Annual Video Game Report Card Is Positive, For Once 75
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.
Family gaming. (Score:4, Funny)
They acknowledged that gaming is becoming a much bigger part of family life than it was in the past
Great news! Where can I pre-order Manhunt 3: Family Edition? [youtube.com]
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Huh? (Score:3, Interesting)
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an INCOMPLETE grade? (Score:4, Insightful)
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".
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Wrong idea (Score:4, Insightful)
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!
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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...
Yeah! Put her to play Left 4 Dead and then she will be interested in reading and writing. Killing zombies is the answer!
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Well the only reason that they think video game violence causes all sorts of mental illnesses are because of these bullshit studies ... I've played violent video games since I was like 7 or 8 ... I have yet to kill someone.
Yeah, right. And your study involving ... 1 person (you) is to be taken into consideration.
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YHBT; YHL. HAND.
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Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.
Actully fits this converstation pretty well... Any ways I've been playing games since I was two, when I was 5 I finally figured out how to crack my brothers protection on Doom II and after getting caught once I quickly discovered the boss key (F10 I love you!). I'm a nice guy, I haven't murdered any one and my room mate who has never played a video game in his life till just recently (18 ye
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You evidently haven't been playing any popular online multiplayer games. The stupidity of many players will drive just about anyone to kill.
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Conversely, I've been mostly playing Nintendo games all my life (which, for the most part, are very non-violent), and I'm just about ready to kill the next person who intentionally decides to piss me off.
I've been dealing with idiots at school who like to hurt me for more than a decade now. This has nothing to do with video games, and yet I'm about to crack.
Go ahead - tell me how my video games factor into this.
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My 12 year old kid sister has been fed a steady diet of these "positive self-esteem" books, videos, and games... 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!
Or, maybe it's because she is 12.
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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 bu
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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 (Score:4, Insightful)
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).
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And in your response, you CONTINUE to agree with me, while making it sound like you're DIS-agreeing with me. I don't really understand where you're going with this.
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Then I apologize. Clearly I misunderstood. Next time add a smiley face and it'll save us both looking like idiots. :)
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See? Even an Anonymous Coward figured it out.
Yes, but even a broken clock is right once a day. ;)
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Try telling that to my Casio. I'll let you know when it gets to 88:88
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and play non-violent games (they're both complete Pokemon addicts)
Does the phrase "Poke-battle" mean anything to you? These creatures spew lightning at each other. Team Rocket kidnaps your precious poke-monsters and do horrible things to them. I know this from not even trying to watch the show. My xgf played (some of) the games; I wouldn't exactly call them non-violent. It's cartoon violence, but that still effects kids. I recall a guest on The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe (http://www.theskepticsguide.org) saying something to that effect; with a little digging I'
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Wandering Wombat's kids are allowed to play violent games.
The nephews are "only allowed non-violent games" and are addicted to Pokemon. That means your rant was pointed at Wandering Wombat's sibling and not at Wandering Wombat him/herself.
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I am sure that some kids are less violent because they play violent games. I am also sure there are some kids that get more violent after playing these games.
The real answer to all of this is that each kid is different and needs to have different boundaries. Thinking that your way of raising chi
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I agree. When someone does that, I'll let you know.
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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, ge
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"When I was 12, I had a college-level reading comprehension and my writing was equivalent to a junior in high school."
Look at that! Your reading comprehension skills RIGHT NOW are inferior to the OP's when she was 12! Amazing!
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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
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Don't flip out, I wrote what I did because you were bragging about having reading and writing ability far beyond the level people you age usually had - as well as being able to do chores and such.
You saw early on that being smarter than other people was an advantage, so you worked at becoming smarter than other people. I made pretty much the same choice (This is probably why we're having a conversation on Slashdot right now!) - and it worked out well. This doesn't necessarily mean someone else who doesn't
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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...
You're forgetting a big variable: she's a different person than you and everyone else in your family. My brother and I were raised quite similarly (we're only a few years apart), and we're such polar opposites in so many ways, it's hard to believe we're brothers sometimes.
She's still twelve... that's pretty young. She still has a lot of time to grow up. Probably the best you can do for her is just to be a positive role model.
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Flamebait? I think one of the mods has been listening to clerics a bit too much.
I didn't know the term precious snowflake [urbandictionary.com]. I think that was started with the boomer generation. When I was a kid, there were lots of parents doing that at my school, and lots of teachers complaining about it.
