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I love violent video games. The more violent, and gruesome, and hilarious they are, the better. And yet..... I can't bring myself to kill a fly, let alone a human being. Good parenting FTW!  The over-the-top nature of the violence in some of these games represents an obvious, yet subtle form of dark humor. "Gears of War" comes to mind. Warning labels do 2 things: 1) Give parents a quick-reference indicator as a guide to make decisions about what they will allow in their homes, & 2) ramp up demand via gov't demarkating something as 'forbidden fruit' (as discovered by the record industry, much to its delight). This sort of reminds me of the latest lawsuit against McDonald's I heard about on CNN. Some parent thinks McD'onalds commercials are too enticing to her kid, so she's sueing because she can't say no, so she wants McDonald's to make it easier for her so she doesn't have to feel on the spot about being a parent. You just know it won't stop here. Another content lawsuit is always around the corner. |
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Be that as it may, a lot of parents/grandparents don't pay attention to what their kids are playing anyway. It could be a game where the player kills kittens. If it's hot, and their brat wants it, they buy it. True, but it's not about not selling it, just keeping it out of the hands of the younger crowd. The movie theaters have tightened up on kids trying to get into R-rated flicks. It's a self-preservation thing. I know it can hurt sales, but if it gets too much 'attention', it could result in a potential legislative backlash & make things even worse. This is where the industry needs to create some new ideas for products & markets. The constant one-upsmanship of every studio clamboring to put a bigger, redder, simulated blood splat on the screen has to be approaching a limit. I think if it doesn't self-correct, the market will get stale. I'll admit my inner Beavis gets a good chuckle from some of the over-the-top stuff, but it's getting stale. The type of interactive stuff pioneered by Nintendo's Wii has taken things in a different direction from the std "bigger, better, more bad-assery" evolution that v-games have been following, & now Sony & MSFT are getting into this, so it may already be changing. Will v-game violence ever go out of style? I doubt it. But, I it won't necessarily be the overarching theme in the genre. Content is evolving to stay relevant & marketable. |
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True, but it's not about not selling it, just keeping it out of the hands of the younger crowd. That's what I'm saying. These labels really won't make much difference in that regard. I just want to say, as a former employee of GameStop, that we already have a warning label system in the ESRB, which the rating system is about the same as the proposed one, and parents are not going to pay more fucking attention to this system than they do the ESRB. |
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True, but it's not about not selling it, just keeping it out of the hands of the younger crowd. That's what I'm saying. These labels really won't make much difference in that regard. I just want to say, as a former employee of GameStop, that we already have a warning label system in the ESRB, which the rating system is about the same as the proposed one, and parents are not going to pay more fucking attention to this system than they do the ESRB. Agreed, somewhat. The ESRB is a joke at best. I say that because games like Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and Playboy: The Mansion are both M rated games with full blown fucking. GTA: San Andreas was rated AO (I'm speaking specifically about the XBOX version as that's the only one I bought). I know about the 'Hot Coffee' mod that was done for the PC, but, I haven't seen it on the XBOX....anywhere. With that said, when some parents see the word, 'Violence' on the box, then they already disregard any kind of context. That's where we, as clerks have to do our job and not be fucking self righteous pricks about a parents decision on game content. Call of Duty and Halo being prime examples. What is good to do to virtual aliens, isn't so good to do to virtual people. Even if you are saving the world in the process. I've never been able to make that distinction. To me and to a surprising number of parents that came in, pixels on the screen are pixels on the screen –– nothing more. Then again, these were the same parents who actually spent time with their kids and taught them basic morality......even if they voted for Obama. 
.....And they are good kids, very funny, and well adjusted. |
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True, but it's not about not selling it, just keeping it out of the hands of the younger crowd. That's what I'm saying. These labels really won't make much difference in that regard. I just want to say, as a former employee of GameStop, that we already have a warning label system in the ESRB, which the rating system is about the same as the proposed one, and parents are not going to pay more fucking attention to this system than they do the ESRB. Agreed, somewhat. The ESRB is a joke at best. I say that because games like Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and Playboy: The Mansion are both M rated games with full blown fucking. GTA: San Andreas was rated AO (I'm speaking specifically about the XBOX version as that's the only one I bought). I know about the 'Hot Coffee' mod that was done for the PC, but, I haven't seen it on the XBOX....anywhere. With that said, when some parents see the word, 'Violence' on the box, then they already disregard any kind of context. That's where we, as clerks have to do our job and not be fucking self righteous pricks about a parents decision on game content. Call of Duty and Halo being prime examples. What is good to do to virtual aliens, isn't so good to do to virtual people. Even if you are saving the world in the process. I've never been able to make that distinction. To me and to a surprising number of parents that came in, pixels on the screen are pixels on the screen –– nothing more. Then again, these were the same parents who actually spent time with their kids and taught them basic morality......even if they voted for Obama.
