politics and gaming

Dkw0101 · 02-05-2008, 03:55 AM

well with most politics wrapped around stopping video games. i thought I'd post about it.

first off, why target the most paid and liked business in the world? forget the violence in music, movies,and television. like music heres something "i'm gonna pop you with my glock and slap them hos" ya, thats not violent one bit.

now I can understand why they think that but blame the parents really for letting them play "ooo here ya go son and/or daughter, go kill those things, it's fine." yeah thats smart, I can understand how some games can go far like god of war and mortal kombat.

but I know what your thinking "this is nintendo, violence is rare" WRONG!!!!!! all games are somehwat violence, metroid and zelda rea pretty violent, hell mario gets violent as well. it's not the degree of god of war or grand theft auto.

just thought I'd post this.

Extra Life Mushroom · 02-05-2008, 04:24 AM

You're preaching to the choir good sir.

We (the gamers) have debated this with the censors for years. Games do not beget violent behavior. Only those whom are unable to differentiate between the fantasy for the virtual worlds and the reality of the true one are suceptable to becoming violent via gaming.

Now does that mean you should let your 12 year old play GTA? No. (although sadly I knew about 40 kids under the age of 13 who swore by that game series...hooray for responsible parenting!)

The ESRB can place all the holds and censor they want on the gaming industry, but until the parents actually sit down and play the games with the kids, or observe the kids at play they won't truly understand anything other than: "Well the media spin said that gaming is bad..so here son go play outside or something with those nice drug dealers down the block"

There is an almost tangible gap between the gamer and the non-gamer. The gamer feels almost immersed in their virtual world, and interacts with it as it interacts with them. The non gamer sees the gamer immersed in said virtual world, and doesn't understand. All they will see is a kid spaced out; glued to a screen pressing buttons.

Until the gap between gamer/non-gamer (more often than not boiling down to child/parent) is crossed then the misconceptions about games will always be there.

The sad fact is that games are often scapegoated for the bulk of media's negative influence on youth, but the multi-billion dollar movie industry doesn't help matters either.
I'm sure there isn't a 12 year old in the US who has not seen at least one rated R movie. However I'm sure there are many whom have not played a rated M game.

Furthermore they actually ask for ID in most establishments now if you look too young to purchase an M rated title. So this talk of 10-12 year olds playing manhunt 2 or Mortal Kombat and going on killing sprees is groundless spin made by the media to push the blame away from the mainstream industries and throw it at the most susceptible target: youth entertainment.

On an unrelated note: How many other adult gamers are tired of being labeled as childish or immature simply because you stay true to the past time of your youth? I'm 22 years old and have had many an "adult" (someone 40 or over)
whom doesn't understand the concept of gaming, criticize me for the fact that I still play video games. I just find it odd that people who still collect stamps and still build model ships or what have you are left alone by society; yet we gamers can't catch a break.

The fact that the media still blames the video game industry as well as the music industry for all of societies outcasts when their normal tactics of over diagnosing and over medicating them fails, is a sign that the media still has a lot of "growing up" of their own to do.

Dkw0101 · 02-05-2008, 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Extra Life Mushroom

You're preaching to the choir good sir.

We (the gamers) have debated this with the censors for years. Games do not beget violent behavior. Only those whom are unable to differentiate between the fantasy for the virtual worlds and the reality of the true one are suceptable to becoming violent via gaming.

Now does that mean you should let your 12 year old play GTA? No. (although sadly I knew about 40 kids under the age of 13 who swore by that game series...hooray for responsible parenting!)

The ESRB can place all the holds and censor they want on the gaming industry, but until the parents actually sit down and play the games with the kids, or observe the kids at play they won't truly understand anything other than: "Well the media spin said that gaming is bad..so here son go play outside or something with those nice drug dealers down the block"

There is an almost tangible gap between the gamer and the non-gamer. The gamer feels almost immersed in their virtual world, and interacts with it as it interacts with them. The non gamer sees the gamer immersed in said virtual world, and doesn't understand. All they will see is a kid spaced out; glued to a screen pressing buttons.

Until the gap between gamer/non-gamer (more often than not boiling down to child/parent) is crossed then the misconceptions about games will always be there.

The sad fact is that games are often scapegoated for the bulk of media's negative influence on youth, but the multi-billion dollar movie industry doesn't help matters either.
I'm sure there isn't a 12 year old in the US who has not seen at least one rated R movie. However I'm sure there are many whom have not played a rated M game.

