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The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week to hear a case on California's attempt to restrict sales of violent video games to minors. Both the California lawmakers who approved the law in 2005 and the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judges who overturned the law in 2009 claimed that scientific research was on their side.

More and more kids are playing video and computer games - especially ultra-violent ones that are top sellers. Research shows that children are also spending increasing amounts of time playing them: an average of 13 hours per week for boys and five hours for girls.

Video games have been available to consumers for the last 30 years. They are a unique form of entertainment, because they encourage players to become a part of the game's script. Today's sophisticated video games require players to pay constant attention to the game, rather than passively watching a movie.

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Children and Video Games: Playing with Violence No. 91; March 2011Click here to download and print a PDF version of this document. Video gaming (playing video games) has become a popular activity for people of all ages. Many children and adolescents spend large amounts of time playing them.

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