Just curious how people on this board feel about this:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&ncid=528&e=8&u=/ap/20040706/ap_on_hi_te/video_game_violence_1

My pesonal take is this.....where's the discussion about the parents of these "kids". Politicians always want to put all the blame on the companies that produce these games or the retailers that sell them. Why the hell aren't the parents of these kids keeping an eye on what their kids are playing on their PCs and game consoles. The ultimate responsibility is in the parents. Granted I think game producers should be required to have their games rated for content and retailers should show due diligence not to sell M rated games (and R or worse movies) to minors....but the parents should be involved enough with their kids to see if they are playing games that are too violent.

I play some of the games they are talking about...just picked up Far Cry over the weekend (great game btw). I wouldn't let my 8 year old play, and turn off the gore, just in case he sneaks in to watch. He probably won't be able to play something like that for many more years. One of the biggest problems I see lies in the inability of some of this county's parents to distinguish what is appropriate for their kids and the outright apathy of some others.

Thing is I thought men ages to 18-35 are the largest consumers of video games these days. Easy fix..sell them were kids are not allowed. Parents need to wake up and actually start looking at what they are buying. It takes virtually minutes to decide if its suitable or not.

I agree completely!!!
Parents need to be parents and actually be responsible.
The idea of selling them where the kiddies can't go is a good one but I can see that causing some major gripes from the game mfc. In the end the parents should be more in tune with their children and what they are watching, doing, into, playing, etc.

Blaming parents for their childrens' ills is politically unwise. Far better to play upon parental fears by telling them that video games, heavy metal/rap, and other scapegoats are to blame.

Thing is I thought men ages to 18-35 are the largest consumers of video games these days

That depends on how you want to frame that. Technically the largest consumers of video games are women between the ages of 25 and 55 I believe (according to Popular Science and The Washington Post recently, though I don't have links or anything). That includes all those games on Yahoo! and whatever that are free though, and other web based crap ... as well as hearts and whatever that comes free with Windows ... so its not the prime demographic and I'm not even sure if you can call them "consumers" as they aren't paying to play these games just playing in exchange for viewing advertisements. But just like how you can frame the argument one way, you can frame it another. Just because younger children aren't the prime demographic, they do still make up a big chunk of the industry.

Video Games are far more popular and make more money than the film industry. Even a few % of that multi-billion dollar industry (the young kids) is more than enough money to fill a few giant swimming pools for these violence peddlers!

Sadly what Thormir says is true, and Japan having a much larger share of the violent and graphic video games but a far lower share of the violent crimes seems to pass on deaf ears. Personally I love violent video games and one day down the line will be sure to have my kids play them with me.

I still think that parents should take the time to actually consider what that game is about that they are buying beforehand rather than just blaming the industry. The difference with you is that you know what it is and you will play it with your children, that's a big change from the parents who just buy, rent, whatever, games and give them to their kids so they can have a cheap babysitter. Parental interaction is better than just appeasing your child's wants.

I agree the argument can swing both ways but I still feel that it is up to the parents to filter and help their children interpret their entertainment choices. I like violent video games myself but I wouldn't let my kids play them until I feel they have reached a high enough age to understand some things. But, that's just me.

It should be left to indivdual families and parents to decide what their kids can watch, not law makers that know nothing about you or your family.

Agreed. Parents should regulate. I mean, I wouldn't want video games to be all about p0rn and what not, but nothing beats a few minutes on the virtual streets of Vice City. And another note, many times kids can walk into a Wal-Mart or Gamestop and buy a mature video game without the cashier giving them a second look. The ratings on games should be heavily enforced as far as the actual selling goes.

It should be left to indivdual families and parents to decide what their kids can watch, not law makers that know nothing about you or your family.


To some degree yes. I think the gaming industry has done what they needed to do by coming up with the rating system. The next step is getting retailers including internet vendors (though I'm not sure how that would be done short of what they do for adult checkers now) to shore up there end to make sure juvienals aren't buying M games on their own.

I think the movie industry needs to step up a bit too, making 'R' simply, under 17 not addmitted...period, end of story. I've seen too many idiot parents in 'R' movies with 4 year olds.....some people are too stoopid too stoopid to decide for themselves.

