Are Violent Video Games Too Real for Kids?

N E W  Y O R K, Oct. 31 -- During the Cold War, American children played with spy toys like those on the television show Man from U.N.C.L.E., and talked to each other on walkie-talkies. Today, they play video games that allow them to blast away at terrorists.

More Americans have been embracing home and hearth since the Sept. 11 attacks, and retailers are reporting that videotapes, televisions and video games are flying out of stores. But parents are wondering whether the violent combat and destruction that are the staples of today's video games are a little too close to reality for their children.

Some of the video games allow children to stalk and kill bad guys on the screen, and even fly a plane into an image of the World Trade Center. A new game that can be downloaded off the Internet allows users to take virtual whacks at a cartoon figure of Osama bin Laden.

Echoing those concerns, some video game manufacturers appear to be backing away from scenes of violence that used to seem like pure fantasy, one toy industry expert said.

"I think that the major changes you're going to see in games are going to be cosmetic in terms of removing images of the [World Trade Center] towers, but they're also going to be storyline in terms of focusing on rescue or heroism," said toy analyst Chris Byrne.

Microsoft is changing its popular Flight Simulator game, removing depictions of the twin towers. Activision's yet-to-be released Spiderman 2: Enter Electro is being redesigned for the same reason. French company Ubi Soft Entertainment postponed its planned October release of Tom Clancy's Rogue Spear: Black Thorn to modify the game's content, which originally let players combat terrorism.

A Sense of Control?

In the meantime, some parents say their kids are logging too many hours in front of the video screen.

"I think children, particularly boys, are playing video games right now — particularly violent and aggressive video games — because they feel out of control. It does give them a temporary sense of some type of control," said Karen Binder-Brynes, a psychologist who specializes in post-traumatic stress disorder.