No, there's still no link between video games and violence

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, file photo, flowers and a Virgin Mary painting adorn a makeshift memorial for the victims of Saturday mass shooting at a shopping complex in El Paso, Texas. Scientific studies have found no link between video games and violent behavior. But the persistent theory is back in the headlines following the mass shooting in El Paso. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)

By MAE ANDERSON AP Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Do video games trigger violent behavior? Scientific studies have found no link. But the persistent theory is back in the headlines following Saturday’s mass shooting in El Paso, Texas .
An online manifesto thought to be authored by the gunman briefly mentioned the combat game Call of Duty. Then President Donald Trump weighed in, charging Monday that “gruesome and grisly video games” contribute to a “glorification of violence.”
Trump’s statements were more reserved compared with his last brush with the subject in 2018, when he called video games “vicious” and summoned game-industry executives to meet at the White House , to little lasting effect.
“More than 165 million Americans enjoy video games, and billions of people play video games worldwide,” the group said in a statement. “Yet other societies, where video games are played as avidly, do not contend with the tragic levels of violence that occur in the U.S.”
Activision Blizzard did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Call of Duty.
Patrick Markey, a psychology professor at Villanova University who focuses on video games, found in his research that men who commit severe acts of violence actually play violent video games less than the average male. About 20% were interested in violent video games, compared with 70% of the general population, he explained in his 2017 book “Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong.”
Following an outcry over violent games such as 1992’s Mortal Kombat, the Entertainment Software Association created a ratings board in 1994 to assign ratings ranging from “E” for “Everyone” to “Adults Only” for those 18 and older.
The ratings suggest an age range and describe the possibly objectionable features. The “mature” rating, for example, indicates the game is “generally suitable for ages 17 and up” and may have “intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.”