Ok, this stems as a result of this post on gizmodo, now I know that both myself and Chris have views on this, and someone might actually want to know them, so here they are.
Jon:
Personally I do wonder sometimes about game ratings and the level of interest they generate. As a gamer I am well aware of ratings and the content that games can contain. Games and Films are inherently different, with Films being a story following a character in various scenarios, but yet distanced from the viewer, whereas Games have the ability to draw the user into them, really giving you the experience of being there, part of the story. With the improvements we continue to see in graphics and now the increased likelihood of more immersive ways of playing, like force-feedback/VR, this immersion will only increase. When games are now so real, it’s hard to separate reality from virtual, and people are very different in their abilities to do this. Children tend to be quite impressionable, and so it is risky for a child to be playing 18 rated games, since it’s more likely to impact on them. I do find it interesting when people claim that children are now so accustomed to violence and things like that, so the games won’t really affect them. Exposure to such things stems from a variety of causes, but I digress, the point is that I too have seen parents purchasing games for their children, simply because their child wants the game. My parents were quite restrictive of my game buying, I remember wanting to get GTA 3 I think and I was under 18 at the time, and my parents refused to buy it, although I simply borrowed it from my brother. Some of my recent purchases, like Gears of War 2 make my parents wonder about computer games, bearing in mind it’s graphically violent nature. They however know that I’m good with knowing that it’s just a game, and that the visuals are there to make it look good. I’ll be honest with you, If my child was 16 and wanted to play an 18 rated game I would have to consider it carefully, but of course chances are a friend of theirs would have it already so they may well already of played it, so the exposure has already occurred.
Do games impact on children and people? Yes, definitely, but to what extent is difficult to determine. Like I say some people cannot separate real life from games, and that is where problems occur. Changing the classification system will probably not help matters. Game shops are pretty good when it comes to IDing people when buying games, but most of the time it’s parents that buy the games anyway.
Chris:
First off I’d like to offer my apologies on my apparent lack of reply before moving on.
Games ratings are a very difficult and very touchy subject to write about, as I’m sure you are all well aware of. Growing up, my father generally allowed us to play any games we liked, BUT, the more adult rated games were hidden away until he was around to supervise us whilst we played. He was always up for getting in on the action himself.
My personal belief is that games ratings are needed, to a degree in a society where adults know very little about the computer games that are being released, but we are now fast approaching that era where the gaming children are starting to become adults. They still game, although I’m pretty sure not to quite as much as they once did, so they have a better understanding of what games should be suitable for their children.
We currently live in a society where the adults who are trying to dictate the games ratings are doing so from a very ignorant and out of reach position, especially since I’m sure they never play the games themselves.
As for the impact that games have on young children, well… maybe the games available back when I was younger, the likes of Doom, and Zero Tolerance, aren’t quite as graphically demanding as our current games, but as a young child, your imagination certainly has a tendency of running wild.
In contradiction to perhaps my entire article, I too would struggle in justifying the purchase of games I deemed too adult for my child, but I certainly wouldn’t be following the games ratings. There are many sources available via magazines or internet articles which offer viable ways of reviewing games or even previewing screenshots.
So I’d have to say the only person who can deem what’s suitable for your child, is YOU. Ratings are rough guidelines, if you really want to know if a game is suitable play it. Research it. It doesn’t take a lot of work. A quick five to ten minutes on the internet is adequate enough to find out about most games.
Even hire out the game from the likes of Blockbuster. Have a sit down over a couple of days and play it through, either by yourself or with your child present so you can review the good and the bad of the game. If you decide its suitable, THEN go out and purchase the game.
Are game ratings needed? I’d say no. In the age we live in its easy enough to research any given subjects. Most new releases have trailers or especially with the likes of the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, they allow you to download demo’s of new releases. What better way to try the game out.
