The Needles: The Easiest Buyer's Guide Ever

[Andy Chalk]

The Needles: The Easiest Buyer's Guide Ever

Andy Chalk offers up the only guideline you'll need this holiday game-buying season: read the d**n ratings.

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[The_root_of_all_evil]

Nothing to say apart from "Amen Brother."

Although why this is here as your real name and not your pseudonym seems odd?

 

[Woodsey]

I find it hard to believe anyone who claims they don't know what the giant number on the front of the box means.

 

[p3t3r]

if they are to lazy to read the letters on the front what makes you think there gonna read or care about this article. just saying

 

[Tharticus]

Malygris = Andy Chalk?

Anyways, parents don't have time to read it because their children keep badgering about a specific game about it. Children loves hypes and as long it's amusing, they will continue to follow it. Even if it's a rated game that has mature themes.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Well, I assume that an M on the box means: "Moms, look! This game is great for children."

 

[Dudeakoff]

But the thing is, you can't simply put the blame on individual parents when it's such a widespread problem. Now, I don't know myself what the problem is, but a few potshots of mine would be that gaming is still considered a kids thing, all the other parents buy the big new game, creating pressure on other parents to do the same because of the "all my friends have got it" excuse and/or it could simply be that not enough is being done to tell parents that they shouldn't buy 18 games for little Timmy for the same reasons why they won't let them watch American Psycho.

 

[Jared]

Wish more people would read the labels...would make so much easier for all of us and the campaigners might finally shut up!

 

[ravensshade]

It amazes me, the extent to which parents are horrified by what goes on in games, and then they blissfully send them off to, you know: Junior High.

parents: not when i was a kid oh no
or that it i'll send you to a convent
their parents it's kinda what they do..

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Dragon Age: Origins contains blood, language, intense violence, partial nudity and sexual content; do you really want your kid playing that?

Ay, there's the rub. Every parent has different ideas about what's their kids should be playing and I'm sure there are at least a few folks out there who think Borderlands is perfectly cool for their 12-year-old.

Yeah, because let's face it: for 12-year olds, LIFE "contains blood, language, intense violence, partial nudity and sexual content."

It amazes me, the extent to which parents are horrified by what goes on in games, and then they blissfully send them off to, you know: Junior High.

Or give them access to the internet.

 

[squid5580]

Well, I assume that an M on the box means: "Moms, look! This game is great for children."

Now that I broke the hypnotic spell of your avatar I can respond. That is the big problem right there. Why did they choose this whole new rating system? I don't mean the kids under X shouldn't be playing this. I mean why didn't they stick with what people have grown up with for years. Rated R. Put a big fucking R and underneath that put restricted with the panther. Or PG, 14a or G. People know these letters. They understand that they shouldn't be taking little Jimmy or Jane to an R rated movie. You don't seee very many theatres that feel the need to have a description of what R means do you? Yet you walk into any gamestore (or dept) and plastered all over the place is M= bad for little Jimmy. The problem is if you have to describe the rating it isn't very effective.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Well, I assume that an M on the box means: "Moms, look! This game is great for children."

Now that I broke the hypnotic spell of your avatar I can respond. That is the big problem right there. Why did they choose this whole new rating system? I don't mean the kids under X shouldn't be playing this. I mean why didn't they stick with what people have grown up with for years. Rated R. Put a big fucking R and underneath that put restricted with the panther. Or PG, 14a or G. People know these letters. They understand that they shouldn't be taking little Jimmy or Jane to an R rated movie. You don't seee very many theatres that feel the need to have a description of what R means do you? Yet you walk into any gamestore (or dept) and plastered all over the place is M= bad for little Jimmy. The problem is if you have to describe the rating it isn't very effective.

Because there's different criteria reviewed in movies and games, and they wanted to keep the medium seperate. After all, PG means "Parental Guidance", and you can't really have "Parental Guidance" for games, since they're not simply 90 minutes in a room with the kid.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

Andy Chalk offers up the only guideline you'll need this holiday game-buying season: Read the goddamn ratings.

There's not a clap slow enough to reward this sentiment. Very, very well put.

And as a former games retail worker, I'm sure you know how people generally respond to even the slightest hint of "you're a bad parent". I find my self throwing my arms across my face and pleading for mercy just reading the words.

 

[squid5580]

Well, I assume that an M on the box means: "Moms, look! This game is great for children."

