Featuring everything from obscene gestures to accusations that this generation is the "most self-absorbed and egocentric" in recent history, California University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday hosted a raucous debate on violence in video games.

Although speakers Gerard Jones, a San Francisco culture critic and writer, and Jack Thompson, a Miami lawyer known as the "virtue vigilante," cordially debated the effects of violence on children and even found points of agreement, the crowd zeroed in on Mr. Thompson for his much-vilified views on youth and the video game industry.

More than 50 students, with a sprinkling of adults, attended the two-hour debate sponsored by the university's student activities board and student association. Some left the Natali Student Center before the debate was over, muttering about Mr. Thompson's references to Christian values or lengthy answers by the speakers. But more came into the auditorium to hear the heated exchange.

During the debate, a student questioned Mr. Thompson over ad hominem attacks, including those aimed at former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, a foe from Mr. Thompson's days dabbling in Florida politics. When Mr. Thompson responded, the unnamed student left the microphone stand he was using and made an obscene gesture in Mr. Thompson's direction. Members of the university's Animation Club later apologized for the student's outburst.

Calling himself "the attorney that the video game industry loves to hate," Mr. Thompson, 55, has long been an opponent of obscenity in entertainment, leading an effort in 1990 to ban sales of 2 Live Crew's "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" album, and later getting shock jock Howard Stern's show bumped from an Orlando radio station after complaining to the Federal Communications Commission.

But violence in video games is Mr. Thompson's forte, and he has spent years crusading against the material and its creators.

"I think Paul Eibeler is a sociopath," said Mr. Thompson, referring to the chief executive officer of Take-Two Interactive, which along with its publishing label Rockstar Games, developed the "Grand Theft Auto" video and computer game series, a special target of Mr. Thompson.

The company last year was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission and agreed to a settlement after it was discovered that a sexually explicit mini-game was embedded in the game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," despite company denials.

Mr. Thompson said he is a strong supporter of the First Amendment and does not seek to ban violent video games -- or "murder simulators" as he calls them. He only wants to keep them out of the hands of children.

A 2005 undercover study by the FTC found that 42 percent of unaccompanied children who tried to buy M-rated, or mature, video games, were successful. That was down from the 69 percent success rate in 2003. Sales of games rated "M" by the Entertainment Software Rating Board for graphic violence, blood, gore, sexual content or strong language are limited to those age 17 and older.

Mr. Thompson blames such games for youth violence, saying there is a direct correlation between playing violent video games and instances of violence in teenage boys.

He cites a number of scientific studies and also points to the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado in 1999 when teenage shooters and video game enthusiasts Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold allegedly said they wanted to "replicate 'Doom' in the halls of Columbine," referring to the 1993 computer game, known as the premier first-person shooter game.

But Mr. Jones, 49, said the attention given to violence in video games today could be just part of the "cycle in junk culture" that's been ongoing for 150 years. It included dime novels, television, movies, rap music and other new forms of entertainment that draw attention and quickly become popular.

"It seems to be a frightening upwelling of the depths of culture," said Mr. Jones, who wrote a screenplay that will be featured on HBO soon.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Mr. Jones said, research was done relating to violent gangster movies and behavior. The result was threats from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to Hollywood to tone down the violence and sexual innuendo.

Unlike video game manufacturers, Mr. Jones said, the film industry cleaned up mainstream entertainment, while modifying the racier elements.

Mr. Jones and Mr. Thompson agree that because the video game industry has declined to cooperate with new initiatives and legislation to prevent children from purchasing mature games, there is more likely to be a single catastrophic event that will doom the industry.

Already, Mr. Thompson has been involved in litigation relating to violent video games. The industry could encourage retailer compliance by withholding products and other methods, he said, and retailers should be held more accountable for underage sales.

"We're going to have a Columbine-times-ten event," because of the industry's refusal to put checks on the sale of increasingly violent video games, Mr. Thompson said. "They will have laid the seeds for their own industry's destruction."

"They have absolute deniability," Mr. Jones said, comparing the tactics to those used by the tobacco industry in its failed attempts to stem legislation and litigation involving the dangers of its products.

About a dozen audience members questioned the speakers about their views, and although most were antagonistic toward Mr. Thompson, he got the most applause of the night when he criticized today's generation, calling them "the most self-absorbed, egocentric generation he's ever seen.

"Your generation has got to get over itself," he said.