Furthermore they actually ask for ID in most establishments now if you look too young to purchase an M rated title. So this talk of 10-12 year olds playing manhunt 2 or Mortal Kombat and going on killing sprees is groundless spin made by the media to push the blame away from the mainstream industries and throw it at the most susceptible target: youth entertainment.

On an unrelated note: How many other adult gamers are tired of being labeled as childish or immature simply because you stay true to the past time of your youth? I'm 22 years old and have had many an "adult" (someone 40 or over)
whom doesn't understand the concept of gaming, criticize me for the fact that I still play video games. I just find it odd that people who still collect stamps and still build model ships or what have you are left alone by society; yet we gamers can't catch a break.

The fact that the media still blames the video game industry as well as the music industry for all of societies outcasts when their normal tactics of over diagnosing and over medicating them fails, is a sign that the media still has a lot of "growing up" of their own to do.

lol, i normally would say "too long I'm not readin" but I read it and there a few parts i don't understand what said kuz
a.) I hjave a head cold
b.) i'm only 15
and lastly c.) i still am waiting for my glasses to come in

but i do usually play m rated games my mom knows we don't try to put that into reality, i have an active imagination and i can never even put games into my imagination, copyright laws are that good.

jimbo · 02-05-2008, 12:43 PM

i think its the goverment making a big deal out of it theres like 2 game related deaths but think or movies and stuff i bet theres a lot more even thoguh they dont blame it on them.

wezeles · 02-05-2008, 02:39 PM

They did blame violence on movies,music,tv shows and everything else...

Thats where we get this ratting system for all of them music has the big content sticker all t.v.'s now has a smart chip to block channels by rating for kids.
Minors can't "not supose to" buy R rated movies or M rated games...

After this "rating" system is established the government and mad parents in general seem to slowly back down, half the time they loosen up there view all together think its 100% safe now and dont even monitor it.

They have figured out that we arn't going to let them take it away from everyone just because they are affraid for a few, the most they can do is limit sales/use by age and slap a warning label on everything we own.

Even that wont stop it from being abused. I watch R rated movies all the time at the theaters, i bought Conkers Bad fur day when it came out even though i was 17 and the store policy was 18 i hagled with the lady and said "ill just buy it next door you only have to be 17 there" Tada sale final...

In the end parents want to feel safe and that they are doing the right thing, Buisness just wants to make a buck, and kids just want to have fun... we all get the illusion that we get what we want.

Unless you have strict parents that care about you too much, "if you do its a good thing though most kids arnt that lucky", lol ,I know with my son i wont be worried so much about video games as with t.v. content, "thats where i got all my bad stuff". For the most part i will be playing games with him, I know he will play them on his own aswell but he will be monitored. Sure I wont let him play Leisure Suit Larry, but if it isn't something completely out of line he can have it... I know it wont make him into a mass murderer.

Its always just an excuse for bad parents, pawn it off on the outside environment children grow up in and take none of the blame. Parents alot of the times care more about controlling outside forces and neglect the ones that matter most, there own involvment with there children.
If they cared more about that nothing would be an issue your children would know the differeance between right and wrong and uphold there own moral standards. Your child wouldn't want to play GTA because he/she knows its not ment for little kids, and they have there own huge library of games to choose from.

T3kNi9e · 02-05-2008, 06:40 PM

I don't really see the problem with a kid playing a game like GTA. Granted some kids have a different personality and possible an easier state of mentality that can change easily, but I have little cousins who play GTA and are extremely well mannered and all that crap. Their moms are really religous and go to church everytime and they go too. But they're not religous to the point where they don't have fun.

They listen to rap, play GTA, etc. etc. and they're still good. I think it all depends on the person. Some kids mental state can be easily affected, so thats why there's ratings. But sometimes anti-gamers take it over the top. Like when that whore on Fox was talking down about Mass Effect without actually playing the game or even watching anyone play.

wezeles · 02-05-2008, 06:47 PM

I dont think its that huge of a problem eaither as long as parents are involved with there kids the kids are going to know this is just all "fun and games" not real life... And beyond that most kids today are mature enough to know the differance at even younger ages then we did.

The whole issue of t.v./music/video games causing violence among kids was to these few kids that there parents wern't there. They were gone at work or whatever all day and all they knew was the violene from t.v/music/video games what do parents expect to happen?

