Parents 'ignore game age ratings' 571
Jim Hall writes "With all the fervor recently over the 'Hot Coffee' mod and the upcoming 'Bully' game, I found it interesting that no press time seems to have been given to this little gem from the BBC: Parents 'ignore game age ratings'. I think most of us agree that the games are already rated appropriate to their audience - GTA:SA was previously rated "M" (17 and up) in the US, before public outcry forced the ESRB to move it to "AO" (18 and up). However, as this article points out, parents are more concerned about children spending too many hours playing games, rather than about what type of title they were playing."
Flat Out (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't (Score:1, Interesting)
Parents can't say NO to their kids, today (Score:2, Interesting)
The same parents also got conned into buying: a 60" TV, Skis, ski pass, clothes and god knows what. When she moved out: an Xbox, a Bed, another TV, a Sterio...
Parent are so afraid that their kids will come back later and say: you were a BAD parent.
Parents have to be called on it... (Score:5, Interesting)
Case in point: A few years ago I worked at a game store. Woman comes in to get a game for her son and after several questions to narrow down which game it was (she forgot, but knew it had cars in it), I got a copy of the latest GTA game for her to purchase.
After asking if she wanted the hint guide to go along with it, and her refusing, she asked if this game was appropriate for her 12-year old.
"No Ma'am. This game is NOT appropriate for a 12-year old. Each game has a rating on the cover (quick explanation of the rating system) and this one is rated M for Mature. It means you should probably be 17 to play it. We don't enforce it, but we do encourage it." I flipped the copy of GTA over and showed her why it had been rated mature.
Needless to say, a parent left a little more educated and her son did not get the game that day. He probably also got a talking to over trying to get one over on mom, but I don't know that for certain.
Re:Parents can't say NO to their kids, today (Score:3, Interesting)
Future parenthood- views (Score:2, Interesting)
i am 20 atm so the earliest i would have game-hungering kids would be in 20 years... thats alot of time, alot is gonna change. for the worse? i don't know. i hope not (i still remember the GREAT non-violent games i got ahold of like 7 years ago...they should make more of those! ie Anno 1602)
but as people have already stated- getting hold of "adult" material is just too easy nowadays, whether in games, TV or newspapers/commercial ads. blocking it in games is far from enough
Re:Welcome to the state of things... (Score:3, Interesting)
That's nothing. I've seen a movie given its rating for "Thematic Elements." If I could only remember which movie...
Re:Their lives are too stressful to pay attention! (Score:5, Interesting)
I agree completely with this. I worked at a video game retailer for some time while I decided what I wanted out of life after school, and actually had parents basically say "Oh, but Johnny is mature!" when he's really a 12 year old.
Hopefully enough adults in the under 30 catagory don't fall into the believe that video games are just for children. I'm sure I'll still be gaming when I have children, and I'll sure as hell know what games contain that I purchase for them and for myself. (I'm 26, btw, and am planning to start a family in the next few years.)
Re:Their lives are too stressful to pay attention! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Their lives are too stressful to pay attention! (Score:4, Interesting)
People need to realize that there are several on-going plagues in our society right now and it has nothing to do w/what the media is saying.
1. Parents are ignoring the *needs* of their children and are giving into their *wants* instead. It's a sad state of affairs when people justify their malaise with "but I'm just too busy/stressed at work."
2. People want other to do their work for them and only use the failure of *others* doing the parenting as an important enough reason to get off their couch and do something.
3. People like you, the ones that refuse to read and comprehend what others are saying that might even teach you something or change your way of thought. You ignore intelligent discussion and instead want to chastise and destroy it.
Stop being a troll and instead become a productive member of Slashdot. It will help everyone.
Re:As a parent (Score:3, Interesting)
That is all she does, watch TV. She talks to herself, has imaginary friends, and is *SO* happy if mom is willing to give her a few minutes of her time.
She is spoiled. If she screams about it she gets it. She drinks her own special drinks, she has cookies and ice cream anytime she wants it. She has any toys she wants, she doesn't sleep in her room.
Some of this is similar to how my mom was when I was my sisters age. You were lucky to get attention. You were held back from everything until you hit 18, then she asks why you didn't have a job yet and when can you move out. I was always told I would never become anything, I'll just end up to be a drunk like my father. Anytime something good happened she would tell me that not to expect it to last, that life sucks and that I should accept it instead of being happy.
Today I am a quiet person. At the moment I'm struggling with how I want to continue my life.. I have no real direction. I love computers, I want to work in the field, but I don't have the certs.. and I live in the worst place to find any job related to IT.
No clue what to do
Re:Do stores restrict sales by age? (Score:3, Interesting)
In America, while there may be local or state laws, in general, movie ratings are enforced by the MPAA and are not legal restrictions. Does anyone know if Best BUy or any other store restricts the sale of R movies? More and more stores have ths cash register request a birthday if you buy an M rated game. Do they do the same for R rated movies?
This is a simple fact of American society: (Score:1, Interesting)
- Comic books --> juvinile deliquency --> comic book ratings board (50's)
- Rock 'n' Roll --> sass-mouth-->music ratings (80's)
- Video games --> poor deportment --> ESRB (90's)
Just wait until parents discover tentacle-monster-rape anime!Re:Flat Out (Score:4, Interesting)
Part of me wants to go to Rockstar's developer staff and yell out, "GROW THE HELL UP! You're making the whole industry look bad, you idiots!" And part of me wants to applaud them for finding such a good solid revenue stream.
