Might we soon need ID to purchase video games ?

[Mr.Faxanadu]

I bet you games like GTA III and Manhunt are the cause of this proposed regulation (article below)

After playing GTA III I can’t blame them – Don’t you find that when your kicking the girl you just beat down to the pavement that the kicks are automatically placed in the groin region NASTY


From gamespot news:


Japan considering self-imposed game regulation
Kanagawa prefecture legislation and a GTAIII-linked murder spur the game industry in Japan to take action.

According to Mainichi Interactive, the Japanese game industry--including leading console manufacturers Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo--are considering implementing a self-imposed regulation on sales of games to minors. The industry is reviewing a number of possibilities, including requiring identification when selling games targeted toward players over age 18. The Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association's (CESA) distribution committee, lead by committee chief (and Koei president) Kiyoshi Komatsu, is currently in discussion with publishers and retailers.

The industry's self-control is seen as a move to deter the Japanese government from imposing regulations that could hinder the freedom of expression in games. "I think that there needs to be some rules and regulations for game sales, but the censorship on the expressions in the games should be left to the industry," said one anonymous publishing-company executive, whose opinion seems to represent the general consensus among the industry.

The move comes on the heels of Kanagawa prefecture's decision to ban the sales of Grand Theft Auto III to minors as a "harmful publication." The ban has led other prefectures to consider taking similar steps for games that are violent in nature, especially given that there have recently been a number of juvenile crime incidences that were linked to games. Aichi prefecture will be implementing an age-limit restriction in July, and Osaka prefecture will address the issue in September. Ishikawa and Saitama prefectures are planning to regulate sales of violent games as well.

In February, a 17-year-old boy was arrested for killing one teacher and stabbing three others in his old elementary school. The boy was later found out to be a hardcore gamer who wanted to work in the gaming industry, and he was a fan of the Resident Evil series. More recently, a 15-year-old boy who murdered his parents and concealed his crime by blowing up their Tokyo apartment with homemade explosives was linked in the media to Grand Theft Auto III.

By Staff -- GameSpot
POSTED: 06/27/05 01:00 PM PST

[shvnsth]

i know some stores around here require that you have id on you when you purchase games. sucks

[Zilla]

I dont think its a big deal if the start carding people for games. They do it for movies. It sucks when you arent of age but I guess that would stop the arguements and games would go to the groups they were intended for.

[Cmosfm]

i know some stores around here require that you have id on you when you purchase games. sucks

No, it doesn't "suck", it's responsible salesmanship. These games aren't for children under the age of 17 and if you aren't 17, you shouldn't be playing these games.

Life's hard, buy a helmet.

[bargora]

I know that no age regulation is going to be popular with the underage set; but I'd really prefer to have the industry set the standards for enforcement rather than Congressman Joe Grandstand, who would doubtless prefer that videogames be sent back to 1981 levels of violence and graphics.

That Pac-Man was just so cute!

[punkoffgirl]

i know some stores around here require that you have id on you when you purchase games. sucks

No, it doesn't "suck", it's responsible salesmanship. These games aren't for children under the age of 17 and if you aren't 17, you shouldn't be playing these games.

Life's hard, buy a helmet.

I agree with Cmos. I don't see any problem with having to prove you're old enough to purchase a game that contains a lot of gratuitous violence.

[Chuplayer]

I got carded at Best Buy when buying Time Crisis 3 last year. I was 18, looked 18, and the game was rated T. WTF. Can't sell orange toy guns to kids anymore?

I have no opinion on the matter. I just wanted to tell that story.

[kainemaxwell]

For games rated M I don't see what the problem with carding is. Just like making sure someone is old enough to buy a cd with the "Explict lyrics" sticker on it.

[Push Upstairs]

I don't care if they card for MA rated games...i'm old enough to buy whatever i want.

I do think its a good idea to card for MA games but alot of good it does when parents just buy the kids the games or people just ignore the ratings.

[shvnsth]

i know some stores around here require that you have id on you when you purchase games. sucks

No, it doesn't "suck", it's responsible salesmanship. These games aren't for children under the age of 17 and if you aren't 17, you shouldn't be playing these games.

Life's hard, buy a helmet.

who says that these games arent for kids under 17? they sell books that are a lot more violent (american physco for one) to kids who are 10, and that book would teach the young reader far more shit than any video game i can think of. also, with the internet and tv, the kids could look up anything they want online, from snuff to porn.

[punkoffgirl]

i know some stores around here require that you have id on you when you purchase games. sucks

No, it doesn't "suck", it's responsible salesmanship. These games aren't for children under the age of 17 and if you aren't 17, you shouldn't be playing these games.

