An 8-year old wants Gears of War 2

irishdelinquent

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JimmyBassatti said:
irishdelinquent said:
Bob_F_It said:
I didn't hang about for the conclusion of whether the mother would give a yes or no (there certainly wasn't an immediate no), but given the influence of pester power there must exist a fair number of parents who would buy it for their children.
This is the problem that faces all modern parents: the "Pester Power". In the old days, if I begged my mom to buy me a video game (or something like that), she'd say no and explain why I couldn't have it. If I continued to press the issues, she'd give me a reaffirming smack upside my head. Now, I'm not trying to say I approve of violence towards children, but I'm saying that when used correctly it had it's place. Nowadays there's no ultimatum for children; they can either bug their parents until they get what they want, or the parents ignore them until they leave the mall (causing them to get a stomach ulcer).

However, the ratings system is entirely for the parent's discretionary purposes. Store employees can abide by the ratings, and make customers show I.D. in order to purchase a game, but they aren't a hard and fast law. The purpose of ESRB ratings is to advise parents that the game is not appropriate for their kids. It's the PARENTS responsability to monitor the games that their children are playing, much like it should be the PARENTS responsability when a kid does something terrible, and violent video games are blamed.
My mom bought me M rated games and told me this "It's just a game. Everything you see in it is something you should never do in real life".
So,yeah. Let them have the game. If they show any agreesion, take the game away, teach them that it's just a game, and get them counciling.
Don't go all pro-parents are to blame.
If YOU , someone who has NO right to critize people because of their parenting decides to do so to said parents who actually HAVE kids,you basically just should wear a sign reading "Why yes,I am an asshole! Thank you for noticing" .
But seriously, you have no right to judge someone's parenting until you can prove you are the high and mighty parent.
1). I was trying to point out how stupid it is for video games to be blamed for someone's choices, rather than the parents. If a parent buys a child a violent video game, and then the child does something wrong, who is to blame?: The parents (who gave into the child's pestering, and bought them the game that "trained" them to do what they did), or the video game itself. While someone is fully responsible for their own decisions, there are factors which strongly influence their decision-making ability, and personal ethics. A child's parents are (or should be) the main source of influence for a child's ethics. If you are going to blame something or someone for "making" a child do something terrible, then you should first look to the parents and analyze their parenting techniques.

2). People make mistakes. That is the human condition. The point of mistakes is to learn from them, not to find who/what is to blame (watch the South Park episode Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow for the moral of my point). The fact is that if a child does something wrong, they made a mistake. We move on from there.

3). I may not be a parent (next time, don't assume someone is or is not a parent), but I do know a thing or two about parenting. It's called common sense. If you buy something for a child, who then goes out and kills someone, you cannot then place the blame on the thing that you bought them. The fact is you bought the game for them. You had the chance to notice that the game contained innappropriate content. So you can't really say that it is the game's fault.

4). I am an asshole, thanks for noticing. :p
 

Bob_F_It

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May 7, 2008
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-Zen- said:
If the parent acknowledges that the kid has a great enough grasp on reality to be able to distinguish violence in-game and violence in reality, then let him have it (given he deserves it, which is an entirely different matter).
And we have a system for checking children's grasp on reality? If the parent knows what they're doing, fine and dandy.

But what if they don't know what they're doing?
 

mattttherman3

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well it has the possibility of affecting the minds of children, it usually doesnt make them go and shoot up a place, but i get mad when i lose at video games, only when its multiple times in a row
 

fuckwit

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They have really cracked down on this in my country. I had to almost beg the clerk to let me pay for Far Cry 2 the other day. I am a little bit ashamed of myself for being such a whiny ***** but she actually sold it to me. On the other hand, I bought Call of Duty 5 no questions asked. Granted, it was not the same clerk but still. I had only 7 months until my 16th birthday when I bought FC2 but Call of Duty is rated 18+? This confuses me and I feel guilt every time I buy a new game and they are most of the time rated an age above mine. I also get a feathery sensation in my gut when I buy with a card.
 

Lord Beautiful

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Bob_F_It said:
-Zen- said:
If the parent acknowledges that the kid has a great enough grasp on reality to be able to distinguish violence in-game and violence in reality, then let him have it (given he deserves it, which is an entirely different matter).
And we have a system for checking children's grasp on reality? If the parent knows what they're doing, fine and dandy.

