And here's my favorite on the "No" side:Of course they do. Like most responsibilities, however, there's no external motivation to take it upon oneself to fulfill them. The only way we will begin to accept responsibilities like that as an industry is when we can grow up enough to accept that all games, including violent ones, affect people. They don't turn kids into stark raving serial killers, but it's not all safe exploration of fantasy either. I dare you to play Grand Theft Auto for four hours and get into your car and NOT think about side-swiping or stealing other cars on the roadway. The issue, as always, is more complex than the two extreme viewpoints would suggest.
Of course games affect people. We're betting our livelihood on it, aren't we? We can only be taken seriously when we take ourselves seriously.
- Borut Pfeifer, Radical Entertainment
No - parents do. There's a rating system for a reason. Parents - know something about your kid's lives for a change. I can't count how many times an adult will mention their kid's playing video games and say something like, "I can't do those things... my kid can do them all." Yeah, you don't say. Those same parents can barely use a computer for anything more than an occasional email, or a favorite website. It actually excites me that when I have kids I'll at least be able to understand and participate in their computer/video game/technology-esque lifestyles, know what they're talking about, doing and have fun with them all while protecting them and doing my job as a parent.
- Bryan Erck, Shiny
So true!!!! I wish this column would make its way to some German papers - I feel that more often than not, the "ultimate responsibility" for deciding what German kids are allowed to play and watch starts with the German government and ends at home, sometimes...It's the parent's job to decide what's appropriate for their children – not the government's. If your kid buys and plays something that seems inappropriate, pop the eject button on the console, put it back in the box, and march your son or daughter back to the store and demand a refund. Should the store absolutely refuse, destroy the game and teach your child an expensive lesson: You don't buy games of this nature without my approval.
Sure, this will result in all sorts of shouting and pouting, but it's not like kids won't act much the same way about many other decisions they feel are unfair.
There's no arguing that any of these bills has its heart in the right place. Young players should not play certain video games. But the ultimate responsibility for ensuring kids aren't exposed to something they shouldn't be starts and ends at home.
Flickr/johnstephi
Twitter/epaga
Skype/johnstephi
Blog/John Goering
ICQ/326928754
