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Game Industry Derided For Mature Content
Steve Rock writes "To the surprise of no one, game manufacturers and resellers were again
taken
to task over the production and sales of games containing violent or
sexual themes. According to the National Institute on Media and
the Family's Ninth
Annual Mediawise Video Game Report Card even games with beneficial
or neutral content can be harmful to children because of the connection
between gameplay and our obesity epidemic. Interestingly, out of
fifty
surveys mailed out by the Institute to retailers and producers only
two were completed and returned. The industry was given a passing
grade for the ESRB rating system but the actual enforcement of the
system by the retailers was not -- it is worth noting, however, that
the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association has stated that self-regulation
procedures were scheduled to be implemented by December 2004 and therefore
tests of retailer compliance to ESRB ratings was premature."
"Go fuck yourselves"
Do video games affect culture or does culture affect video games?
With all these problems being pinned on video games the real question is it really video games causing all these problems. For obesity is it just because video games cause children to be obese causing them to stay at home with little activity to play games, or is it that children who have a tendency of being obese don't want to go outside and play (for reasons of security, lack of proper parental supervision, or just no one else in the area to interact with) So they will stay in side and play video games, where if there were no games then they would Watch TV all day. The same is with violence in games is it because games are violence causes kids to become violence, or is it that they see themselves in a culture of violence so they enjoy violent games. I am not a big game player and I really don't care for first person shoot-em-ups and having excessive gore. But I feel that these games reflect the culture more then culture reflects the games because the games will not sell if they didn't reflect the culture.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
What I don't understand is that, in spite of endless harping and railing by People With Nothing Better To Do (PWNBTD), has the gaming industry *EVER* been impacted by the complaints? Can someone provide a list of tangible side-effects of all of this criticism? It seems like the gaming industry just keeps chugging along.
Moo
Content aside, the amount of time kids spend playing games, even the good ones, is contributing to the obesity epidemic among American youth. For too many kids, the only parts of their body they are exercising are their thumbs. We are particularly concerned, therefore, about the launch of games this year aimed at children as young as two. We know that the industry wants to expand its customer base and that it is in their economic interest to hook babies on games. This trend, however, raises serious implications for our children's health.
What ever happened to parents kicking their kids out of the house to play ball outside? Turn off the TV, unplug their game console, log them off the computer and send them outside to play with their friends. This is nothing new and the "problem" is solved. This coming from someone who spends 10+ hours a day in front of a computer and still looks skiny.
Fly me to the moon Let me sing among those stars Let me see what spring is like On jupiter and mars
Like being derided for poor, delayed, buggy content.
paintball
"even games with beneficial or neutral content can be harmful to children because of the connection between gameplay and our obesity epidemic."
I've played these games all of my life. I'm not a criminal. I'm not a sociopath. I'm not overweight.
When are people going to start taking responsibility for the things they and their children do, rather than blaming it upon "outside influences."
Kids become criminals because they aren't taught to NOT be criminals and because their parents are too soft/stupid/lazy to discipline them appropriately
Kids become fat because they eat to damn much.
Senator Lieberman is up for re-election in 2006, and he wants to make sure he's way ahead of any Moral Values his opponent will throw at him.
sulli
RTFJ.
If your kid plays a game with mature themes, or sexual content, instead of blaming the game manufacturers, blame yourself for being a shitty parent. And don't try that "what if he plays it at his friend Johnny's house" because good parents know what happens at their children's friends houses. Excuses are ruining your children. Do your job parents, stop blaming others.
Also, last year the average age of "video gamers" was 27. Not sure what the source was, but I remember it being reputable. Why would companies NOT make mature games? There are more adults buying (and playing) games, so it makes financial sense.
If parents did a better job, the current system would work fine.
We have movies that don't cater to kids, plays that don't cater to kids, why do the same thing with video games? The generation that grew up on video games are now adults and if we want adult content then give us adult contents.
ESRB did what it was meant to do. It gave parents a way to figure out what types of content are to be found in a given game title.
What next? Is Congress going to hold hearings on hentai next?
Video games cause obesity? Huh. That's curious. I sit around on my ass 90% of the time on a yearly basis, and yet I'm well within my ideal weight.
Oh! But I don't eat fast food. I eat vegetables and fruits and healthy food, and I can count the number of times I went to Micky D's last year on one hand.
And does anyone seriously believe sexual content hurts anyone anymore? We keep hearing this from the Bible thumpers, but year after year, there's no credible study that links sexual content with any deleterious behaviour.
Despite the obvious and known links between violence on television and in games, we say a little word here and there about it, but at the end of the day, the gov't wants violent children (pretty easy to get them to shoot defenseless Iraqis in a pile of dead guys, isn't it?), so no-one ever gets serious about that.
I'm beginning to wonder how enlightened we really are.
fifth sigma, inc.
They do not want things to change, they want the donations and funding to keep coming in and if they solved the 'problem' they would lose that money.
