In a movie, he added, “you feel empathy for a character, but you very rarely feel guilt. The great thing about computer games is that you’re feeling involved—you’re feeling guilty yourself.” This is not so much true with Japanese players, he’s learned: they have no problem playing the bad guy, because they’re used to the idea that fantasy can be divorced from reality. (Hence such otaku fixations as lolicon and tentacle porn.) Others, Americans in particular, take a more moralistic approach.

Rose, Frank. The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation Is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the Way We Tell Stories (p. 269). W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.