Most of the people who graduated from my high school could barely read at a 3rd grade level. Now they've done the same thing with math. No wonder they no longer teach anything, too many people would complain!
Though it
A movie is not a video game (Score:3, Insightful)
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Yeah, I took her to see Twilight on opening day with a friend, and she is reading the book. She's also interested in Harry Potter but it's above her reading level so far. The problem is that it's easier for her to just sit down and watch youtube and play webkinz all day and reading is hard.
It gets easier if you stick with it as we all know, yet it takes drive and ambition to accomplish that. Being told over and over that you're special and gifted leads to the conclusion that if something doesn't come easily
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I agree. Generation "Precious Snowflake" has had an impact on my life as well. The other side of that coin seems (to me at least) to be the more common one and that is Generation "I have kids?".
Video games seem to me to be split to the extreme. There just aren't very many games made these days that are "appropriate" for younger children, yet engaging enough for teenagers and adults. This is one reason I'm a fan of older games. I think they're higher quality.
I don't think that parents would need to worry so
changing subjects (Score:1)
Simple answer: (Score:3, Interesting)
Parents shouldn't buy their kids games that they consider inappropriate (Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, etc). They should keep an eye on them to make sure they don't play these games.
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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.
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(its VERY difficult to create mental problems in people when they are given a wide range of experiences)
Your name's not Zaphod, right? C'mere, I got a little thing called a total perspective vortex [wikipedia.org] I'd like you to see...
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School pie-ings? :P
That's something I'd like to see (except in the school where I work
Wow! (Score:1)
From the summary and they're making an effort to shift the focus onto the parents to keep their kids' gaming habits under control. If that is not a sudden out a break of common sense, I don't know what else could be.
Who cares? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Hypocrites (Score:2, Funny)
Did they even think before choosing that name ?
National Instutite on Media and the Family.
N.I.M.F. ... Nymph?!
I'm going to found the Coalition of Unsolicited Neutering of Fundamentalist Sectists.
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Coalition of Unsolicited Neutering of Fundamentalist Sectists.
Don't you mean "Coalition of Unsolicited Neutering of Traditionalist Sectists?"
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No, screw them! They're all cunts!
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recommendations (Score:2)
I haven't read the report from these people in previous years, but the last few pages are recommendations for parents on how to monitor their children's game use. That's good for parents who want to do a good job supervising but don't have the "technical" knowledge on how to do it.
I have to wonder about a couple of things though. The blurbs for games they recommend and games they avoid all look like they came from marketing departments. In a way, it's good that they're not editorializing too much about t
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I wouldn't worry too much about just taking the game industry's word for what is in the games. Businesses lie for gain. Video game manufacturers have no reason to lie on these. If they say that a game is less violent than it really is, they are likely to lose more sales than they gain. It is kind of like porn. The porn ind
Brilliant list (Score:2)
Kids are Kids (Score:4, Interesting)
Video games have been around for about 40 years. To put them in some kind of special category that needs unique oversight or attention is just ridiculous, alarmist behaviour. Kids have been entertaining themselves with one thing or another as long as humankind has been around. They play with fire, fight, pick on and make fun of each other, climb to dangerous heights in trees or towers, toy with combustibles and explosives... sometimes they get hurt, sometimes they die, but video games haven't altered childhood in any significant way.
Of course parents should be aware of the games they're playing, but no more so than they should be aware of everything their child is doing.
It's frustrating that the world is scrambling to deal with computers, cellphones, video games, movies, etc. They haven't really changed the nature of what it is to be human. We had Sweeney Todd, The Tell-Tale Heart, King Lear, and MacBeth long before we had video games. Kids have been getting warped ideas into their head as long as human imagination has existed. Sometimes kids even act out those fantasies to horrific ends which I don't believe is any more frequent either before or after the advent of video games.
As much as people want to attribute violence to video games, people are very quick to hush up once they realize the perpetrator of the latest school shooting, mall shooting, or spree killing wasn't even a gamer. For the first 48 hours, dozens of investigative reporters tried to draw a line between the Virginia Tech killer and Quake/GTA/Halo until they realized he didn't like video games or TV for that matter.
The whole video games : violence angle is a dead horse.
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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.
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Cardboard boxes can be used for sexual activity. Why is there no warning label for parents?
Your child may have access to sticks and cardboard boxes... and you don't even know about it.
Hmmm... Really? (Score:2)
Video games are... (Score:2)
Not for Australia (Score:1)