These parents and legislators make me laugh....
"It felt like I was living it when I seen the flames coming out of windows, the blown-up car in the street, guys crawling around shooting at us," the soldier says
( bold and underline mine.)



Alrighty... ignoring the last post that seemed to piss some people of... Why are they using a quote from some guy in the infantry that compares a game to a real ambush? You don't have to have the highest score on the test the military gives you to belong in the infantry, if you know what I mean.



Then this Floridian lawyer that's trying to sue game developers for the actions of two kids who said they were "inspired" by GTA... These kids need mental help. If you're truly influenced by a video game, to go out and kill, not all the circuits are connecting.



Later on this article discusses Zelda and Pokemon being some of the top titles of 2003. There is a whole other wing of parents ready to take on both of these games, IF THEY KNEW WTF THEY WERE ABOUT..... Zelda: A fairy tale world where you use MAGIC, and fight an evil sorcerer (in some.) Pokemon: they could say Pokemon leads to an increase in dog fighting for money...



I like the idea of parents watching what their children are playing and watching, but at the same time I think they need to be involved, not just checking to make sure their children are following the rules. Children get pissed off when you check up on them, and they're doing exactly as you expected. They don't feel trusted. A parent that actually interacts with their child doesn't have to worry about this, but there are kids who do whatever they can to get away from their parents. So, instead of passing laws banning unacceptable parents from breeding, they pass a law to keep their illiterate/retarded children from physically purchasing a game that can easily be downloaded, or, like alcohol, be purchased by a friend of the appropriate age...

I agree that it is the parent's responsibility to monitor and control what their children watch/play. Too many parents think TV/video games is a cheap baby sitter.

Just giving a kid GTA and letting him/her play it for 10 hours a day is a bad idea, but with constant reminders that GTA is NOT the way to act in the real world, then eventually the kid will understand the difference.

Drawing a clear line between real and fantasy/games is a very important aspect of this whole arguement.

Amusing that the people trying to ban "violent" video games, and the same ones that screamed bloody murder about the whole Howard Stern censorship thing.

Parents need to look on the box.

See that little ESRB rating?

M for Mature!
AO for Adults only!
T for Teen!
E for Everyone!
EC for Early Childhood!

There, wasn't that easy?

Hey, I bet they even say WHY they got the rating!

Comic Mischief!
Strong Sexual Content!
Mild Violence!
Intense Violence!

See, it's shit like this that pisses me off. I was watching the news while eating lunch at work... and they had this segment on "how to handle prom"... geared towards parents of course. A lot of it was, "Just say no to them.", etc. What utter bullshit. A parent's job isn't supposed to be about saying no to occasions when a kid could be presented with "bad material", or a "bad choice", it should be about educating a kid up until that point so that you *do not* have to say no, and they will make the right decision themselves.

Parents seriously need to wake up, and stop using everything as a scapegoat. Granted violent video games/movies aren't that hard to obtain, but take some interest in your child besides the ride to school per chance?

Interesting that in Japan people are so law abiding and socially conscious they will all stand and wait for the walk signal on a deserted street. At the same time they watch some of the most horrifically graphic and violent movies/cartoons Ive seen. Come on they invented "Rape tapes". Yet still one of the lowest crime rates in the world.

Its not what the kid sees but the values that he is given from his parents ... or lack there of.

I guess they could always create one of those 18+ rooms like they have for adult movies at the video store. ;p

Its not what the kid sees but the values that he is given from his parents ... or lack there of.
Bingo.

/agree Bowler

/agree Bowler

Then this Floridian lawyer that's trying to sue game developers for the actions of two kids who said they were "inspired" by GTA... These kids need mental help. If you're truly influenced by a video game, to go out and kill, not all the circuits are connecting.
Nail on head.....These kids play GTA, so we know there parents aren't paying attention to what they are playing. Ten to one they have never paid any attention to these kids, from day one.

Started playin Diablo when I was 9, cause my teacher in elementary school introduced me to it, that guy fuckin rocked. Its the whole discipline thing and what bowler said, at least in Japan they have discipline and actually obey alot of things they are told unlike this fucked up country(I'm all for US pride, but in all honesty the youth of today is beyond help, they're drowning and parents are lookin where to point the finger).