Video Game Violence - Can games become reality? (cont.)

Alright, I started doing a little research on this last night, after I made my post, and I found a site that pissed me off a little bit. I'm not sure what it was, as I've slept since then, but basically they were claiming that games like The Sims 2 are worse than first-person shooters and the likes.

I think their reasoning was on the right track, but they must've hit a bump because now they are lost somewhere in the forest. They said that first-person shooters are so different than reality that it's more likely that kids won't be as influenced by it, but games like The Sims 2 are supposed to be life simulation, so kids could more easily be influenced by a replica of their life.

I think this is absolutely absurd? Since when are shooting games so far from reality? Where have they been? Check out that first picture in my previous post, doesn't that look pretty real?

Now, check out this picture from The Sims 2. Which would you say is more convincing and more life-like? I would have to go with the Max-Payne image.

Plus, I don't think there's a whole lot that kids could emulate from The Sims 2 that could possibly cause any harm. Maybe they might put bubbles in the fountain at school or smack somebody and make stars pop out of their head, but other than that, there's little to no violence or harm in The Sims 2.

I think these researchers were on the right track, but they got lost. I hope you get back on track because, in my opinion at least, you are hitting a dead end.