I think PEG makes some excellent points about kids having imagery provided for them in a way that doesn't require much imagination. When my sons were young, I tried to see if they could enjoy listening to some of the old radio programs that are out on tape... The Shadow, for example. They kinda got in to it. When the movie came out, it didn't look anything like their minds had imagined. The issue of violence aside for just a moment, video games if take to excess can be substitute for engaging in socializing and real life. I think that's a danger for very few kids, but it certainly has proven to be the case with some kids who withdrew into their own fantasy world.
But, I'd like to say some good things about video games (more modest thread drift, I'm afraid.) Both of my sons were very slow to develop small motor skills. My oldest son was told that he might as well learn to type because he could never learn to write legibly. That was in third grade. By fifth grade, his penmanship was better than the third grade teacher who made the comment. My youngest son was even more limited in his co-ordination, having to receive physical therapy for both large and small motor skills. I believe that they both benefited enormously from playing video games. My youngest son, in particular, gained an enormous amount of small motor co-0rdination and was average to above average by the time he weas eleven or twelve.
There are also video games like the original Tomb Raider that were as much a challenge to the mind as the trigger finger. Both of my sons loved the game almost as much as I did. We all helped each other solve puzzles when we got stuck. Same thing with Legend of Zelda. They both involved a certain level of shooting (or swording) bad guys, but it wasn't as graphic as games like Doom where blood spurts out of the holes in their throat when bad guys got shot. Maybe it's the increasingly realistic graphics that bother me.
I still wouldn't try to bann any games. I think warning ratings are somewhat helpful for those parents who are trying to monitor how much kids are exposed to. In the long run, for me it always comes back to parents taking responsibility for their children and not leaving moral teachings to schools or churches (no matter how much they might at times help to reinforce what is learned at home.) Better yet, recognize that kids are influenced by what they see us doing, not what they hear us saying.
Jerry