If you want a real opinion on violent video game content, then William Volk is probably someone to ask. He has been in the video games industry since 1979 and he has seen his fair share of games that pushed the envelope and got the attention of people that normally don't pay attention to such cultural phenomenon - like politicians and parent's groups.

House GOP majority leader Eric Cantor called out a study by North Carolina State University related to World of Warcraft's ability to "boosts cognitive functioning in some older adults" a waste of tax payer dollars. The study was paid for by a $1.2 million federal grant. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said in a statement released this week that this kind of spending is the cause of the country’s debt.

As part of a New York Times article (as reported by Polygon) on the study of violent video games, a new study emerged showing that a decline in violent crime, even as sales of violent video games more than doubled.

Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA.) defended the call for more research related to the alleged effects of violent media on the youth of America as it relates to gun violence. Both Democrats and Republicans in both houses of Congress have been quick to pounce on violent media and gun control as issues that need to be addressed in the wake of the December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Yesterday Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA) released "A Comprehensive Plan That Reduces Gun Violence and Respects the 2nd Amendment Rights of Law-Abiding Americans," which details the recommendations of the " Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force." While there are plenty of recommendations on guns and curbing gun violence, mental health issues and school safety, there is a portion of the report dedicated to violent media.

It looks like Connecticut Sen. Toni Harp (D-New Haven) and Rep. DebraLee Hovey (R-Newtown) are not the only Connecticut lawmakers that proposed bills related to video game violence in the January session. Sen. Scott Frantz (R-Greenwich) and Sen.

Destructoid has an excellent recap of a CNN Town Hall lead by Anderson Cooper that actually discusses the issue of gun violence in a sensible way (thanks to PHX Corp. for the link in the shout box) and even includes a lengthy discussion on mental health issues.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello recently spoke out on the idea that video games can be a catalyst that leads to real world violence during a conference call with analysts to discuss the company's latest earnings. Acknowledging that the industry faces a "perception issue" when it comes to videogames Riccitiello also said that games can also be "a voice for good," and that there is no research to back up claims that video games directly cause real world violence.

In direct response to last month’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the following has happened:

As part of a White House / Google Hangout event to discuss gun violence, Vice President Joe Biden said that when it comes to research on video game violence "we shouldn't be afraid of the facts." His remarks were in response to a question about the possible connection between gun violence and video games.

Children's rights advocate and attorney Paul Mones (@MonesPaul on Twitter) delivers a "Perry Mason moment" in a new editorial over at the Huffington Post titled "Video Games Hold No Answers." In it Mones notes that making a connection between violent crimes committed by teens based on the video games, movies, or even mu

The Ohio father who survived his son attempting to murder him after he took away his video games is applauding President Barack Obama's call for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to conduct research on the effects of violent video games on America's youth (as it relates to gun violence).

IGN has a pretty interesting feature on the video game industry taking part in Vice-President Joe Biden's Gun Violence Commission called "The Politics of Violence." What is interesting about this feature is that it solicits the opinions of "20 of the top game writers" in the United States including Adam Sessler from Rev3 Games, Ben Kuchera from Penny Arcade Report, Ben Silverman from Yahoo!

The Washington Times (thanks to PHX Corp for pointing this out) notes that the President is not looking for more regulations on video games and movies (through research announced today through the CDC), but wants the respective industries to provide parents with more tools so they can make more informed decisions about the content their children are consuming.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) issued a statement in response to President Barack Obama's call for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to conduct a study on whether there is a correlation between gun violence and "violent video games" and other forms of media. The trade group representing the interactive entertainment industry said that it agrees with the President's proposals and plans to cooperate / collaborate with the Administration and Congress as they examine the facts that will bring about meaningful solutions.

President Barack Obama unveiled measures today to curb gun violence in America that he wants Congress to pass as soon as possible, and issued executive orders calling for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to conduct a study on whether there is a correlation between gun violence and "violent video games" and other forms of media.

Analyst Colin Sebastian of Baird Equity Research has laid out nine predictions for 2013 in a new research report from the firm (which you can read in full here (PDF)).

According to a Polygon report, the video game industry executives and other interested parties that met with Vice-President Joe Biden's Gun Violence Commission walked away feeling that they were unscathed, and that Biden was looking for general input on media and violence.

Update: Polygon is reporting that the meeting between the ESA President Michael Gallagher and Joe Biden's task for on gun violence also reportedly included executives from many major publishers, researchers, and the nation's biggest video game retailer.

The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Anti-Censorship and Social Issues Committee Chairman Daniel Greenberg has written a letter to Vice-President Joe Biden calling for more studies and offering the organization's assistance and expertise as the Vice-President's task force on gun violence meets with various groups about solutions to the problem on mass shootings in America.

In addition to asking the gaming community to voice its collective opinion on discussions on video games taking place in Washington this week, the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has written a letter to Vice-President Joe Biden, who is heading up a task force to look at ways to deal with gun violence in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting that happened in mid-December.

The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) has issued a call to action this morning calling on the gaming community and its members to email their representatives in Congress and the President of the United States to let them know that blaming video games for the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut is wrong-headed, and that there is no research to suggest that there is a correlation between gun violence in America and playing video games.

In a video for knowledge forum "Big Think," researcher John Seely Brown explains why World of Warcraft players are the ideal employees for businesses. In his video he explains why playing an online game and being part of a team might be more important than getting an MBA at Harvard.

The Escapist reports that community members in the town of Southington, Connecticut have put a bulls eye on violent video games in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that saw 20 children and six adults murdered by a lone gunmen in mid-December.

Writing over at the official web site for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF), Advisory Chair For Education & Outreach Betsy Gomez points out that Senator Jay Rockefeller’s (D – WV) recent announcement of a bill mandating that the National Academy of Sciences research the effect of video games on children is misguided and a very familiar topic for anyone who understands the history of the comic book industry.

University of Missouri Media Researcher Greg Perreault pens an enlightening article on violence and video games over at the Huffington Post, and while the entire article is definitely worth reading an excerpt from it really caught our attention. The excerpt is an exchange between Perreault and an unnamed journalist who contacted him looking to use him as an expert.

Kotaku points out that Chris Ferguson, who you may know better as the professor of psychology and criminal justice at Texas A&M University who often argues against the idea that violent video games have a causal effect to violent behavior in the real world, has written a small bit of commentary over at Time Magazine's web site.

Winda Benedetti from NBC News conducts an interesting interview with two child psychologist to ask them about the effects of gaming on young children. She interviews Dr. Tyler Black, Clinical Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergency Unit at BC Children's Hospital in Vancouver, BC, Canada; and Dr. Matthew Chow, the Clinical Director of Telepsychiatry at BC Children’s Hospital.

It has been a week since the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut but the country has no more answers for what caused the horrific tragedy than it did last week. In the weeks ahead you can expect the media and politicians to talk about violent media, guns, and metal health care in this country, but one analyst believes that all of this media attention won't have much of an effect on what entertainment consumers will buy (thanks to The Escapist).

The Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) issued a brief reaction statement this morning in response to the National Rifle Association's press conference which spent a fair amount of time bashing violent media and movies. The NRA's list of strawmen included Grand Theft Auto, Splatterhouse, Mortal Kombat, and a very old web-only game called Kindergarten Killers...