Annual Video Game Report Card Is Positive, For Once

Every year, the National Institute on Media and the Family releases a report card which grades various aspects of the video game industry on how well they keep "inappropriate" games out of the hands of children. This year's report was largely positive, which is surprising given the history of strong criticism by the Institute. They acknowledged that gaming is becoming a much bigger part of family life than it was in the past, and they're making an effort to shift the focus onto the parents to keep their kids' gaming habits under control. The full report is available here (PDF), and Game Daily has an interview with Entertainment Software Alliance CEO Michael Gallagher which touches on some of the same issues.

Comments

an INCOMPLETE grade?

[Mishotaki]

Is it only me or "INCOMPLETE" means "FAILS MISERABLY" in this case?

Especially when they use the grade on parental involvement and they talk about how much parents got no clue on how the game console that their child use has options for them that they had no clue it existed!

The media should stop saying that the kids are becoming violent because they play violent videogames.... They should say that the kids are playing violent videogames because parents don't care about what their kids do when they play, not even when they "virtualy murder people".

Wrong idea

[girlintraining]

They shouldn't receive an award for this. I'm sorry, but telling the video game industry they're doing a good job of "keeping inappropriate" content out of the hands of children is both a slap in the face to the parents that should be watching what their kids are buying, and a slap in the face to the kids who buy these games hoping for something interesting, only to find talking frogs, barbie, and games where everybody gets along and wins -- when they're 14! Why can they go see a few hundred zombies get set on fire, shot at, or otherwise die in the theatre (as long as they're all non-smoking zombies), but can't get the same thing in a video game? This entire idea of "for the sake of the children" has gone too far when children aren't encouraged to take risks and make their own decisions. These "appropriate" video games... I've seen them -- They suck so hard they're in danger of forming an event horizon.

My 12 year old kid sister has been fed a steady diet of these "positive self-esteem" books, videos, and games. Last year I tried to show her Happy Feet (it's a movie, look it up) and she couldn't get past the halfway point because that's where the penguin "got sad". I tried showing her some "real" video games, only to have mom come down on me like a ton of bricks... So it's back to watching bubbles with numbers in it and talking animals. And then mom (and other parents from Generation "Precious Snowflake") wonders why she has no inclination to read, write, do her homework, clean up after herself, or even brush her teeth...

Well, duh... it's because she's being fed sanitized crap that is the electronic equivalent of valium every day!

Re:Wrong idea

[girlintraining]

When I was 12, I had a college-level reading comprehension and my writing was equivalent to a junior in high school. I made my own meals, did my own laundry, cleaned my room, and all the other daily things a person needs to do. Everyone else in my family was the same way by her age. The only variable here is the change in parenting style, which encourages her to be codependent and reliant on others to make every decision about her life... even down to what clothes she'll wear to school that day (not just buying them, but actually being told what she's wearing each day).

Re:Wrong idea

[Anonymous Coward]

maybe your sisters just a little slow, but I would guess that your partially right. I doubt the lack of video games is hurting her as much as the lack of free thought. Growing up I was told to get the hell outside and didn't start playing video games(besides cold and rainy days) until I was a junior in high school. Before then I read tons of books, I sketched I played with lego(love lego), and I played sports. Frankly I think you have to let a childs mind wander and do what it wants. The problem with society is that they think it's too dangerous to let your kids out to play, in some cases it is, but then you just sit there and supervise them. Let them make their own choices unless they are going to be dangerous for them, otherwise you take away all creativity. I don't know how it would effect their independace I doubt free thought leads to making your own meals or cleaning your room as much as it leads to making you think for yourself and not be a robot.

Re:Wrong idea

[Xaositecte]

When people are young, they have terrible habits that seem incredibly stupid to people who have matured a little bit. Naturally, you assume that -you- were perfect back in the day, or at least far more developed than your current example.

In my experience, a given 12-year old might have different annoying tendencies or immature behaviors, but they'll still have immature behaviors. I'm picking up an "egotistical know-it-all" vibe from you, for example.

By all means correct her behavior as much as you can, get her to brush her teeth and cook and clean and whatnot... But, seriously, she's 12, you really can't expect perfection at that age.

