my mom HATES violent video games

[Soviet Steve]

You forget that you cannot use logic on "Concerned mothers", unless you can quote parts of the bible that specificly instructs you to play MW2.

Alternatively try soaking up in some gasoline and threaten to set yourself on fire unless you get to play.

 

[Lullabye]

how did you buy the game anyway???

eh, some people at the counter are more understanding than others. When I worked at Mcdonalds the guys from the blockbuster down the street would eat there every day. I was fifteen and managed to buy R rated movies, and tons of M rated games. Of course, if anyone asked, I didn't get it from them.

OT:

You're thirteen, act like it. Next time she threatens to take the PS3 away, turn red, run over to where-ever it is, unplug it all from the TV, and throw it forcefully at her feet.

Start crying and say:

"Dad wouldn't have made me done this!" If she freaks out, start freaking out harder, if she screams, scream back. The women so much has proven that she doesn't care about logic or argument, she probably doing what Dr.Phil tells her to do.

Start wearing black and let your gardes suffer, and when they ask you why, say:

"Because my mom started confiscating my property." Then cut yourself with a knife on the top of your arm.

honestly this is the best advice all day.
No, seriously. I know it was supposed to be a joke but...
I have a mother just like yours, and reasoning never worked. I explained how the ratings were more like suggestions(hence it being called "Mature" not "18+")
and when that didn't work I got her to watch videos and such. After all was said and done, she just didn;t want me playing videogames. And not for a good reason either. She said it was bad for/because [insert reason here], yet once we really discussed it(more like my refusing to turn it into a yelling match) she would switch to another reason as to why I shouln;t play.
For the three years previous to my moving out, I was banned from all games.(thank sony for my psp and game cafes)
If you want her to see games are important to you, than you'll need to do something big. Completely changing your style is one way to do it.

 

[Zing]

Your mum sounds like an idiot, but you are 13, so you should deal with it, the ratings are there for a reason, this is the reason tossers like Michael Atkinson think they need to play parent for everyone in their country. So kudos to your mum for that one, if she doesn't want you playing it, then BL..

 

[Gxas]

If your mom won't let you play, she'll never listen to you. Parents tend to think "I know better than my child just because I do" so good luck

You're 13. You shouldn't be playing M-rated games. What she did was right as a parent.

Wait until you're 17, then you can play.

M is for Mature, not adult. If he can tell its not real and won't try to reinact the game in real life then he should be able to play. I've played M games since I was 6, yet I'm one of the least violent people I know

Ratings are guidelines for parents. His parent is abiding by the guidelines. She is doing the right thing. When he is 17, she will let him play. She is one of the few parents who actually follows the ratings and uses them for what they're there for.

A parent may have the right to shield there kid from everything until they are an adult but doing so makes said parent (pardon my vocabulary) a crazy ***** in my opinion.

How, exactly?

If they don't want it in their house, how does that make them crazy? They pay for the house, they claim him as a dependent, he then lives by their rules. How is that crazy?

 

[chozo_hybrid]

You're 13. You shouldn't be playing M-rated games. What she did was right as a parent.

Wait until you're 17, then you can play.

Exactly what I was going to say.

 

[park92]

my bro is only 12 and he plays gta4 its not even that violent sheesh

 

[Levitas1234]

If your mom won't let you play, she'll never listen to you. Parents tend to think "I know better than my child just because I do" so good luck

You're 13. You shouldn't be playing M-rated games. What she did was right as a parent.

Wait until you're 17, then you can play.

M is for Mature, not adult. If he can tell its not real and won't try to reinact the game in real life then he should be able to play. I've played M games since I was 6, yet I'm one of the least violent people I know

Ratings are guidelines for parents. His parent is abiding by the guidelines. She is doing the right thing. When he is 17, she will let him play. She is one of the few parents who actually follows the ratings and uses them for what they're there for.

A parent may have the right to shield there kid from everything until they are an adult but doing so makes said parent (pardon my vocabulary) a crazy ***** in my opinion.

How, exactly?

If they don't want it in their house, how does that make them crazy? They pay for the house, they claim him as a dependent, he then lives by their rules. How is that crazy?

