Topic: Kids and violent videogames

Isn't that almost the same reason Mario is considered to be for babies by the "Cool kids"?

This thread is amusing.

You guys hate when the media attacks gaming for "causing" someone to go on a gun-toting rampage.

Then you guys say it's perfectly fine for impressionable minds to access violent, adult material.

It's one or the other. You can't have both.

Children should not be playing adult games - and yes, 13 and 14 year old people are children. Although I have my fair share of concerns over how arbitary age classifications are, as a guideline I do find them useful, and parents should be encouraged to enforce them, not ignore them on the pretext that "it's actually ok."

As a side note the other thing I always find amusing is the same people that think war games or movies are A-ok for children object quite vocally at the concept of nudity or sexual content in films or games. It's a little sad because sex is a whole lot healthier as an activity than guns.

@WaltzElf: look at who's doing the replying -- the kids who want to play the games in question without restriction. of course there's gonna be a double standard all up in this thread. :3

that said, I do feel parents should be paying attention to the games their children are begging for, and doing their homework as well. there's information about everything all over the internet now, so there's no excuse anymore for people not being aware of what's going on in the games their children want to play. in the end, though, it's up to the parents to make what they feel are the right choices for their kids, not ours,

@Waltz: Very little research actually suggests that kids become violent from playing adult video games. Like others here, I've played mature games since I was little and actually had no intention of becoming violent. I believe the stronger influence is the parents.

Oh, and I learned to drive by playing Mario Kart

This.

Though, Adam the Clowns death scene in Dead Rising is pretty messy.

this is a good point too. being active in their choices and playing the games along with kids, it's just like watching TV along with them and supervising their internet stuff; people need to raise their children instead of letting technology raise them.

Samus' opinon?

What do you think?

well i believe that you should be able to play any game you want if your mature enough to handle it, but unless scientists invent some sorta maturity scale, thatll never happen.

anyway, youngins at the age of 10 and less shouldnt be able to play games like GTA and such. theyll be more likely to imitate the stuff in the game, and that sticks with them when they grow up. seriously, i was at a camp with 10 year olds who had been playing violent games since they were young and they were messed up! they were talking about masturbating and cursing every second word. 10 year olds... but once you reach somewhere in your teen years, you understand the stuff in the game and you can separate fictional stuff with the real world. you wont go out and splatter an old lady on your jacked car just because you see it in a video game. and then theres that class of kids who just play rated M games to brag about it.. yeah those guys are the mortal incarnation of Satan in bite sized packages...

Hey parents: stop being stupid. Don't buy your kid violent videogames and he'll be less likely to go on a murdering rampage. Seriously.

I wanted to highlight this as it is fairly important. Some war movies and games are very important and offer powerful insights. However, only someone old enough can understand the "point of the movie"; otherwise it is just another movie where people shoot each other and is good entertainment. A lot of action movies actually have messages behind them that don't involve "shooting people with a rocket launcher is awesome" and "this person can kick this persons butt". However, until you get past, just the entertainment value of it all, you can enjoy the point or idea of the film.
The last Rambo (4) had an incredible amount of violence and was very gory, but it had a point to it. I can't remember where it took place exactly, but it was in South America, and was also filmed there. What happens in that movie wasn't entirely made up, and I actually remember reading somewhere that the film crew was actually shot at a few times.
The movie saw has a kind of paradox. Jigsaw punished these people for various crimes. Is this ok, or not? It is incredibly sick, but do they deserve it? It is a very clouded judgment. But to my point, do you think a kid should be watching this? Of course not; it is a sick movie. What if it was just someone shooting them? Is it ok? Some people might say yes. but do you think a kid should be mucking around in cloudy waters or that they will even understand what is good and bad.

That was very long-winded and just completely ranting, but I hope there is some wort of semi-clear point in there. I don't think I can type any more... I can never seem to explain myself very well. Not unless it contains numbers.

I'm pretty sure that contempary reasoning is that violent material can be a catalyst rather than a cause.

So yes, the parents themselves are the main problem. But then a parent that is willing to let their 13 year old child become involved in the adult world is not doing a good job in the first place. Downward spiral and all that.

