11 States Favor California Game Law

[DirtyDMan]

Go here......

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/110/1107498p1.html

and here........... This one a long read.....

Games, Film and Fantasy Fulfillment - PS3 Feature at IGN (http://ps3.ign.com/articles/110/1107668p1.html)

As well as here......

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/108/1086057p1.html

I'm kinda in favor of this law.. Just b/c I dont like hearing little kids online... Plus I thought this was already a law b/c every time I buy a M rated game I get ID...

Yet even if they do pass this I dont think I'll change anything... Parents will just get the kids the game just to shut them up.... I mean thats how they get the game now... Kids ask for it and the parents get it for them..

Does anyone else get ID when buying a M rated game or is it just me?

[EpsilonX]

But...doesn't this law already exist? or is it like T rated games now too?

Yea, I get id'd, but i think most people can tell i'm old enough.

[DirtyDMan]

I guess it for what ever game that as violence in it...

[Jokersvirus]

Ok you cant sell to minors, Mommy can you go buy me this game heres my money i earned :)

Fail law!

[BocReaper]

Wat? Isn't the rating system in place for this? The reason kids get violent games is because mommy is a failure who thinks M= Monkey. This'll just change everything. Fail.

[Damonmensch]

This is already in place. I remember having to enforce it all the time at Target. Also I used to get ID'd at the local gamestop, but now the manager and the guy usually there during the week recognize me and don't bother anymore. That and them seeing you pull up driving a car solo kinda gives it away.

[BobTD]

This is actually a little more serious if its an attempt to take power away from the ESRB rating board, the system that self governs the content in games. Right now it may be voluntary for some stats to restrict sales, but where i live the rating system works the same as movie rating systems in how businesses deal with minors.

If we continue to look further at the proposed argument you start to see a lot of other questionable parts of whats being argued and by who:


""The interactive nature of video games is vastly different than passively listening to music, watching a movie or reading a book," it states. "This immersion results in a more powerful experience and potentially dangerous learned behavior in children and youth"

I would like to see examples of learned behavior from video games, because im pretty sure driving a car in a game doesnt count towards hours behind the wheel to pass drivers ed. I will of course contact my local high school to confirm this. =P

The fact that someone is pushing behavioral conditioning into the legal consideration is what worries me the most. If the graphic content of games is starting to exceed that of movies in terms of realism, maybe laws should adapt (I dont feel we are quite there yet). And I agree we should still make every effort to make it the parents choice when they feel their children are ready for such mature content.

But scapegoating using video games for societies problems to further a career is pretty shady.

The blame game is a popular political voting tool I understand, but finding cause and effect for violent behavior has no definitive link to video games, and there are weighty research papers and polls, and studies all contradicting each other, but never anything definitive. The moment anyone could solidly link an increased crime rate with a form of medium I promise you it will be on every channel.

But most likely, like I have always pointed out, human beings are violent by nature and really don't need any excuses.

[Jokersvirus]

Miltiary use it for training purposes, but they spend upwards of 100s of hours a week, while most kids only play upwards of 5-8 hours a day.

They want to blame video games for everything, ADD, ADHD, school shootings, school violence, etc etc. There is no need to the list of BS they tag onto video games.

[BobTD]

Oh snap, so maybe you can learn behaviors from video games, but in a fundamentally different way:


Miltiary use it for training purposes, but they spend upwards of 100s of hours a week, while most kids only play upwards of 5-8 hours a day.

They want to blame video games for everything, ADD, ADHD, school shootings, school violence, etc etc. There is no need to the list of BS they tag onto video games.

I doubt they make people play these simulators for hundreds of hours a week, I have never heard anything like that and I have lots of family in multiple branches of the military.

Flight schools use simulators as well. These are different from normal video games because you are in a large box with a peripheral screen, and tasks with the objective of taking the training seriously and applying it along side real life studies.

The army uses these simulators for driving as well as many other training forms, but its important to note they would not use these if they where shown to increase aggression. They teach tactical thinking and objective based reasoning along with familiarizing yourself with tactics and equipment.

Again, I want to emphasize these are not games that make you more violent. If such a thing where possible. =P

[BocReaper]

There's also been studies linking video games to better dexterity and hand-eye coordination. I think my favorite is the short term violence increase link. I like to call it adrenaline.

[BobTD]

I have never gotten an adrenalin rush from gaming. Not in any real way, things have been intense, but never like cliff diving or when I used to pull back flips on roller skates going down a flight of stairs.

[BocReaper]

I do. It dumps full out on my first game of CoD or Halo.

[BobTD]

Are you also implying that adrenalin seekers are more violent?

[Jokersvirus]

Oh snap, so maybe you can learn behaviors from video games, but in a fundamentally different way:



I doubt they make people play these simulators for hundreds of hours a week, I have never heard anything like that and I have lots of family in multiple branches of the military.

Flight schools use simulators as well. These are different from normal video games because you are in a large box with a peripheral screen, and tasks with the objective of taking the training seriously and applying it along side real life studies.

The army uses these simulators for driving as well as many other training forms, but its important to note they would not use these if they where shown to increase aggression. They teach tactical thinking and objective based reasoning along with familiarizing yourself with tactics and equipment.

Again, I want to emphasize these are not games that make you more violent. If such a thing where possible. =P


Are you also implying that adrenalin seekers are more violent?

I would agrue that adrenalin seekers are more prone to do stupid things but arent violent.

I go by what my recruiters tell me :P i Know they extend the truth from time to time, but still

There has been a case i heard of in japan or china where a kid set on fire another child because he lost a duel in world of warcraft. It was a lack of concept of reality and VR. because when he took the cops he said something along the lines of "When i did it I wasnt me I was a fire mage."