Re:Wrong idea

[girlintraining]

I agree completely. but how do you encourage free thinking in a society that considers children the property of their parents until 18? There's an informal term for this too - "chattle", which is a combination of child and cattle.

Re:Wrong idea

[Wandering Wombat]

Shut up and graze your spaghetti.

I'm a parent of three, and I'm pretty opinionated on this matter. My nephews are only allowed to watch non-violent shows and play non-violent games (they're both complete Pokemon addicts), and both of them are on MUTLIPLE medications for violence and agression. My oldest has been playing Killer Instinct and Kingdom of Loathing and Carmageddon since he was four, and he's about as non-violent as a kid can be (his teacher likes to tell me about his 'Champion Manners' in class, because they have a Manners rating system).

Video games are a FACTOR that determine psychological development, just like humidity is a factor in a car accident... in both cases, the DRIVERS make the biggest impact (note: drivers = parents).

Re:Wrong idea

[girlintraining]

Who the hell said anything about perfection? This is about teaching kids that hard work and critical thinking skills pay dividends far more than innate ability or smarts do, an idea I happen to agree with. I didn't have everything spoon-fed to me; I learned from an early age that if I want to be better than average I needed to take my life into my own hands, take risks and eat the consequences, and that hard work eventually leads to a pay off if only I can beat my own impatience. Nothing worth having comes easy and learning to read and write was really hard for me. I have a learning disability and was left-handed... The teachers thought I was a lost cause and someone of "below average" intelligence who'd never amount to anything. It pissed me off enough to try that much harder. I hit the books every day after school and sometimes I'd do my homework crying, but I learned, oh god did I learn.

It doesn't matter how old you are, or when you start... Attitude and believing in yourself will get you far in life, but learning that meant I had to accept that I wasn't a precious snowflake. I wasn't somehow "special" just because I was a kid. I had to make myself special, and I learned a lot of things the hard way, and probably before I was ready. Yeah... She's 12. She's 12 and she can either cut on the dotted line like the teacher says, or she can pick up a book that looks interesting just because and sit down and take the time to read it. She can go with doing the assignment like everyone else, or she can make up her own mind about what it means and take her own initiative. She can learn that the judgements of her friends, teachers, and parents mean less than trusting herself to know what's right.

And that's not egotistical... That's wisdom.

Who cares?

[ettlz]

Seriously, now, why do we even give a short one for what the "National Institute on Media and the Family" think?

Re:Simple answer:

[Anonymous Coward]

If your not allowed to get GTA, how else will I know I can get my money back from a hooker by running her over?!?

Seriously though:
Rather than be concerned about mental problems (its VERY difficult to create mental problems in people when they are given a wide range of experiences)

why not be concerned about our fat asses?

I sit way too much... damnit.

A movie is not a video game

[westlake]

I'm sorry, but telling the video game industry they're doing a good job of "keeping inappropriate" content out of the hands of children is both a slap in the face to the parents that should be watching what their kids are buying, and a slap in the face to the kids who buy these games hoping for something interesting, only to find talking frogs, barbie, and games where everybody gets along and wins -- when they're 14! Why can they go see a few hundred zombies get set on fire, shot at, or otherwise die in the theatre (as long as they're all non-smoking zombies), but can't get the same thing in a video game?

.

The video game is not a movie.

That is why the game based movie sucks rocks.

It is also why the action game based movie has an adolescent male demographic, which for the theater owner also sucks rocks.

The geek knows this - but balks at admitting that a movie is not a video game. That it is a different experience with a different set of rules.

The movie runs 90 minutes to two hours and you sit at a significant physical and psychological distance from the action.

You are not hunched over a keypad role-playing Hannibal Lector for the better part of two weeks --- or two months.

I tried showing her some "real" video games, only to have mom come down on me like a ton of bricks...

There was earlier story today about a geek who wanted to give his two year old son a laptop. Computer For a Child?

"Generation Snowflake" reads - but reads books which share her own interests and values, and it these books which are being successfully adapted into films. `Twilight' is the new breed of chick flick

There are more on the way, including James Patterson's Maximum Ride.

Re:Kids are Kids

[Belial6]

Hey! No fair using logic and well though out ideas!

Seriously, when my parents were kids, they would play cowboys and indians. This would entail physically acting out the action of slicing the flesh from a living victims head, and physically acting out burning people alive.