Comments on: Should Gaming Age Ratings Be Enforced?

By: Howard Roark

Howard Roark — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:58:00 +0000

Who is to say what is and isn’t appropriate for someone “underage” ? Human beings are free beings, sovereign masters of their own affairs, and to deny someone the right to choose to consume media that they see fit for themselves is a violation of their sacred liberty.

In ALL hunter gatherer societies, adulthood starts at puberty. In hunter gatherer societies, children witness maiming and slaughtering of animals, far more brutal than what occurs in most videogames, and turn out perfectly fine.

When teenagers are already having sex, already commiting violent acts, both things perfectly natural in a hunter-gatherer society, why on Earth would you restrict them from choosing to see these things in media, when they already DO more “extreme things” by censorship standards?

By: Thatonedude0321

Thatonedude0321 — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 23:38:43 +0000

I don’t care if an 8 year old is playing Modern Warfare 2, but I DO care when they’re playing online. the age limit should remain where it is for the purchase of games, but I want online gameplay to have age restrictions enforced.

I can’t even begin to express how annoying it is to get home, relax, throw in a game, only to spend the next half hour listening to little kids saying curses they don’t even understand (using them incorrectly) or replying with “your mom” every time you ask them something, or even speak at all. short of muting my entire team -which leads to disaster- there isn’t much I can do about it. is it too hard to ask for an online match in an 17+ game and NOT have someone who is 8 or 9 screaming at you because he didn’t see you shooting him?

Enforcement isn’t even that hard, have it community-enforced (to prevent children asking their parents to register accounts in their name). i don’t know how PS3 or PC games are done, but on an Xbox 360, it should be as easy as selecting their gamertag, filing an underage complaint, and having it looked into by a Microsoft employee if enough complaints are filed in that category.

By: bob

bob — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:52:45 +0000

My son is 12 he plays 15 games like call of duty WaW and i have no problem with him playing these games, he never seems disturbed about them and plays the only on his xbox360 console and just plays them for fun.
I think, if you think your child can handle it let them play it

By: Some Guy

Some Guy — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:05:03 +0000

im 16.5 and was prevented from buying call of duty 4 (16, PECGI rating so not legaly anything) because i only had a photocoppy of my pasport nor the real thing and dont want a citizen card so my details get on 4 databases. Age ratings are needed but some are too harsh and not many people have ID till you can drive that you would carry with you.

By: spacedoubt

spacedoubt — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:28:17 +0000

I’d suggest that punishment should be more in line with a speeding ticket than a major offence. Jailtime is unrealistic, but fining someone with respect for the age of the minor in question is okay. If that R18 game is going to a 17yr-old, it shouldn’t be punished as though it were given to a 5yr-old. Method of enforcement is another question however….

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:45:20 +0000

This may in fact be the worst idea ever.

I am 17, you’re telling me that if my parents buy say…GTAIV for me, they can be fined or spend time in jail? That is horrible.

By: Serenegoose

Serenegoose — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:32:02 +0000

I’m 22 years old and was prevented from buying a second hand copy of quake 4 today because I’m not rich enough to afford a passport and not lucky enough to be at university or anywhere else where free ID is given out. This is directly what censorship leads to, and it’s a godsdamn disgrace. Who was being protected here?

By: Klaus

Klaus — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:44:49 +0000

I thought quite a bit about this. I don’t want anyone dictating to me what I should and shouldn’t teach my (eventual?) kids. Everyone has their own opinion on what’s appropriate for children – obviously.

I don’t actually have a problem with people letting their kids play GTA. That’s the price of freedom. I don’t want anyone encroaching on my ‘rights’, therefore I try very hard not to do it to others. It’s one of my few principles.

I don’t like childrens programming. Others do. I wouldn’t let my children watch too much of that without interference. Others will love the ‘not sharing is evil’ and ‘dissent of the group is evil’ options they offer.

“I’m from New Zealand and if experience has taught me anything, we will soon see stories where the TV news channels will send children into stores to buy GTA – just to show how ‘bad’ the problem is.”

They do this in the United States too. Huzzah!

By: HellTempest

HellTempest — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:27:09 +0000

If parents can’t keep their children from emulating the things in video games or their children are scared/act immaturely because of them, then the parents should have to make the choice, not the government.

What happened to parents parenting?

By: Ben C

Ben C — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:52:05 +0000

Holy shit, do you people not see the danger in letting the government usurp your responsibility to make decisions and judge for yourselves? Do you really feel the government more capable than you are to decide what’s appropriate for you? Do you actually think the criminal system is going to make poor parents better by taking away time and money from them? Come on! And who are you, anyway, to say that someone must go to jail over a computer game? I don’t suppose you’ve had the pleasure of dealing with the government criminal system – it’s insane, ineffective, and expensive. Get off your damned high horse. Any moron who wants to bring down real, actual violence by those-who-are-allowed-to-have-guns (police) upon those of us who aren’t allowed to defend ourselves are eventually going cause us all to become victims of oppression. I can see freedom flying right out the window, and the worst part is that people don’t seem to see it coming.

-partly sorry for the rant, but damnit some people are so stupid.

By: Terazeal

Terazeal — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:52:07 +0000

I absolutely hate people like Hastings, they assume you can’t handle violent content because of how many years you’ve existed. Here’s a thought, let the kids choose their own games so that they can pick stuff that won’t give them nightmares. There are endless variations on an individual no matter what age they are. This individualism extends to the effects of violent media on the person. Restricting someone’s rights based on something so superficial as age is simply wrong.

By: PJ

PJ — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:25:09 +0000

Since somebody mentioned alcohol, I thought I’d just toss this interesting tid-bit into the mix; young children, when their brains are still developing actually have a far higher ability to recover from neurological damage caused by alcohol (and for that matter other drugs too) than do adults. Not that I’m suggesting we give kids Vodka as a substitute for breast milk, but still, interesting.