Some video games disgust me....

[Draco]

Thats the only way I buy games anyhow But I want the ID for when I go to California on vacation again next year I had problems not being able to going to a few things last year with my cousin because of ID.... AND 17:P Not 18...

Anyways, like I said I'm writing a paper on this stuff. The main thing I have a problem is that some kids ARE mature at certain ages. Its really the kids, who find the stuff real and stuff....

[TheEaterofWorlds]

I think people underestimate children's ability to tell fantasy and reality apart. As a child (and to a certain extend nowadays) I was very much ingrained in fantasy, often in worlds of my own creation. I'd much rather spend time in my world than in the real world. Some tough things were going on in my family, and I was at a very young age. I understood what my reality was. I understood that what I saw on the tv wasn't always real. Sometimes I wished it was, but I always understood.

People just don't bother to remember or think about what they were like as children. As a child I was constantly finding myself and my peers insulted by adults lack of faith in our intelligence and ability.

[Draco]

I was always around adults up till I was like 9 or 10 I got my first real friend at around 9, untill than I just hung out with my parents and their friends. So I knew what was fake and not, and i would wish some of the stuff I played or saw was real... But still, those kids who are shooting people and blaming it on GTA or other games, their giving games a bad rep, and kids who CAN play these games with no problems.

[TheEaterofWorlds]

Yup, I agree totally.

[lemmykoopa300]

I agree with TheEaterofWorlds, but I also think that parents should be more cautious on what their kid is playing. Like I said before, I saw a 6 year old kid playing Grand Theft Auto. The one that started the Mature debate thing.

Sometimes the ERSB's website isn't clear on what the things on the back of the box mean. I didn't know what 'Sugestive Themes' meant untill I played Viewtiful Joe (Which is awesome by the way. Very fun!).

Yes, we moved!

[Deleted]

Meep, I agree. One time a saw a little girl at a video game store, and she was looking at this Spongebob game. But right next to it was this game with an annoying cover. The girl kept looking at the cover, flinching, then looking back at the Spongebob game really quickly. She finally gave up and ran to her mom, and she was at least 7 or 8 years old, and the cover was REALLY disgsting and annoying. I fogot the title of it, but it was insulting women at the same time. Trust me. And it just came out.

[lemmykoopa300]

Sammy said:

Meep, I agree. One time a saw a little girl at a video game store, and she was looking at this Spongebob game. But right next to it was this game with an annoying cover. The girl kept looking at the cover, flinching, then looking back at the Spongebob game really quickly. She finally gave up and ran to her mom, and she was at least 7 or 8 years old, and the cover was REALLY disgsting and annoying. I fogot the title of it, but it was insulting women at the same time. Trust me. And it just came out.

Oh god. I think I know which one it is.

I like Spongebob. ;D

[Killix]

I agree with everything TEOW has said.

The ESRB rating is fine. If only parents payed attention to what they are buying, then they won't have any problems with little Timmy shooting gangters and seeing brains splatter.
The parent can do some research about the game first. If the parent has the time, he/she can find out a lot about the content of the game just by reading about it online.

I like many M rated games (including blood and gore) and I don't think games like that should be "banned" just because a few underage kids bought it and their parents let them/didn't pay attention to the rating.

Parents need to teach their children difference between fantasy and reality and constantly remind them that in real life if you get blown to bits by a rocket launcher, you can't just hit a button and "respawn"

My opinion: If you don't like those kinds of games then just simply do not play them. Let everyone else who does like them, enjoy them. Like the rating says, the games are for "mature" audiences. If you can't handle it nobody is forcing you to play it. If you're unsure, just check the back of the box. There are reasons for the rating like "language" and "blood and gore" etc. Not all M rated games have gore.

(This post was not talking to anyone in particular)

[soul]

[glow=dodgerblue,2,300]I know the feeling.

There are some games that not even 60 year olds should play

There is a game challed oddworld- I love this game more than life itself (lol) there are slugs that swollow you up (and burp afterwards, ). Things called scrabs that catch you and stomp you. Things called sligs that shoot you, and when you kill a slig meat chunks fly around the screen.

The blood and gore are not very graphic however, it doesn't have very good graphics so it isn't quite as bad.

Other games, though, have very good graphics, massive amounts of blood and gore. Sexual content, drinking, and all that.

Both of these games are rating teen. With oddworld- it's okay.

But with those other games... errr.... it's possible to copycat that- and many kids do. With oddworld it's impossible

Iv'e seen alot in my life, and I really think that those other games are bad for your health.

I think the parents that let their kids play the second kind of games need to be shot, seriously.


(sorry about all the typos)
[/glow]

[Buddy]

Soul, said:

[glow=dodgerblue,2,300]I think the parents that let their kids play the second kind of games need to be shot, seriously.
[/glow]

Then I suppose my parents should be shot...

[The Angry Artist]

The ESRB ratings are fine. Seriously. Yes, many of you have already stated this, but for everyone who doubts it, the ratings are based on a panel of judges and volunteers (that's as far as I remember from reading an article in an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly. On an unrelated note, did you know that the study of video games might appear in some universities and colleges (it's called ludology)?)

