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."

Comments

Do video games affect culture?

[jellomizer]

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.

Parent's fault

[ifwm]

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.

Re:So what?

[stratjakt]

It's now illegal to sell an M rated game to a minor in California, thanks to the Governator.

I mean, it's not like he'd actively try to hamper the sale of video games so that youngsters disposable income would be spent on his latest action flick.

To summarize: Arnold pretending to kill terrorists on the big screen, is A-OK. Nothing more american than Arnold Shwartzenegger. But me pretending to kill terrorists on the small screen, not OK.

Yes, this has hampered the industry. Dozens, hundreds, hell who knows how many projects have been cancelled or shelved for fear of some frivolous lawsuit. Thrill Kill being a "famous" example of a promising game being scrapped because of PC concerns.

See the douchebags vs Doom and douchebags vs Rockstar cases for more background.

When I was a kid it was Dungeons and Dragons and Judas Priest albums that were responsible for all the troubles of youth. I guess they fixed D&D and Priest.

context

[paradesign]

A good commentary on the "morality police" vs violent games 'thing'

Best quote

I followed up with a simple question, "Who on this panel has played which of the games?"

Burke answered first, "I haven't played any of them." She backed up her willful ignorance of the games by suggesting that she didn't need to read Soldier of Fortune to know that she was opposed to its glorification of killing. "I think it's an irrelevant question," she concluded.

When will people learn that ignorance is not an excuse.

Where are parents on the report card?

[Maul]

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.