As the world comes to terms with the tragedy at Colorado that claimed a dozen lives and injured 59 people, reports pinpointed a similarity to the Norway bombing and shooting on July 22, 2011, by Anders Behring Breivik, which claimed 77 lives. Both Breivik and Holmes, it turns out, were addicted to violent video games.

Over the years, experts have suggested that explicitly violent video games increase aggression, blur the lines between fantasy and reality, increase the fight or flight response, and de-sensitise people reducing helping behaviour. Experts believe that these effects are mostly evident in the long term and have far-reaching implications on society at large.