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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."

5 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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    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. The Music Man by Bender0x7D1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    While presented in a comedic way, it shows someone convincing a town that they have trouble because the billiard parlor in town has brought in a pool table. While billiards is OK, pool is a horrible game and will cause degradation in the children and cause them to stop doing their chores and become gamblers.

    Just goes to show that new things are often looked upon as corruptive or causing some sort of lamentable behavior. I remember when Pac-Man came out and people objected since it was dangerous medically and that playing it was like running up 2-3 flights of stairs. Now it is considered harmless fun.

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  3. Public executions and censorship by Animats · · Score: 4, Informative
    Saudi Arabia still has public executions. They're usually held in "Chop-Chop Square", in Riyadh. Fridays at noon.

    A minor official from the Interior Ministry read out the charges against the kneeling prisoner. The executioner--a large black man with a scimitar--approached the kneeling prisoner from behind. After the sentence was read, the executioner jabbed the prisoner in the lower back with the tip of the sword, causing the prisoner to involuntarily jerk up. When he did, the sword flashed down. At that moment the head is sliced off and sent flying across the square. Blood jets from the severed carotid arteries and jugular veins, spraying into the air like a fountain. The frenzied crowd screams in choreographed unison, "Allah Akbar"!

    The Saudi "General Presidency for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vices has a page listing some things they prohibit. There are pictures of prohibited items, including some of video games. Most dolls are illegal. Barbie is definitely illegal. Valentine's Day gifts are illegal. Spandex seems to be illegal.

    No prohibited weapons, though.

    In the US, it's amusing that the anti-video-game people are often the same as the pro-gun people. "For only a little more, you can own the real thing!"

  4. 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.