Do video games improve aim?

Playing violent shoot-’em-up video games makes people more accurate at firing real guns, and make them more likely to aim for the head, a new study finds. But this is the first study to show that average players using violent shooting games with realistic human targets can improve firing aim and accuracy.

Do games license guns?

For decades, game companies entered into long-lasting and mutually beneficial licensing deals with gun manufacturers. If a game wanted to use a recognizable, trademarked design or a brand name of gun, it would need permission. The same was true for vehicles, recognizable landmarks, or other kinds of weapons.

Why are there so many guns in video games?

Guns are often relevant to the settings of many games and, indeed, key to their stories. As Chang notes, this artistic relevance creates freedom. These days, unlicensed, recognizable portrayals of guns in games look, from the outside, the same as they did in the days of marketing deals: The guns look real and shoot well.

What is the legal-review process for a virtual gun?

The legal-review process is eerily similar to the one portrayed in guns-in-real-life YouTube videos. Game companies submit virtual guns to intellectual-property lawyers, either internally or at outside firms.

How do game companies get guns without copyright?

Game companies submit virtual guns to intellectual-property lawyers, either internally or at outside firms. Lawyers view images of real guns and how altered versions will appear in the game, recommending changes so that guns are recognizable but don’t meet the standard for infringement.

Should shooting games endorse guns through flattering portrayals?

Lawyers view images of real guns and how altered versions will appear in the game, recommending changes so that guns are recognizable but don’t meet the standard for infringement. There’s almost no way for shooting games not to endorse guns through flattering portrayals, especially if gamers themselves are the ones mining that connection.