Gaming culture and age ratings

[The-Marb]

Alright all

Wasnt sure where to post this but i wondered what you guys thought.

I guess im getting a little sick of gaming coming under attack from various public figures and pressure groups. YET when in a large game store recently i see a mother telling her 11 and 9 year old children (at a guess) that the Xbox was cheaper in the other shop and it had Gears of War 2 and Halo 3 with it. Now, whilst i didnt see her buying said items and it could have been for their dad, its not much of a leap of the imagination that she was actually buying this for them. In any case, this isnt the first time ive seen people getting games for their children that were 15 or 18 rated. Obviously the staff arnt at fault as they are selling to an adult (or so they think) and it isnt my place to tell people what to do with their children (plus i like my teeth) so i dont say anything.

Every few months the gaming damaging kids minds debate starts up and all the above jump on the bandwagon saying how morally corrupt games are these days. Im fed up really, i advocate personal responsibility for anyone, parents included, yet why is this acceptable to ignore game ratings for obviously 18 rated games, that definetly are not for children, and allow these debates.

Is this because people over a certain age think games are a harmless distraction for children and the rating is just a thing to ignore? Given that apprently 74% of parents are concerned about videogame violence, should there be some sort of education of older groups that 18 means 18 on a game box?

What do you guys reckon?

In theory it is simple, GTA IV is 18 rated, only 18 year olds or older buy/play it and all this sillines about it being harmful for kids is a moot point. That or you let your kids play it and if they start playing Russian pimp on the street, you have to accept the consequnces as it was your choice. Surely?

Before you comment you should know i dont believe in the link between computer game and real violence and im no prude about 18 rated game (love all games!)

[ewen griffn]

i think it also depends on the maturity of the person for example someone buying there 17 year old mature child and 18 rated video game while it is frowned uppon this person can distinguish reality from fiction and knows its just a game as it were. You know this has been going on for a long time even before age rating for games came out like there were allot of games on the atari 2600 that would not be aloud now games revolving around sex etc also the texas chainsaw massacre on atari was the first violent video game ever and it was banned in some shops and in others kept behind the counter but younger gamers still found a way to get hold of it and people often forget that the ratings are enforced by some people so it is not everyone. Unfortunetly there is no way of telling someones maturity or rating games accordingly so it will stay the same for a while. What suprises me it how leainent the companies are becoming with games like assassins creed containing a considerable amount of violence being given a 15 rating which think is good because it stops the purchasing of 18 rated games however sometimes an 18 rating is the only way to go with some games like you said GTA 4 i could go on for days but im to tired if this made no sense the above reason is also responsable

[General Mortars]

Too many parents these days are happy enough for their kids to play whatever the hell they want as long as they're quiet and out of the way. Such is the sad state of affairs that this country finds itself in. These are probably the same kids that are shuffling around bus stops in hoodies, mugging grannies and such at knife point.

I may be guilty of stereotyping here but you get my drift.....

[ewen griffn]

not realy because if they know the difference between games and real life they will be at home playing there games rather than living them

[Vibins]

Wow, here's an original topic?

Can we have somebody with a little imagination write a letter? I would write a letter but long term exposure games and TV have killed off my imagination.

[shepard]

We need the mass media to start being sensible and realise that an 18 rated game is in the same category as an 18 rated movie. But when has the mass media ever been sensible?

Until games get the same sort of attention and attitude in the media outwith games press, the general public's attitude to games won't change.

[Razorus]

This is something I feel strongly about as it really irritates me when people/parents or watchdogs or whatever complain about what games are doing to their kids, when it should remain solely the responsibility of the parents themselves. I had so much trouble trying to buy games that were not suitable for me when I was younger. Now, I'm 21 and I can do whatever I want which is awesome.
Although, I was asked to show ID when I bought Madworld a few weeks ago. That's the last time I'm shaving, for damn sure.

Anyway, point is, people (i.e non-gamers) do not take games seriously enough. My grandfather for example keeps telling me to grow up and "when are you going to stop playing these stupid games" etc. I think it's partly the fault of us gamers though. If we let games take too much control, we sacrifice our social lives and we become dweebs or nerds. Then people have an easy excuse for when some idiot goes ballistic and shoots up his school. Blame it on GTA, because he played too much of it.
Perhaps its the word "game" that is inappropriate. If our favoured form of electronic entertainment is to be taken seriously, might I suggest we stop calling them games?
Probably too late for that now. Fcuk it, GAMES FTW.

[conkerconquer]

I just wish people would stop blaming games for problems that have far worse and more serious causes. A person does not commit murder because he saw it in a video game, hell the nerds and geeks of the video game world could commit genocide in a video game but probably unwilling or physically incapable of harming a fly. I'm most likely the latter.

Society needs to stop using games, films and other media to cover up for failings that are far worse, torn families, lack of role models, gang culture, abuse etc. Critics who say games cause violence amongst adolescents should grow up and realize that it is far from the truth.

[The-Marb]

Its highly liklely games are used as an obvious target in terms of finding reasons for attrocities. This is obviously a well explored topic.

I personally wouldnt hurt a fly (im a bleeder, not a fighter)and instaed of Gears 2 /GTA4 fuelling somed inner rage i think its actually a cathartic experince. Where else can i chainsaw something to death? Gets it outta my system i think by letting you use your primal desires.

Anyway....

What really intrigues me in is why an 18 rated game isnt treated like a 18 rated film by some parents...

[conkerconquer]

My parents have been very liberal in that regard, that's not say they'd let me watch anything when I was younger but I've seen things a lot younger than you'd expect, I watched 18's before I was even 12 and the thing is, when your young, you never pick up on the more adult things, the things that adults tend to find shocking on behalf of their children. Nudity and gore didn't register with me until I was much older, I never realized just how violent some of the films I used to watch were, like Terminator or Starship Troopers. Again though, those were fictional concepts, nothing depicted was generally possible, there were no deadly machines or aliens in real life so it was easy for me to distinguish between fantasy and reality, it might have been different if I'd watched something truly disturbing.

[General Mortars]

The whole video game concept was new to the parents that raised my generation. For instance, my parents consider video games to all be fun because they are called games. As they had no real interest in what I was playing up in my bedroom, they just let me get on with it. Most shop owners of the time were the same. Age ratings (if there were even any in those days) were generally just ignored.

I'd like to think that shop owners and their staff are more educated these days but the parents are only just catching up with the technology so there's still a bit of naivety around the age restrictions. Better publicity needed maybe?

[Palerider_GB]

...If we let games take too much control, we sacrifice our social lives and we become dweebs or nerds...

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but, we're Geeks not Nerds

[Razorus]

...If we let games take too much control, we sacrifice our social lives and we become dweebs or nerds...

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but, we're Geeks not Nerds

Yeah, I know we are (and proud of it!) but I'm saying, if we let it go too far, we become "nerds" which is the next evolutionary step towards socially retarded. We're geeks but I assume we all go out with friends and have seen daylight.

[conkerconquer]

Daylight? It burns!