Violence in Games--What's Your Stand?

[Nedrag Terces12]

I see what you mean, but if that's how it is then that person doesn't have to play video games, i haven't played video games in quite a while, and i don't think i'm even going to get the new systems(revolution, ps3, xbox 360) at this point.

 

[Legolas]

Anything over M rated should be BAN! Although there are some games i want to play that are M, one.) i couldn't get it cause of my parents| two.) Its bad for your brains yes. I am only 12, but i play lots of T rated games, but violence is very low/mediem. I used to play GTA SD *at my friends house* (Grand Theft Auto san Andreas) It was good, but it was so violent and bad, i finally decided to not play it EVER again. There is no dam reason to put that kind of sh!* into my brain. T rated games have enough action for me. Oh, and three.) Its agaienst the law for a minor to play a M rated game, yet people do it all the time, and cops don't do crap about it, which i find crappy >.< So, M RATED GAMES SHOULD BE BANED, BURNED, AND NEVER PLAYED AGAIN! You people don't even want my words for A rated games *adults only (21 and over)* rated games such as GTA SA *it has now been rated A for prono in it, you just need to put a cheat code* As for those, short and simply, WHY THE F*** DID THEY EVEN MAKE A RATING FOR SUCH A GOD DAM BAD GAME? WHY ARE THEY EVEN CREATED? *sigh* I guess the producers are nothing but dumb f***s that where mental retards in school, and had bad parents who didn't give a sh!* 'bout them, so they are so imature they decided to make those kind of bad games, AND THAT GOES FOR M RATED GAMES TOO!

 

[TRIFORCE89]

There's a number of things when it comes to violent video games. Firsty, I feel that the ESRB is flawed. They should first create another category inbetween Teen and Mature, or give Mature a new subcategory. Becuase many of the game under Mature should not be grouped with the others in the category. Splinter Cell should not be rated the same as Grand Theft Auto. The ESRB should also change the way they rate games. At the moment, developers just have to submuit the section they feel is most vioent, they could lie so they don't end up with an AO. They also don't have to submit their coding, hence the Hot Coffee scandal. This has to be addressed and fixed.

I do applaud what California has done by making it law to refuse the sale of M rated games to minors. The ESRBalready says this, but if it's law I'm pretty sure that people will try obeying it a lot more, the ESRB won't get them in trouble, the government will.

I have nothing against violence in video games, as long as it's not senseless and stupid, and just violence for the sake of violence. IE, Grand Theft Auto. War games don't bother (although the genre is getting crowded now), it's war, violence is part of it. Spy games don't bother me. It's Grand Theft Auto an other RockStar games and the like, where's its' violence for the sake of having violence and the player gets rewarded for bad behaviour.

It's the responsibility of the stores to keep these games out of the hands of minors. But it's also, and mroe strongly so, the parents'. Parents have to be educated and know that video games aren't kid things anymore (why they buy GTA for their kid is beyond me. Bikini clad women and smoking and alcohol are right on the box!). Parents can blame themselves for buying the game for their kids, stores for selling to a kid or to a parent when you see the kid right there, and the developers for making such rubbish and marketing it towards kids. It's like alcohol, and cigarettes, Rock Star works the same way.

 

[Mario The World Champion]

I have been playing video games since I was a little kid and I've seen how games have evolved from little 8-bit sprites to the fully 3D characters in almost real life worlds we see in games today. And the realism of the games has also increased greatly, and that involved the level of violence these days.

My stance? It's the parent's job to keep an eye on what games their kids play. They should be smart enough to read the ratings on the games. And if they have the Net at their own house, you gan go online to the main ESRB site to learn more. It's not that hard, but parents don't want to take responsibility for their kids burning down a building or killing innocent people just because they played that in a game. They make the game makers the scapegoats.

That's why I hate people like Joesph Lieberman, Jack Thompson and every other nutbar who wants to throw the hammer at video games. They don't realize that 97% of all gamers are law-abiding citizens of the U.S. it's the 3% that I worry about. The wackos that can't distingush between real and fantasy and the kids like thoose two kids that shot up Columbine. I worry about those wackos.

I do remember this one moment when I was 12. Mortal Kombat came out for the SNES and Genesis and they had this little rating thing on the box saying that the game was for players 13 years old and older. My mom decided since I was 12, it was okay for me to play it, since my Brother owned the game in the first place. I didn't mind all the blood and fatalities in that game. I watched the movie "Aliens" when I was just 6.

