Dark0ne Posted March 24, 2005 Author Share Posted March 24, 2005 I know when I have children of my own I won't be letting them play games like Mortal Kombat, Manhunt, GTA etc until they're at an age I believe they can make a good real-life distinction between life and escapism. Generally I'd say that age is around the 15 mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanhead Posted March 25, 2005 Share Posted March 25, 2005 Being 15, you'll understand why I disagree with that. But I guess when you have kids, you'll have to make an informed decision on whether they can play these games, based on how phsycologically mature they are. Some kids are more mature than others. You could have a 13 year old who acts maturely, as you would expect a responsible 16 year old to act. If this was the case, I'd probably let him play 15 rated games, maybe 18 rated ones, depending on what game it is. Contrasting this, a 16 year old who acts like a 12 year old shouldn't be allowed to play 18 rated games. Well that's just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaiv Posted March 26, 2005 Share Posted March 26, 2005 And that's what makes the rating system complicated and unecessary. I think that it should exist, but in order to inform of content, and not directly dictate what ages can play certain games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmid Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Still, I bet this law won't have any effect. It's still the person at the counter's decision whether or not to sell in the end :P<{POST_SNAPBACK}> To a certain extent, yes. However, if they enforce it the same way they do over here in the UK, if you sell an 18 rated game to a 16 year old and get caught, no matter what the circumstances, even if the guy in question actually looks about 30, you will probably get fined and/or jailed (and probably lose your job). And that's what makes the rating system complicated and unecessary. I think that it should exist, but in order to inform of content, and not directly dictate what ages can play certain games. Even that's not perfect, as kids could still buy games without their parents' knowledge. An age-based system that parents or guardians can disregard if they so choose is about the best workable system, IMO, but it's not perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrine Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 What I don't understand is how a voluntary private organization's ratings have been turned into law, and nobody is even slightly bothered by this. You do realize that these game ratings have absolutely no government authority, right? So yes, it would be entirely legal to sell GTA-Whatever if they simply took the rating off the box. The law really makes sense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark0ne Posted March 30, 2005 Author Share Posted March 30, 2005 What I don't understand is how a voluntary private organization's ratings have been turned into law, and nobody is even slightly bothered by this. You do realize that these game ratings have absolutely no government authority, right? Isn't this a form of privatisation? Obviously your government endorses this (or a small section of it) since they have voted on it. Whether or not the organisation in question is government run or not shouldn't affect it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrine Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 What I don't understand is how a voluntary private organization's ratings have been turned into law, and nobody is even slightly bothered by this. You do realize that these game ratings have absolutely no government authority, right? Isn't this a form of privatisation? Obviously your government endorses this (or a small section of it) since they have voted on it. Whether or not the organisation in question is government run or not shouldn't affect it. The point is, those ratings should have no legal force at all. The entire rating process is voluntary, not enforced by government law. All they'd have to do to make those 18-only games legal to sell would be to take the little rating icon off the box. Does this really make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLB1110 Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 I think ESRB is pointless. I mean cmon if you see a game named Manhunt with pictures of people being strangled with bags are you really going to be dumb enough to buy that for your 8yr old child? I think not. Making it illegal to buy M rated games until your 18 is stupid. ESRB is not the law they are only there because some government person bitc*** about violent games saying that violent games make more violent people. This is wrong, I have been playing M rated games for quite a long time and I have never commited a serious crime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark0ne Posted March 30, 2005 Author Share Posted March 30, 2005 Interestingly (or not so interestingly) all the under 18s seem to be dead against it, and the over 18s seem to be less dead-set on it. Well, it looks like noone younger than 20 has responded to this, as far as I know the ages of members here. I totally agree with censorship of films and not just because I'm above the highest age thresh-hold for censorship here in the UK. I wouldn't want any 8 year old seeing Starship Troopers, or Striptease, or Scarface. I don't see why it should be different for Manhunt or Leisure Suit Larry with gaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmid Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 I think ESRB is pointless. I mean cmon if you see a game named Manhunt with pictures of people being strangled with bags are you really going to be dumb enough to buy that for your 8yr old child?<{POST_SNAPBACK}> You might think not, but I can tell you I know what I'm talking about when I say it does happen. And I'm talking about over here in the UK where such a law already exists. Of course, the other thing is, what happens if the 8 year old buys Manhunt himself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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