Life's hard, buy a helmet.

who says that these games arent for kids under 17? they sell books that are a lot more violent (american physco for one) to kids who are 10, and that book would teach the young reader far more shit than any video game i can think of. also, with the internet and tv, the kids could look up anything they want online, from snuff to porn.

Because video games have come under fire, and the industry is being proactive about it, rather than letting the "government" make the rules. What's the big deal about having to prove you're old enough to purchase the game? If parents want their kids to have that material and purchase it for them, then that's up to them.. same goes with reading the books or using the internet.

[pragmatic insanester]

kicking in the groin region is not just for vicious purpose - its also tactical. aiming your foot into the chest or head area is easier to fend off because of the way your arms can shield. it also has a better center of balance (your groin), so it will keep the person rooted onto the ground better.

[Crazycarl]

I don't see anything wrong with this. Little kids shouldn't be playing these games, because sometimes they can't differ from reality and fiction. This will also help w/ the neglecable parents who get pissed off when they see thier kid playing a violent game that they bought them, because they didn't know it was violent. Hell it's only in the name GRAND THEFT AUTO.

Life's hard, buy a helmet.

one of my fav. lines from no cure for cancer. and its life sucks, get a helmet.

[Cmosfm]

I don't see anything wrong with this. Little kids shouldn't be playing these games, because sometimes they can't differ from reality and fiction. This will also help w/ the neglecable parents who get pissed off when they see thier kid playing a violent game that they bought them, because they didn't know it was violent. Hell it's only in the name GRAND THEFT AUTO.

Life's hard, buy a helmet.

one of my fav. lines from no cure for cancer. and its life sucks, get a helmet.

Well life doesn't suck, and it doesn't work in the case, so I used "hard".

Umich, is it safe to assume that you are under 17?

Kids always have access to anything they want, graphic books, national geographics with boobs in them, Robitussin that gets you high when you OD on it, it's all out there and easily accessable to children. Thing is, video games are popular, very very popular. I'd be willing to be that 4 out of 5 kids own or play a game console regularly.

Now, if that many kids were hardcore into reading books, and they were all picking up American Psycho and basing their choices on what's the most explicit book they can find is, I'm sure we'd see carding and rating scales for books too.

As for the internet, it's up to a responsible parent to know what their kids are doing online and just not let little 12 year old Jimmy have free run of the PC.

[Mangar]

As long as the carding is done voluntarily by the retailers, i don't have a problem with it. My only issue is when they attempt to circumvent the Constitution in order to pass laws that FORCE retailers to do so.

As it stands now: It's up to the store.

[WanganRunner]

i know some stores around here require that you have id on you when you purchase games. sucks

No, it doesn't "suck", it's responsible salesmanship. These games aren't for children under the age of 17 and if you aren't 17, you shouldn't be playing these games.

Life's hard, buy a helmet.

I *completely* agree.

Anyone who argues to the contrary is an enemy of the industry. There are only two options, ratings enforcement (like this) or censorship, and censorship is unacceptable.

[tony_good]

Carding isn't such a big deal.

Lieberman and McCain's protesting that caused the rating system actually resulted in ludicrous censorship of language, but not of violence.

Now that they are finally allowed to say F*ck, it's not such a problem.

It is annoying when people ask for my ID - considering I am old as the hills and they are actually accusing me of lying about my age, but what can you do?

We will always live in an ageist, racist, sexist, homophobic society, unfortunately.

[kevincure]

My only problem is the ratings scale. It seems like the Game rating scale is much harsher than the movie rating scale, but Joe On The Street treats them as equivalent. A T rating is not the same as a PG-13, and a M is often not the same as an R. I think this is remedied somewhat by the new "not quite E, not quite T" rating they're putting out for games with cartoon violence.

Also, concerning GTA in particular: As many have mentioned, games aren't necessarily "violent" or "non-violent". GTA is as violent as the player makes it. It reflects the player. If you don't seek out prostitutes, you don't see them. If you don't personally shoot cops, cops don't get shot. That's quite a bit different from other forms of media.

[chrisbid]

i dont see a problem with it at all, i would rather the industry and retailers card people, than the jesus freaks in congress ban certain content in video games

[Slimedog]

I would not mind seeing manditory ID checks for M rated games. Mainly because without them, the places that do card will be effectively punished for the policy. Kids will go elsewhere to buy what they want and the conscientious stores will lose sales. Nobody is going to buy Spongebob over GTA if they can go across the street to an indie store and get it.