Congressman wants to put cigarette-style label on videogames. Again.

Then give the other media it? And that 'give 'em an inch' mindset I never really understood. I mean, it seems to contradict Hanlon's Razor, so I've understood it as anything more than a logical fallacy.

edited 22nd Mar '12 8:09:59 PM by EviIPaladin

"Evii is right though" -Saturn "I didn't know you were a bitch Evii." -Lior Val

The idea is that the current system is perfectly fine. Better education on it is needed rather than an entirely new system that has a tenuous logic behind it. Movies have a very similar rating system and while there's still outcry about some things it doesn't get nearly the attention games do.

edited 22nd Mar '12 8:10:45 PM by Kostya

But why? People aren't sheep. We're capable of finding things out about media for ourselves. In this day and age, all it takes is typing a couple words into Google, or Youtube to find out some general content information.

edited 22nd Mar '12 8:11:58 PM by BadWolf21

+And that's the issue. Look, I don't like this idea anymore than you guys do, but people sure as hell aren't going to research this by themselves. Hence why there is this outcry. If this blatant labelling goes on, there will be an unshakeable ability to turn around and verbally berate anyone who is stupid enough to claim that they didn't know. As it stands, the label is on the back. Now I know this might not seem like much of a big deal, but if they even put that full label on the front, I think we could stop a lot of the whining or at least have the high ground in the situation.

"Evii is right though" -Saturn "I didn't know you were a bitch Evii." -Lior Val

That is true.

Unfortunately, it still won't change the content of said games, but it'll hopefully circumvent the issue of parents getting x game for little Johnny while blatantly disregarding that it's rated M.

"Oh no, Sanji's Chronic Simprosis!" - Kou The Mad

True. I think more detailed labeling could help.

I'm baaaaaaack

Also, it's not a content warning. It's a "video games have been linked to aggression" label. Which may or may not be true. Or rather, is true, but may not be based on accurate information. Evidence has been presented here, but I could introduce you to a Psych professor, and a bunch of his colleagues who would probably disagree with all of it.

If it were a content label, I'd still probably have a problem with it, since the ESRB box on the front does in fact give specific ages the game is appropriate for. It's not just a big meaningless M, it says right above it "Mature 17+". If you're buying it for your 12-year-old, you frankly deserve what's coming to you.

Yeah, the whole "correlation does not imply causation" thing again, right?

"Oh no, Sanji's Chronic Simprosis!" - Kou The Mad

yea, really. Mayberequire people to turn over the box and read the back label. Just have the cashier go" alright, before you bu please turn the game over and read that little box there"

I'm baaaaaaack

I doubt this. Here, the warning labels are on the front and not exactly small (they are ludicrously big by now, actually) and nobody seems to care about that.

People aren't as awful as the internet makes them out to be.

@Desertopa: That article and many others are all freely available on the web page I linked to a few pages back. That guy Craig Anderson is the leading authority on the subject.

<><

There's labels on the front of games already. I just looked at my "Gun" case and saw the little M rating. I can't imagine that sort of thing has gotten smaller in the intervening years.

Parents just will not pay attention to these things. At all, some times. This new label will also fall on deaf ears and blind eyes, I am sure.

Ah, parents, they tend to confuse love and protection with being overprective and stupid

http://steamcommunity.com/id/Xan-Xan/

Um, no? This has nothing to do with parents, prudent ones of which will monitor their children's media consumption without needing a big fancy warning label from the Surgeon General.

<><

The big problem is that the parents who basically want other people to protect their children are getting increasingly loud, and they are easy voting targets.

Not Three Laws compliant.

Indeed. The age of personal responsibility and actually parenting are gone.

The greater problem is that everyone is allowed to procreate in this world. Were I in charge, I wouldn't let stupid people have stupid children. For the sake of the children.

That joke went a little bit too far. I apologize.

But yeah, stupid people who pin everything on everyone else because it's easier that way than to deal with the fact that they're doing things wrong. People like that disgust me, and, really, I weep for their children.

That wasn't a joke.

A lot of the problem is that many parents CAN'T keep up with their kids because they have to work long hours at more than one job to make ends meet. Sadly, when you have to let go and let others handle some things with your kids, it's far too easy to let it all slip and just give them to the system in every way except living space.

I kind of agree with Susan from the Discworld series in thinking there should be some sort of test before people can have kids. Not just the physical exam, I mean.

Not Three Laws compliant.

But children still can't buy M-rated games without an adult, so their parents would still end up ignoring the labels and then complaining about something caused by their own stupidity.

I've seen employees at these places tell parents that the game is rated M and their child doesn't look old enough, most of them just ignore it and buy the game anyway. I don't think this happens all the time but the blame shifts to the parent as soon as the cashier says that.

I don't think my idea of having the cashier offer to show customers ESRB write ups on games would change that.

Most people dislike reading and I'm sure many parents would be more interested in leaving the store ASAP.

So. Let's all pause for a moment to smell what the Rock was, is, and forever will be... cooking.—Cave Johnson

In any case, I doubt the problem here is that the parents aren't aware of the content in the games their children are playing. They just don't have the wisdom and/or guts to say no.

<><

They just don't give a fuck because they're stupid and too worried over meaningless shit instead of their children. End of story.

I have actually met parents who let their kids play GTA, and had no clue what it was about.

The problem isn't that they expect all games to be Pac-Man. It's that they don't realize how gaming has evolved since Pac-Man, and lash out when they get burned.

edited 24th Mar '12 9:09:58 AM by BadWolf21