Video Games Influence Gun Purchases?

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Zor Omega

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How much do you thing that people playing video games influences them into wanting to learn about or buying firearms? I have been a casual shooter for about 3 years now, and enjoy it very much. About a year ago I played my first WWII shooter ( Call of Duty 2). After playing the game I became interested in learning about various WWII guns, mainly the Mosin Nagant, Lee Enfield, the Garrand, among others. And now I plan on buying an Enfield and Mosin this christmas. Do you think playing these games influences people into getting to want to learn about and purchase firearms, and if you do is this a good thing, or do you think people who are influenced like this may not be responsible enough for firearm ownership?
 
As a "gamer" and a person who fired my first shot before I ever touched my first real video game, I think it varies a lot. Some people who play video games do grow genuinely interested in firearms and responsible firearm ownership. Then there are the mall ninja type who just want something that looks cool. There are also the armchair commandos who have never touched a gun but will spend hours arguing with someone over the technical specs of a firearm that they've never fired in real life and whose only exposure to it is what they've seen in Rainbow Six or Battlefield 1942.

And yes, it definitely effects what firearms those gamers will buy, particularly the mall ninjas and armchair commandos. They sneer at perfectly good and capable firearms while praising and buying the one that was in their favorite video game.

Whether all of this is detrimental depends on what attitude they take and the personality of the individual. Some are responsible, others aren't, but as a group they can't by typecast either way any more than normal gun owners can, many of whom have probably been influenced to buy what they saw in their favorite TV show or movie.
 
Yes I agree that it depends on the person involved. I was the opposite of you Regolith. I have been playing video games since I was in the 3rd grade. While I have always found guns " cool" it has not been until recently the past 3 years or so that I have actually shot, owned and come to respect firearms and the culture associated with them.

The mall ninjas are the type I was thinking about when I was refering to those who are not responsible.
 
okay well i'm not gonna deny.

video games is the spark of my intrest in firearms... started young, i slowly grew from plastic controllers to synthetic grips and steel triggers... i'd take plinking over the playstation ANYDAY.

and on the rainy days i game alot. at least i can tell the difference from reality and virtual reality :p

As for the influence on gun purchases... I know that game producers take technical stats of the firearm into development of the game, but they never seem to jam... lol

AK's are the icon in video games, if you pick one up, your cool. And since i now have one... 'nuff said :D
 
Video Games piqued my curiosity in certain firearms (like WW2 ones). Now the reverse is kind of true; I choose weapons in video games that I actually own. Much to my dismay however, I am much more accurate in real life than the characters in the games are with the same weapons :D .

I also tend to go shooting more than I play actual video games though, as the real thing is much more fun than a video simulation.
 
Arctic: Some game makers take stats into account. Others don't.

I was just going over the descriptions of each of the weapons in the game "Hitman: Contracts" and found many, many errors (such as a "Sniper rifle" that was perfect for taking out your enemies at "100 feet!!" and would "confuse and terrify the enemy while not revealing your position!!" Oh, and this was the "most expensive and best sniper rifle ever made!!").

Game makers are the same as film directors: they're going to twist the facts to make the story/gameplay better, or make it more flashy. The only games where I haven't seen a whole lot of this were those that are marketed under Tom Clancy's name; usually the technical specs are correct, but the description of the effectiveness of the weapon is usually hyperbole, i.e. hyped up.
 
"Sniper rifle" that was perfect for taking out your enemies at "100 feet!!"
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That made me chuckle a bit. I can probably hit a man-sized target at 100 feet with my SKS. I guess my Yugo SKS was a sniper rifle and I never knew it!

But yeah, I wouldn't belittle anyone who got interested in firearms through computer/video games. I've played most of the Medal of Honor games myself. I was always fond of the M1 Garand in those games. Sadly, it will likely be a long, long, long time before I can call one of those beautiful rifles my own.
 
one thing about hitman games... you have Pistol ammo, Magnum ammo, Rifle ammo, Sniper ammo, and SMG ammo..... verrry accurate. *cough*

altho i was amazed to see in Hitman 2, ALL the guns were in high detail of manufacter markings and logos... I wonder if they were liscensed :p

<insert:>
Has anyone played the new Sniper game thats out? the one where you have to calculate windage and such with vintage WWII rifles and settings... I saw that and wondered if its a croc of crap
 
Yes I have also found that the call of duty series is pretty accurace in thier specs on the guns.

