The violent, sexually charged nature of modern games is a direct result of their user base growing out of short trousers. But has videogaming really matured? Or are the shock tactics a timely reminder that the industry still panders to adolescent fantasies?
Jason Brookes

While the music industry charms its pre-pubescent audience with boy bands and Billie, the videogame industry faces a different audience shift. The PlayStation is now typically the trapping of an average 20-something with disposable income - kept under the TV, next to the stereo and most certainly, in the front room. Most dedicated PC gamers have been playing so long they're almost pensionable, and even the Nintendo heads are getting on a bit.

The industry has grown up in the last 10 years but in a desperately retarded kind of way. The tacky, teeny veneer of old still hangs around like a bad smell and sadly, unmitigated violence is the unfortunate benchmark by which 'adult' gaming is increasingly judged these days.

Following recent shootings in the United States, Doom was cited as an influence on the teenagers who slaughtered their fellow students. Inevitably, the moral crusaders are now hammering at the door of the games industry once again, demanding that violent games be banned. Over 20 videogame developers are now faced with the biggest anti-videogames law suit in history.

This latest backlash smacks of a country desperate to hang its guilt on anything other than its politically entrenched gun lobbies and deep-rooted social problems. After all, videogames represent an unnaturally easy target compared to the might of the National Rifle Association which defends every citizen's right to bear arms and, incidentally, is headed up by film star Charlton Heston. Kids have easy access to weapons in a country with a massive pro-gun lobby, yet a quick jibe at the media always deflects attention.

But despite the obvious scapegoating, the contention over videogame violence and adult content in games is only set to grow. Today's more detailed, bloody digital creations throw the blocky innocence of the industry's 8bit heritage into sharp relief. Whereas a glimpse of blood in Street Fighter II might have once raised eyebrows, Half-Life's rooms full of body parts and blood-splattered walls are now pre-requisites for the first-person shooter experience. When it comes to depicting violence in ever-greater detail, developers are right on the case.