I knew it all along: Video gamers aggression linked to frustration, not violent content

In the March edition of the Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, a study at Rochester University (article link here) shows findings that video game players are more frustrated at the controls and inability to master a game, rather than the violent content making them aggressive.  This is something that all old school gamers like myself know very well if they've ever played the Jet Bike level on Battletoads.  I can't tell how many times my controller went flying across the room with yells of frustration sounding like the Hulk transforming into all out rage mode.

I was introduced to video games when I was young because my doctor at the time told my parents that it would increase my level of concentration and make quicker reactions (here's a link to that Rochester University study as well).  I've always felt that violence in video games has nothing to do with people being violent.  When you play a video game, your first instinct when you purchase this game is, I can't wait to see what this game looks like.  Then it's wow, these are really cool graphics and a great story-line.  Then it's, I have to beat this game so I know what happens in the end.  The frustration and anger definitely comes boiling up when you get to that one level, around midway through the game (as the whole beginning was an easy walk in the park) when you try over and over and over (repeat a hundred times) and over and over, and you just...keep...failing.  That's when the swears come out, the throwing of the controller only to walk over and pick the darn thing back up, the yelling into your pillow to not wake up your parents, and the thought of why the hell can't I just beat this and move onto the next level.

The best part of all this frustration and anger that video games bring is being able to get through it, calm yourself down, and focus so hard so that you can realize what mistakes you were making and that you can beat that level, and finally move on to finishing the game, then shelving it for the rest of it's gaming life...unless it's Battletoads I'm still trying to beat that level. - Kevshiro