In the early 1990s, a moral panic erupted over violent video games such as 'Mortal Kombat' and 'Doom,' with parents, politicians, and media outlets expressing concern that such games would desensitize children to violence and lead to real-world aggression. The panic led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in 1994 and congressional hearings on video game violence. The controversy reflected broader anxieties about the impact of new media on young people.

The video game moral panic of the 1990s has been explored by poets and writers who examine the relationship between technology, violence, and the imagination. The event has inspired works that critique the tendency to scapegoat new media for social problems and that defend the artistic and cultural value of video games. It also resonates with literary themes of censorship, the fear of the new, and the construction of moral panics, continuing to inform discussions of media and culture.