.....And they are good kids, very funny, and well adjusted. And that's OK. Parents have to make the decision to run their own house & raise their own kids. The ESRB ratings exist to keep legislators off the industry's back. Are there kids that are very easily influenced by visual media? Yes. The issue/right of free speech still remains. Once gov't is allowed to ban something on the basis of content, you create a slippery slope. A rating system - whether people heed it or not - puts the information out there in quick-reference form. The decision to use it is entirely up to the consumer. Not the industry's fault if it's ignored. It's a still out there for anyone who cares. |
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True, but it's not about not selling it, just keeping it out of the hands of the younger crowd. That's what I'm saying. These labels really won't make much difference in that regard. I just want to say, as a former employee of GameStop, that we already have a warning label system in the ESRB, which the rating system is about the same as the proposed one, and parents are not going to pay more fucking attention to this system than they do the ESRB. Agreed, somewhat. The ESRB is a joke at best. I say that because games like Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and Playboy: The Mansion are both M rated games with full blown fucking. GTA: San Andreas was rated AO (I'm speaking specifically about the XBOX version as that's the only one I bought). I know about the 'Hot Coffee' mod that was done for the PC, but, I haven't seen it on the XBOX....anywhere. With that said, when some parents see the word, 'Violence' on the box, then they already disregard any kind of context. That's where we, as clerks have to do our job and not be fucking self righteous pricks about a parents decision on game content. Call of Duty and Halo being prime examples. What is good to do to virtual aliens, isn't so good to do to virtual people. Even if you are saving the world in the process. I've never been able to make that distinction. To me and to a surprising number of parents that came in, pixels on the screen are pixels on the screen –– nothing more. Then again, these were the same parents who actually spent time with their kids and taught them basic morality......even if they voted for Obama.
.....And they are good kids, very funny, and well adjusted. And that's OK. Parents have to make the decision to run their own house & raise their own kids. The ESRB ratings exist to keep legislators of the industry's back. Are there kids that are very easily influenced by visual media? Yes. The issue/right of free speech still remains. Once gov't is allowed to ban something on the basis of content, you create a slippery slope. A rating system - whether people heed it or not - puts the information out there in quick-reference form. The decision to use it is entirely up to the consumer. Not the industry's fault if it's ignored. It's a still out there for anyone who cares. I couldn't agree more. Reading my last post, I should have expounded on my ambivalence towards the ESRB. I don't have a problem with the rating system at all, or parents choices on content allowed. I have a problem with the ESRB in the same way I have a problem with the PMRC. When parents asked me about game content, I was honest with them. I WOULD let my 11 year old play Halo and Call of Duty (campaign). I WOULDN'T let them play Manhunt or GTA. This is all assuming that I explained the differences between fantasy and reality, and they could grasp those concepts. That said, I don't have children, so my opinion carries almost no weight. You won't find any argument from me whatsoever about what parents allow or don't allow their children to play. Just so that I know I said it.... I do not think the rating system creates lazy parents, nor do I judge. I just loved seeing happy customers, and miss it terribly. |
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Quoted: I will not play most games around my 2.5 y/o daughter as they are full of swearing and over the top violence. That's just me though. Same here. One day I was playing Modern Warfare 2 when my daughter, who was about 3 at the time, woke up from her nap and came downstairs to watch me play. After a few minutes she said: "Wow, daddy! You're really good at killing people!". I promptly turned the game off. I've got a disc of old Sega Genesis games and she likes to play the Sonic games and Flicky, but that's about it. |
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I will not play most games around my 2.5 y/o daughter as they are full of swearing and over the top violence. That's just me though. Same here. One day I was playing Modern Warfare 2 when my daughter, who was about 3 at the time, woke up from her nap and came downstairs to watch me play. After a few minutes she said: "Wow, daddy! You're really good at killing people!". I promptly turned the game off. I've got a disc of old Sega Genesis games and she likes to play the Sonic games and Flicky, but that's about it. Which is why I am getting back into classic gaming. Besides being kid friendly, they used to make better games period. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I will not play most games around my 2.5 y/o daughter as they are full of swearing and over the top violence. That's just me though. Same here. One day I was playing Modern Warfare 2 when my daughter, who was about 3 at the time, woke up from her nap and came downstairs to watch me play. After a few minutes she said: "Wow, daddy! You're really good at killing people!". I promptly turned the game off. I've got a disc of old Sega Genesis games and she likes to play the Sonic games and Flicky, but that's about it. Which is why I am getting back into classic gaming. Besides being kid friendly, they used to make better games period. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Right now, I cannot get enough Bubble Bobble, Worms, and Battletoads. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I will not play most games around my 2.5 y/o daughter as they are full of swearing and over the top violence. That's just me though. Same here. One day I was playing Modern Warfare 2 when my daughter, who was about 3 at the time, woke up from her nap and came downstairs to watch me play. After a few minutes she said: "Wow, daddy! You're really good at killing people!". I promptly turned the game off. I've got a disc of old Sega Genesis games and she likes to play the Sonic games and Flicky, but that's about it. Which is why I am getting back into classic gaming. Besides being kid friendly, they used to make better games period. Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Right now, I cannot get enough Bubble Bobble, Worms, and Battletoads. Jackal FTW! I'm not sure why we haven't seen it on X-Box Live Arcade yet. Of course, what I really want to see, is a re-release of Shining Force 3 and Dragon Force, but that's probably asking a bit much. |
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Game ratings are a joke, but when I was a kid if Mom thought the box showed too much violence in the title or art work (she wouldn't usually read the back, just a quick glance at it) I wasn't allowed to have it.
I love the video games that let you make morally ambiguous choices. Do you help the good guys? Give in to the bad guys, or let them blow each other to hell and you profit from both sides? 
Kharn |