Its more of a response to the person above me rather than the op. Waiting till you are an adult to be allowed to see or do anything 18+ may be a little too long to wait. yes kids are being desensitized to violent images at younger ages but i think that is healthier for them rather than to be exposed to whats out there after 18 years of being shielded from it. But thats just like my opinion man.

 

[vivadelkitty]

Don't antagonize your mother, and in the end, you'll be able to play M rated games in a few years, worst case scenario. My parents have only recently let me play mature rated games (I'm 16, 17 in September), and even though I may have been angry about their rule when I was say, 12 or 13, it just makes playing them now that much better (on the plus side, you're accruing a list of titles to play when you hit 17!). There are plenty of other good games out there if you take the time to find them.

 

[DeathChairOfHell]

13? just play some other game.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

The ratings system is there for a reason and your mom is following the rules which all parents should. Sure it may piss you off but if you really want it that bad you'll find a way to get your precious game but for now show some maturity and take this in stride.

 

[WickederCentaur]

Listen i too am 13, and my mom HATES it when im playing Fallot 3 and i just made a billion super mutants' heads explode. She just says "what are you playing?" Trust me, it depends on the mom. You SHOULDN'T do something rash like pleading child abuse. Being younger, you arent listened to by the adult community. (like when i feel like disproving god) but play a Mortal Kombat game to really seep under her skin, then fuck with her mind a bit more with good old fashioned Fallout 3 or Dragon Age maybe Oblivion. Let's hope she goes to docter Phil with this. And she will listen to THAT. If not try Oprah, Tyra Banks, or Dr. Oz (My Mom makes me wait through that shit EVERY NIGHT!)

 

[wandatheavenger]

Tell her that allowing you to play MW2 isn't going to turn you into an axe murderer; in fact, NUMEROUS empirical psychological studies have shown that kids who play violent video games are less likely to commit violent acts in real life. It helps defuse potentially dangerous impulses in pretty much everybody. In fact, the Dalai Lama's right hand man actually RECOMMENDS playing video games (even violent ones) as a way to relieve day-to-day stress. Look it up. Educate her.

A few years ago my university actually had one of the leading researchers on the topic of media violence in for a speech that showed quite different results. While a solid link between violent behavior and violence in games has yet to be shown either direction, there have been many studies concluding that violent games cause differences in aggressive behavior. Furthermore, the catharsis argument that many gamers seem awfully keen on has yet to ever show up in an empirical study as a valid theory and has no support whatsoever.

That said, the simple fact is that the kid is 13 and his mother makes the rules. End of discussion.

 

[MercurySteam]

Your mum is a remake of "Frumpy Mom". Congrats. All I can suggest is wait until you're old enough. My parents aren't perfect when it comes to me and games, but considering I'm almost 16 it's my choice.

Seriously though you're mom needs to take a chill pill (or perhaps the whole bottle).

 

[OmegaCheese]

This is where you negotiate, if there is an option to turn blood off, do it, skip the "no Russian" mission, things like that

 

[snow]

That big block of a paragraph shows that you should listen to your mother man... That was really hard on the eyes...

All I can say is... You'll understand when you're older and have kids of your own..

I'd rather hear about a kid whine that he can't play games because his mom told him no than to hear another one of those forsaken "Video games causes kid to mass murder when in reality we should really be blaming his mother!" stories...

If anything, just ask your mom to go with you to return the game, get your money back, and buy something she would find appropriate...

 

[Darkstorm091]

I think I understand what's going on here.

MW2 got bad media hype with the "terrorist mission," and the way I see it from reading your explanation it sounds like your mom doesn't want you playing the game for this mission. Because of the way she acts without knowing what the game is, she doesn't seem to have any other logical reason to keep you from playing, especially since she said she would buy the game until she found out what game it is. Simply explain that the terrorist mission is completely voluntary, has a point, and was overplayed by the media like many video game issues are in a civilized way.

Also: so what he's 13? If he can understand the content in a mature way he should be able to play it. I don't see anyone going out of their way to target the 13 year old people playing Halo games, which are rated M also (Halo Wars doesn't count).

