Spilling the blood and guts of an opponent and other macabre acts of violence do not make video games more enjoyable for players, according to a new study.
The researchers wanted to find out if the same game became more fun for players when they made it more violent.
"And the answer to that question was no ... as you made the game more violent, it didn't add extra variance in how enjoyable the game was."
In fact, he said the games are popular because they offer players meaningful opportunities to interact and work together, or to feel effective and exercise choice.
"What they're really chasing is having their psychological needs met. Cranking up the violence knob doesn't automatically make a game automatically more fun."
Przybylski noted there was one sub-group of participants identified as being more aggressive - about five per cent - who showed a preference for violent games, even though they didn't rate them as more enjoyable.
