Facts and stats

-worth $81.5bn

-The Video game industry began in 1971 with the release of the arcade game, computer space.

-the current generation (xbox one and Ps4) have sold over 5mil

-this is up 80% from the previous generation (360, ps3)

-top 10 video games:
tetris
wii sports
minecraft
super mario bros
mario kart wii
gta5
wii sports resort
new super mario bros
MW2
wii play

-2 of these top ten are 18 violent games (gta, mw2) the rest are rated either 3 or 7
(Top 20  7 of which are 18+ and violent, all of which are in the Call of Duty or GTA series)

-studies show that 1.2 billion people play video games

-Psychiatrist say that there is no direct link between aggression in games and in real life

-GTA V sold 11+ million copies in 24 hours (£500 million)

-Both current gen consoles (xbox one and PS4) sold over 1 million units in 24 hours

-Both consoles have also sold over 10 million units in 1 year

-Some scientists propose that particular conditions, for example antisocial personality disorder, may determine those who are most at risk of carrying out violent acts after playing video games. Furthermore, people predisposed to violent behavior may be at greater risk of being adversely affected by the playing of violent video games than others.
^{-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_controversies#US_publicized_incidents  (violent acts related to Video games in US)}

-17% of males that play video games are under 18

-A survey of 1,102 children between 12 and 17 found that 50% of boys favoured games Mature/adult content)

-some research finds violent video game use correlates with a temporary increase in aggression and a decrease in pro-social behaviour.

-since late 1990s some acts of violence have been highly publicised because the perpetrators had a history of playing video games containing violent elements.