On December 9th, 1993 the senate to held a hearing to discuss violent video games. As a result, the version of Mortal Kombat released for Nintendo's SNES console had significantly less on-screen blood than the version for the SEGA Genesis. Nintendo had policies in place that limited the level of violence and sex that could be shown in their games, while SEGA was much more permissive. Even the same game could have vary wildly between different versions. Īt the time, there was no unified ratings system for games, and it could be difficult for parents to discern the kind of content that a game would contain. 19 saw the release of a number of extremely controversial games, such as Lethal Enforcers, Night Trap, and Mortal Kombat. The early 1990s saw an important turning point in the history of video games in the United States, especially in regards to how the industry treated violent games. 1 Controversy over Violence Before DoomĬontroversy over Violence Before Doom.