But what if they don't know what they're doing?
Then the kid gets to play it.
 

mattttherman3

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Actually, I've seen a lot of examples of little children wanting games that they have never even heard of. I was at Gamestop once a few days after Christmas to spend some gift cards. Unfortunately, everyone else in town was too, but that isn't the point. I saw a kid who couldn't be older than about seven or eight running up to random games yelling "MOMMY! MOMMY! THIS LOOKS FUN!" Seriously, he did that to pretty much EVERY game he saw. He even kept grabbing 360 games even after his mom said "No, you can't get that, you don't have an Xbox." Just saying, there is a chance that the kid in the story was a hyperactive little crotch-dropping like the one I saw, and just decided that he wanted Gears of War 2 on a complete impulse.

I think another issue here is that a disturbing number of parents aren't even aware that games have ratings. They just assume that games are for kids. Take a story I have, and tell pretty often to prove my point on the subject. I was at Wal-Mart to pick up some things and decided to browse the electronics while I was there. There was a kid who looked about eight or so and he wanted God of War. So his mom called the employee over and pointed to God of War. The employee said "Er...is this for him, ma'am? Because I'd really suggest not getting it for him..." Her son started pitching a fit and she said "Oh just get it already" in a very stuck-up 'I'm better than you because you work at Wal-Mart and I have a severe case of Richbitchitis' tone. He said "It is rated M, for 17 and up. It is like the game version of the R rating." She said "Oh bullshit. It is just a video game. It is a toy for children, it can't be THAT bad." He said "Well, I have it and it contains a lot of violence and gore, as well as sex and nudity." She says "I don't believe you. It is a VIDEO GAME! They wouldn't put that stuff in it, it is supposed to be for kids. Now give me the goddamn game or I'm going to get a manager." The employee said "Ma'am, it is called 'God of War,' do you honestly think it is for children?" At which point she proceeded to cuss him out and demanded a manager. I left at this point because if I had to listen to this condescending, stuck-up, ignorant ***** and her crying banshee of a child any longer I would have had the urge to find a box cutter and end my life.

My point is that many parents still have this idea that video game = child's toy, and that there isn't even a rating system. That, combined with their disinterest in looking at what their child wants and giving in to "pester power" is ultimately part of the reason why the anti-game groups hold such power. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that many of the anti-game activists were like this woman: Didn't care or pay attention to what they were buying their child, then looks to where they can point fingers after they walk in on Little Timmy banging hookers in his truck in GTA. God forbid that parents take the blame and start to actually fucking parent their children instead of demanding the government slam down the ban hammer.[/quote]

If i ever saw something like that i would say something to the lady, even if it wasn't my job or if i don't work there, for example a teacher of mine in high school knew i was a gamer and asked me what system he should buy, well knowing that he had young children i said gamecube, he bought it, hated it, returned it, bought an xbox but his kids don't play it
 

mattttherman3

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Tekrae said:
People like that kid's mum are a problem for gamers in two ways.

Not only do they give news networks stories on how video games are evil, teach you how to kill people and put you in the mindset of a mass murderer, but also, the kid will become a retard on the internet, because he feels that he can do whatever he likes because of his anonymity - Just another squeaky voiced, trash-talking, pre-pubescent kid who is a hindrance and an annoyance for everybody else.

I tried playing my brother's copy of GTA Vice City when I was around nine. After that I've played lots of other shooters and the like, and I've turned out fine. *Loads Kalashnikov, chambers round and goes on mass killing spree*
I guess it's just how well the person can distinguish between real life and video games.
I heard something about the news on how one teen ran away from home and is still missing because his father took away his 360. That's what gives gamers a bad name.
Yeah that kid was found dead because he fell out of a tree, it was in Barrie Ontario Canada, he ran away on thanksgiving because his parents tried to cut down his hours of gameing, i suspect hes been playing since a very young age
 
Jan 3, 2009
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Worst comes to worse the kid runs around the house screaming IM THE COLE TRAIN holding a chainsaw and kills everyone within earshot.

I bought my first M game when i was 7. It was Halo so as we know it was a Tame M rating. But i wasnt asking to play Manhunt so There is a difference between M rated games. I was mature and smart enough to understand that Running around and bashing the back of my friends heads was not a good idea.

