Manitoba To Rate Video Games

Cowards Anonymous writes "The government of Manitoba has introduced legislation requiring video games to have ratings system similar to that of movies, according to this story in The Winnipeg Sun. There is no word on how much this will cost, or what criteria the Manitoba Film Classification Board will use to determine whether a game should be available to those under 18 or not."

Comments

I don't get it.

[Txiasaeia]

The blurb says that Manitoba wants to bring in video game ratings, and the story confirms that most video games *already* have ratings. What's going on here? Do they really want to waste more taxpayer's money on coming up with a new classification scheme? Why don't they just pass a law that says "Don't let kids under 13/18 play Teen/Mature" games and save us all a whack of cash?

But what about books?

[lightspawn]

How should I know which books are appropriate for my kids?

Take the bible for instance. Is this really appropriate for under-18s?

Are we going to see this every time a new artistic medium is created?

Re:But what about books?

[cammoblammo]

I guess it's ultimately the parents who have the job of parenting. I'm as guilty as anyone (that's right! A /.er with children!) of expecting the almighty PlayStation to do my babysitting for me. But all of the games my children play have been played by me, and the TVs in a place where I can see what's going on.

In a few years the kids are going to want a bit more leeway in the games they play. I sort of hope that if I've been doing a good enough job of parenting they're going to make good choices when they choose their games.

Now this also goes for books, and any other media they want to use.

But the job of raising those kids belongs to me. If I expect the government to tell me what my kids can and can't watch, I'm not doing my job properly. And if I expect the checkout operator at K-Mart to tell my kids what games they can and can't play I'm certainly not doing well.

It's my job as a parent to keep up with what my kids are doing. I'm not Superman, so I can't do the job perfectly, but I can make an effort. I can at least know what games are around, and read the covers to see what's in them. I can talk to the kids about it, and they can use the skills I've taught them to convince me one way or the other if I should let them play. Those skills will enable them to start to make their own decisions about these things. I won't be here forever!

I also have to learn that there may be redeeming features in otherwise unsuitable media. For example, something like Counter-Strike mightn't be suitable for my 6 year old, but it can still teach things like the importance of teamwork and compromise.

The Bible, now that you mention it, shows life in all of its many shaded colour. It has it's low points--gang rape, genocide and so on. Some of it was written in the depths of depression, other parts written in the ecstatic highs of life. Other parts have some pretty damn good teaching about how to live the good life, and other parts spell out how to develop strong communities.

In other words, all those things I see on the 5 o'clock news. That's life, and I'm happy for my children to read it--with the appropriate guidance.