John Riccitello, the chief executive of Electronic Arts (EA), the world's biggest computer games company, was challenged this morning by Michael Grade over his insistence that computer games were no more violent than 18-rated films and television.

The American games boss took the unusual step of showing a string of violent clips from both film and television and then computer games.

He said that the graphic imagery depicted was comparable.

"Compared with programmes like 24 or The Shield, or any movie from Quentin Tarantino, games are not any more violent," the chief executive said.

Citing the example of the decision to ban Manhunt 2, a game in which players commit a series of murders, he added: "There is also a rating system that works."

However, Mr Riccitello was challenged directly by Michael Grade, the ITV chairman, who said: "Those acts of violence [shown in games] exist in a moral vacuum, whereas in films and television, it is set in a moral context, with real consequences, such as pain."

The EA chief was speaking a week after the Department for Children announced a review of the impact of violent computer games on children, headed by Tanya Byron.

Times Recommends

• Toyota recalls 437,000 cars including Lexus
• Myners says bonuses are bleeding pension funds
• Japanese company faked safety reports on seats