That is why the GOP never does much about abortion and why the DEMS never do much about race relations.
There isn't money in fixing the problem.
As I say. God will find you if you are looking for him, But the Devil will find you when you are looking for him.
Putting the religious reference aside it generally means if people put there time and effort in looking for the good in things then they will find the good and make themselfs better. But if they are looking for the fault in everything then they will make themself more faulty.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
I'd try for a "First Post," but I'd like to include some actual content here.
For those of you not reading the attached article, it is a summary of a report that says that reading an hour's worth of fairy tales to your kids contains more violent imagery than an hour of evening television.
The difference is the medium - parents reading stories vs. children watching TV (usually without supervision). Parents who blame video games for violent behavior need to take a long hard look at themselves first, before making the leap that violence in games is tied to violence in the real world.
That being said, I am all for some additional coporate responsibility to not sell violent games to children under (insert arbitrary age between 10 and 14 here). Ultimately though, it's up to parents to help provide context for these things.
"What do you think?" "I think 'What, do you think?!'"
Most evils were accepted into the culture after some toning down. Though as anyone should see there has been a segment of the population which resisted many of these things and has had some growth over the past decade. We're seeing more of it and I believe it's a natural thing. Progressive ideas have pressed some hard-headed folks so far that they're finally pushing back. Be vigilant.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Best quote
When will people learn that ignorance is not an excuse.
I want 2D games back.
Had a look at what publications and TV time slots some of this stuff is advertised in?
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
The industry has done a pretty good job self-regulating themselves. I'd agree with the ratings on most of the games I've played, and that it is quite clear what all the ratings mean. I've seen retailers tell kids who try to purchase "M" games to get their parents in a few locations as well.
On the other hand, I've seen parents completely ignore the ratings and description of the games time and time again. Yes, I've seen parents at retail locations buying their kids copies of GTA and other "M" games.
I know the ultimate goal for these groups that issue report cards is to get the Government to start regulating the industry. That won't do a thing. The #1 responsibility of if kids or not see "mature" games falls in the hands of parents.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
I would say that the 60's generation proves that theory wrong...
Crazy things happen when bounds aren't kept within check.
Equally crazy things happen when we fail to learn from history. Funny you should mention prohibition, as it is back with a vengeance. Only this time, the culprit is marijuana instead of alcohol. Two remarkably comparable drugs, with identical consequences under prohibition (that is, the police are overworked, and drug lords profit from the monopoly they have on distribution).
Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
Exactly!
(Somewhat related rant)
They had a 'story' on the news here the other day about something like this. I didn't bother to watch it, but I remember seeing what looked like a 5 year old playing GTA3 in the commercials for it.
GTA3 is RATED M FOR MATURE. It says it on/in every advertisement for the game and it even has it right on the front of the game with "18+" under it. Someone under 18 cannot buy these games, the store wont even let them. So these fucktard parents go out and buy the games for them and complain because they are too sexual/violent for an 8 year old?
HELLOOOO? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?!
So if I go take my 2 year old into a R rated movie, do I have any right to complain to the manager about how it is too violent for small children? I guess I do, but the manager has just as much right to call me a fucking idiot and kick me out of his office.
Here's a hint to these people: If you give a game specifically marked 18+ that the stores try to not give to children to a child, YOU HAVE NO FUCKING RIGHT TO COMPLAIN.
I swear to god, the next time I hear someone wanting our tv\movies\internet\games censored 'for the children', I am going to buy a shotgun and blow their bloody head off.
(/UNINTELLIGABLE RANTING)
Know what? *clicks post anonymously*
This is exactly the kind of thing we all (not just /.ers) need to get worked up about! Video games do far greater harm to our kids than moldy old school buildings that should have been gutted decades ago.
Blasting fantasy aliens will shorten a child's life way more effectively than spending a year without health insurance.
Better we concentrate on ending the nervous twitch that excessive gamepading can cause, rather than the total ego destruction that occurs when a parent/teacher/priest molests the child.
Let's deal with children with the warped perception that Master Chief is 'cool', and we can get to the constant cramming of blipverts selling piece of crap aspirations that can never, ever be realized later.
Let's stop the mega-corporations poisoning the poor children's minds with comic ultra-violence, so that they can concentrate on poisoning their bodies with chemicals in the environment, in the water, in the sludge-matic pound 'o' lard flame-wiped shite burger at the local worker exploitation outlet that embodies their future.
OR
We might pick something that actually matters, but that might require the expenditure of actual effort, and change it instead.
It's a judgement call, I guess.
Fuck the children. Seriously.
Everything's about protecting children, and it's POINTLESS.
You think you should censor movies with swear words? Well think again: they pick em up in the schoolyard regardless.
Afraid to show them boobs? Well, guess what they'll be seeing as a teenager anyway? I'm not saying show them some hardcore porn, but really, Janet Jackson's ugly tit won't fuck your child up.
Afraid to show them violence? Oh, hah, no. Violence is okay in movies, but not in interactive games!