My two favorite hobbie are Guns and Games. I would shoot even more if ammo prices were not so high right now. As a result of the prices I have cut back a bit on the shooting for now. Until my birthday and christmas comes, then I can have a good reason to buy a whole lot more.:)
 
Films have influenced my decisions to buy a few guns (e.g. Die Hard - bought a P7M8, still want a AUG too). But not video games, and I play them.
 
I am as longtime and avid a gamer as anyone on THR, and I can tell you that a game has never once influenced a firearms purchase. The opposite is not true, and I have lectured my buddies at length as to why I choose certain weapons in games, even if they are not necessarily the best in the game.
 
I definitely think they influence purchases. If someone is new to shooting, and only has video game experience, what are they going to look for? Also, if a shooter plays video games, I'm sure he/she will be more likely to check out the game guns IRL to see what they're really like.
 
How much do you thing that people playing video games influences them into wanting to learn about or buying firearms?
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I find the opposite to be the case for me. I fired my first shots when the Atari 2600 was new, so there was NO influence there. After that was that was M16s when the original NES came out (before SEGA genesis)-still no influence.

Now I shoot and I am a gamer on my 360, and I will buy games based on what I'm already interested in. I bought COD 2 and 3 because I'm a history buff and love anything to do with the 'Greatest Generation'. I've wanted a Garand long before the 360 or even the PS2...
 
Me and my generation were heavily influenced by TV and movies ,mostly Westerns and Duke go to war films
I see no difference except the technology

Just about every gun I own can be linked back to a favorite movie somewhere
The kid next door has a cruffler's knowledge of WWII guns even though he has never held one
My friends kid knows a lot about the AK's he has never seen in real life

Only time will tell if they will be safe with them
 
Zor - I had a thread that touched on this the other day. Search under my nick for threads about - ehhh... a week old or maybe a little past that.

It was about whether or not video games harm the RKBA cause, and some people brought up that they had been provoked into trying the shooting sports by playing video games.
 
They sure create a lot of firearms experts.
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LOL! Priceless.

Actually, for me it was the other way around. I got into the industry in the mid 90's because of my general knowledge of military weapons. I used to joke that infantry training served you well in the civilian world as a grocery store stock-boy, but it turned out okay after all. :)
 
Good to see some gamers on THR. Yes, I believe that it is possible that some gamers might grow an interest in firearms. But it all depends on the person, and their background. It is true there are a lot of antis (check out the many game forums, especially after VT shooting), who also play video games, even first person shooters games but have a hatred of real firearms. But there is hope for firearm enthusiasts that video games might actually help us gain more shooters and pro 2nd AD supporters even if there only fifteen and are not able to own a firearm. Actually I was kinda surprised after the VT shootings, the video game boards were almost evenly split between people who wanted guns banned from civilian ownership, and people who where supportive of gun rights, and knew the firearms did not cause the massacre. Most of the Antis seemed to be Europeans, and Australians.

I grew up on a Atari system in the early 80s, then in the late 80 to early 90s I had the NES game system. I did not consider myself to be a gamer, and I rarely played video games. In the mid 1990s I changed to PC games, such as Doom, Myst, Half Life and a few others. But I completely stopped playing video games in 1999 I only started owning firearms in 2001. And I was an anti up until that 2000. I don't know why I changed but I don't believe video games had anything to do with it. This past year I got back into video games, and boy has the technology changed. I enjoy FPS and RPGs.
 
Not sure about guns but every time I play any Star Wars games I wanna go build myself a storm trooper uniform :)
 
I grew up on a Atari system in the early 80s, then in the late 80 to early 90s I had the NES game system
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I have you beat, but not by much. My first system was the original: Pong. I actually still have it, although it has been in my parents basement since about 1985.
 
For me my first handgun purchase was influenced by two factors: the Resident Evil series, and John Woo movies....you guessed it, a Beretta 92! I started playing games when I was 8 years old but my father introduced me to hunting and shooting when I was six. Nowadays I'm not swayed too much by video games because they're just so unrealistic; but when a game IS on point with the guns it's very much appreciated. Now if they could have paid to call the guns their real names in Resident Evil 4 I would have crapped myself....
I think now though that my interest in guns actually influences my video game purchases, wierd huh?
 
I wouldn't say games have influenced my gun purchases. However, I would say they've increased my interest in firearms.

Also, are we in need of a THR clan for some game? CS:S? BF2?
 
Also, are we in need of a THR clan for some game? CS:S? BF2?
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I can do CS:S (albeit rather poorly) and Call of Duty 2 (ditto), but I'm not sure about much else.

On topic: I don't know about videogames influencing purchases, but after my sister got me CoD2 for Christmas two years ago, I really wanted a Mosin-Nagant and a Garand.
 
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