Age ratings

[some random guy]

Do you consider age ratings as rules that must be followed by everyone, recommendations that can be bypassed by parents for a reason or something else?

Do you think that parents should be able to decide whether game X is suitable for their kid or do you believe that parents should be prevented from buying certain games for their kids?

Do you consider the ESRB/BBFC ect to be fair?

If you're a parent, do you follow age ratings completely or do you consider your kid(s) to be mature enough for games with ratings above his/her/their age?

Discuss.

 

[JakalMc]

I see most ratings as recommendations. Ultimately if the parent thinks that their child is mature enough to handle content it should be up to them. However, this only works when the parent has half a brain

Unfortunately, nowadays, there are a lot of stupid parents making bad decisions in this area.

 

[heartshooter]

a few weeks ago, i saw a mother arguing with her approx. 12 year old because she wouldnt get him gears of war 2. reason being taht it would give him nightmares. afterwars, she proceeded to the counter and bought him the game unquestioned by the assistant. personally i would have refused to sell her the game because the most annoying thing in the world is a prepubescent 12 year old with a squeeky voice calling you an areshole down a mic.
the game in this example is clearly rated 18 by BBFC. so why do parents still buy them for their children?
it's not the games fault kids go out and shoot passer by's in an attempt to recreate a scene in GTA:VC or kill their friend trying to act out a scene r from manhunt, it's the parents fault for buying them the game in the first place.

PS this is my first comment so please be nice

 

[Cab00se206]

I consider them as recommendations. You forget though that sometimes the kid should have a say in what he thinks is appropriate. Obviously I'm not talking about teenie kiddies here, but most teens I know are mature enough to know when ratings are truly deserved and when they are unnecessary and pointless.

Take Fallout 3 for example. I heard about it some time before it came out, and immediately after that I heard it was denied classification (I live in Australia). The reason? That the drugs called things like Psycho and Jet were originally called cocaine and whatnot. This was absolutely unnecessary, and only delayed an awesome game. In Fallout 3, if you abuse the drugs, you get addicted and they fuck you up, so the names were justified. Even so, the mechanics of drug use makes it unlikely that anyone would use it because they saw it there.

Sorry for the rant.

 

[Cab00se206]

@ heartshooter

GAMES DO NOT MAKE PEOPLE DO THESE SORTS OF THINGS!

I just want to make that perfectly clear. I have played almost every violent game out there, and I am an exceedingly moral and balanced individual. It is in the person, not the game that the cause for their behavior lies.

P.S. also, is the reply button broken?

 

[Danny Ocean]

I read somewhere that the ESRB ratings are just reccomendations, but the shops still follow them for fear of a media backlash.

 

[Kiefer13]

As far as I'm concerned they are a recommendation, nothing more.

I just think it's ridiculous to create blanket restrictions on media depending on age and not maturity. People do not suddenly become mature when they reach a certain age. Some people reach maturity at an early age, some might never. I think that is up to parents to decide for themselves whether the content of a certain game is appropriate for their children on an individual basis.

 

[Typhusoid]

I beleive that they should only be reccomendations. If a parent wants to forbid content for minors thats their responsibility, not the governments

 

[chimmers]

I'm pretty sure those games with BBFC ratings are illegal to sell to those underage. But I'm in the camp that if a parent judges it to be suitable, their kids can play it. They just need more education as to what is in them

 

[Puppeteer Putin]

I consider them as recommendations. You forget though that sometimes the kid should have a say in what he thinks is appropriate. Obviously I'm not talking about teenie kiddies here, but most teens I know are mature enough to know when ratings are truly deserved and when they are unnecessary and pointless.

Take Fallout 3 for example. I heard about it some time before it came out, and immediately after that I heard it was denied classification (I live in Australia). The reason? That the drugs called things like Psycho and Jet were originally called cocaine and whatnot. This was absolutely unnecessary, and only delayed an awesome game. In Fallout 3, if you abuse the drugs, you get addicted and they fuck you up, so the names were justified. Even so, the mechanics of drug use makes it unlikely that anyone would use it because they saw it there.

Sorry for the rant.