However, when Mortal Kombat II came out, my Mom wouldn't let me play it until I was 16 years old. The first M-rated game I played? Resident Evil 2. And I was just 4 weeks from turning 17 years old. So, she did take charge to watch what I played. And I secretly thank her for it.

Lastly, I won't post my opinions about Grand Theft Auto.

 

[TRIFORCE89]

I think Jack Thompson has the right idea, he's just not executing it properly at all. He's lying about what other politicians have said to him, he's making up fake stories, he's trying to bribe developers / make them look bad at the same time. He think the entire industry, every game, is violent. The guy has the right ideas about legisltations, and keeping violent games out of children's hands, just...he's doing it all wrong and he thinks every game is violent.

 

[Sankari]

The guy has the right ideas about legisltations, and keeping violent games out of children's hands, just...he's doing it all wrong and he thinks every game is violent.

Isn't he the guy who freaked out over Mortal Kombat, giving games from then on a rating? Just wondering...I'm not informed on stuff like this enough...or it's probably just because I'm forgetful...? -.-;

I didn't know that he thought every game was violent. Now that's just stupid. Don't tell me that Tetris is violent -_-;

 

[TRIFORCE89]

Mayeb not every game, but he's anti the industry.

 

[Stevo-kun]

Ah, video game violence, but ofcourse the ratings in the UK are different to America but I have to agree that it is flawed because, if you just get your parent to buy you a M or 18+ rated game, then the shops won't know any difference and then the parent can just give it to the child and therefor causing alot of changes in how the child thinks and what they start to think it right and what is wrong, like games such as the GTA series which promote bad behaviour like killing people, robbing cars, blowing up cop cars and such, that is not something you should let someone under that age catagory play, it is all the parents fault, this can also be though of in the same way as under-aged people watching movies they aren't allowed. Like a 12 year old going into an R or 18+ rated movie, but I guess in some places the movie thing is more inforced than the video game part.

And now with the advances that are happening in video games, like making it seem more realistic, close to real life, imagine the effect such as blood and death and stuff and how that will be portrayed in future games, and if parents are still going to be buying their kids these games and letting them play them, it could traumatise them and make them think it is okay to kill people etc, which in effect will make more crime becuase of how games effect the persons thinking and the person who plays them all together, that is why kids should only be playing the less violent and not necessarily more 'Kiddy' games. I have played some of these games and some are really good and addictive, easy to play and great to play, so what is wrong with letting your kids play them instead of the maturer games?. Games like Sonic, Mario etc. Kids even say that they are too kiddy, but they never sit down and play it, video games, alot like movies isn't just about violence, blood, death etc. But about pure enjoyment of playing that game. But if the parents end up having their childrem locked up when they are 18 or so, they can easily link it to how they subjected and allowed their kids to play these games at such a young age.

The ratings in the UK and Europe are as follows, we go by the PEGI (Pan European Game Information) rating system

3+ - People aged 3 and above can play these games.. so basically anyone, but I don't really know how a 3 year old could really play a game console XD
7+ People aged 7 or above the age of 7 can play these games, 7 is a nice age to start gaming.
12+ People aged 12 or above can play these games. There might be a few bad words in games at this age.
16+ People aged 16 or above can play these, games that involve shotting, blood and death are in these games.. but not an awful lot, games like Rainbow Six for example.
18+ Okay, basicall anyone above the age of 18 can play these, and these games can include anything, death, blood, sexual content and they can be done however realistically you want. As an 18 year old is considered an Adult.

So there is my point XD

 

[Mario The World Champion]

I'm afraid that this whole violence in games controversy will become worse when the next-gen systems come out. With newer technology powering games, who knows what new stuff game developers will try in the next gen games.

But, I do like the idea of passing some sort of law to keep violent games out of the hands of minors. But, will cooler heads prevail?

 

[TRIFORCE89]

Yes, as graphics improve things appear more...well graphic. Even if it is pretty much nothing, the better you can tell what's happening the worse it is rating iwise. Hence, Super Smash Bros. Melee getting a T. Although, today that might be just an E10+ since that didn't exsist yet.

 

[SBaby]

Whatever happened to K-A ratings? I thought that was supposed to be the equivalent of Y-7 FV... Ok, onto the subject...

As for Jack Thompson and everyone else trying to damage the video game industry, I have a theory on this, but we can't discuss politics here so I can't really say it right out on this forum.

But it's not just them anyway. You've got these parents who buy the games without looking at the ratings or checking to see what the content is, and then when their kids are involved in a shooting, they blame the game or the company! Messed up, huh? They use that as an excuse to escape the responsibility.

