Poll: Do you think parents know the consequences for banning/restricting the sale of games?

[Abanic]

Judging by all the 12 year-olds playing Halo, Modern Warfare, Left 4 Dead, & all the other MATURE rated games; we know that parents don't pay attention to ESRB ratings and retailers are not voluntarily enforcing the rating recommendations. While I don't think that selling games needs to be restricted by law, I do think that parents and retailers need to restrict MATURE games from the little kids that shouldn't be playing them in the first place.

That's what I don't understand about the American rating system. Here in Aus you have to be 16 to buy a 16+ game, I don't see why you guys don't just enforce the age ratings on games and be done with it. If a parent thinks their child can handle a game the is restricted from the normally, then that's their decision.

Ah, now you've found the crux of the issue. What this is all about is WHO the "you guys" are that are supposed to be enforcing the recommended age ratings. Is it supposed to be the government or the retailers?
In the United States, the National Association of Theater Owners voluntarily enforces ID checks when youths try to get into mature movies (based on MPAA ratings), but the retailers of video games do not enforce the standards recommended by the ESRB. Retailers are afraid (rightly so) that if they restrict children from purchasing rated 'M' games then their profits will suffer. So, how do we make people do the right thing?

 

[Worgen]

the thing is, most people dont seem to realize there is no law banning minors from seeing rated R movies, pretty much every theater agrees to not allow minors to view them but there is no law backing it up

 

[Geekosaurus]

'M' rated games are surely already treated like porn? You have to be 18 to buy them?

 

[johnsom]

an issue born of the extreme right and carefully constructed thought not likely.

 

[Keepitclean]

Honestly, I doubt it would go that far. Besides, that wouldn't stop kids from getting them.

It would also take years for these videogame restrictions to spread wide enough to kill the videogame industry. In that time plenty of people from more technology literate generations will become parents reducing parental pressure on videogame restrictions. There will alway be freaks like Jack Thompson and sheep like those who blindly follow him. To me this just appears to be a minor bump in the road of videogames developing as a medium.

I know that when I become a parent I won't be as freaked out as some of my friends parents are (my parents are pretty cool with gamesd in general, grandparents aren't so much). But I will discourage kids from playing games in the same way that I did.

 

[ServebotFrank]

I love how California is repeating the exact same thing Louisiana did. In Louisiana nothing changed and the Supreme Court repealed it wasting all that money. Why does California think doing the exact same thing is a good idea?

 

[gamer_parent]

They're parents, by definition they don't know anything beyond what they're told by news programs of varied credibility...

nice. you just insulted every parent on this board. And there are a few of them.

I know some of you don't think this is a big deal. And from the a certain aspect, it isn't. What IS a big deal is that greater restriction on distribution will lead to less incentive for people to develop games. Worst case scenario, game publishers will close up shop and not bother with more mature games due to the content being potential commercial suicide.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Judging by all the 12 year-olds playing Halo, Modern Warfare, Left 4 Dead, & all the other MATURE rated games; we know that parents don't pay attention to ESRB ratings and retailers are not voluntarily enforcing the rating recommendations. While I don't think that selling games needs to be restricted by law, I do think that parents and retailers need to restrict MATURE games from the little kids that shouldn't be playing them in the first place.

That's what I don't understand about the American rating system. Here in Aus you have to be 16 to buy a 16+ game, I don't see why you guys don't just enforce the age ratings on games and be done with it. If a parent thinks their child can handle a game the is restricted from the normally, then that's their decision.

Ah, now you've found the crux of the issue. What this is all about is WHO the "you guys" are that are supposed to be enforcing the recommended age ratings. Is it supposed to be the government or the retailers?
In the United States, the National Association of Theater Owners voluntarily enforces ID checks when youths try to get into mature movies (based on MPAA ratings), but the retailers of video games do not enforce the standards recommended by the ESRB. Retailers are afraid (rightly so) that if they restrict children from purchasing rated 'M' games then their profits will suffer. So, how do we make people do the right thing?

Ahah! I see now, thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[Nouw]

Yeah well it'd be a lie to say banning games would have a huge impact in the Business Market. Millions are made every year via Video Games. No lie.

 

[Good morning blues]

Yes, you're right. If this decision goes the wrong way, a multi-billion dollar international industry will simply disappear.

 

[Talon_Skywarp]

Nintendo plot

Get rid of violent games and let us all sit around in ideal family homes playing on WII Dinner party or WII happy super mega pastel shirt family time.

And people call me paranoid!

 

[Meggiepants]

To be honest, I suspect most parents won't really care whether or not games die out. If you don't play them, why would you care? I understand the children of said parents love the games, and would be upset if the medium died - which is something I don't really believe, but that's another discussion.

But parents generally view their children as not being rational. In their minds, they will likely just think kids will grow out of it. This is not something I agree with mind you, but I say this as an over 30 woman who works with teens and knows the parents.

I don't know whether or not the Supreme Court will strike this down. This case isn't saying you can't buy video games, it's saying you can't buy certain games under a certain age. Even movies don't have this law, so I don't know what precedent will be used in the case.

Artistic merit in video games doesn't really come into play unless you are trying to outlaw the sale of video games completely because they are obscene, a description that would never be levied on video games since the Supreme Court sees artistic merit in Hustler, so it would be strange for them not to see it in certain video games.

However, this is a complicated issue because you are really discussing the rights of minors, which the supreme court has regularly stated is not equal to the rights of adults in certain cases.

It makes me wish I could take my constitutional law class again, because I'm sure my professor would discuss this in depth and that would be a really interesting day of class.

 

[Kenko]

Banning and restricting games. Something that pathetic excuses of parents who cant be bothered with parenting do to feel good about themselves. Some people shouldnt be allowed to breed.