Special Report: War Games

Andrew Keefe, video game player
"You're the one holding the gun. You're the one going out there and killing people in the fantasy world."

The Army hopes its computer war game, America's Army, will entice potential recruits to sign up for service.

Nina Huntemann, Suffolk University assistant professor
"The Army is tapping into a popular past time, video game playing, and particularly a popular past time with their target audience which is young men and boys."

The game allows players to become a virtual member of the Army.

Nina Huntemann, Suffolk University assistant professor
"You play a soldier."

Their end goal is to get more people to enlist.

Woman
"We need people to fight for our country. So if that's the way to do it, that's the way to do it."

And the Army says video game players are the right demographic for them.

U.S. army
"As we've seen from the success of America's Army, gaming provides potential recruits with an opportunity to experience the Army brand and build an understanding of what it means to be a soldier."

But not all gamers think this strategy is smart.

Andrew Keefe, video game player
"If someone has a strong feeling about joining the Army, then a video game is not going to really sway them one way or the other."

Dave Rees, video game player
"A game is a game, is a game. So it definitely doesn't altar my opinions really in any way."

Some opponents say using a video game to simulate military action is deceptive and that real combat, like the war in Iraq, is no game.

Father of a soldier who served in Iraq
"I have a son that was over there, he's back now, he's safe. All it does is influences the kids' decisions and glorifies something that's not too glorifying. It doesn't tell you how your family is going to feel, if you're the one who gets killed.

But the Army defends its marketing tactic, saying:

U.S. Army
"We would never expect that someone would sign up for the Army simply because he/she played a game."

Gamers can download America's Army online for free and the Army says so far more than 8 million gamers have signed up to play, spending more than 200 million hours virtually exploring the military. But they won't say if that's affected recruitment numbers.

Nina Huntemann, Suffolk University assistant professor
"It's hard to say whether or not America's Army has actually increased recruitment, but what it has certainly done is brought attention to the Army."

And it's got a lot of people playing these virtual war games.

(Copyright 2007 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)