Kuros said:
Well as a guy that’s going to be a dad in a mere 2.5 months, I wouldn’t want my son going into a game store and picking up some crazy game and me not know about it. Let’s say his friend’s mom takes them and she’s less than up to speed on what ratings are and what is in video games. Now my kid has a game I don’t want him to have at his particular age because there was nothing to prevent him from getting it. I think it should be regulated to protect kids. Just a parent’s POV. I’m all about freedom to put whatever you want into a video game. I just don’t think that some games are for all ages, and I’d like to know that the gaming community has my child’s interests in mind.
Thats why the ESRB exists, to regulate the sale of games. Your child will be more likely to get into an R rated movie than be able to buy a M rated video game. He will be a lot more likely to be able to buy a unrated or R rated movie before being able to buy an M rated game. There is even a greater chance that he will be able to buy an explicit CD. The ESRB is the best in the business for regulating ratings and they are getting better.
No law is going to prevent a kids, friends, parent from buying a game and him/her being exposed to it. That will simply be up to each individual parent to control as best they can. It is the parents responsibility, especially in their own home, to monitor what their child plays/does.
I find it pretty hard to believe that my kid will be able to get the transportation and the money to buy an M rated game without me knowing about it. If he/she is that resourceful and I’m that blind then I would think they would find any means to get the game, regardless of the laws against the store. If he has the money and it disappears I’ll be suspicious and look into it. Really there is no excuse for a parent not knowing that their child is playing some game they don’t want them to be playing. With the parental controls on consoles and the ability to limit what is installed on a PC, I really don’t see this being a problem for a responsible parent.
Also, based on my personal experience of not being limited what I could watch/listen to/play when I was a child, I have not once thought of killing another person. I have never wanted to steal a car. I get queasy at the sight of real blood or bad injuries. My personal experience is part of my own decision that games are an outlet and not an influence, at least not an influence to any lasting degree. At most a person will be upset in an immediate sense of losing a game, but thats normal for any game, digital or not.
The way I see it, the parent is the only real control over games. The fact that there isn’t any ‘proof’ of harm to a minor when playing an M rated game makes it impossible for any law to be passed currently. I guess I feel more inclined to parental rights and parental responsibility over the government telling me what media is safe for my child. Hell the news is often more harmful, because its real, than most M rated games. But thats just my opinion.
Either way, let the parents be parents. *edited* nanny states.