Violent Games and Violent Children
Well, I’m sure I’ve had this rant before about how I don’t kill people and I’m a gamer, but the government wants evidence, so here comes a nice review of the industry.
Many members of the industry agree that a review is needed. Not because they believe violent video games cause violence, but because they, along with the rest of us, want to stop 8 year olds playing 18 rated games. Now, we all know that there is no way an eight year old would be able to walk into a store and buy a copy of GTA. However their nice parents who want their child to play the game would have no problem. Except that the parent then see what is in the game and decides maybe letting their little Johnny, or little Jane play GTA was a bad idea.
Apparently parents don’t understand that these games aren’t for kids, and this review is likely to suggest helping parents understand that games aren’t all made for children now. I’m all for this, but I really do think that if parents haven’t realised by now, there isn’t much hope. Surely the large BBFC logo with the number of the age on is enough for parents to realise what the game is about. They are unlikely to let their innocent little child watch an 18film like Clerks or Reservoir Dogs, so why give them a game like Grand Theft Auto or Manhunt (not 2, that was rejected again)?
The idea of banning any and all 18 rated games is, however, a step that some suggest, but hopefully this review will reject. Gamers are not all children, games are made for different audiences, if it says 15 on the box then it is meant for gamers that age, and over, it will be very different from Barbie Horse Adventures. If you outlaw the sale of 18 rated games will that not have to extend to 18 rated DVDs and cinema releases? Without this certificate we would not have films like One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Get Carter or Fight Club.
The BBC has quotes on this from various members of the gaming industry, one that particularly interested me was from the fromer editor of EDGE magazine, Margaret Robertson:
There is need for a review but probably not for more legislation. From within the games industry this problem is well mapped.
Red tape is everywhere today, as Jordan pointed out, and it would be a great shame if the video game industry had more red tape than fake claret. I was considering a rant about PC gone mad and the amount of red tape that circles us all, but as Jordan only just made his I’ll save it up for a while.
So thank you for this review, maybe it will stop the complaining of those parents that buy their kids the games in the first place. Maybe it will even stop our good friend Jack Thompson, though I doubt it. But if it means that one less 11 year old plays a game that he shouldn’t be playing then maybe it will have done its job.
MTFBWY
However, having said that there have been numerous studies into the link between children observing violence and exhibiting it. One poignant one is Bandura’s Bobo doll study - I recommend you look it up.
However I do agree 100% parents need to take more responsibility for their kids - the games are rated for a reason.
The main misconception is that games are for kids. That misconception is not the gaming industry’s fault, so it’s stupid to blame them for it.
I’ve written several times about this subject, but the bottom line is that there is no real reason to blame video games for youth violence other than pure scapegoating. No conclusive evidence exists for the assertion that violent games affect us any more or less than violent movies, and the current game rating system is IMO much better than the movie rating system.
Not to mention youth violence is actually _significantly_ down since the introduction of violent video games. IMHO that’s a coincidence, but considering the standards Jack Thompson and co. hold themselves to it is fair to point it out.
[...] buy their child a game when it has a large ‘18′ on the front. I have not only had a rant or two about games causing violence before, but I have also mentioned parents buying games they [...]