Sen. Leland Yee Offers Holiday Shopping Advice for Parents

[The Abhorrent]

On the whole, the advice actually seems rather reasonable... provided you take it in the appropriate context. One thing which might be easy to forget is that the message is directed towards parents who are buying games for their (presumably young) children, not gamers themselves. Okay, maybe it does apply to gamers in a tangential sense; still, it seems mostly directed at those who are buying games for others without considering potential issues (despite their good intentions).

As a general rule, it can be said that anyone who is interested in a game which is clearly not meant for children (all of the examples given being such games) are adults who are (hopefully) able to discern fantasy from reality and can go buy it for themselves. And don't forget that the average age of a gamer is actually in their late 20s if not early 30s, not a child or even a teenager. The advice is not targetted to the average gamer; and if they're parents themselves, probably know better than most (the uninformed the advice is targetted towards) what is age-appropriate for their children.

The advice is also just plain good advice for any consumer:
Know what you're buying.

---

Much of the criticism towards the advice given seems to be knee-jerk reaction, though the reasons for that is not unfounded; the gaming industry still gets a lot of unnecessary (and non-sensical) bad press, but this is actually trying to help. It's not condemning games for anything (aside from saying there's a risk for encouraging anti-social behaviour, though that's probably more a systemic issue than an actual trigger; but it's probably not incorrect to say it could be a symptom of the larger issue), just telling people who aren't informed to become informed.

No one should really be following any sort of advice blindly, it always should be considered well and taken in the appropriate context. Far too many people jump to conclusions about... well, almost everything. Always consider why something is said, and you'll have a better understanding of what they're trying to say (as well as whether or not it's good advice or stupidity).

 

[meepop]

Really? Video games have negative effects on children? Like, say...Alcohol or drugs? Then why isn't it illegal to allow children to play violent video games? Because surely, it's the same thing, correct? A violent video game can cause a child to get lung cancer or liver cancer? It's illegal to let a child drink alcohol, or for anyone, do drugs. Even though video games may actually keep people away from from drugs and alcohol.

At most, video games will cause obesity in children, or yeah it can cause mental problems if the child doesn't have the best parents or life scenario. But, it cannot be debated that, like alcohol, everyone handles it differently. Why can't the same be applied to video games? Some kids realize that fantasy and reality are two separate dimensions, and even those who don't may not have problems.

If you let a child drink vodka, you get arrested for causing health problems. But no. If the parents buy a violent video game, which can cause "Evil Behavior" in children, it's perfectly alright. Does that make any sense at all?

OT: Sounds like a bunch of crap, and the most of the people who actually listen to this garbage don't need children, because they apparently don't remember how they were raised as kids, and how they turned out.

 

[lacktheknack]

All of this is perfectly reasonable, I think. He claimed "behavioural change", not "Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho".

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

You know, I agree with Senator Yee that there are some games young children should not be playing. The issue is that I think it's the responsibility of parents to monitor what their children are doing; Yee believes that nobody should want to play these games at all and that the games should not be made. Yee's view limits my rights and freedoms as an adult because of a backwards belief that video games are only meant for children.

 

[rosac]

Someone telling people to use their brains when buying games for their children this christmas? He is clearly a troll who hates gamers! Wait, no thats wrong. I actually agree with his points, and as for the naming of games, i think this is fair enough, if only to try and get the point across of which games your kid really shouldn't be playing.

 

[Brutal Peanut]

Actually I agree to an extent..parents who buy their children games or other media entertainment should know what they are purchasing and if they agree or disagree with it's content. But what that means is, they should take time to really look at what they are buying, review it, understand it (or at least try), and then come up with their own decision as to whether or not they should allow their child to play it. Most wont let their children watch 'PG-13' to 'R' rated movies, why they seem to forgo looking at game ratings is beyond me. Since they give you a basic idea to what's in it. Though, they'd have nothing to ***** about since the responsibility would fall squarely on them - but I'm sure they'd still *****.