 

[DarkDoom3000]

Im 13 I play violent games!!( gran theft auto san andreus, devil may cry ETC)

it depends on the person playing, I have finished gran theft auto like 2 times
and I havent gone shooting peoples heads off!

so wako who dose needs to go to the mental institute

when i play I dont feel like doing that

yeah its not the games fult!
or much the parents fult (kinda)
its normally the persons fult

and I think the ratings are stupid!
I mean I have Final Fantasy 8 and its rating is M+16

the rating apply to people who can handle it!

 

[Sankari]

Im 13 I play violent games!!( gran theft auto san andreus, devil may cry ETC)

it depends on the person playing, I have finished gran theft auto like 2 times
and I havent gone shooting peoples heads off!

so wako who dose needs to go to the mental institute

when i play I dont feel like doing that

yeah its not the games fult!
or much the parents fult (kinda)
its normally the persons fult

and I think the ratings are stupid!
I mean I have Final Fantasy 8 and its rating is M+16

the rating apply to people who can handle it!

Aren't you naive =D

It's my own opinion, but people DO get severely effected by today's media, especially video games. About a year ago, I was really into Katamari Damacy (an E-rated game that's incredibly addictive and odd...) When I was in the car, looking out the window out of complete bordom, I'd have to feel of the game in me. The music goes through my head and I look at a small-sized bush thinking, strangely, "I think I might be able to roll that up..." (In KD, you have to be a certain size to roll certain things up into your "katamari", or clump of junk) So, I'd be on my way home in the car, watching the telephone poles and thinking, "Hm. If I roll up a bit more Small Shrubberies and a little more Tall SchoolGirls...and maybe a few RV's after that, I can then roll up those telephone lines...

O.O It's true. It really happened...

And, I was also playing Burnout Legends for a while. My mom was in the median, about to turn around when I felt the sudden urge to go at top speed and crash into the oncoming cement truck...That's scary...

My father even confessed that after playing a bit of Vice City, he thought of short-cuts to work by hi-jacking this car, then taking that truck, and so forth...

 

[DarkDoom3000]

whao... guess it can effect some people ...

 

[Sankari]

whao... guess it can effect some people ...

I wasn't lieing xD

It may only have to do with games where it's incredibly realistic...no, scratch that. Where it's incredibly limitless. If you are given a world with complex communities, I assure you that your mind will attach.

 

[Greed]

God, don't get me started on the government..

I agree with most of you all. It isn't the game's fault, or the producer's fault. Its the freakin parents' fault. They should discipline their children so that they can know the difference between right and wrong.

And also, a parent should never buy a rated-M game to a young child (age 10 or younger) because they cannot tell fantasy from reality yet. If I was a parent, I'd make sure my child is mature enough to know that going around and hurting other people will never be tolerated.

I have a younger brother that is 13 years old, and as he is mature for his age. So I sometimes buy a rated-M game for him since he's proved to me countless times that he can tell right and wrong.

We play Mortal Kombat: Deception and we never rip each other's eyes out. We also play Conker's Bad Fur Day on N64 and he never showed an interest in shooting people. Buying and playing an M-rated game is a privilege, because let's admit it, its quite entertaining to see some simulated characters shoot innocent bystanders as long as its fiction.

I also can tell what's right and wrong, and therefore I play many M-rated games because I know I'm not some uncontrolled child.

Playing M-rated games is alright, as long as the person playing is mature enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality.

note:: Rated A games are hilarious. I heard Grand Theft Auto got an A rating because of graphic sexual scenes that are downloadable on a certain website. lol. GTA was taken off the shelves temporarily in Texas.

 

[Mario The World Champion]

God, don't get me started on the government..

I agree with most of you all. It isn't the game's fault, or the producer's fault. Its the freakin parents' fault. They should discipline their children so that they can know the difference between right and wrong.

And also, a parent should never buy a rated-M game to a young child (age 10 or younger) because they cannot tell fantasy from reality yet. If I was a parent, I'd make sure my child is mature enough to know that going around and hurting other people will never be tolerated.

I have a younger brother that is 13 years old, and as he is mature for his age. So I sometimes buy a rated-M game for him since he's proved to me countless times that he can tell right and wrong.

We play Mortal Kombat: Deception and we never rip each other's eyes out. We also play Conker's Bad Fur Day on N64 and he never showed an interest in shooting people. Buying and playing an M-rated game is a privilege, because let's admit it, its quite entertaining to see some simulated characters shoot innocent bystanders as long as its fiction.