It wasnt that kids were growing up with video games, it was the extream where all kids had was video games, and its very few extream cases that the blame was shifted off the parents shoulders and onto our media sources.

largedarry · 02-05-2008, 07:18 PM

Well if we all listened to these media whores, nobody would be able to play anything more provocative then solitaire (because multiplayer card games lead to gambling).

All jokes aside, this will never something that goes away. Parents/lawyers/goverment/etc will always use scapegoats to take the blame off themselves. As my generation ages (I'm 25) the idea that gaming is bad for the brain will start to change, but we will just find something else to blame, and I bet it will be bad just like Rock and Roll.

sagema · 02-05-2008, 07:28 PM

Politicians don't want to stop gaming. They want the money. Hollywood and Music Industry pay politicians gross amounts of cash to be left alone. That's why movies like Saw and Hostile were allowed in all theatres, dvd racks, and TV. They ban games like Manhunt 2 in certain states, which is unconstitutional, and gets over turned weeks to months later. Does that stop them? No, they make a new version of the same law and try again. It's an attempt to get the game industry to pay them. Politicians today are Mafia thugs demanding protection money from any business that pulls in billions of dollars.

The joke is the game industry as a whole is very poor. Many games do not make any profit at all, about 90%. Most games that make market sell less than 20,000-200,000 copies, which isn't enough. 99% of all game start up companies fail in the first year. There's also a growing monopoly of big companies like EA, Activision, Ubisoft, and THQ to basically horde 75% of all game sales.

In the end they will get the money from the big companies. The small companies as usual will get hurt as they can't pay the money. My idea of a perfect government is any politician that accepts even a penny from anyone will be fired, but the reality is the opposite. Politicians are bribed out the ass, while most are now millionares.

T3kNi9e · 02-05-2008, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wezeles

I dont think its that huge of a problem eaither as long as parents are involved with there kids the kids are going to know this is just all "fun and games" not real life... And beyond that most kids today are mature enough to know the differance at even younger ages then we did.

The whole issue of t.v./music/video games causing violence among kids was to these few kids that there parents wern't there. They were gone at work or whatever all day and all they knew was the violene from t.v/music/video games what do parents expect to happen?

It wasnt that kids were growing up with video games, it was the extream where all kids had was video games, and its very few extream cases that the blame was shifted off the parents shoulders and onto our media sources.

Exactly

I played Duke Nukem 3D when I was 9 alot(one of my fav fps). It had violence, nudity, and cursing.

I played GTA3 when I was 14 alot and played Vice City and San Andreas after.

I played all those games and im mentally fine. My parents always told me, "What you see on TV and games aren't real, it's fake". Not that I didn't know that by using common sense, but still :P

KIPER45 · 02-05-2008, 11:06 PM

I dont agree after owning and completing all of THE gta games i say kids should play WHAT THEY WANT Power to the people

Apocalypse · 02-05-2008, 11:06 PM

I've said this in many threads before, but parents need to start taking responsibility for their children. Too many parents are the ones at fault, not the video games, for their the ones who don't monitor what their children do or/and they actually purchase the video games for their children.

If you're really against violent gaming, then great. Don't buy it. Very simple solution, yet so many people get hyped over it.

KIPER45 · 02-05-2008, 11:08 PM

Na man i really dont care if a kid wants a game give it to him how about them giants

KIPER45 · 02-05-2008, 11:14 PM

hey man if thats what you think ok but hey why cant kids and parents just sit down together and play a nice game of gta or even zelda you cant tell me you dont like zelda please tell me you like zelda Hey how about them giants

261311 · 02-06-2008, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dkw0101

first off, why target the most paid and liked business in the world? forget the violence in music, movies,and television. like music heres something "i'm gonna pop you with my glock and slap them hos" ya, thats not violent one bit.

One could argue right there that violent video-games include all of those aspects, great job contradicting yourself

Politics and video-games are important because it keeps the industry from going completely nuts (as with any other) and helps make them strive to fill their games with plot savvy story lines among other things. Now, about blaming all violence on video-games, I don't agree with that; I just like a healthy debate between two sides.

Dkw0101 · 02-06-2008, 12:45 AM

ok, kids can get over excited with games, thats pretty much where the idea of going into school with a gun comes from. all school shootings onvolve the kid playing video games.

261311 · 02-06-2008, 01:04 AM

How many games do you know of where you get to specifically go somewhere and kill a bunch of children/ teens? I'm not sure there's one on the market.