It’s not a secret that video games have gotten a sharper edge as technology has also grown a more finely honed edge. This broadening of the scope of video games has not sat well with everyone, however, as there have been stories about the banning of Manhunt 2 in England, Mass Effect in Singapore, and many others that certain world governments have plucked out of the hands of potential buyers due to the extreme content they contain. Today, however, another country has weighed on the issue of if violent video games damage the citizenry. In an article which appeared in the New Zealand Herald today Superintendent Bill Harrison, the officer in charge of police youth services, informed that periodical that incidents of violence among the youth in the Western world have increased in time with the release of game consoles like the Xbox.

This claim by New Zealand officials is supplemented by figures released by the Ministry of Justice during a conference on young offenders that incidents of violence among youths aged 14-20 has increased during the 2005-2006 period. This was also accompanied by the revelation the statistic that cases of violence among young people has risen by 20 percent in the country. The conference resulted in no definite result regarding the effect of violent video games on younger audiences but to read the original New Zealand Herald article please go here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=1501087&objectid=10478781