Originally Posted by Fulcrum525

Ok a couple of things on the video game argument. I would like to point out that there is a difference between a First Person Shooter and a Millitary-Simulation game. The link above would (if it worked) go to one of the later developments of a game called Operation Flashpoint which I own.

Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One clear distinction that needs to be drawn is that in the vast majority of first person shooters you are "The Man". You can run through a room and you are pretty much indestructible and can take out anything. There is a sense of vulnerability but not much. Someone is shooting at me with a flamethrower? No problem i'll just run right through it. 5 enemies shooting at me? No big deal I can take ten hits no problem and take them all out at the same time.

Now in a Mil-Sim like Flashpoint you are CONSTANTLY vulnerable just as one would be in real life. One hit and you're done and it often comes without warning too. When you're in the middle of a field with your assault rifle in a first person shooter it makes you invulnerable. In Flashpoint standing in that field when a column of T-80s comes rolling down on you any feeling of "I'm the man" disappears like a piece of paper in a fire. This is the big difference between realistic games which are niche and the much more common, and violent, first person shooters. It is interesting to note that in the market for video games these mil-sims NEVER sell anywhere near as well as the first person shooters. I guess people like the feeling of power.