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Step Away From The Games Legislation

Posted by Zonk on from the no-one-will-be-fragged dept.

Next Generation has an opinion piece by former Lucasarts VP of global marketing John Geoghegan. In it, he discusses exactly why gaming regulation is such a bad idea, and why he's so unsurprised that people have tried to do it anyway. From the article: "Kids need acceptable outlets to channel their energy and aggression. Critics claim video games promote aggression but an argument! is to be made that they channel aggression and perhaps even siphon it off, just like sports. Crucial to Schechter's thesis is his claim that popular entertainment is much less violent today than in the past. Oh, really? Well, consider the 19th century when whole villages turned out for a public hanging like it was a kid's snow day. Or think about Dante's graphic description of hell in The Inferno."

3 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. The problem is retailers... by PFI_Optix · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They don't sell R-rated movies to a 14 year old. They don't sell "explicit lyrics" records to 14 year old. But they'll sell an M-17 game to the same kid. If retailers would adhere to the voluntary ratings of games the same way they adhere to the voluntary ratings of movies, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

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    120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
    1. Re:The problem is retailers... by itscolduphere · · Score: 5, Insightful

      They don't sell R-rated movies to a 14 year old. They don't sell "explicit lyrics" records to 14 year old. But they'll sell an M-17 game to the same kid. If retailers would adhere to the voluntary ratings of games the same way they adhere to the voluntary ratings of movies, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

      All the stores in my area actually do adhere to them. The problem, much like with tobacco, is that they need only find someone 17 or older to buy it for them. This can be an older sibling, friend of a friend, sibling of a friend, guy on the street they gave 10 bucks to (I've actually been offered this before), or whoever. Funny part is, it seems like more often than not the adult buying the game for them is their parent. Ignorance is bliss, and the US is full of some happy people.

  2. Or think about now: by Irvu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Football (American, Austrailian, etc.)
    Soccer (Yes the game is minimal contact but the fans aren't).
    Hockey (goes without saying).
    NASCAR (For those in the U.S. Just how often do they replay the crash scenes).
    Boxing
    Karate ...

    In my experience most of the people clamouring for games legislation a) ignore these things and the very real links between them and aggressive behavior, or b) even promote these very violent endeavors as "healthy excercise". IMHO much of the Game legislation, like calls for tv censorship in the early days and warning labels on CD's has to do with new tech. Whatever the new things kids do (D&D, Dancing, Heavy Metal, Video Games) is always blamed for all social ills because, at a basic level, it is't what we did.

    That having been said I do think that some games (GTA) are in a special category by themselves and should be considered carefully. Banning them won't really work we ban kids from having alcohol, cigratettes, and porn in the U.S. but despite all that they still got them even before the internet. Ultimately its all about educating parents so that they realize that a game called Grand Theft Auto isn't exactly Sesame Street.