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Who is Responsible for Advice Labels on Games?

AccUser asks: "So, I spent the day in the local hospital with my son after he suffered a seizure while we played a computer game (that shall remain nameless). The game was labeled as one for younger children, but had no warnings about photosensitive seizures on either the packaging or associated documentation, and I assumed that it would be a safe game for him to play. Many games (Halo and others) come with these warnings, and rightly so - I expected that any game that was a potential risk would indicate this. To be honest, all was fine until the final level, when there were a significant number of special lighting effects, and I guess this triggered the subsequent events. So, is the labeling of games to indicate risk of photosensitive seizures and other dangers mandatory, both in Europe and the States, and who is responsible for placing this information? Is it down to the distributor? The publisher? The developer?"

2 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. Assumption by black+mariah · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    What's missing here is an ASSUMPTION OF INJURY. When you have a condition that could be aggravated by certain things, ASSUME YOU WILL GET HURT BY DOING THEM. Warnings or not, ASSUME THE WORST. You should know by now what might trigger your sons seizures, so you should ALWAYS play the games before he does. This isn't a foolproof method, but it's better than nothing.

    --
    'Standards' in computing only impress those who are impressed by things like 'standards'.
  2. Re:How on earth does that happen? by xagon7 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Kinda funny... your sig describes LEFT wing policies, not right. Traditionally, right wing republicans are for less taxes (and generally forms of social welfare ... but not ALL), LESS government, and more personal responsibility. I believe BOTH sides like infringing on State's rights however.