A study on enhanced shooting skills through shooter games has now been retracted.
In 2012, the scientific study “Boom, Headshot” was published. Its core thesis was: Players engaged in first-person shooters also become better with real weapons.
The implication is clear: If a violent game fan goes on a rampage, he will also be accurate and therefore even more dangerous. The study has now been retracted.
Opponents of the study included Malte Elson from Ruhr University in Bochum and Parrick Markey, a psychology professor at Villanova University in the USA. Their research claims that “violent video games” actually reduce violent crimes in the real world. Higher sales numbers of games lead to lower statistics in violent crimes.
After major releases like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, the number of violent crimes does not rise
Markey believes, for example, that fewer murders occur when a large new game is released and people are glued to their screens.
If the classic idea that violent games lead to violence were true, then the number of violent crimes in the “real world” should spike after the release of a Call of Duty or a new Grand Theft Auto. However, statistics show that the numbers fall. In 2014, Markey told the US magazine Polygon that further research was needed before definitive conclusions could be drawn.
Elson and Markey have long questioned the study “Boom, Headshot.” The static data is inconsistent, and they suspected manipulation. Now, their protests have been heard. The author of the study has retracted it, as unfortunately, the original records are no longer available.
The exact details of the scientific back and forth can be found here on the page RetractionWatch .
Our author Cortyn has addressed the topic of “killer games” here:
