Slashdot Mirror
MediaWise Video Game Report Card Issued
Thanks to several readers for pointing to the National Institute on Media and the Family's eighth annual videogame report card, which says it "provides a snapshot of the interactive gaming industry with a focus on issues related to child welfare." A particular issue focused on is "the growing issue of screen time as it relates to the obesity epidemic", of which it's suggested: "there is both an opportunity and challenge for the industry to develop games that involve physical activity so that young players exercise more than their thumbs." The other hot topic is a continuing one: "the easy access that boys have to increasingly ultra-violent M-rated games and the popularity of the most violent games with that group." The survey ends with lists, including "games to avoid" for 2003, mentioning obviously controversial titles like Manhunt, but also other, quirkier picks such as WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne.
This year a national survey showed that 70% of American teenage boys have played that game and that they are more likely to have been in a fight than those who have not played.
Well duh. If 70% of teenage boys have played it, of course that percent is more likely to be in a fight than the other 30%.
Brilliant study.
This year's report card shows that children and youth still have easy access to such "killographic games."
Where. are. their. parents?
These children do not have jobs, so unless they're getting a $50-a-week allowance to blow on video games, then mom and dad have to be laying out the cash directly. And if these kids are getting that much cashola for mowing the lawn and cleaning their room, then why aren't these parents keeping better track of what merchandise is being brought into the house?
Please America... stop blaming the gaming/movie/music industry for your own parental failings.
"Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you mad."
-- Aldous Huxley
Gotta love the editorial for this piece. Yes, WC3 exp is a strange choice (it *doeS* have violence, however, as well as some pretty... interesting cutscenes), but the rest of the recommendations were spot on. Why is this such a big deal? We're talking about children here; AFAIK kids don't have the same rights as adults do, esp. when we're talking about violent video games!
Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
Dance Dance Revolution, anyone? 3 rounds of Maniac can feel far longer than any marathon.
How did Warcraft III end up on the top ten worst games to avoid? I guess it might incite hatred of Orcs.
The bigger question though is how did Warcraft get ranked higher than Postal 2.
Postal 2's goal is to cause as much havoc in the world as possible, whereas in Warcraft III you form alliances to end the world's wars.
Bizzare!
redune.com: The World 3.2 Megapixels at a time
So does playing Vice City cause the boys to be in a fight?
- or -
Does being the type of boy who gets in fights cause you to like games like Vice City?
And it just says they have been in a fight. It doesn't say they started it. All 70% could have been assaulted by the 30% that doesn't play Vice City, and that 30% just lied about being in the fight.
So basically that 70% statistic is meaning less to anyone who thinks critically. It might as well have just been made up. It is only used to persuade the mindless masses into action.
Actually stating that 70% of teen age boys played Vice City really takes a lot of the weight out of argument that it causes the violence that we always hear blamed on the game. You hear about the kids who shot at cars and Vice City was blamed for their actions. If playing Vice City causes kids to be violent and shoot at cars then why aren't 70% of the teen age boys out there performing random acts of violence like this? The size of the gap between boys who play violent games and those who act violently is so huge that no logical causal relationship can be made between the two actions.
The obvious answer is that the two actions are unrelated in the way they would try to have us believe.
Now is the time for all game players to rise up against our non-game playing aggressors!
"Anything is possible with enough programmers, time and pizza." (Substitute caffeine for time as needed.)
I dunno, I thought Warcraft III in general (haven't yet played Frozen Throne) might be representative of a game that's frowned upon simply because of the morals--while the gameplay is certainly T-for-Teen, the themes (including Arthas killing his father and the fact you HAVE to play as a consciously evil faction to win the single-player campaign, along with subtler ideas about how good and evil are sometimes relative (witness the N.Elf demon hunters, etc)) might be the real reason that so many "family" groups are opposed to it.
Don't yell at me for spoilers--if you really cared about WCIII's plot, you'd have played it by now. =P
"America has done some terrible things. But I know that Americans don't cheer when innocents die." -Dave Barry
So, I must be some kind of huge statistical deviation then. I've played the most violent video games from the time Wolf 3D came out to present. I've been in one fight (that I didn't start, some moron just felt like starting shit with me for some reason) and I have a healthy balanced life trying to get my graduate degree and keeping my girlfriend.
Oh wait...maybe that's it. The only people that have to worry about violent video games are the ones with DUMB FUCKING KIDS WHO SHOOT AT PASSING CARS BECAUSE THEY ARE FUCKING RETARDED. I blame genetics. =)
Someone had to say it...
The above are reasons I give hesitant recommendations of WC3 to families who are actively monitoring their child's playing habits, like my fiancee's parents, who have a 12-yr-old son...he'd like it, but I talked with them about it and they thought they'd want to wait a few more years before he had a framework to deal with it, even though he has played T-rated games before.
Of course, some parents might not care...and previous posters have already said all that needs to be about taking responsibilty for what your kids play.