Now that I broke the hypnotic spell of your avatar I can respond. That is the big problem right there. Why did they choose this whole new rating system? I don't mean the kids under X shouldn't be playing this. I mean why didn't they stick with what people have grown up with for years. Rated R. Put a big fucking R and underneath that put restricted with the panther. Or PG, 14a or G. People know these letters. They understand that they shouldn't be taking little Jimmy or Jane to an R rated movie. You don't seee very many theatres that feel the need to have a description of what R means do you? Yet you walk into any gamestore (or dept) and plastered all over the place is M= bad for little Jimmy. The problem is if you have to describe the rating it isn't very effective.

Because there's different criteria reviewed in movies and games, and they wanted to keep the medium seperate. After all, PG means "Parental Guidance", and you can't really have "Parental Guidance" for games, since they're not simply 90 minutes in a room with the kid.

Damn you hypnotoad.

Have you not seen what passes for PG? That isn't really the point if the parents are in the room or not. Most parents will let Jimmy watch a PG movie alone since they aren't usually directed for adults to begin with. Mario would probably get smacked with a PG label because of the violence. Yes Mario is violent. Seeing PG on the label is going to make them stop and think for a second where T or M just doesn't seem too very often.

As for them not wanting to mix that is just stupidity on thier behalf. There is 1 reason for these ratings. To protect the children. Forcing one medium to use different lettering and potentially confusing customers is not doing what they set out to do. What is the movie industry afraid that their movies might corrupt the children but if they get corrupted by other means it is OK? I call shenanigans.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Well, I assume that an M on the box means: "Moms, look! This game is great for children."

Now that I broke the hypnotic spell of your avatar I can respond. That is the big problem right there. Why did they choose this whole new rating system? I don't mean the kids under X shouldn't be playing this. I mean why didn't they stick with what people have grown up with for years. Rated R. Put a big fucking R and underneath that put restricted with the panther. Or PG, 14a or G. People know these letters. They understand that they shouldn't be taking little Jimmy or Jane to an R rated movie. You don't seee very many theatres that feel the need to have a description of what R means do you? Yet you walk into any gamestore (or dept) and plastered all over the place is M= bad for little Jimmy. The problem is if you have to describe the rating it isn't very effective.

Because there's different criteria reviewed in movies and games, and they wanted to keep the medium seperate. After all, PG means "Parental Guidance", and you can't really have "Parental Guidance" for games, since they're not simply 90 minutes in a room with the kid.

Damn you hypnotoad.

Have you not seen what passes for PG? That isn't really the point if the parents are in the room or not. Most parents will let Jimmy watch a PG movie alone since they aren't usually directed for adults to begin with. Mario would probably get smacked with a PG label because of the violence. Yes Mario is violent. Seeing PG on the label is going to make them stop and think for a second where T or M just doesn't seem too very often.

As for them not wanting to mix that is just stupidity on thier behalf. There is 1 reason for these ratings. To protect the children. Forcing one medium to use different lettering and potentially confusing customers is not doing what they set out to do. What is the movie industry afraid that their movies might corrupt the children but if they get corrupted by other means it is OK? I call shenanigans.

Very well put, but we have to consider one medium is merely WATCHING the images, and the other is performing them. For instance, would the sex scenes in Mass Effect have had such an impact if the player hadn't gone through the relationship with the character personally choosing dialogue options? No.

 

[delet]

Every now and again, what should be common sense must be made perfectly evident and clear for all to hear. I believe this falls into that category perfectly.

 

[mudsoup]

So what to expect. As an Elder in the church of Present Social, Moral and Internet Current Decorum I suspect that the elder generation, the parent, is fast losing some semblance of guidance and that as long as the producer produces and the retailer retails, the kid will play the game.

 

[Fenixius]

The ESRB is far from perfect but it's effective and it ain't Australian, and that's a win in my books.

Aw... ;_;

If you happen to work at a games retailer (and I know some of you do) pay attention to the ratings and talk them up with customers before things get awkward at the register.

My gods, the people. I was working yesterday, and someone insisted that despite my warnings, nah, Prey was gonna be -great- for their 10 year old.

This is a game where you're abducted by aliens into a biomechanical monstrosity and almost get -digested-, have to decapitate and slaughter literally thousands using unimaginable, living alien weapons, listen to audiologs of people being killed or abducted in various violent ways, listen to audiologs of the radio news reports detailing these events, watch your virtual girlfriend be absorbed and mutated into a monster before your very eyes, and then [Spoiler!]crash into the sun.

...yeah, that's great for a kid who's 10. Have a great, fucked up life, thanks Mum.

People will casually buy a game like Modern Warfare 2 because he had the first one. Or he's seen his friend play it.

...words cannot describe my outrage and sadness at the inadequacy of many parents.

Good topic to write on, Mr Chalk. Everyone: Please, please, please, get this published in your local paper! Bad parents aren't online to read it! ><