I would prefer parents realise that if they're going to let their kids play hardcore war simulations, they should also go out and buy them pornography. Because that is actually less potentially harmful.

Also, I agree with the dude above me. It's not that ultraviolence will make the child ultraviolent in itself. It's whether the child is of the age to propely inteperate what is going on.

This.
the TV show 'Heroes' would've been rated M if it were a game, I tell you :/

There is a very good and simple explanation for this.

Because games are interactive, the impact on the player is greater - it's a more intense and personal experience. I do agree with this.

It also reminds me that games and movies are rated differently in separate countries, which is fairly odd.
For example, Sweeny Todd and The Expendables are both rated for 12 and up in France, while I believe these movies are 18 and up in the UK. Nier on the other hand was 15 in the UK and 18 in France.
I don't understand.

To be on the subject, it really is up to the parents to decide.

Different nations have different values systems when it comes to ratings. Different nations have different levels of tolerance for violence, sexual content and so on and so forth.

Australia doesn't even have an R18+ rating. Any game deemed more explicit than 15+ is instead banned.

And while it's up to parents to decide, they should be following the rating system of their country. The reason for this is the rating system forms part of a broader social climate, and the children are being brought up to be a part of that social climate.

Much like how I personally don't think kids should be smoking or drinking before they hit 18 (for Australia)

Video games won't turn your kids into a raving zombie killing lunatic, you will.

But frankly, if someone released a virus upon the world, I would like to have someone who has some experience dealing with them.
_{just sayin}

Amen, brother.

I censor what my kids see when they're in my "jurisdiction". I don't allow them to play games that are adult-themed. Even in the case of movies where the material might be questionable, my wife and I will watch them first to make sure we approve. If it's iffy, then we watch with them. They're at a very impressionable age and if they're going to be brainwashed, I'd rather it be me that's doing the brainwashing. Unfortunately, there is a huge amount of craziness in elementary school these days and I have little control over that.

My personal opinion is that if they're mature enough to handle it, can tell the difference between reality and a game, and they don't have any mental illnesses, then it should be fine. Generally, this would mean over 13 for me. Kids aren't going to go on a psycho rampage if you've been any sort of parent at all and they don't have a serious mental problem (In which case they shouldn't play games at all)

it would be a very rare child at 13 who could handle adult content with any maturity.

In my humble opinion if someone is not deemed old enough to engage in sexual behaviour or legal drug use (alcohol, tobacco), then they are certainly not in any position to be exposed to ultraviolence.

Yes some, or even most, would be unscathed by such activity, but then that goes for anything. There are also 13 year olds who are mentally ready for sex, and self-controlled enough to drink responcibly, but the general health of society requires that those that can need to wait for the majority who shouldn't be exposed at such a young age.

Kids playing games over their age rating always makes me feel really uneasy. At my little sister's school kids as young as 10 are always talking talking about how much they love GTA or Call of Duty. I know that the parents should take some responsibility, but lots of parents know nothing about video games and think they're all for kids anyway! It doesn't help that lots of 16 or 18-rated games are clearly designed for 12 or 13 year olds, and kids who think they're 'hardcore' (a term I hate using) see playing a 3 or 7 rated game as stupid or (more often than not) 'gay'.

Here's a letter I saw on GameCentral this morning - I've had similar experiences in the past several times:

I know this has been said before but I am so angry that I have to write this. Yesterday I was in GAME and there was a man (smartly dressed businessman) next to me buying Red Dead Redemption. He had with him his son who was between 8 and 11 years old, certainly no older.
He explained to the three staff members behind the counter that he thought it was time his lad had an 18-rated game. His son responded like a very young child, 'my mate has an 18 game'. The store manager recommended he skip the cut scenes as some were a little brutal and contained a lot of swear words to which the dad responded 'he hears swearing', but did ask is it really that violent?
The manager said yes, but it is a cracking game and turning to the boy he said 'if you like 18 games I have been playing Mafia which is also very good'. The staff, man and boy then started talking about films and games that should have been 18 rated but were not. The boy was largely ignored because he said a lot of immature things, like a small child trying to be an adult. The adults seemed to miss this point.