Another M-Rated Game Law Proposed

[SoulBlazer]

Well, this one makes some sence to me:

http://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6084856.html

I agree with the hight restriction and the seperate area but the punishment seems a bit strict. All the height restriction and the other area is take responsiblity away from the store, since they can now claim that they did everything resonable, and leave it in the hands of where it SHOULD be -- the parents.

[§ Gideon §]

Pah. Let them do what they want; I, for one, don't give a rats' ass anymore.

[Oobgarm]

Pah. Let them do what they want; I, for one, don't give a rats' ass anymore.

Here, here!

I don't know about you guys, but all I play games for is to become a "shooter". x_x

[Cmosfm]

I don't know about you guys, but all I play games for is to become a "shooter".

LMAO!!!! I read that in the article and though, ummm, shooter?

Anyways, I find this all to be taken out of hand. If people stop treating games like childrens toys then this wouldnt happen. If people would realize that games are for everyone than maybe people will stop caring so much like with movies.

Anyways, it all comes down to the parents. The ones that let there 11-12 year olds watch R rated movies and play these games, the ones that let there kids stay out till 3 in the morning with only a vague idea of where there at or what there doing. Parenting skills seem to be thrown out of the door nowadays and kids are out doing whatever and whenever, then someone gets hurt or pregnant and all of a sudden the parents supposedly "care" and blame it on something else...usually the games there playing or the movies there watching, the ones that the parents bought them without placing the knowledge of "fantasy" and "reality" in there heads first.

Anyways, since the parents are too moronic to do what there supposed to the government steps in. But while there still passing off video games as kids toys and trying to get mature games banned, there not doing what needs to be done, which is get these games away from kids and put stricter laws on them. Hell, they have stricter laws on selling a game a day before the release date than they do on selling an adult game to a kid! There should be major fines in place for this, for instance if a store is caught selling a mature item to a minor the store gets fined 5000.00 (thats the fine for selling before the street date), and the employee that sells it loses his job. That should be on everything, games, movies AND music. And no more of this "if your with a parent you can buy it" bullshit, any kid can get a man to come into a store with him and buy it.

Anyways, this law is a step in the right direction, now lets stop the commercials that play durning cartoon hour after school and maybe we can help a few more parents who are too stupid to raise there kids themselves.

[Ed Oscuro]

Move this one to VG Discussion :D

Do I agree with this law? Hm. I know seeing some disturbing/sexy things as a kid in stores stuck with me (and I can still remember most of them), can't say it's really "messed me up" since I have good parents :)

I don't see how this is a bad thing, really.

[RetroYoungen]

It's gotten so blown out of proportion, I don't care anymore either. Though I would like to go on record as saying that pornography is not necessarily "harmful matter to children" if shown in the right light and at the right age.

"No more of these video games [will] help our kids become shooters," Yee said, "These are not the activities we should be teaching our children."

I don't know, I like shooting the hell out of demons and otherworlders when THEY SHOOT FIRST AT ME. Geez, fight back in self-defence, whydontcha.

Oh, and when is there going to be a game where I can shoot a bunch of stupid people? That would be a fun time right there!

[kai123]

I don't know about the hefty fines they are putting on the retailers. It would seem they are pushing the responsibility on someone else again. If they require a parent to come that should be enough. Hefty fines are not the answer to lazy stupid parents. If a parent is not involved enough to know what their kids are playing then it is no ones fault but the parents.

People need to take personal responsibility end of my rant. Bad parents usually mean bad kids.

[Balloon Fight]

I think these government people are just BS when it comes to try and protect kids from games. Thats why there is the ESRB and parents.

[Duncan]

Anyways, I find this all to be taken out of hand. If people stop treating games like childrens toys then this wouldnt happen. If people would realize that games are for everyone than maybe people will stop caring so much like with movies.

Hear, hear. Video games are a part of the mass media just like anything else, and should be treated and regulated as such.

Anyways, it all comes down to the parents. The ones that let there 11-12 year olds watch R rated movies and play these games, the ones that let there kids stay out till 3 in the morning with only a vague idea of where there at or what there doing. Parenting skills seem to be thrown out of the door nowadays and kids are out doing whatever and whenever, then someone gets hurt or pregnant and all of a sudden the parents supposedly "care" and blame it on something else...usually the games there playing or the movies there watching, the ones that the parents bought them without placing the knowledge of "fantasy" and "reality" in there heads first.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, with the caveat that parents can't be everywhere their child goes. Still, there needs to be a stronger emphasis on education -- for both parents and kids -- in the content and impact of video games and violent/amoral media in general.

That is, I did agree until you started to contradict yourself...

Anyways, since the parents are too moronic to do what there supposed to the government steps in. But while there still passing off video games as kids toys and trying to get mature games banned, there not doing what needs to be done, which is get these games away from kids and put stricter laws on them.

Wait a minute, what? You totally blew your whole point about parenting out of the water with that. Good parenting consists of knowing what's out there and setting limits on it, not waiting for the government to do it for you.

Hell, they have stricter laws on selling a game a day before the release date than they do on selling an adult game to a kid! There should be major fines in place for this, for instance if a store is caught selling a mature item to a minor the store gets fined 5000.00 (thats the fine for selling before the street date), and the employee that sells it loses his job. That should be on everything, games, movies AND music.

That's a bit harsh. There's no way, for starters, that the government could fine that much every time a clerk either slipped up or even intentionally sold an "explicit" item to a minor. Even if the retail industry didn't lobby such a fine out of existence (and believe me, they would), there's no way such a law would stand up for long once the lost profits began to pile up.

Secondly, such a system would require the government to set its own standards as to what's considered "explicit". And government-sanctioned ratings are a phenomenon I'd rather not invite upon the world of entertainment. The mass media industry - via the MPAA, RIAA and ESRB - have chosen to self-regulate themselves for quite some time, and they've been doing quite well (though I've always thought the generic "Parental Advisory" stickers were too vague).

And no more of this "if your with a parent you can buy it" bullshit, any kid can get a man to come into a store with him and buy it.

That's a crock and you know it. I can count on one or maybe two fingers the times, in five years of working behind a mass-retail electronics counter, that I've ever had a kid come back with an adult (any adult) after I told them they couldn't buy a game due to their age.

(By the way, you can't just say "bulls**t" like that. The government might consider it to be too explicit for this family forum.)

Anyways, this law is a step in the right direction, now lets stop the commercials that play durning cartoon hour after school and maybe we can help a few more parents who are too stupid to raise there kids themselves.

If the parents are that stupid, we ought to be educating them first rather than prosecuting the middle man.

As for the proposed extension of the California code, I think it sets a dangerous precedent. Especially when the bill will include games and materials that "visually depict serious injury to human beings in a manner that is especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel". The article calls that "fuzzy" and so do I. What about news documentaries, for instance? Or TV shows like "ER"? Don't they show exactly what the bill describes on a weekly basis?

Given that description, the recently released collection of Looney Tunes classic cartoons ought to be banned entirely -- look at the nasty stuff Bugs Bunny has done to Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam over all those years. x_x

What the government needs to do is push the industry to regulate itself more strongly, allowing retailers and game companies (as well as the major movie and music labels) to reach a reasonable compromise that serves both parties and protects the consumer without inhibiting his or her right to choose. What they don't need to do is clutter up the legal books with ever more restrictions and codes that, in the end, will only restrict our freedom of expression.

And that will be all, thank you.