New study shows that Wii motions won't make you violent

11:39 AM on 11.18.2008   |   Dale North

12 comments

Well, that is until you hit someone on accident. That's real violence right there.

A study by  by Dr. Patrick Markey at Villanova University shows that those Wii Remote motions assigned to violent attacks, such as the ones in Manhunt 2, won't make you any more violent than traditional games.

Markey pulled together 118 participants to play both Manhunt 2 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008 on the Wii. He gauged their level of psychoticism before and after playing these games, permitting them to use both standard and waggle-style controls. 

The study says that waggle attacks did not bring about the expected aggression or hostility, and that swinging a Wii Remote and pushing buttons brought about the same results.

The study text says it best:

...the negative effects of violent video games were not magnified when individuals utilized a motion capture controller. Specifically, participants who utilized motion capture controls to play the violent video game Manhunt 2 did not experience more hostility or more aggressive cognitions than individuals who utilized a traditional controller

According to Game|Life, though, the study did show that those with higher levels of psychoticism "were much more affected by violent video games than other participants." Yikes. You hear that psychos? Steer clear of violent wand waggle games.

[Thanks, Prof. Pew]