Why Are War Games So Popular?

Video gaming is one of the most widespread addiction that is plaguing today's young male population. On second thought, not only the young men, even adults. As a matter of fact, I know a bunch of women who are into video gaming, especially those gory zombie first person shooters. The point is, you don't get it. Why on earth are these war video games so popular to the point that nearly 73% of all households in America have one kind of gaming console or the other?

There's Xbox; there's PS 3; there's the Nintendo Wii; and there's even versions made for the Windows PC. Are humans really this much attracted to violence, so sadistic that they'd find pleasure in shooting people and killing things? If that's your point of view, well, no one's judging you. But to a gamer's perspective, bloody is just part of the fun in first person shooter games. It doesn't mean that a video gamer would just up and grab an AK-47 and terrorize the grocery. No, it simply means there's fun in hardcore bloody action, all-out crossfires, flash grenades, explosives, things like that.

What makes it so bad, though, was the way spoilsports criticize and over exaggerate video gaming addiction. Yes, it could sometimes get very addicting, and that addiction could go so far as making a person an Xbox slave, or a video game zombie, or whatever you want to call it.

That much is true. It's also true that no harm can come out of video gaming when it's done in moderation, done only as a recreational activity with friends and maybe family. The way people exaggerate on the bad and bend the truth about the good only serves to make the hype about video game addiction worse.

Another reason why video gaming is very popular is today's modern 3D technology and computer animation. The advances that bring us the real-life stunning imagery in IMAX and HD 3D movies also bring programmers and game makers a lot of things to explore. Gone are the days of the 3D cut scenes rendered in clip-movies in between 2D role playing. Even the few—and by few that means you can count with the fingers in one hand—first person shooter games don't come close to the amazing, all-too-real graphics brought by Xbox, Nintendo, and PS.

In a nutshell, technology only fires up our innate thirst for blood curling action and adrenaline brought by wars, guns, and the post-apocalyptic environment. Seriously, do you judge people who love watching war movies and think them as sadistic, cruel, heartless murderers? No, in fact, you don't. Why should video gamers be any different?

Video gaming is popular because many people do appreciate it. Not only men, even women. The mentality of few people about brutality doesn't need to affect it. War games are fun. Like it or not, it's there and many people crave for it. Violence is also one of man's native instincts, and that, perhaps, is the most relevant explanation why war games are popular.