"America has done some terrible things. But I know that Americans don't cheer when innocents die." -Dave Barry
How come the rating system is E, Y, M, AO or instead of G, PG, PG-13, R? (I would assume that it has something to do with the MPOAA not allowing it.)
Seems to me that it would be easier to identify what games are appropriate for what age group.
with "Family" in it's name? Why do you hate the American family?! Won't somebody please think of the children!
[PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
During this year we conducted the largest student survey in the history of the report card. 778 students in grades four through twelve representing public and private schools in urban, suburban and rural areas throughout the country took part. The average age was 13.5. Key findings included: ...
Only 50% of parents understand the ratings according to students.
No follow-up to find out if the parents actually did understand the ratings? I know my gf's younger brother thinks he understands the ratings better than anyone else, especially when it comes to something rated R or M ('Im not supposed to watch that', he makes a very big deal about the fact that someone is letting him watch something rated R or play something rated M, even if his parents have looked at it and decided it's ok for him, because they are concerned about such things). I could understand if 50% of parents don't understand video game ratings, IF the people that were actually polled were the parents themselves. Asking the students if their parents understood the ratings, though, is just another bs statistic.
# 77% of boys own M-rated games with one in five reporting that they purchased an M-rated game without their parent's knowledge.
So the obvious question is, were they simply boasting about being able to buy an M-rated game without their parents knowing about it? Actually, I see 20% of 77% as a pretty good number considering how bad some other studies have tried to make this seem. Then again, with most of the respondants being under 16 and some of them being 17 or older, you have to wonder what percentage of those under 17 own M-rated games and how many bought them without their parents knowing. How did someone under 16 get the money for a game? (ok, I admit that I had some under the table jobs as a kid, but my parents still knew about them).
# Only one out of five students report that their parents have ever prevented them from purchasing a game because of its rating.
How many of the ones that weren't prevented included those parents that understood the ratings? Letting a teenager have an M-rated game can be as much a sign of understanding the rating and knowing the game is ok as not understanding/caring.
The implications of this large survey show that retail enforcement and parent education need improvement. Parent education, however, is not enough if they do not understand the need to observe the ratings. Parent education about the ratings need to include the answer to the question "Why pay attention to ratings?"
Well, this is about the most obvious statement (the last two sentences) I've ever seen. If the parents don't understand the need to pay attention to the ratings, then they have not been properly educated in the first place. It's not simply a matter of telling them that games have ratings, it's also a matter of letting them know that we're not talking about Pac-Man and Space Invaders here.
Overall, I can't say I disagree with a lot of what they actually have to say here, I just think that they put forward some misleading numbers. Overall, parents do need to be educated about the ratings system, and it needs to be made clear to them that these ratings are in place for the same reason that movie ratings are in place. They need to realize that games can put images on the screen every bit as detailed as many movies, and that they involve their children through interaction. In other words, parents that won't let their kids view R-rated movies shouldn't be letting their kids play M-rated games, and in any case parents should be aware of what their kids are watching or playing.
-PainKilleR-[CE]
Why dont gamers, say age 18-whatever. Form a society? This society could do things just like this bad games list. WE could make a list of BAD Parents to avoid, and not allow them to buy games for their kids....
Okay seriously this is getting stupid. People gotta stop blaming the entertainment industry for their lack of parenting ability. PG means Parent Guidence maybe we should have this plastered next to the game rateings. Its not games that make bad children its bad parents. I've been playing video games since I was like 4 or 5, Im 19 almost 20 and I've yet to kill someone because of games.
Quit making video games the scape goat for bad parenting.
oh and good job who ever brought up the point about where these kids get the money for $29-$50 USD games. those systems must have come from somewhere.
At least the article ended with games to buy that WEREN'T of the type "Jonah and the Whale's Super Adventure" (aka games that no self-respecting kid except for Rodd and/or Todd would play).
I like the fact that they recommended SSX3, Zelda TWW, etc as games that children are okay to play from a "violence causing" standpoint.
It still doesn't excuse however the fact that the point of the entire article is that parents aren't doing their jobs. End of Story.
unf.
9. WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne Expansion M
Last time I checked, WarCraft III was rated "T"
Anyone notice that all but ONE game the have on the "Games to avoid for children" list of video games is rated Mature..
I don't know about you.. But being rated as "Mature" is something that I would just happen to think would automatically label it as "not recommended for children"
Just goes to show how little attention is actually paid to video game ratings..
Violence and obesity counter productive. If videogames incite violence AND obesity, then what's the harm? It's not like the resulting barrels of lard can actually get anywhere carrying a weapon. "Oh no, it's a gun, let's run". Everyone leaves room, fat kid with gun passes out trying to chase them down.
Karma: Excellent^(-t/Tau), Tau=Wittiness/Trollishness
You've got to be kidding me.. That looks kinda Photoshoppped...