Well, the primary reason for Australia's banning of games like FEAR 2 and Fallout 3 is that they DON'T have an adult rating, only M15+. Which is really bloody thick. You can thank the South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson for that, as he's posted an indefinite ban on on the report and thus won't allow SCAG (Standing Committee of Attorneys-General(s)) release it for public discussion. Read on if you wish (http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/Australian-R18+-Rating-Report-Delayed-Indefinitely-by-Michael-Atkinson/21700)

I do think that classifications should be enforced in retailers as a preemptive measure, but at the end of the day it's parental sensibility. If the parents aren't engaging in their child's activities, regardless of their nature, they really should of thought twice about having them. I know I'll end up purchasing a game for my children, if the day comes, that would be beyond their age, but I would gauge their maturity and use my own common sense to determine whether it's safe for them to play. Don't blame the WatchDogs, they're doing a job you should be doing anyway.

 

[J-Man]

I seem to remember watching a documentary on corruption or ineffectiveness in one of the age rating systems. Personally, I'm for PEGI. Allowing a game developer/publisher, with far more knowledge of the videogame than someone-else to rate their game would be great.

I'm pretty sure those games with BBFC ratings are illegal to sell to those underage. But I'm in the camp that if a parent judges it to be suitable, their kids can play it. They just need more education as to what is in them

Agreed.

 

[zirnitra]

my parents always let me watch and play 18s 15s and 12s when I was well below the age ratings and I'd take a similar ground if I had kids.

 

[georgeyboy654]

All a big 18 says is:

"Your not allowed me, so you should get me"

It should be up to the parents, if their child is mature enough, then why not, but perhaps the parents should see gameplay or play the game and then decide.

 

[Reaperman Wompa]

I believe that the ESRB and related warnings are more like guidelines. They should be followed but don't have to, by parents that is, you should need to be carded for games to stop parents being able to shift the blame. I had this idea a while ago that you had to listen to a little description of the game before it was given to you, like a dispensing machine. You listen, are given the game, pay and then leave. I think this could be a pretty cool system that would make it much harder for parents to not know what they are buying. You could also put up another machine with basic ESRB description on it, so parents can come up, press a button and learn what they thought was a friendly, happy (in a normal, non chainsaw related way) game turns out to be GTA 4 or something like that.

 

[Altorin]

age ratings are in place to shift blame for bad media getting into children's hands from game/movie makers and retailers, and onto the parents, where it belongs.

They aren't perfect, and they certainly shouldn't be law (noone should go to jail or be fined by the government for selling a kid an M rated game). They're largely ignored by parents, but really, parents just need to l2p.

 

[Bob_F_It]

If ratings systems were really only vague guides with not that much meaning, then you'd have those ignorant parents that don't give a toss regularly buying they 5-year-olds bloody gun fests with sex on top. You can't tell me that's acceptable. It's no different from film ratings.

And don't give me that fucking "I turned out fine" arguement. Such a subjective arguement means bugger all.

 

[Altorin]

If ratings systems were really only vague guides with not that much meaning, then you'd have those ignorant parents that don't give a toss regularly buying they 5-year-olds bloody gun fests with sex on top. You can't tell me that's acceptable. It's no different from film ratings.

And don't give me that fucking "I turned out fine" arguement. Such a subjective arguement means bugger all.

uhhh, you do have ignorant parents regularly buying their 5-year olds bloody gun fests with sex on top.

 

[Bob_F_It]

If ratings systems were really only vague guides with not that much meaning, then you'd have those ignorant parents that don't give a toss regularly buying they 5-year-olds bloody gun fests with sex on top. You can't tell me that's acceptable. It's no different from film ratings.

And don't give me that fucking "I turned out fine" arguement. Such a subjective arguement means bugger all.

uhhh, you do have ignorant parents regularly buying their 5-year olds bloody gun fests with sex on top.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.76413#902327
More often than you believe.

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

The ESRB never bothered me. I didn't even pay them mind except for knowing when I had to bribe the shopkeeper. Too bad that store went out of business.

 

[Xvito]

Do you consider age ratings as rules that must be followed by everyone, recommendations that can be bypassed by parents for a reason or something else?

Do you think that parents should be able to decide whether game X is suitable for their kid or do you believe that parents should be prevented from buying certain games for their kids?

Do you consider the ESRB/BBFC ect to be fair?

If you're a parent, do you follow age ratings completely or do you consider your kid(s) to be mature enough for games with ratings above his/her/their age?

Discuss.

They're not law if that's what your asking... at least I think.
Also it's definitely not "fair".