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Nintendo Puts Emphasis On Parental Control

Posted by Zonk on from the big-brother-is-your-dad dept.

Gamespot is reporting that Nintendo will allow parents to control what games can be played on the Revolution based on game ratings and other factors. From the article: "The password-protected system will let parents set which rating categories are acceptable for their children, and prevent the system from running any software outside the approved range. The system is based on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board's industry standard ratings, and each game's rating will be encoded on each Revolution disc. Nintendo says the system will be instituted on every Revolution console worldwide, presumably utilizing the local ratings system of each region."

15 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. A little late. by skyman8081 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The Xbox has had this feature in it from the start. It just didn't get much use, for obvious reasons.

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    Two Roommates and a Boyfriend, updates Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
  2. Now there is a good idea by FidelCatsro · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Actually put the responsibility Squarely at the feet of the parents , no fobbing it off to the government to pass legislation or even letting the "MORAL PANIC " groups start a witch burning .
    Though I don't know how many parents will actually bother to read the Manuel and discover about this feature , or how quickly the child will find a way to reset the defaults .

    --
    The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    1. Re:Now there is a good idea by NanoGator · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "Though I don't know how many parents will actually bother to read the Manuel and discover about this feature , or how quickly the child will find a way to reset the defaults ."

      I'm more worried about fuss over whether or not the games were rated properly. Part of me wants to be optimistic that this sort of control does take a lot of the headache out of the equation, the other part says ppl will expect 'safety' that cannot be realistically attain so they'll bitch bitch bitch and sue.

      I hate being torn on this issue. On the one hand, I think that parents could use a little more help in working out what content the games, on the other hand I don't want to do that at the cost of vigilance. The latter issue I wouldn't mind so much, but NOBODY is willing to admit they didn't do something right with their kid. Man is that a taboo.

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      "Derp de derp."
    2. Re:Now there is a good idea by rholliday · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As always, this comes back to parents having some vigilance. There were parental controls on the cable box at my house. I figured out how to reset the password. My parents figured out that the password was reset. I figured out that non-naked TV was better than no TV, at least until I could go to a friend's house whose parents didn't check on such things.

      --
      Xbox reviews.. We think they're funny.
  3. Good Idea by csbrooks · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As a game programmer as well as a parent, I think this is a really good idea. I think the public thinks that game developers want kids to buy all the violent or inappropriate games they can, but it's not true. People don't realize how many adult gamers are out there. Developers don't need or want kids to play violent or sexual games.

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    Game Company Database
    1. Re:Good Idea by Somatic · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yup. One of the biggest excuses parents have for their children watching R-rated movies, and doing other things kids aren't supposed to do, is that they can't watch their kids 24 hours a day. Well, that password will watch their Revolution 24 hours a day. I like it. It gives people one less reason to complain about the game industry.

      --
      My script don't crash! She crashes, you crashed her!
  4. The question is... by Ozymand+E.+Us · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...will parental control really help? I'll illustrate with an example. To stop us from watching TV, our parents would lock the TV up with parental control. Naturally, my brother and I began an intensive program of password cracking. Using intelligent brute-forcing, we cracked it on the fourth try. The number? 4444. Another example. My school locked its computer (yes, singular- there were onyl 120 students) with an administrator password. It took 2 minutes to crack it- we just rebooted into safe mode and changed the passwords. As long as kids are more tech-savvy than adults, "parental control" is a joke.

    1. Re:The question is... by oahazmatt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Whether it is a joke or not is irrelevant. This is Nintendo playing a very good game of CYA. Parents have the option of setting these limits, and as long as Nintendo provides the tools and instructions on how to use them, they can find their way out of any potentially dangerous situations.

      "Those parental controls that are installed, and referred to in the manual... did you use those to keep little Billy from playing our Rated-M games? Either of those games? No? You didn't bother setting a password? Not our fault."

      --
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      find their privates are on the Internet.
    2. Re:The question is... by vertinox · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Personally, when I was 10 I wouldn't have tried to get my parents to buy me a rated-M game (if they had the rating system back then). In fact, I'd probably be happy that I could blame my parents and their parental controls if my friend came over with a rated-M game and was unable to play it.

      I dunno... I was exposed to allot of x-rated material and violent media as a kid (playing Doom and watching the spice channel etc) but it didn't harm me one bit as turning out to be a psycho.

      Actually, I tend to be more adjusted with the opposite sex than most people that were sheltered as kids.

      However, I do recall my parents were blunt and upfront to me about sex and breaking the law so I was fairly educated of what not to do.

      Your kids will do things you don't want them to do. They will probaly see things you don't want them to see, but its more important that you educate them so that they can deal with situations when the "real life" crisis errupts.

      Teen pregnancy, drug use, and violence will affect a teen way more than any movie or video game will if they don't know how to handle themselves when faced with a critical choice that will affec them for the rest of their lives.

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    3. Re:The question is... by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 3, Insightful
      ...will parental control really help? I'll illustrate with an example. To stop us from watching TV, our parents would lock the TV up with parental control.

      My parents were actually -there- to kick me outside and the TV never got turned on before 7 o' clock.

      How's THAT for parental control. Don't need no fancy widgets or passwords : Just parent(s) that are actually checking up on their kids once and awhile.

  5. Re:so essently a video game version of the v chip? by FidelCatsro · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I wouldn't say that is pessimistic , more that is exactly to the point . Rightly so , Nintendo cover their own backs and also give parents the power and responsibility to control what content their children have ,Quid pro quo .

    Nintendo may not intend it to get used , but if it is well label and explained then the fault rest solely with the parent (bar any bugs ,or the games developer if the software is not tagged properly )

    --
    The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
  6. WHOAH! Hold up, there! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    As a shoddy attorney who makes his fame and fortune blaming the gaming industry for society's ills, I must strongly protest anything that puts power and responsibility in the hands of other parties.

    Who can I sue if the parents do a poor job raising their children? That's right, either the child or the parents. They don't have any money! We must keep all the responsibility where all the money is: centralized, in the hands of corporations. Decentralized authority only serves to keep the money away from me, a fine, upstanding lawyer, and hell of a guy.

    Sincerely,
    Jack Thompson

  7. Like all security features by thesnarky1 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Its only as good as you use it to be. My XBox media center (yes, modded) has a "parental control", you just hit 'x' and accept that its a high level. Same for my roommate's (unmodded) PS2. Put in a high rated DVD, and whomever the first person to turn on the system is, sets the password.

    Now, if you give a kid this for christmas, who's more likely to be the first to turn it on?

    --
    Want to find other gamers to play board and role playing game
  8. Another good idea by Polo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...Limit the amount of time and/or time of day when games
    can be played.

    If the game won't work at dinner time/homework time, that would
    be wonderful :)

  9. I'm not sure about the others... by Kuukai · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...but the PS2's parental control system has a universal reset password clearly printed in the manual. Now call me crazy, but I think more kids read these manuals than parents. I have fond memories of my dad going crazy trying to set up the NES.

    I strongly doubt any parental control system will be particularly "stronger" than the PS2's either. People forget passwords, especially when they only use it once on Christmas day. Unless Nintendo wants a lot of dead boxen out there, there'll be some sort of back door, so the system won't be very deterent to the determined, and by "determined" I mean "taking three seconds to Google it".

    But seriously, why would anyone want this feature to work anyway? Parents presumably buy their kids games, or at least live in the same damn house. Paying attention to what your kids are doing will always be more effective than trying to regulate it with some machine.

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