Hello again everyone. Last time we spoke, I ranted on about having way too many systems to choose from for us to game on. This time, I wanted to take a second and through up our thoughts on video game violence since that's become the big thing lately.
First off, I wrote a paper a few years ago, if I can ever find the files, I'll post a copy of it on here, but it was a long (10 page or so) paper, detailing out video game violence and some solutions to keep the sensitive kiddy eyes away from it.
Now into the discussion. As has been said in any article that isn't from a major news outlet, video game violence has NEVER been connected to real life violence. I recently read a story about a teenager in New Mexico who when nuts and killed his family. The kid talked about how he loved "violent" games. The article immediately said there was a correlation. However, there is no link that has been studied that connects playing hours of Call of Duty to murdering a bunch of real people. That being said, I can see a critics point of view that says these psychos play violent games all the time. Personally, I'd like to see a little bit more study into it. But, I'm also interested to see what an "official" definition of violent games would be. Would it be any first person shooter, even the ones that aren't rated for mature audiences? Would Street Fighter qualify on the same level as Mortal Kombat? Would 007 Legends be as terrible as Call of Duty? These are some questions that we need to consider when talking about these violent games.
I don't think that "violent" games, whatever that category falls under, need to be outlawed. I think that the ratings system needs to be enforced. There was talk a couple years ago of fines being issued to stores and individuals who sell Mature rated games to people who are underage. This is a great idea! This will help to keep the store clerks from allowing the players who are too young to buy the games themselves. Another point is to make sure that if the parent is buying the game for their kid (I work retail, you can often tell when this is happening) that they understand that the game is rated "M" for mature, (Or 16 and 18 if you live in the countries that use the PEGI system) then their child who is probably between twelve and fifteen shouldn't play the game. When that point gets reached, the parent should be held responsible for making sure that their child can understand the difference between reality and fantasy.
The ESRB is the ratings board for the USA. The ratings are very simple to understand, and I plan on breaking them down in just a bit for everyone. ESRB ratings are displayed on the front of every game case carried in your local stores. On the bottom left corner in a black and white box, there will be a giant solid black letter signifying what the game is rated. On the back of the cases, on the bottom right, is a description of why the game is rated what it is. If you think that your child can handle Blood and Gore, Violence, Strong Language, then buy it. If you think they can't, then you probably shouldn't. I've found an easy way to understand game ratings is to relate them to movie ratings. Now, a quick summary of the ESRB rating system compared against the MPAA system for rating movies. I'm using ESRB because living in the USA, that is the system I'm most familiar with.
"E" stands for Everyone 6 and up, stuff in this game can be related to what you would find in a "G" rated movie. Generally has nothing objectionable in it. Pokemon is an "E" rated game series.
"E10" stands for Everyone 10 and up, similar to a "PG" rated movie, so still pretty much kid friendly, not really any kind of language or blood and guts, maybe a bit of action. LEGO Harry Potter falls under this category.
"T" stands for Teens 13 and up. This is your basic "PG-13" rating if it were a movie. Some blood, language, gun fire, maybe some partial nudity and light drug or alcohol use. May want to check this out before buying it for your child, just to be safe. The Uncharted Series are under this rating.
"M" stands for Mature players 17 and up. This is your "R" rated movie. A simple way to judge whether or not you would want your child playing this is to ask if you want them to watch an "R" rated movie. Blood and gore, violence, moderate to strong language, dismemberment, nudity, drug and alcohol use, or anything else goes with these. Parents should definitely do research before getting these for their kids. This would be your Call of Duty, Halo, and Assassin's Creed type games.
"AO" stands for Adults Only, 18 and up. Basically an "NC-17" movie. These games tend to only be available on the internet for computers. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo do not allow them on their consoles. These are generally heavily involved with sex, and some extreme super violence that would make the Saw franchise look like Barney and Friends. These are pretty hard to come by, and pretty much impossible on a console game. I actually don't know any games rated AO. Shows you guys how rare they are.
So, there it is, plain as day for anyone who isn't already aware of what these ratings mean. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably already know all of this. Do all of us who are involved in the gaming world a favor, and make sure people are aware of these ratings. It's amazing how many people aren't. As I said towards the top of this post, the problem doesn't revolve around the content of the games, the problem is that parents need to make sure that their kids are playing things that are appropriate for their child's age. That's not to say that not following the system will screw up your kids, I played Perfect Dark when I was ten, but I was also well aware of what was reality and what wasn't. Share this article with someone who isn't familiar with game ratings. Education people! That's how we are going to keep games from turning into scapegoats! See you online!
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