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GAMING NEWS

Video Games Improve Firing Accuracy And Headshot Frequency, Says Study

Posted on Tuesday, May 22 @ 11:51:06 Eastern by

Jodi L. Whitaker and Brad J. Bushman, in their new original reserach article "Boom, Headshot!": Effect of Video Game Play and Controller Type on Firing Aim and Accuracy, have drawn the following conclusion:
Video games are excellent training tools. Some writers have called violent video games "murder simulators." Can violent games "train" a person to shoot a gun?

...Participants who played a violent shooting game using a pistol-shaped controller had 99% more headshots and 33% more other shots than did other participants... Habitual exposure to violent shooting games also predicted shooting accuracy. Thus, playing violent shooting vidoe games can improve firing accuracy and can influence players to aim for the head.
Those who played the shooter that rewards headshots passively learned to aim at the head areas on targets in real life, though it's actually better to aim for the upper chest area.

The trouble with the study, however, is the choice of Resident Evil 4 as that video game. Even if players use a realistic-looking controller, Resident Evil 4 is far from being a realistic shooter with a laser-sighted gun while shooting sluggish humanoid zombies. Another shooter like Operation Flashpoint or even Rainbow Six would have been better choice. Also, participants only played Resident Evil 4 (as well as Wii Play and Super Mario Galaxy) for 20 minutes before heading off to the real firing range.

However, the research does show that playing a violent first-person video game increases accuracy and "especially at the head". Of course, it's important to note that their results "do not indicate that a person who plays violent shooting games is more likely to fire a real gun at a person". All we can say is, if that person tried... less ammo would be wasted.

[Source]
Related Games:   Resident Evil 4


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Comments
  • MasterRabbi
    MasterRabbi

    Joined: May 2007
    Posted: May 22nd, 2012 at 12:15 pm
    Those are quite the error bars as well. I agree that more than RE4 should be used to eliminate game programming as a variable.
  • Sammo
    Sammo

    Joined: Oct 2005
    Posted: May 22nd, 2012 at 1:55 pm
    I conducted a similar unpublished study on RE4's effects on the accuracy of real-life kneecap-shots, and the rate of head exploding on the subsequent suplex.
  • OdiousLupous
    OdiousLupous

    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posted: May 22nd, 2012 at 3:42 pm
    I look forward to reading that thesis Professor, indeed.
  • De-Ting
    De-Ting

    Joined: Nov 2006
    Posted: May 22nd, 2012 at 6:28 pm
    The first time I shot a real gun, about 3 years ago, I was deadly accurate. I do believe playing video games contributed to it. I was also drawn to light gun arcades as a kid.
  • Chunibrow
    Chunibrow

    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posted: May 22nd, 2012 at 7:12 pm
    At least RE4 training will get you used to stopping to shoot, which contrary to video games, is the only way to be half ass accurate in real life
  • ballabert
    ballabert

    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posted: May 23rd, 2012 at 6:06 am
    Why not Time Crisis?
  • OdiousLupous
    OdiousLupous

    Joined: Jul 2011
    Posted: May 23rd, 2012 at 2:03 pm
    Sir, why do you keep stomping your foot during this firing session?

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