Senator introduces bill to study violent games

[ShadowSoldier]

I still think kids shouldn't be playing M games at all.

 

[emigre]

Is that why you don't like games? Because you see people buy them all and you know that they're overrated and that just irritates you to bitterness? :o

I do like games, just good games. And no, people buying shit games doesn't irritate me. Rather whiny shits who cry a lot irritate me.

 

[Janthran]

I do like games, just good games. And no, people buying shit games doesn't irritate me. Rather whiny shits who cry a lot irritate me.

Are there a lot of those?

 

[Hanafuda]

My little brother's been playing M games since he was 6 or so, me since around 10.

He's now 13 and I'm 20.

Neither of us have gone on killing rampages holy shit.

But what if it can reliably demonstrated that exposure to violent video games does in fact inspire/incite homicidal "acting-out" in certain persons with severe personality disorders? Even if this effect only occurred in 1 case in 10 million, then it's clear we should ban such games for everyone. Right??

* For the record, no I don't believe there's any causative effect. This kind of bullshit's been around forever. I was around back in the 80's when Al Gore's wife Tipper was crusading for explicit song lyrics to be censored. Just more of the same. Bottom line, crazy people gonna be crazy. They don't need a video game to make their minds short circuit, and they don't need a gun to kill. Any automobile can be used to commit mass murder.

 

[Foxi4]

I still think kids shouldn't be playing M games at all.

I don't. I started playing M-Rated games from the moment I first booted my first computer/console - I believe I was 7 when my "gaming career" started. I'm raised on Duke Nukem 3D, Doom, Quake, Unreal and Half-Life and I'm not running around shooting people. There needs to be some kind of gradation, children need to know how to differentiate reality from fantasy. The problem isn't with video games, the problems start when video games become the default nanny.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

I don't. I started playing M-Rated games from the moment I first booted my first computer/console - I believe I was 7 when my "gaming career" started. I'm raised on Duke Nukem 3D, Doom, Quake, Unreal and Half-Life and I'm not running around shooting people. There needs to be some kind of gradation, children need to know how to differentiate reality from fantasy. The problem isn't with video games, the problems start when video games become the default nanny.

In which parents are the main cause of problem and they're too fucking lazy to do anything. "Aww but I work all day" so? That's no excuse. Spend time with your children, raise them properly. And any parent who falls into this category is, I believe an unfit parent.

 

[Foxi4]

In which parents are the main cause of problem and they're too fucking lazy to do anything. "Aww but I work all day" so? That's no excuse. Spend time with your children, raise them properly. And any parent who falls into this category is, I believe an unfit parent.

Very true, if that was your point then I retract my statement.

 

[Sicklyboy]

In which parents are the main cause of problem and they're too fucking lazy to do anything.[...]

So lets ban shitty parents, not videogames.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

Very true, if that was your point then I retract my statement.

Eh, it was half and half. I don't think kids should be playing M games until at least 10 years old (depending on the game, by that I mean, Borderlands is suitable as it's not overly gory).

 

[Janthran]

Eh, it was half and half. I don't think kids should be playing M games until at least 10 years old (depending on the game, by that I mean, Borderlands is suitable as it's not overly gory).

Honestly I don't think anyone should be playing any game before they're 10.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

Honestly I don't think anyone should be playing any game before they're 10.

Well I don't know about that, I've been gaming since I was about 3-4, my first game beaten was Super Mario Bros. 2. But then again, I grew up in a different era of gaming.

 

[Chary]

It aggravates me that parents buy their 5 year olds Call Of Duty or GTA. Now granted, video games don't cause most people to be gun-wielding maniacs, but I think, subconsciously, if a child is exposed at an early age to M rated games, it has some sort of a negative outcome in the end.

I remember, back when I was a 6 year old, with my N64, I had gone with my parents to go buy a game. I was drawn to a certain game called "Conker's Bad Fur Day" for whatever reason. As my parent's were about to check it out, the man at the register refused to sell it to my parents. He said something along the lines of "A child so young as that, should NOT play this game." Confused, my parents put the game back, and the employee then handed us Banjo-Kazooie, telling us, that this was a much better game for my age.

After many years have passed, I can understand why the employee did that, and I am very grateful that he did.

 

[Foxi4]

I think I'm with ShadowSoldier in this one more so than I'm willing to admit, in the sense that although I played M-Rated games as a kid, I was relatively mature for my age (if that even applies), plus, M-Rated was a completely different category of games back then. Games are becoming more and more realistic, and while I believe that an 18 or 21 age rating on games like Splatterhouse is completely bogus, 13-15 doesn't sound so bad anymore. About at that time kids start to "understand" certain concepts and perhaps introducing them to those games earlier isn't such a good idea.

