I was in the video store the other day and a commercial came on the TV in the store. A boy was talking about how his mom checks the videogames he gets for an appropriate rating. I never used to see this type of info. The importance of video game ratings had never really taken precedent before.
Parents need to be aware of what their children are exposed to—and have a certain amount of control over what their children do. Is it not the adult’s job to know what’s right and wrong for their child?
Some of you teenagers are groaning and rolling your eyes at the very idea of parental control, but let’s turn the focus to your more naive younger siblings (or any young child if you don’t have a young sibling). Do you think that all video games are created equally?
Something worth noting is that video games are rated differently than movies. Here are the three you should familiarize yourself with.
“E” is for everyone. Games of this rating are generally of interest to all ages—and are appropriate for the little ones. An example of an “E” rated game is Nascar: Dirt to Daytona.
“T” is for Teen. Simple, right? The rating choice is usually explained somewhere on the packaging where you can see if before renting or buying the game. For example, on the back of Eragon is the rating with “Blood, Mild Language, and Violence” added as specific details. Not hard stuff to swallow for teens or adults, but probably something you don’t want a six year old to play.
“M” is the equivalent of the “R” rating in movies. It stands for Mature and is indeed for individuals 17 years and older. On the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City gamer is this rating. It’s rated for “Blood and gore, violence, Strong Language, and Strong Sexual Content”. If I wanted to, in this game I could have the character go to the mall and buy a Katana blade and watch blood spurt from the headless bodies as I hack them on my way to stealing a car so I can run over pedestrians. Not that I’ve ever done that…more than four times.
Visit the video game rating systems (ESRB) website or call for more info on game ratings.
www.esrb.org
1-800-771-3772
Feel free to discuss what you feel about video game ratings on this blog. Have more information to share? PM or comment and I’d be happy to add it in if you want.
Even though there is ratings on the video games, people feel that they or thier kids can handle video games. Its just a game . Its not real life. Well life like images and games can surely take a toll on on children who are not ready to see everything.
The images might not adversely affect adults, but a developing mind of a younger child could definitely be affected if you ask me. Lax parents who allow their children to play Mature-rated games aren't aware of what morals--or lack therof--their children are learning. Did you know that there are Kill Frenzies in Grand Theft Auto in which you have to kill a certain amount of people in a brutal way in order to gain points?
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Mind Control is Easier Than You Think
Wait, so a parent might not want to get the latest Grand Theft Auto game for their 5 year old?
:)X
It never ceases to amaze me, but in just about every kindergarten I've been in, there has been a kid who plays Grand Theft Auto at home, or something similar. I even heard one kid talking about raping his ho. He was six.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Not just having sex with them, but apparently (in one version at least, I don't play any of them, so I don't know if it is still there) if you have sex with them, you get extra 'energy' and if you kill them, you get money.
Yup, those are the good morals to teach our kids....
Not just having sex with them, but apparently (in one version at least, I don't play any of them, so I don't know if it is still there) if you have sex with them, you get extra 'energy' and if you kill them, you get money.
Yup, those are the good morals to teach our kids....
I've heard about the sex thing, but no "raping of ho's". Six years old? That's scary. I own Vice City (actually, I own each of the examples I listed in the blog) and sometimes it can bother me to know that children play the game. I mean, these images could really screw you up! At one point in the game, I didn't have money for somethign that I wanted and I didn't feel like stealing a taxi to earn the money, so I found that killing people earns you money. Pretty bad. There's a new GTA coming out too, Grand Theft Auto IV, and the first thing I was wondering was how many too-young children would play this game.
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Video rating are a good thing. i have noticed something though. when i watched a movie when i was younger and it was PG 13 (I was like 10 or 8) I didn't understand sexual comments or anything because I was to young. When I rewatched it again the movie had different meaning to it. I know that sounds strange but that is how it was for me. It was the same with games.
I know children have changed now so I think it is good. I am some what mixed about this because I used to watch rated R movies and play violent games when I was 13 and younger. It never really had an impact on me, but I think I may be the different weird one.
http://www.progressiveu.org/032913-lupus-uncureable-wait-what
Love comments? I do too!
That doesn't necessarily mean you're weird. I watched scary movies at a young age (though they did freak me out sometimes) and I've played the more mature games at a younger age too, but I doubt my laid back dad would have wanted me playing GTA when I was in elementary school.
There's a possibility that watching violent images only affects certain people/certain ages, but the proper studies haven't been done to determine the truthfulness of that statement (to my knowledge). I did a research paper on video game violence a year or so ago but some of the studies were a little inconclusive. It's hard to take some scientists seriously when you can tell there's a bit of bias in the statistics or the study itself.
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Mind Control is Easier Than You Think