Anyway, the problem I don't think is lazy parents. That's a bit of an oxymoron. How can you be a parent if you're not going to devote time to your kid(s)? The problem is that the kids aren't being honest to their parents. It may sound strange, but think about it: Some parents haven't adapted to modern times. They may not understand what the whole rating thing is about. Sometimes, the kids may know more than the parents. So if the kid knows it's a violent game, he may not want to tell that to his parents. It's therefore the duty of the salesclerk to point out the ratings. The parents might still buy the game, they might not. But ultimately, the impact is not a huge one.

It really isn't a huge impact. Not at all. The kid grows up, and he or she sees violence and sex everyday. It's called the news. And if he or she doesn't watch the news, I pity that person. I don't mean to glorify sex or violence. The fact is that you have to see it or hear it to stay informed.

Video games do not affect children much. You may cite examples of kids who went on shooting sprees because they played Doom or Half-Life or maybe even Donkey Kong Country (though I highly doubt that). Your logic is flawed if you think video games affect children. If that were true, I'd be a knife wielding zombie ala Resident Evil. Or everyone who's played a video game would be like that. But that's not true.

The problem is not with the video games. The problem is with hte children themselves. They might have some imperfection or wound in their lives, and in order to compensate for that their video games fill that gap. Video games might become so much a part of their lives that they confuse the two. However, a psychologically sound person will be fine,

Of course, if you played Soldier of Fortune 2 and set the gore level up to maximum, that would definitely affect you in the sense of "I'm going to puke all over your shirt because I see a dead guy's guts spilled on the ground." That's just a minor issue, and you can fix that by using common sense (i.e. turn down the gore).

Many people like to attribute youth violence to video games because they are appalled by the violence or themes that go into video games. Yet despite the numerous rounds of Halo I've played over a LAN, I have no desire to take out my classmates with a fuel rod gun or a rocket launcher. The problem is with the players, not the games being played.

[The Wanderer]

Is this where a guy who likes to spend a little time playing video games comes in and says: "Video game violence does not promote real world violence?"

This has already been mentioned, Im sure, but if you want to point fingers at the ones responsible for allowing kids to see them, are parents.

The place where I toil suffer work is a place where I can witness, first-hand, at some of the looseness and irresponsibility of far too many parental figures. See, I work at a movie theater, and when I was the age of some of these kids, I was only allowed to come in with my older brother, or a parent, when it was night time.

These days, I see parents who seem well-educated, and should know better, unload their kids out of their over-priced SUV's and drive off, leaving them there to do whatever they want. And doing whatever they want, is exactly what they do. To sum it up, they get into alot of trouble, when they know that their parents arent around. And if they do something bad, and get in trouble or get hurt? It's the movie theater's fault for not taking care of "their little angel's" while their parents are out getting loaded on wine, and not giving a second thought on their responsibilities. At least that's the way it is in this crap-heap of a town that thinks so highly of itself.

Anyways, I digress, the point is, that if you have something like that going on, that is covered in the above paragraph, then it is obviously doesnt matter to a parent, to look at the ESRB rating, and say: "Sorry, Timmy, but this game is rated 'M' for blood, gore, and sexual content." After all, many stores require people to show ID's proving that they are 17+ years of age. So the only way that kids can get them, is if their parents buy them.

[Stal]

TAA, sure, kids lie to their parents, I won't deny it.

But in today's society, parents hardly do crap about raising their kids. They just don't. As Wanderer has, I've seen many examples of it myself.

They don't enforce rules or punishments, the kids walk all over them, yeah.... Parents don't take responsibility these days...

Some of it, though, is also based on how society says to raise them...

For example, spanking. To spank a child today is considered child abuse. All it is is a way to discipline the child and it works fine. It's not abuse, nor is it going to start these brats on to a life of crime.

Or the other common line of "Having tough rules are only going to make your kids rebel....". Uhm...so? Did they have a discussion with their kids about the rules they would and wouldn't obey, because heaven forbid they have a good rule that the kids disobey...

[Tracy]

Mwee, I'm all for blood and gore, but I strongly oppose irresponsible parents. In fact, sometimes it's best to let your child see some violence. Imagine what they'll feel like if one day they managed to get hold of something where someone's head gets chopped off, and they get thrown in a pool of acid, after never seeing anything like it before. Bit of a shock.

The thing is, you can't protect kids forever anyway. The ratings system tries its best to, but there's always going to be the idiot parent who buys their 5 year old "Super Destructo Mutilation Pimp XII Who Breaks The Law On A Regular Basis".

[TK]

The concept behind ESRB is great, though we can't say they're always justified.

For the grand majority, they certainly are. Though I can remember a game titled Nuclear Strike 64 (and I can say that all the assumptions that entail such a title were indeed true - www.nintendo.com/gamemini?gameid=m-Game-0000-202) got an E rating. So if parents who understand the Entertainment Software Rating Board's system see a game with an Everyone rating and buy it thinking their little tyke is okay, are they to blame? They might even watch the game, see the violence, and think if the professionals think it's okay, then they should as well.

And if the ESRB can underrate a game, could they overrate one? Still, that's a single exception in a mass field of justifed ratings.

Basically, I accept the gore and the Grand Theft Auto for people who are fit to play them, myself included. I can't buy Grand Theft Auto myself, though I know I won't go on some killing spree because of it. A pity there are those who would.