Vice President Joe Biden held a web meeting today on reducing gun violence in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre. In a Google Hangout, Biden said he met with 228 groups, including video game company executives, physicians, researchers, and experts on gun violence. Midway through the hangout, the conversation turned to the topic of violent video games.

The conversation showed that violent video games are still high on the list of concerns that people have in the wake of recent school shootings. Among the participants who shot questions at Biden were Silicon Valley entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, YouTube video host Philip DeFranco, Theresa Tillman (who is considering buying a gun), and family blogger and child therapist Kimberly Blaine. The “fireside hangout” event was hosted by Hari Sreenivasan of the PBS NewsHour.

The vice president didn’t condemn violent video games, but his choice of words showed where Biden leans. He noted that the car industry opposed studies on crash research for many years because they didn’t want to have that research used in arguments for more car safety, which would raise the costs of making cars.

“The one thing that bothers me is there’s part of the interest group population out there that are afraid of facts,” Biden said. “Let the facts lead where they will and let the research be done,” Biden said. “That’s one of things that the president and I believe very strongly: Let the facts work.”

He added, “There is no hard data about whether or not these excessively violent video games in fact cause people to engage in behavior that is antisocial, including using guns. There is one study done, the American Academy of Pediatrics. They said if you watch three to six hours of video games — and a lot of kids do that — leads to aggressive behavior. They didn’t make the next connection that it leads to violent behavior. But there are no studies done. I recommended to the President we do the research.”

He said the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health should investigate the pathology behind gun violence.

“We shouldn’t be afraid of the facts,” he said.

The game industry has maintained that there have been a lot of studies done over the past two decades and none of them have shown that games cause violent behavior. DeFranco pointed out that $10 million in research has been done on violent media. The International Game Developers Association, the Entertainment Consumers Association, and the Entertainment Software Association have all urged Biden not to jump the gun and blame video games for violent behavior.

Biden said that the assault weapons ban, which expired after a decade, wasn’t a failure because it had reduced the number of casualties among law enforcement, which is increasingly outgunned by criminals. He said it is OK to put reasonable limits on gun ownership without infringing on sporting or self-defense rights. Biden said he supports beefing up mental health resources, particularly for educators, to detect aberrant individuals before they become violent. Biden said he met with the National Rifle Association, which objects to restrictions because they lead to a “slippery slope” toward banning guns.

Here’s the video below.

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As Vice President Joe Biden contemplates regulations for gun control and possible curbs on video game violence, we should take note that one of the most successful games of 2012 was a peaceful title called Journey.

Journey might not have sold as much as Call of Duty: Black Ops II, but it was the top downloadable title on Sony’s PlayStation Network in 2012. In Journey, you play an other-worldly being who traverses desert sands and other treacherous landscapes to reach a high mountain peak. You don’t arm yourself with machine guns, rocket launchers, or other staples of violent games.

It was such a moving experience that it received 11 nominations (including Game of the Year) at the DICE Summit Awards (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) last night from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. That recognition is important as the industry tries to wade through the reactions to the tragic shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Journey advances the argument that games can be high art. And as such, they deserve the same free speech protections that other works — books, movies, paintings, or other established media — enjoy. The U.S. Supreme Court validated this line of thinking last year, saying that a California ban on selling violent games to minors was illegal in part because of the restrictions on free speech and because the state had not proved a connection between violent games and real-life violent behavior. I don’t believe we should relitigate this matter even after the latest shootings.

But we as critics could do more to inspire game artists to do the best possible work they can. We don’t have to draw attention to experiences that appeal to the lowest common denominator when it comes to sex or violence. Those games will do well on their own. But we can do a lot more to encourage developers to create the most consequential works of art — games that inspire us with great stories, animations, gameplay, and simple fun. If the administration wants to get involved in that, I would welcome it. President Barack Obama could host the creators of the most imaginative games at the White House.

The awards shows — Spike TV’s Video Game Awards, the Game Developers Choice Awards, and the DICE Summit Awards — offer recognition and a spotlight to the creative people who stand out. But wider publicity will help take the message deeper into the public awareness and maybe even spur sales of nonviolent titles. Acknowledgement of the best achievements is a way to steer developers in the direction of being more responsible. If we say to developers that they each might only get to make 10 games in a career, it might inspire them to make something more meaningful than those which only generate the next paycheck.

And I believe that recognizing the very best of the art will weed out many of the games that are considered too violent. I realize that this approach will only go so far. As a voluntary step, it will not be enforceable under the power of law. But that is as it should be in a free society.

But the strategy could be effective. Game developers are and should be free to create what they want. But they should also be responsible, and appealing to their consciences and inspiring them with positive rewards is the right thing to do. You could say that would be a “gamification” of the industry itself, inspiring developers to diversify beyond violent games toward providing different kinds of experiences, like those embodied in concrete, successful titles like Journey. Hell, you could give an “X Prize” with $10 million to the developer who makes the best nonviolent video game.

Some people have run out of patience. They want to use a stick. But I think that a carrot will work better than the stick when it comes to urging creativity in the game industry.

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The age old debate over the effects of video games on the brain is back. On Monday, the Radiological Society of North America released information on new research that shows violent video games can effect the brain. At the same time, News.com Australia reported that mental health professionals in Australia are considering video game addiction and internet addition as official mental disorders.

These studies are far from definitive, given the large volume of game studies over the years. But if games are classified as harmful or addictive, that could limit their reach. Parents might proactively decide to crack down on violent video games, which have become mass-market products. Studies like this are a force that could shove gamers back into the closet.

The new research conducted by the RSNA took 22 young men, ages 18 to 29, and instructed 11 of the 22 males to play 10 hours of violent video games for one week and then stop playing completely the second week. The other 11 men were instructed to not play any violent video games throughout the two-week period.

Before, during and after the two-week period, the subjects were given tests via MRI’s to monitor their brain function. The results showed that after the week of game play, there was less activity in the left inferior frontal lobe during the emotional test and less activity in the anterior cingulate cortex during the counting test. Yang Wang, a medical doctor and an assistant research professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at Indiana University School of Medicine said, “These findings indicate that violent video game play has a long-term effect on brain functioning.”

While these findings are coming to light, mental health professionals in Australia are being asked by parents to include video game addiction and internet addiction in the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The professionals might declare the  addictions as an official disorder called pathological internet misuse. If that happens, parents are hoping this will encourage further study on the matter.

The news stirs up old memories of the negative stigma often associated with video games. As video games become more and more mainstream every year, studies and alleged official disorders like the ones mentioned are likely to pop up from time to time and thwart the advance of games as a universal medium. It also shows that, despite a victory in the U.S. Supreme Court, the issue of violent video games is far from dead.

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GamesBeat 2013 is our fifth annual conference on disruption in the video game market. You'll get 360-degree perspectives from top gaming executives, developers, and analysts on what’s to come in the industry. Our theme this year is “The Battle Royal.” Check out full event details here, and grab your early-bird tickets here!

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