That said, at the end of the day, I don't think that should be a government-regulated issue - it should be up to the parents. It's them who should be the ultimate "censorship" for their kids. The icons outlining specific type of content are a good thing, as they inform the parent what can be expected from the game. The age rating? Not so much.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

It aggravates me that parents buy their 5 year olds Call Of Duty or GTA. Now granted, video games don't cause most people to be gun-wielding maniacs, but I think, subconsciously, if a child is exposed at an early age to M rated games, it has some sort of a negative outcome in the end.

I remember, back when I was a 6 year old, with my N64, I had gone with my parents to go buy a game. I was drawn to a certain game called "Conker's Bad Fur Day" for whatever reason. As my parent's were about to check it out, the man at the register refused to sell it to my parents. He said something along the lines of "A child so young as that, should NOT play this game." Confused, my parents put the game back, and the employee then handed us Banjo-Kazooie, telling us, that this was a much better game for my age.

After many years have passed, I can understand why the employee did that, and I am very grateful that he did.

I can't remember how old I was when I played that game.. perhaps.. around 10-11, maybe 12. But I loved it. I didn't see it as gory or anything at all. I found it as a kids game lol.

 

[Chary]

I can't remember how old I was when I played that game.. perhaps.. around 10-11, maybe 12. But I loved it. I didn't see it as gory or anything at all. I found it as a kids game lol.

Well, what I mean is that, it was a good thing that there was a employee to prevent a M rated game from being given to a 6 year old.

 

[Sicklyboy]

Well, what I mean is that, it was a good thing that there was a employee to prevent a M rated game from being given to a 6 year old.

Again I don't see why it's an issue. With proper supervision and guidance a kid can play what the parents say is okay. My little brother's been playing Halo since 6 or 7. My parents wouldn't let him play anything like GTA at that point because Halo is against aliens, not person vs. person. Again, he turned out okay.

Conker is about squirrels vs teddy bears.

I'd never, in my life of a retail employee, imagine refusing to sell a customer something. I always, if possible, direct them to the "much cheaper and still just as good" equivalent to save them money, and tell them if something isn't good in my opinion and there is no alternative that "I can't in good faith recommend this, I'd recommend getting X product from <insert other store here> instead over this." (usually the Griffin Survivor for iPhone 5/iPod Touch 5th gen, front panel clasp must have been designed by a fucking toddler, the 4th gen/iPhone 4/4s Survivor was brilliant, just like the Otter Box). I'd NEVER imagine saying "No, I'm not going to let you buy this."

 

[koimayeul]

I vote Yes.. Children shouldn't play adult games, there is PEGI for a reason.. Also, "a man is what a man does" never gets old, holding truth.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

Again I don't see why it's an issue. With proper supervision and guidance a kid can play what the parents say is okay. My little brother's been playing Halo since 6 or 7. My parents wouldn't let him play anything like GTA at that point because Halo is against aliens, not person vs. person. Again, he turned out okay.

Conker is about squirrels vs teddy bears.

I'd never, in my life of a retail employee, imagine refusing to sell a customer something. I always, if possible, direct them to the "much cheaper and still just as good" equivalent to save them money, and tell them if something isn't good in my opinion and there is no alternative that "I can't in good faith recommend this, I'd recommend getting X product from <insert other store here> instead over this." (usually the Griffin Survivor for iPhone 5/iPod Touch 5th gen, front panel clasp must have been designed by a fucking toddler, the 4th gen/iPhone 4/4s Survivor was brilliant, just like the Otter Box). I'd NEVER imagine saying "No, I'm not going to let you buy this."

Conker is incredibly violent and simply not for kids. Lots of sexual references, swearing, tons of blood... it's a lot more violent than Halo.

 

[ComeTurismO]

Children shouldn't even be playing mature games at all. All what I wish to point out is that they shouldn't affect other gamers if they're going to do something bad that'll affect all you other people. I'm a kid too, but I don't play mature games like CoD, BF... If they do something that'll affect people 17+, you guys are gonna be like "OMG I HATE YOU LAW DUDE!"

 

[blahkamehameha]

Nice to know politicians are focusing on what's important and top priority....

Violent video games are really no different than movies or even comic books in a sense. They take your mind to a fictional world, intended for entertainment purposes only. I think the current rating system is fine and serves it's goal well, the only problem that exists would be those who buy m rated games and give them to those below the age.