 

[SimuLord]

OK, I got mod-smacked last time I expressed my entire opinion of a kid, so I'll tone it down this time:

Your mother is right.

She is making parenting decisions for her young child (and I mentor kids your age. You may feel like Mr. Big Man, but you are very much a child.) The rating systems exist for a reason, and I don't think I'll get too much pushback if I say that as a general rule gamers (at least gamers over 17) understand and appreciate that rating system as, when it's used properly, a very effective means of keeping the Jack Thompsons and Michael Atkinsons of the world off our asses.

You're trying to use your IQ and your grades as a sign of maturity. Nice try. My IQ's high enough that (oh, fuck it, just find that other thread about IQ and read my posts there), and when I was 13 I was so immature that it's debatable whether I had any business playing T-rated games (I got better)!

Your lack of maturity shows through not by you having the more stereotypical (grades, drug problems, etc) signs of immaturity in kids your age. It shows in your inability to understand the problem from the point of view of your parents.

Furthermore, I'll throw in my own two cents here---if you need violence to feel better about games, maybe you shouldn't be playing them! If you're "not violent at all" (your words), then what do you need that for? Maybe you should discover something that might better fit your soi-disant "nonviolent" nature.

Try strategy gaming. Simulations. Abstract wargames, even. You might find something much better-suited to your gaming needs that also happens to be parent-friendly and everybody wins.
And really whether you like it or not you are under your parents' authority and more kids these days need to learn basic respect for their elders (like I said, I mentor kids your age, and thankfully they're really good around me, but I'm not so naive as to think that at least a few of 'em aren't total dipsticks when they're not around the guy who's teaching them financial literacy---my mentoring program---and telling them they can get rich someday and buy awesome stuff.)

 

[Eggsnham]

You're 13. You shouldn't be playing M-rated games. What she did was right as a parent.

Wait until you're 17, then you can play.

The little experiment he did was pretty mature IMO. And "M" stands for mature, not 17.

 

[OmegaCheese]

well, you see, I'm 13 as well, I'm pretty mature when it comes to games, but another part of maturity is knowing what's not good for you and what's better off not to play or do etc.

 

[Treblaine]

13 years old, eh?

Well I have a solution for you which is part Good news and part Bad news:

The good news is it is unavoidable, even without trying you are moving closer and closer towards this solution, the bad news is that it will take just under 4 years, i.e. wait till your 17th birthday.

Seriously dude, if you are under 17 and your momma says no... well that's it I'm afraid. You can make all the arguments you like, your parents have final say in the matter and personally I agree with her at least in the specific case of Modern Warfare 2 (No Russian level?) case and considering you are only barely a teenager.

Your mother is legally allowed to gift to you an M-rated game but you will never convincer her with a title like Modern Warfare 2... far too violent. I suggest you try to win her over with M-rated titles that are actually very tame, like Halo or Resistance, which IMHO would barely qualify as a PG-13 rated if they were movies, you aren't even attacking humans in said features.

Better luck as you get older, about 15 or 16 you can try your luck with games as violent as Modern Warfare 2, see if you're mother thinks you are mature enough then but kid you are going to have to accept with the average gamer being 30 years old, a heck of a lot of games are not made for your age group:

It's not like you have a terrible line up of teen rated games:
-Zelda: Twilight Princess
-Batman Arkham Asylum
-Infamous
-Uncharted Drake's Fortune
-Street Fighter IV
-LittleBigPlanet
-Motorstorm 1 + 2 (almost all racing games really)
-Ratchet & Clank
-Medal of Honor Airborne

I really recommend that last one for PS3, the tilt mechanic with the six-axis controller is PERFECTLY utilised plus it's a really intense and challenging game.

For some perspective, when I was your age I didn't get to play 18 rated games, I was raised on classic Tomb Raider for the Playstation 1 and the eternal classic Goldeneye. I didn't get to play Duke Nukem till YEARS after it came out and am now well into my 20's and have the opportunity to go back to re-discover the adult rated games I couldn't play as a kid.

I'm not saying you should NEVER be allowed to play an M-rated game before you are 17... just that at 13 you shouldn't expect and act like you are mature enough for it all.