Spineless parents under pressure from their kids (Score:1, Interesting)
It was only yesterday my mom bought me Leisure Suit Larry 3 at the mall. I believe I was fourteen at the time. I can remember her silence during the car ride home as I opened the box and read some of the contents out loud. As an adult now who can recall what those contents were, I realize I was still ignorant of adult things then, and she was probably embarassed.
Now concerning the purchase, it didn't take much convincing from me, just a "come on, what's the big deal". The guy at the counter told her it had adult content and asked if she was sure, yet she bought it for me anyways. Honestly, I don't think she is/was a wise parent and is/was unprepared to deal with making moral decisions. For example, she asked me to tell my sister, who is 16, to not wear certain kinds of clothes. Well congratulations, mom, you've lost another one. You had the last five years to be honest with child number three.
I never had a mature and honest sex talk with my parents; I think they were afraid to deal with it, and it's something I regret about my early teenage years but it's their fault for not speaking up and something that cannot be changed. And so I entered adulthood confused, as I'm sure a lot of people have, and have probably made mistakes as a result of this.
Casting what is and is not moral aside, as just general parenting and looking out for the best interest of your children, we are doomed if parents are going to choose to be ignorant of the world their children live in. Children will gather guidance and form a worldview not representative of their parents' if the parents choose not to participate. And then the parents have no excuse and only regret, and another generation of children who will have to learn from mistakes instead of from parental wisdom. As it always has been, I'm certain.
It's not Leisure Suit Larry or GTA, or stupid sex and violence entertainment specifically that's to blame. It is the unintended consequences of birthing kids, putting up a facade of what one is supposed to emulate instead of establishing solid foundation, bricks and mortar of a person.
I think I'm done now. This was probably the wrong place to post, but it helped me some, and I hope it would be wisdom to those reading. Cheers.
Re:Flat Out (Score:5, Interesting)
In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I had fun by stealing a police bike (since they are easy to acquire and relatively fast), going to the top of the big skyscraper downtown, gunning the engine and flying into the air.
Did I do this because I was desensitized to the idea of my own death? Of course not! Did I do this because I personally harbor suicidal thoughts? I doubt it.
I did it because it was interesting. It was a game, and I knew I wasn't driving off a skyscraper. I was seeing what was possible in the game engine. (Turns out that if you land the bike just right, you take minimal damage).
In the same light, I drove up and down the big hill in the SanFran clone town. Its possible to get quite some air on the bumps in that hill. Of course, a few unlucky pedestrians did die when I came over a hill too fast. So am I a reckless driver? Or did I realise that the pedestrians were simulated computer people and I have no intentions of doing such an act in real life?
I think the main point is that this was only a game, and I understood it was only a game.
Re:As a parent (Score:3, Interesting)
Your story gives me the shivers. It is earily close to my own, except that I was the father out of the house working all the time and it was my ex spoiling her daughter and ignoring our son.
Luckily I wised up to what was going on and had guts enough, after trying and failing to make changes at home, to leave her and fight for the kids. Unfortunately, I couldn't get custody of her daughter, but I did get my son. Now he's 12, an honor student at the magnet school, active in scouts, and overall someone I am very proud of. I'm active in his life, we take family trips together he, my father, and I, and we spend a lot of time talking about the news, current events, interesting things, etc. But I hate to think how things would be if I had stayed working the 70 hour weeks and trusting my lovely bride to raise the kids. The pay cut (and divorce costs) hurt those first years, but the payoff has been more than worth it.
BTW, the daughter had a baby at 17, no job, no diploma, no future. Although since the baby, she has been talking to me a lot more. Even made the comment that she wishes I would repeat all that stuff I said when she was 15 because she didn't listen then, and thinks it might be important now.
Re:Their lives are too stressful to pay attention! (Score:2, Interesting)
One was Tony Hawk's Pro-Skater, and the other was Diablo II (I believe). I attempted to explain to her that Diablo was the most violent game we had on the shelves at the time, and I strongly recommended Tony Hawk if she was to chose one over the other.
In the end (despite my protests) she went with Diablo, because she was afraid he son would try to do crazy tricks on his skateboard, getting himself hurt in the process.
Some people.
Re:Their lives are too stressful to pay attention! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Do stores restrict sales by age? (Score:2, Interesting)
The problem you have here is that software companies may stop making adult games. Look at what the rating system has done to movies? Studios don't want to put out R rated movies because they are afraid of losing a good chunk of their audience.
Having said that, I don't know what the solution is. It's apparent that there are parents who do not actually raise their children, but rely on the rest of the world to do it. Unfortunately it may be up to us as a society to do the work for them.
I have a giant chunk of anger for parents that don't know or want to know how to raise their children.
Re:Their lives are too stressful to pay attention! (Score:3, Interesting)
It just hit me - what the problem is... (Score:2, Interesting)
Parent's associate the word "game" with something kids "play" and that's the problem - while we do play these games - they are not focused towards kids - also they are so complex, deep, involving and great nowadays like a good book or movie - that I think putting something like Deus Ex, GTA:SA, NOLF etc in the same lump as pac-man is almost a little insulting when you think about it.
You change that name "game" to something else (I don't know what