspiring legislative action. CNET News is one of the latest to jump into the fray with a new column from executive editor Charles Cooper. With Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent signing of a bill designed to prevent minors from playing games which "depict serious injury to human beings in a manner that is especially heinous, atrocious or cruel" as a backdrop, Cooper takes aim at game designers.

The American Psychological Association in August came out in favor of a reduction in video game violence. It found that "exposure to violence in video games increases aggressive thoughts, aggressive behavior and angry feelings among youth."

Critics say the APA relied on a flawed methodology and that it is just more evidence that the video game industry is being unfairly singled out. Maybe that's true, but it also ignores the unease most middle-of-the-road types feel about the horrid content found in some of the games marketed by the industry.

You can hide behind the protections offered by the Constitution--which is every American's right--and maybe a smart lawyer will win the case. That still doesn't explain why the common denominator of quality has to begin in the gutter--and work down from there. Not that it's lurid but that it's simply lousy.

CNET: Why Don't Game Developers Get It?

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