Do your fucking job as a parent and there shouldn't be any issues. The end. Simple, really... unless you're a shitty parent.
Society is hypocritical. Thankfully, the smart ones ignore stupid complaints from the ignorant.
We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
Jack Chick reflects Christianity the way Weekly World News reflects journalism.
(I was going to say Dan Rather, but some people might not have caught the irony.)
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
On the contrary, Jack Chick is the logical conclusion of christianity. Once you reject science and reason in favor of a sky fairy whose presence can be detected by a feeling in your heart, you might as well just start making other shit up, which is exactly what Chick does daily.
The comic industry wasn't really global at the time, though.
Yes, it would hurt the industry, but the US is not the only place that games get sold. Most of the publishers also don't work only in the US.
Of course! Just look at all the progress the first mass-pot-smoking generation has made.
It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
They don't care about the children. They care about enforcing their moral values on others. That's ALL they care about. The "think of the children" argument is just a smokescreen to get you to go along with them.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
If porn is legal, and violent R-rated movies are legal, then whats the problem with GTA?
The Doormat
If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
But as other posters have noted, even if most stores honor their ratings code and don't sell, the kids will still get these games if they are available. Children are canny consumers. I remember as a kid growing up, most young people of my peer group knew the places where you could buy cigarettes and alcohol, for example. And with the Internet there are other ways to get ahold of a game, making it even easier to get the content.
So ultimately, you can't really "save" a kid from being exposed to this sort of media. So the ones who affect how they deal with that exposure are the parents. If they are actively involved in their child's life, they are the ones who can be at least generally aware of what they are doing on their computers or console games. Of course, parents cannot protect their children 100%, since the kids can always go over to a friend's house to play, but they can inculcate in the child the values needed for a child to place the violence in his/her surrounding culture into the proper context.
Unfortunately, these days many (not all) parents are dodging these responsibilities, and leave the media to raise their kids (television, video games, the Internet, peer groups). Then they bitch when they come home and see their kid playing GTA. In this context, the easiest solution from their point of view is to ban/regulate the content.
You can't put the genie back into the bottle. Porn, violence, a whole slew of sick shit... it's out there, and it ain't going away no matter how much the radical right shrieks and moans. People want this content, and not just the depraved liberals and scrubby proletarians.
I thought it was ironic that there was a piece in my local paper last week juxtaposing the triumph of "values/morals" in the recent election with the popularity of trash TV. The conservatives get all bent out of shape when a naked woman embraces a football player on TV, and yet ratings show that the smutty dramas and vapid reality shows are being watched eagerly by these same people who voted the "moral" ticket. Hypocrites.
We DO deal with it. Most of us (non believers) aren't rabidly attacking churchy people.
But since you ask, it is ok to "speak out against religion" because it fails a basic test that all other areas in life have to pass to be regarded as truth.
I can explain why:
the lights turn on (physics/electronics)
fire burns (chemistry)
the building stands (physics/engineering)
medicine works (biology/chemistry)
etc.
The list goes on forever. All of these things are testable, and (more importantly) self-correcting through study. This is the great advantage of science. As time goes on, we get a better understanding. Religion doesn't work that way, it sets certain unquestionable premises and expounds on those.
Look, I understand _why_ people are religious. It's traditional, and it's comforting. I'm not going to say that you don't have the right to believe whatever the hell you want. It's your mind. But the argument that religion stands a chance against science/rationality as an explanation of the world is incorrect.
Before we had means to examine the universe in detail, religion was a decent answer. But that time is long past, and yet people cling to old beliefs.
Some of us feel that it is important to move beyond ancient superstitions. Hopefully in a dignified manner that does NOT devolve into name-calling.
"Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
Back in highschool, for about 2 years, the question wasn't "was I stoned" but instead what days I wasn't stoned.
A small group of friends and I smoked pot constantly, daily, until one day one of our major sources moved away.
At that time we basically decided that was fun, now time to move on with our lives.
And we did, there was no cravings, no elevated emotional states, or any other addictive type symptons. We just quit, simple as that.
Now it's about 20 years later, and while I've smoked the occasional bowl a few times within those years, I've never gotten addicted to it nor even bothered to try any of the hardcore drugs that pot is supposed to lead you into.
As for your friend, he sounds like a very addictive personality that runs the risk of becoming addicted to anything. There are people like that, who I wouldn't advise using pot, but then I wouldn't advise them to start playing EverQuest either.
No, the religious are not demading just tolerance. They're demanding respect, and that's a step too far. Everyone deserves tolerance by default, but RESPECT has to be earned. You have every right to believe as you wish, and every right to demand that others allow you to believe as you wish. But you don't have a right to insist that other people must find your beliefs worthy and respectable. Ridicule is a right of free speech.
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
Or, as the old saying goes, "People who always know right from wrong usually find most things wrong."
This is the Constitution.This is the Constitution under the Bush administration. Any questions?