Poll:What are your thoughts on children playing M rated games?

[Snazzymathematics]

Personally, I'm fine if a 13-14 year old plays M rated games as long as they know the difference between reality and fantasy and the parent knows what game they're buying their child. I don't believe 9 year olds should be playing M rated games.
So yeah, what are your thoughts?

 

[Smooth Operator]

I think their parents should sit down and play it for themselves first, truth is parents will mostly just say Yes/No to be done with it and not be further burdened by parenting.
It's still no fool proof way but it is better then the state of things now where 90% of parents don't check or know about age ratings.

 

[Zhukov]

Urgh... okay, I have to ask, why "especially not Call of Duty"?

As for the main question, eh, I doubt it would actually harm them. However, parents often prefer to shield their kids from violent media and that's fine.

 

[Snazzymathematics]

Urgh... okay, I have to ask, why "especially not Call of Duty"?

I forgot to delete that part,

 

[BearShark]

As long as they don't use mics, I'm fine with it.

 

[StriderShinryu]

It really does depend on the child and their parents. If (and I know it's a sadly big IF) the parents know what the content is and what their children are mentally equipped to handle, then I see no reason to object if they feel a piece of mature rated content is acceptable. This, of course, is nothing to do with games specifically but any sort of media not generally intended for the consumption of children.

 

[Juste Goose]

Almost all M games are M for a reason. We don't need little Billy going on a killing rampage and everyone blaming it on Shoot the Brown Dude 4: Revenge of the Titties.

Some aren't THAT bad though. I mean, TF2 is rated M. I think it should be T at the most...

 

[MysticSlayer]

Well, their infernal squeaking over chat really makes me wish they didn't play any M-rated games.

However, it really comes down to the child, the game, and the rules and restrictions the parents have. I do think parents should be well-aware of what their child is getting into, and the child should at least be partially monitored for any inappropriate behavior (or exposure to inappropriate behavior), but, on the whole, I think this should be taken as a case-by-case basis, not on a universal level. I mean, I know parents who let their younger children play so long as they (the parent) is playing with them or monitoring them, and those kids are more well-behaved than half the adults playing the game.

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

Depends on the game and the child in question. Some develop faster mentally than others, but I would hesitate before letting a preteen experience The Walking Dead, for instance. Then there are other games that I don't think deserve an M-rating at all; Oblivion's pretty harmless and Persona 3/4 could pass for a T-rating easily if it weren't for some of the more, ah..."interesting" personas, which I never even stumbled across in-game myself. Only an informed adult who knows the kid can make a good judgment call, so it's really unfortunate that a lot of parents don't know shit about video games and either just buy the kids whatever they want (which appears to be the most common case in my experience) or say "no" to everything (which was what my mom was like, unless I did some serious convincing).

Generally, I would agree that teenagers are okay with M-rated titles. This is a much more complex issue than it may seem though, so again I would consider it my responsibility as a parent to evaluate each game individually before making a decision, at least until I feel confident that my kid's old enough to handle whatever he/she may stumble across.

 

[Vern5]

I would say that they should play games appropriate for their age.

I can only base this decision on the fact that most of the kids that play M-rated games that I've encountered have been unstable little shits. I'm not really talking about kids trying to show off in front of the big boys. I'm talking about kids who claim to have killed their own mothers and call everyone cunts in the sort of casual way a normal person would call someone "buddy".

I guess it really depends on the kid in question but certain kinds of games attract certain kinds of people. M-Rated games tend to appeal to psychos just as much as stable people. So, if you consider a child who only wants to play M-Rated games...

 

[Norithics]

Let them do it. But if they so much as lay a hand on a microphone, I get to come over to their house and beat their ass with a wooden spoon, Sicilian Grandma style.

 

[Denamic]

They can even be used as a tool for parenting if done right. Sadly, this is usually not the case. It's up to the parent to direct the child's growth. Like making the kid grow some balls by letting them watch horror movies until they're used to it, while making sure they're not scarred for life. Or getting short-lived pets, such as rodents, so they learn empathy towards animals as well as having to learn how to deal with loss without feeding them feelgood lies.

Letting the kids do that by themselves without direction from the parent may not end up well. This applies to practically all forms of media, not just adult material.

 

[Psychobabble]

With all the controversy surrounding video games this past year I'm coming to the conclusion that no one, including adults, should be allowed to play M-rated games. They've become a scourge on our global consciousness and seem to sew the seeds of disharmony everywhere they turn up. The sooner these kinds of smutty and violent games are eradicated the sooner we can start to build a kinder more gentle society.

 

[SanguiniusMagnificum]

Well, I first played GTA San Andreas when I was 10 years old and I only have killed three prostitutes in the last 2 weeks!!!
...

That was a joke.

 

[RJ 17]

I don't like it, but that's because I hate hearing 9 year olds in CoD lobbies.

Honestly though, all the game stores around here actually card people...that is: they do what they're supposed to do by going with the game rating system and attempting to keep under-aged kids from playing M-rated games. Now I don't think an M-Rated game is going to turn some kid into a murderer (as we all know almost all the evidence on the subject says it won't), but still I can't help but heave a sigh when I'm standing in line behind a mother buying her 11 year old kid Grand Theft Auto.

But then again, to be honest I really just don't like kids in general.

 

[lacktheknack]

There's a wide variety of E/T rated games that are totally worth playing. I say keep them away from M-rated games until their mid-teens to avoid having more media debacles. Besides, parents are showing that they're bad at this kind of judgement call more and more.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

It's up the the parents if they are informed parents. ... by "informed" I mean they know what's in the game, either by having played it themselves or checking with friends who have played it or at least researching what it in it. If they aren't informed, I think they should probably stick to trusting the rating system.

 

[GundamSentinel]

... because parents usually have a sensible view of their children. :/

I do commend parents that are actually involved in what their children get up to and while I'm personally not completely convinced of the harm done by some mature-rated media, still, the ratings do not exist without reason. Some pieces of media just don't fit in a child's development. I don't condemn parents for letting their children play M-games, but I don't recommend it.

 

[Lieju]

Depends on the game and the child.
Also the rating system. Language and sexual content aren't necessarily something I'd want to keep away from the kids. Especially language, since most of the games I play are in English and it's not like the kids I know would understand English anyway.

 

[SecondPrize]

Well, the majority that I've met have no fucking manners whatsoever and they make me fear for the future of mankind.