But the army has the code of break and kill stuff :P if im not mistaken, but ya just because games are violent dont mean they cause violence, there are people who rage over them and everything, but thats because they are too into the game and crap.

[Muffincat]

I think people who experience increases of violence from video games need to be examined mentally. Sure, there have been instances where people go crazy violent over video games - but these people are usually pretty mentally unstable and need help.

Most of us are fine, functioning (well...mostly) human beings who aren't about to go murder people.

But anyway --- yeah, what? I thought this was already a law, too. o_O

[novasheep]

They really need to push this law more. Even have people sign a waver saying I understand this is an M rated game that it may contain Nudity, extreme violence ect...

I hate parents who buy there kids M rated games then get all angry when they find out it has nudity in it or decapitations. Then go off on a rampage to try and ban such games from the market.

Ugh makes me angry just talking about it!

[Project Blaze]

They really need to push this law more. Even have people sign a waver saying I understand this is an M rated game that it may contain Nudity, extreme violence ect...

I hate parents who buy there kids M rated games then get all angry when they find out it has nudity in it or decapitations. Then go off on a rampage to try and ban such games from the market.

Ugh makes me angry just talking about it!

Well I'm not too sure about going so far as to signing a waver. I thought the "current" law was fine enough. Guess not. Some people must just not be very reasonable people as far as the rating system goes. If parents want to get all flustered just because they didn't know then maybe they should get to know the rating system. It doesn't even hardly take five minutes to understand the ratings. The content is even on the back of the box itself: Suggestive Themes, Violence, etc. It should be simple enough. It's parents that don't take the time to pay attention to what they're buying that are the problem in my view.

[BocReaper]

Are you also implying that adrenalin seekers are more violent?

Naw. I'm just saying adrenaline tends to increase aggressive behavior for a short bit. You're all pumped up and ready to go. The trick is people need to understand that the games are virtual and not, you know, set people on fire over WoW like mentioned above.

[BobTD]

oh come on, if you just got arrested for setting someone on fire because you where angry at them of course you would look for any excuse. There was no snap from reality there, he just really wanted to set that kid on fire, and its not the first time in human history we see that kind of behavior. In fact I dare say it was more common before video games where invented.

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/2521/firewh.jpg
(its almost as stupid as blaming this image, its clearly telling you to only set others on fire)

[EpsilonX]

Violent people are probably more drawn to violent games. A calm guy isn't gonna pick up GTA or CoD and instantly become a professional hitman.

that being said: i agree that MUCH stricter laws regarding violent games should be enforced.

[BobTD]

I dont agree. I think that will further criminalize the image of games. Here in my state, you could't by "the bible game" at target without presenting valid ID. I know because I tried to pick a copy up for my niece.

Even if you where obviously over 18, or 30, or grey and wrinkled their policy states they cant sell any game without ID. Thats a little extream, but it shows that a lot of places are like that already. We dont need more laws restricting games sales because kids will find a way to play these games anyways.

Take Australia, where no M rated game is even legal, and yet most kids in that country still play the most violent games because you really cant stop them from getting them. And thats when its illegal even.

The real solution is parents being more aware and more involved with their children. This isnt something you can solve with restrictions. More laws wont change anything, and its pretty sad that some people think that way, rather then taking personal accountability for their kids.

[Jokersvirus]

Parents dont care anymore, most people run around thinking I cant punish my child so I will buy them alot of video games and stuff and that will be the punishment, loss of video game use.

Which has led to death.

[Diligence109]

I agree with everything Bob says.
So yeah. Everything I wanna say has been said already. Yup.
Thanks Bob!

[Muffincat]

I dont agree. I think that will further criminalize the image of games. Here in my state, you could't by "the bible game" at target without presenting valid ID at the local target. I know because I tried to pick a copy up for my niece..


Lawl. I bought that game several years ago with no problem o.o Bought it for my dad as a joke gift. Also, that game is messed up. One of the mini-games is called "False Idols" and you push statues of Egyptian gods into burning lava. I'm sure they wanted to use symbols of modern religions and couldn't... >_> Anyway, that was thoroughly off-topic.

But yeah. I think we need like a test you need to pass before you should be allowed to procreate. But whatever *cough*

[Project Blaze]

The real solution is parents being more aware and more involved with their children. This isnt something you can solve with restrictions. More laws wont change anything, and its pretty sad that some people think that way, rather then taking personal accountability for their kids.

I completely second this. I hate parents that just don't pay attention to what they're buying for their 9-year-old kid. Kids don't have the reasoning skills that adults possess... some adults anyway. But I'm talking about knowing better, when the kid is naturally not able to know any better. Unlike the adult in the situation. So I agree that parents need to have some personal accountability. It's infuriating that parents just dismiss the content of a game then complain when they find out what content there is.

[Jjjet1]

Ahem, who really cares? Games are games, I've seen pretty bad (gorey) flash games that were way worse than any M rated game that I bought at the store. Kids will play games. There is nothing you can really do to stop it. Unless you want to lock a kid in their room all day and night and don't allow them to play any sort of game.

[Jokersvirus]

last time I checked you can still spank your child so if they get out of control from video games put them back in control by turning their ass red.

[Jjjet1]

Then that's when the 'child abuse' law comes in check..... All these laws are annoying.. <.< I wouldn't be surprised if they made a law where you can't yell at your child... <.<

[Jokersvirus]

In most states its only abuse if marks are left on the body. I never seen someone get a bruise from getting spanked.