If anyone has another source for discussion on this (game preview, gaming related site, anything reasonably reliable) please post it..
I didn't click the link, but I wouldn't trust anything that known troll posts.
Yeah, its not like you downloaded and used a nude skin in order to take that screen shot.
Will we be seeing screen shots from your Deus Ex 2 goatse mod next?
Child welfare? I'm sorry but child welfare usually starts with the parents doesn't it?
"in grades four through twelve"
Oh yeah, nice sample space. While you're at it, why not find out how many people between the ages 16 through 23 drink?
"The easy access that boys have [...]"
Hey hey hey! Thats sexist! Girls play video games too!
"Last year we focused attention on the top selling Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, in which gratuitous violence toward women and police is rewarded and discrimination against the Haitian community is encouraged."
Wth do you mean you get rewarded for violence against the police and the Haitian mob in GTA:VC? Last time I checked when you started shooting either of those two, they started popping holes in your ass.
"Rates of obesity among children have tripled over the past thirty years."
Yeah, and over the past thirty years the United States has enjoyed one of the largest economic booms from Reagonnomics, to Clinton's high flying success, and the dotcom boom/bust.
There is no way that DoA could deserve an Ao rating. Ao is the equivalent to a NC-17, and NC-17 requires it to be either a) porn or b) have extremely explicit violence above and beyond what you see in M-rated games.
I don't think DoA volleyball even has any nudity, let alone sex. And the MPAA allows movies with some nudity to pass with an R rating, so why should the ESRB give DoA volleyball an M?
Vice City and Manhunt... well, I dunno. If Vice City deserves an Ao then so do a lot of other games. I haven't played or heard much about Manhunt, so I can't pass judgement on that one.
I remember back in the day when mortal kombat 2 came out, I was under 17 and I actually had to go into the store with my mom to purchase it. And my mother wouldn't let me put in the extra blood code while my brother was playing with me.
Kids will be kids. They will get into fights, pick on people smaller than them and so on. It is the parents responsibility to structure the kids understanding of ethics.
But hey what do i know, im only a 22 yr old engineer.
I just picked up one of those $99 GameCubes. (w00+, four Zelda games. Schweet.) Of course, while 'testing the installation', my 2.5 year old son decided he wanted to play. Are there any games even remotely usable by a kid of this age? At what age are your kids (or nephews, nieces, neighbors, co-workers, etc) playing games? What kind of games?
Caveats:
My son helps me work on the car and motorcycle.
We read together.
He loves playing outside.
He finger paints and uses playdoh with his mother.
I'd ask about PC games, but I'm afraid of him sitting in my chair. If he grabs the wrong thing, the four foot tall stack of books and other junk might collapse on him. By the time he got dug out, he'd be ready for a driver's license.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
You just never know when a game is going to try to corrupt the youth of today...
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
It's partially photoshopped. If that's the character I think it is (NG Resonance) she isn't wearing panties. The extra detail, however, was added.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
Part of this problem stems from the fact that so many kids have their games & tv & computer in their bedroom.
I had an interesting exchange about this over thanksgiving. The family that we all met at has an N64 in their main room, and the kids were playing StarFox64. Some of the parents were talking about how violent that was, and one of their kids made the mistake (or fortune?) of saying something like "That's nothing compared to what I have in my room." After taking a look at the x-box in their room, we (the parents in the family) had an interesting chat.
I was amazed at how my cousin who would struggle about letting their teens watch a PG-13 movie, had games like GTA on their christmas list for their kids. They were thinking it was something like 'pole position' from their youth. I am pretty sure their kids hate me now. But I don't care since I won't see them for another year. :-)
frob
//TODO: Think of witty sig statement
- Balanced life -- you do other stuff than play video games from the school bell to midnight, and probably don't spend every waking moment of the weekend playing games. I've known people who do.
- doing well at school, graduate degree -- Again, unusual.
- girlfriend -- The violent ones usually don't have this.
You aren't the type I worry about. I worry about the type who are already agressive, and then start playing voilent games.//TODO: Think of witty sig statement
This survey acts as if the purpose and mission of the gaming industry is to produce socially relevant material. It's not gaming's responsibility to make sure that minors have the right context put to what they see on screen and it certainly isn't gaming's responsibility to make sure that their consumers get out and play a while.
To give an entire industry a report card based on how enriching their products are to children is like grading members of the public as human beings based on how much money they gave to charity.
I'm really curious, does the music industry have to endure this crap? How about the movie industry? Publishers? C'mon people, games are an entertainment media and have never pretended to be anything different. How the gaming industry got all the worries about American youth piled on their backs is beyond me.
If whales learn how to use weapons we're all screwed!
Troll Status Confirmed:
http://www.squabble.org/index?id=527100
"Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you mad."
-- Aldous Huxley
The "M" is there for a reason, HELLO! Games are not at fault for adolescent teens having quick access to them.
in girum imus nocte et consumimur igni