I also can tell what's right and wrong, and therefore I play many M-rated games because I know I'm not some uncontrolled child.

Playing M-rated games is alright, as long as the person playing is mature enough to know the difference between fantasy and reality.

note:: Rated A games are hilarious. I heard Grand Theft Auto got an A rating because of graphic sexual scenes that are downloadable on a certain website. lol. GTA was taken off the shelves temporarily in Texas.

Well said, dude. If the person who plays M-rated games can't tell between right and wrong, can't tell between real and fantasy, we got a reaosn to worry about those kinds of people.

And about the downloadable content in San Andreas... I was SHOCKED to hear about the "Hot Coffee" mod and how you can unlock it with a mod or a Gameshark code.

 

[Sankari]

Very well said, Greed =D

Some people just don't have common sense -_-

 

[Lord Nidokingu]

Anything over M rated should be BAN! Although there are some games i want to play that are M, one.) i couldn't get it cause of my parents| two.) Its bad for your brains yes. I am only 12, but i play lots of T rated games, but violence is very low/mediem. I used to play GTA SD *at my friends house* (Grand Theft Auto san Andreas) It was good, but it was so violent and bad, i finally decided to not play it EVER again. There is no dam reason to put that kind of sh!* into my brain. T rated games have enough action for me. Oh, and three.) Its agaienst the law for a minor to play a M rated game, yet people do it all the time, and cops don't do crap about it, which i find crappy >.< So, M RATED GAMES SHOULD BE BANED, BURNED, AND NEVER PLAYED AGAIN! You people don't even want my words for A rated games *adults only (21 and over)* rated games such as GTA SA *it has now been rated A for prono in it, you just need to put a cheat code* As for those, short and simply, WHY THE F*** DID THEY EVEN MAKE A RATING FOR SUCH A GOD DAM BAD GAME? WHY ARE THEY EVEN CREATED? *sigh* I guess the producers are nothing but dumb f***s that where mental retards in school, and had bad parents who didn't give a sh!* 'bout them, so they are so imature they decided to make those kind of bad games, AND THAT GOES FOR M RATED GAMES TOO!

...
THEN DON'T FRICKEN PLAY IT... >>

Don't you DARE tell me I can't have something simply because you find it "wrong". Finding something disturbing or sick about whatever is never a good reason to outlaw anything. PERIOD.

Do you honestly believe it takes any real effort to pick up a gun and pull the trigger? Do you honestly expect me to believe that if I did not own a violent game that I would not know how to kill a person? People have been brutally spraying people's remains across great distances since we first appeared. Don't you dare pin people's anger and desire for revenge on videogames. Why don't you blame it on the fact that socity is becoming more and more stressful every day. School is getting harder and people are getting more cruel. Why? Because parents leave it up to the schools to handle... Pretty much everything...


Ya know what? There was a game in 1982 for the Atari 2600 called Custer's Revenge. You know what you did in it? The goal was to cross a "battlefield" and rape a native american tied to a post. Yup. The graphics were crude, but the game sprites were noticably lacking in clothes and the POINT of the game was there. The same exact sort of controversy has been going on since the DAWN of videogames.

Violent videogames? I see nothing wrong with em. I own all three of the current GTA games...

Am I personally violent?

No. You can ask my girlfriend.

What DO I see wrong? Crappy parents that don't give a rat's a55 about their kids and when their kid loses it, they point the finger at everyone except themselves.

"Where the heck were you when you were supposed to be communicating with your kid?"
"I talked to my kid."
"You did a real good job of it."
"I'm a busy person."
"Family comes first. School is not a substitute for parenting."

Edit: And SPon11. Whether a game is realistic or not has no effect on your mind when you aren't playing the game. I can tell you right now that playing ANY game enough will have you making in-game observations of the real world. when I play a game like Tetris for extended periods, I often see things in the environment in real life that make me think "Hey, look, it's like a tetris piece. ^^" It doesn't matter what it is, it's still a matter of your brain making observations. Choosing to act on them is up to you. >>

 

[Witch Girl Pilar]

Hmmmm.... violence from videogames... well, even though how violent the game is, some kids still play with it. But I think, they should know that it's just a game. I mean, some kids some know the difference between real life and a game and some don't. Maybe, the goverment is worried that some games may affect some kids' mind into doing something violent from the videogame. But, I should say, some kids knows the difference between real life and a game.