Paul Keegan

Paul Keegan is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in a variety of national magazines. In the following excerpt from a feature he wrote for Mother Jones, Keegan describes controversy that arose over violent video games after the April 1999 school shooting in which two teenagers killed thirteen people at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Some critics blamed the shootings in part on violent games that the two killers had played. On the other side of the debate were the video game industry and gamers themselves, who claim that outcry against realistically violent games is misplaced.

Keegan visited the 1999 E3 convention-where the video game industry showcases its latest products- in order to experience the newest games for himself. Keegan also interviewed a group of avid gamers as well as several academics who have studied video...