Psychologist Suggests Ditching Age Rating and Going With Content Instead

[mikespoff]

More detail in ratings could only be a good thing - I like this idea.

Given the volume of text required, it might be better to have a web service hooked up to a smartphone app which gives you all the details - you can't sacrifice that much cover space to long walls of text.

...Gentile's suggestion that the ratings would allow parents to shield their children from homosexuality is also a little troubling. It's a minor point, but rating systems should serve to inform and protect children from inappropriate material, not foster intolerance and close-mindedness.

...and THAT is exactly why the more detailed descriptors are important. There is such a divergence of opinion as to what constitutes intolerance and close-mindedness, and what is just not really appropriate for young kids. The more details are available, the easier it is for parents to make those decisions for themselves.

 

[mikespoff]

I've been playing M rated video games since I was 12 and I never killed anyone, raped anyone, tortured anyone, performed arson, shot up my school, shot up a mall, blown up a car, performed genocide, or started a nuclear holocaust.

...yet.

 

[SpaceCop]

Media ratings are just safeguards against legal action. Publishers don't care about informing customers, they just don't wanna get sued. Lumping subjectively offensive material together into arbitrary levels has worked for them so far--why would they change tack now?

In theory a system that lists potentially offensive subject matter would allow consumers to better monitor their children's entertainment and better pick their own. But who decides what constitutes offensive subject matter? As has been pointed out, how is listing "depictions of homosexuality" to appease homophobes different from listing "depictions of interracial relationships" to placate racists?

Fuckit; why do some mediums get a free ride? When's the last time anyone ever suggested slapping "depictions of homosexuality" or "disrespectful towards sacred symbols" stickers on books? Wait, sorry, kids don't read books, my bad..

The suggestion that there be an online database for checking media content? There already are sites that list and review specific incidences of language, sexuality, violence etc... in individual movies and games. Yes, these databases are run by fundamentalist Christians--terribly surprising, I'm sure.

Really though, how useful will any rating system be to the parents who can't tell that if there's a severed arm on the cover, or if it's a movie starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis, or if its a game series named after a goddamn felony, it might not be appropriate for their kids.

 

[Blind Sight]

Yeah, the ratings are usually inaccurate. Can someone explain to me how Crysis 2 has "partial nudity", or how Bulletstorm has "sexual themes"?

Nomad takes off his suit in flashbacks and early parts of the game, and Bulletstorm's use of sexualized swearing which makes them both qualify.

Nomad? I assume you mean Prophet, havn't beaten the game yet. And that would be PARTIAL nudity, and Bulletstorm's dick jokes would be "crude sexual humor". Seriously, where'd THAT go? I've seen that before, but not anymore.

I meant Prophet, the Crysis series' story is so weak that its all kind of blended together in my head.

 

[K_Dub]

Why fix what isn't broken? The current rating system works just fine, but it's up to the parents of children how they interpret said ratings and what they approve and disapprove of their children playing.