This isnt a first time thing. This is a struggle that has been happening since the beginning of a rating system. The things on the radio my little sister hear is waaaaay worse then what i play. Last i check there isnt a game called I kissed a girl(and liked it). <--Id buy it though.

The point is no matter what parents will sometimes be stupid or have a headache and Will buy it. Game traders dont want to deny the kid so That kid will get it. Its a terrible thing but what are you going to do. In general rating systems wont and will never NEVER work with 100% accuracy.
 

thatdude1243

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Dec 28, 2008
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i have no solution for this problem because no matter what you do, how many posters you put up, what commercials you put on the tv, what laws ECT... these kids will always be able to get their under aged hands on violent games, and you will always hear that ANNOYING 8yr old kid on xbox live swearing, without knowing what he is talking about, while everyone else is just telling the little basterd to shut up cause his voice is too high piched or too get the hell off the game because he shouldnt be playing it.
 

00010101

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Dec 18, 2008
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In some parts I agree that 8 year-old kids are too young to play a game such as Gears of War 2. However, wouldn't it be smarter to look at why they would want to play such a game and then start to see why they should or shouldn't be allowed to play? I mean, if you turn on the TV right now, it seems that a majority of the shows feature some violent fantasy, just like in some video games. I'm not saying this is necessarily bad but all I'm trying to say is that parents should think twice about exposing their children to these types of video games at a young age. Anyone care to disagree?
 

techfreek

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Jan 4, 2009
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8 Year old? No way. I have played this game many time with some of my friends in high school (still in high school) even we have to close our eyes at some points it is so gory. I am not trying to say I am a wimp, just saying this game is VERY graphic, it has suicide in it, also parts where someone's chest is like riped open, as well as lots of blood. I say wait, wait a long while. Wait until they are atleast 13 and know what have of the stuff in the game means.
 

TheMushroomClub

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Aug 12, 2008
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I don't think she should buy an 18 for an 8 year old. I played Metroid Prime when I was 10, which was a 12, that was OK. I don't actually own any 18 games, even now. I have a few 16+ games but most of my games are 12+ or less. I just don't play that kind of game. I'd like to play MGS though.
 

Susan Arendt

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Jan 9, 2007
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My ten year old nephew asked his parents for Call of Duty 4 for Christmas. I told my sister in law that I thought it was far too realistic for him, especially the nuke scene. He also asked for Halo 3, and I told her that while that has its share of violence, it's far less realistic (shooting aliens as opposed to humans, and so forth), but that it would be best if she or my brother was around when my nephew was playing. She not only listened to me, but thanked me for educating her on how the two games differ, despite having the same rating.

The best we can do is educate people whenever we have the chance - without being condescending. Give people the chance to be good parents, and most of the time they will, but nobody likes to feel stupid or talked down to.

I also tend to agree with what someone already said - kids will ask for anything and everything. They won't know a thing about it, just pick it up in the hopes that mom or dad will get it for them. If they're at the supermarket, they're asking for a pack of gum, if it's Best Buy, they want a DVD. Same thing with videogames.
 

Nifty

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Sep 30, 2008
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Lot's of hubbub over nothing. Seeing as every single person in this thread has played a game or watched a film they weren't allegedly old enough to. It's not a big deal. Especially if the kid knows right from wrong. If this kid grows up and goes on to shoot up a school it'll just be because he was plain crazy, not because his mum bought him a violent videogame.
 

I'mANinja

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I'm 14 and the majority of the games I have are M, COD4, COD WAW, GOW, Gow 2, Far Cry 2, Fallout 3 and so on. My parents have a rule of, if theres more than 6 reasons for it be M, and it's funny how my games only ever go up to 5.
 

JoshasorousRex

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Dec 5, 2008
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If the kid is mature enough sure. If not... they shouldn't go online xD

Actually anyone that isn't mature enough (in mind not body) shouldn't go online. I really don't give a care if the kid is a home NOT online and saying stupid things as I can't hear. But ganging up on am immature child on line always amuses me ^^
 

Stevato

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Perhaps if the kid experiences a rather realistic and convincing nightmare in which grub holes spawn all around his bedroom, he may be convinced not to play big boys games :)

I've always let my parents decide, they decided i was mature enough to play 18 rated games when i was 13, but 8... c'mon.. hes still at primary school