 

[mjc0961]

That's actually a mostly reasonable list of games not to buy for your kids. A few games seem odd to be on there (Halo is violence against non-human creatures, but not in the kind of still clearly mature rated way you'd see in games like Doom or Gears of War), but yeah, almost every game on that list should not be played by children unless the parent has also been responsible by playing the game on their own first and decided that their child can properly handle it. The advice about the ratings websites and research is also great.

I just wish he'd stop promoting that stupid bill and pushing bullshit studies at the same time.

 

[Senaro]

All things considered, I think what was reprinted here is pretty reasonable advice. Most of the stuff on that list is rated "T" or "M" to start with, so it isn't intended for kids.

Agreed. I love almost all of the games on that list, but I certainly wouldn't buy them for a child. It's a little sad that I've seen parents who don't have even this much common sense, like a woman who I had to talk out of buying Mortal Kombat for her four year old because "It's on the wii, what's wrong with it for my son?"

 

[WabbitTwacks]

Not getting Skyrim for your kids for Christmas is a crime.

 

[Lt. Vinciti]

Why does he look like the guy from the Impossiburu face if he was happy? Seriously this guys face is flat as hell....


Sounds like an exciting...and safe Christmas....Suppose if it prevents one decent parent from buying their unstable offspring some violent killfest he can later blame all his horrific crimes on...the better I guess -shrug-

 

[Dark Prophet]

Aren't all of those games M rated, so no child should play them anyway. Also the picture drips of smugness.

 

[teebeeohh]

"Discourage games that reward the player with more points or new scenes for anti-social and violent behavior."

so no Madden for my nephew this year since it encourages him to slam into people and gang up on them with his friends.

what? if he can take stuff out of context, so can i

 

[Something Amyss]

So, this guy also says not to take them to a movie where anybody gets a boo-boo, right? Or one of those depraved books with sexual content and violence masquerading as literature?
...
What? It's only video games? Funny, that...

Nah, people don't have double standards like that. He clearly says...


*checks*

Oh dear.

 

[RatRace123]

So, in essence, what Mr. Yee here is doing is being a more condescending version of the ESRB.
Oh, and about his cited review sites. Common Sense is probably a safe bet but the PTC is most assuredly not. They've got a huge biased stick up their asses about any media they deem "unsuitable for children".

 

[Gmans uncle]

Okay... I actually agree with most of these points, EXCEPT THESE TWO

Avoid 'first person shooter' and 'third person shooter' games, which usually focus on gunning down hundreds of people.
Discourage games that reward the player with more points or new scenes for anti-social and violent behavior.

Not ALL FP or TPSes focus on nothing but "gunning down hundreds of people" alot of them only involve killing other worldly or non-existent things

And that last point is just stupid, it rules out basically every game ever made.

Other than that though... not bad tips actually, I've been telling people to research a game before buying for a long time, and to understand the ratings system.

 

[GeekFury]

So he could'nt just say 'Anything with a mature content is not for anyone under the age of 18'? I mean common sense folks, and in the case of people over the age of 18, if I want to buy a video game thats violent or containing sex, I will, I'M AN ADULT, it's in my right to make my own damn decisions. Then again I don't live the US, so this does'nt stop me!#

Saints Row The Third here I come!

 

[ElPatron]

Avoid 'first person shooter' and 'third person shooter' games, which usually focus on gunning down hundreds of people.

I'll make sure none of my future children ever play Tomb Raider because it's focused on a mindless rampage against hundreds of people.

 

[BrotherRool]

Those seem like reasonable enough points to parents who might not know enough to understand the ESRB

I mean my Mum didn't even realise that games could come out on more than one console, as I found out to my delight on my birthday

 

[harvz]

of course, if the child is say 12 (already should be old enough to tell the difference) some of the games on that list would be appropriate (skyrim is ok and dead rising is more just stupid fun).
your purchase decisions should be based around the child, for example, there are some kids who are more mature at 8yrs old than 15yrs old, buy for the maturity level and laugh at the 15yr old boy who receives 'my little pony' for Christmas.