| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Columns > LongShot > #91: Parents, Get Informed.
Videogames are once again under attack. Developers and publishers, give these people no other choice but to be responsible parents.  There's been so much talk about Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and its recent reclassification as an Adults Only or AO-rated game that it's almost impossible for me to ignore it. I thought I didn't want to talk about it in this column at all. But I realize that I really should, because I think there's still something to be said. So if you feel like you have plenty of common sense, are informed or are just sick of the whole thing, then skip this week and come back next time. Now, for those of you that stayed, you all understand that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was an M-rated game, meaning it was created for those folks seventeen years of age and older unless specifically granted access to the game by a parent or guardian, right? This game and the entire series of games that encompass the Grand Theft Auto mythos allow you do a myriad of awful things. You play the role of a criminal. You are a very bad person. Each game in the more recent Grand Theft Auto III line takes place in a different time and place too. That means you can expect different things from each game with regard to violence and goals. The most important common sense thing to understand is that these games were made for adults, not kids. They are bloody, violent, show no regard for the law and in fact encourage you to break it. If you bought this game for your son or daughter under the age of seventeen, then you should have known this. The rating was printed right on the box. The content of the game is fairly obvious from the box copy printed on the front and back of this same box. Even before the "Hot Coffee" content was discovered, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, like the other games in the series, contained some content that was sexual in nature. That also was printed right on the box. The information was right there for you to pick up and understand. If you're going to claim now that you thought the game was just violent and that the violence was ok for your son or daughter, then you didn't have all the facts from the word go. Yes, the rather difficult to access "Hot Coffee" content changes the rating, and rightfully so, but it also doesn't change the fact that this game was made for adults to begin with and you decided to ignore that warning and give the game to your child anyway. We live in the age of information. We have the greatest volume of information at our fingertips every single day. Whether it's newspapers, radio, television or the Internet, you can find out just about anything you want to know almost within seconds. Stores that sell M-rated videogames have people working in them that can at least explain the ratings system to you if not tell you exactly what you'll find in the videogame you're planning to buy. Many of them (hopefully all) will not sell M-rated games to children under seventeen without first asking for ID. The specialty retailers, Gamestop and Electronics Boutique definitely do this. If you didn't talk to them about this game before buying it for your child, then you chose to be uninformed and there's nothing myself, the game maker, the retailer or the government can do to help you. The information is out there. In fact, it's right here on GamerDad. Be smarter next time and take a couple minutes to check it out. That's really the bottom line to all of this. Know what it is your kids are watching, reading, listening to and experiencing. I know that's a hard thing to do. I have trouble keeping up on all of it myself with the three boys I have. I've also had the line get crossed when they visited with someone that was less responsible than myself with entertainment. These things can and will happen. Videogames are no longer all kids toys. It's arguable if they ever were just for children. Back in the late 70's and early 80's many videogames were played by adults in arcades the world over. Somewhere along the way someone convinced people that they were for children and now people can't believe some of the things that are in modern games. Once again, it's all about being informed. The two current leaders in the console making race are marketing their systems at young adults first and foremost. Their games are made for people in their twenties and thirties as well as teens and pre-teens. There's a general lack of interest from these two game makers in little children anymore at all. Some people probably think I'm being preachy and some will get angry with this column. Good. Get pissed. Get mad at yourself for not knowing what you need to know to raise your family. If you're one of those who thinks videogames are still only for kids, you were wrong. If you bought Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas or any of the other GTA games for your young teens then shame on you if you didn't know what they were about. We recommended this game for adults only here at GamerDad. Many other publications did so too though in not so many words as we do here. That information was out there for the taking and all you had to do was take a couple minutes to read it. In short, don't be your child's friend, be their parent. There are a few other things that should be said about this mess as it gets out of hand with Congress asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Rockstar Games. Rockstar completely blew it and has brought a whole lot of pain onto the entire industry. It's just too easy for me to believe that this content was left there on purpose and meant to be found. We probably won't ever know the real answer to that one, but given all the evidence that's what it looks like to me. If that's the case, then they knowingly deceived the ratings board. For that, they should be asked to leave the ratings system entirely and publish their games without one. Let them figure out how to get their games into retailers in an "unrated" form for causing all this trouble in the first place. Developers, you should definitely not be angry at the public and the politicians for their reactions. You should be angry at Rockstar for breaking the rules. By making the ESRB look like a bunch of bumbling fools, it has completely undermined the entire ratings system and the good will that it had generated up to now, however small that might have been. If parents and politicians can't trust the ratings system, you can damn well bet they're going to get angry and all it took was one rotten egg to spoil the entire carton. EVERYONE IS SUSPECT NOW and you should be very aware of that as you create content for new games. Yes, it's entirely arguable that videogames can and should be able to portray whatever they like onscreen. They are artistic expressions and as such are protected under law. However, people need to know what's in them to an extent that they can decide if they're suitable for them. Everyone has a tolerance for sex, violence and language. Even I don't play the GTA games for any length of time because I don't like what they portray. If you undermine the ratings though, how will I ever be able to make a decision whether that game is suitable for me or my family? How can I possibly be informed? What a mess. I could probably write for a couple days on this one but that's more than enough and probably somewhat redundant at times. As videogames become increasingly popular and a bigger part of the mainstream entertainment landscape, the most important tool game makers have of avoiding situations like this one is to keep the customer informed. They can never have enough information to make a purchase or rental decision. Give them all the facts and let them decide whether the game is suitable. As long as you do that, what leg do they have to stand on later if they claim they didn't know what was in the game? If the information is available and out there, all you have to do is point to it to say that they should've been more informed. Give them no other choice but to be responsible parents. More on the Topic at GamerDad! GamerDad & Hot Coffee MomGamer & Hot Coffee Grand Theft Auto III review Grand Theft Auto: Vice City review Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas review
|
Read the GamerDad 2007 Holiday Guide!
|
Please Note: GamerDad is not intended to be read by anyone under 18. We stay clean, but be warned! Content Management System developed by Redbird Solutions. |
