A new video game study claims that Xbox gamers are more likely to be toxic than PlayStation players. Gaming, in general, can be pretty toxic no matter how you slice it. Playing online with strangers gives some people a lot of confidence to say things they’d never dream of saying in the real-world during a face to face encounter. The trolls are rampant and many people just simply do not like to lose and have lousy attitudes about it.
While gaming as a whole can get pretty dark, a new study claims that Xbox owners are more prone to being toxic than players on any other gaming system. The Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire was sent out to nearly 1,000 (964 to be exact) gamers across the United States and was overseen by professional psychologists. “Its official, Xbox players are the most toxic gamers, having the highest levels of physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility,” claims the study. Leading the pack in terms of games are the Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises, which also tick the physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility boxes.
Xbox leads in all of the toxicity elements outlined in the study, while PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch fall behind. In another interesting finding from the study, we learn that Animal Crossing players can be quite vicious. “Despite its reputation for being relaxing, Animal Crossing players not only made the top 5 for the category of physical aggression but were found to
be more physically aggressive than Grand Theft Auto Online players.” That’s pretty crazy to think about right there.
Minecraft players are considered to be the most peaceful out of the group who participated in the study. Sporting games like the FIFA franchise are also up there in terms of aggression, which seems to make sense. Competition can get intense between friends, but it can get downright vicious amongst strangers wearing headsets in different areas of the country and the world. Even casual gamers have gotten cussed out by an anonymous 12-year old boy for screwing up a Halo mission or blowing a goal.
While Xbox gamers tend to be the most toxic out of any other gaming platform, one has to wonder what the Animal Crossing players are doing. Hollywood badass Danny Trejo loves Animal Crossing and loves talking about the relaxed state it puts him in. He has even invited fans to his island that he built within the game. So, the real mystery here is why these Nintendo players are so hostile. Regardless, that’s the way it goes, at least according to this study. Perhaps Grand Theft Auto players are able to get out some aggression while playing the game, instead of having it all pent up like Animal Crossing gamers. You can head over to the Top Ten Casinos website to check out the rest of the study’s findings.
