People that play violent video games in a 3-D gaming environment show more anger and aggression than people who play them in traditional 2-D gaming systems, said researchers from Ohio State University.

Brad Bushman, a communication and psychology professor at the university, said people that played violent 3-D video games such as Grand Theft Auto felt more absorbed in the game due to its increased reality when compared to 2-D gaming systems.

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"3-D gaming increases anger because the players felt more immersed in the violence when they played violent games." said Bushman.

"As the technology in video games improves, it has the ability to have stronger effects on players."

The study involved 194 college students; about one-third of whom were men. All the participants played Grand Theft Auto for 15 minutes in both 2-D and 3-D gaming environments.

Researchers instructed half of the students to play violently (kill as many people as possible in the game), and the other half to play non-violently (play bowling in the game).

Results show participants that played non-violently had low levels of anger in both 2-D and 3-D, while those that played violently in 3-D showed higher levels of anger.

"The combination of violent content and immersive technology like 3-D can be troublesome," said Bushman.

"This is something that needs to be considered by everyone involved -- electronics manufacturers, video game developers, consumers, parents and content ratings agencies."

The research is part of a presentation that discusses the roots of modern aggression.

TagsViolent Video Games, 3D games, Grand Theft Auto, Ohio State University, 2D games, Modern Agression