Games with an "M" rating

Most M games are like PG-13 movies as far as content goes IMO. Sure some go beyond that realm but meh, couldnt care less about the rating. Ive yet to play a game that had such objectional content in it that say an 11 year old couldnt handle.

im all for kids playing m-rated games

hell i played my first m-rated game when i was 4 and that was Mortal Kombat

but parents need to do their job and make sure that theyre teaching their kids right from wrong and the difference betweeen reality and fantasy

A lot of kids simply won't get the story in these games. Or they won't appreciate games the same as when they get older. Granted RDR is pretty intense for a young kid, and so is GTA IV. I'm amazed more parents don't look at the ratings of certain games, especially COD. Well, the media has basically made COD acceptable for parents to buy for their kids while GTA is still this evil creation of a game for some reason (granted IV was an evil creation because it was just boring). Plus, a lot of kids don't understand how to play M rated games, which is why you can get into a game of B:BC2 to find that one of your squadmates is a kid who couldn't care less about actually staying with the squad, even when a marker is placed on a capture point.

I saw a couple of kids sunday at the mall playing Halo Reach on a toy store's XBox 360. I'd say they were both about maybe 4-5 years old.

I don't think this is a good idea having kids so young exposed to M games, regardless of whether it's heavily fictional, like Halo. They're M for a reason. I think 11-12 is an appropriate age for kids to play M games. Although, that would all depend on their maturity. Most kids now are incredibly immature, and some of that is... without a doubt the fault of the parents.

There's a difference between Mortal Kombat rated M and Grand Theft Auto rated M.

If I had kids, it wouldn't bother me if they were playing Mortal Kombat. It would if they were playing Grand Theft Auto. Just because one is just silly "gross-out" fatalities, and the other one deals with criminal activities, drugs, gang violence, etc. Very different themes.

I also don't think kids should be playing online shooters period, Call of Duty, GTA, Red Dead, etc it doesn't really mater. Unfortunately parents either don't know, don't care, or even if they do care the kids probably win out and get what they want anyway.

Some (but certainly not ALL) parents are ignorant when it comes to what their children are doing these days, it would seem... And so, you get idiots like Senator Yi of California wasting the Supreme Court's time and our tax dollars on behalf of parents who would rather that the state do their parenting job FOR them, of governing what their child consumes through the various media.

And that's so many shades of wrong I can't begin to tell ya.

That said, I don't hold my language back when playing CoD, and if a kid picks up vulgarity from playing a game not meant for people under the age of 17 (here in the US), then it serves the parents right to have to deal with the "consequences".I don't do it to be vindictive against parents, or sensational with children, but in my off hours when I'm not on the clock, I can be known to use some verbal. And if another adult were to ask me to tone it down over the mic because they find it offensive, I would of course oblige, but not because they want to let their pre-teen play a game that rewards killing, headshots, backstabbing, etc. and has a campaign FILLED with four-letter words, blood, and all of the "M" rate-able stuff. That's just crazy.

For the past few years, every time I've gone to GameStop, the clerk has always informed ME (an old fart) of the rating, the content for that rating ("Blood & Gore, Language, Nudity, etc"), and has finished by saying "Are you aware of the content as I have explained it, and are you OK with it for yourself or the members of your home?" (it's their corporate policy, and failure to accurately inform a buyer will result in immediate termination), I have seen clerks who work there refuse to sell a game to kids not of age. In contrast, I have recently seen a mother be informed of the content in CoD "Blood & Gore, Graphic Violence, Language, Drug Use, Tobbacco Use" and on and on, and then see the mother shrug and say "OK, I just want to buy the game please" in exasperation, with a snotty 12 year-old dancing around like a dog waiting for a treat. If you give a kid a game like that, you either trust the maturity of your child, or you just don't care about that child's well-being in an age where communication is lightning-fast and spreads far & wide. So you get what you get out of gutter-trash-mouth guys like me. Those games are not made for children, they're made for adults, plain and simple. I should be able to relax and laugh with my friends in a game like that. I wouldn't be a total yob if I was playing "Cars 2" with my nephew and his friends, but inside the confines of CoD, that's a different story. It makes me mad as Hell when people expect CoD players to act like a chaste nun when, HELLO, we're in a strip club!

I DO feel that the racism online is over-abundant and I could do without any of that... I pull up well short of that intellectually stunted blather because I've always felt that hating someone based on their appearence or color of skin is pointless when, if you take a few minutes to actually get to KNOW someone, there's usually a much better reason.

But growing up, my folks always checked the TV shows, books, and movies I was watching (or they watched it with me), and engaged me in discussion about what I was seeing or hearing, and made sure I understood the content I was absorbing and the social contexts and mores under which certain content was "allowed" or completely verboten. I think parents today ought to be at least that vigilant. But if they aren't, well then...

... doink them, dapple their kids, and while I'm at it, dopple their house pets for good measure.

;)

I saw a couple of kids sunday at the mall playing Halo Reach on a toy store's XBox 360. I'd say they were both about maybe 4-5 years old.

I don't think this is a good idea having kids so young exposed to M games, regardless of whether it's heavily fictional, like Halo. They're M for a reason. I think 11-12 is an appropriate age for kids to play M games. Although, that would all depend on their maturity. Most kids now are incredibly immature, and some of that is... without a doubt the fault of the parents.

Masenkoe

[QUOTE="Masenkoe"]

I saw a couple of kids sunday at the mall playing Halo Reach on a toy store's XBox 360. I'd say they were both about maybe 4-5 years old.

I don't think this is a good idea having kids so young exposed to M games, regardless of whether it's heavily fictional, like Halo. They're M for a reason. I think 11-12 is an appropriate age for kids to play M games. Although, that would all depend on their maturity. Most kids now are incredibly immature, and some of that is... without a doubt the fault of the parents.

bobdood99

Absolutely Agreed on the above point. A store is a public place, and therefor should be held to an "E" rating, if you will. Unfortunately, selling hot games is the biz. I think GameStop (or whichever store it was) would certainly hear you out and probably make a shift in that display policy. They don't HAVE to put "Reach" on the demo.

:)

Firmly agree.

[QUOTE="bobdood99"][QUOTE="Masenkoe"]

I saw a couple of kids sunday at the mall playing Halo Reach on a toy store's XBox 360. I'd say they were both about maybe 4-5 years old.

I don't think this is a good idea having kids so young exposed to M games, regardless of whether it's heavily fictional, like Halo. They're M for a reason. I think 11-12 is an appropriate age for kids to play M games. Although, that would all depend on their maturity. Most kids now are incredibly immature, and some of that is... without a doubt the fault of the parents.

MonkeySpot

Absolutely Agreed on the above point. A store is a public place, and therefor should be held to an "E" rating, if you will. Unfortunately, selling hot games is the biz. I think GameStop (or whichever store it was) would certainly hear you out and probably make a shift in that display policy. They don't HAVE to put "Reach" on the demo.

:)

Firmly agree.

I worked at a game shop for a while. I'd see little kids (7-12) bring up mature games to their parents to buy. The store owner always wanted us to point out that a game was mature, regardless of who was purchasing it. Some parents would tell their child to put the game back, but just as many would continue to purchase the game for their child. And one time when the person working behind the counter pointed out that a game was rated M, the father who was purchasing it got really mad and was like "Are you telling me how to parent my own child!" It was not very pleasant. Some parents just don't care.

That's actually a good point that I've never thought about. Although one could then argue that trailers of R rated movies shouldn't be shown in public stores either.dk00111

Trailers for "R" rated films aren't shown in public (in the US), per-se, they are shown to an audience who has purchased a ticket, and the content of most trailers is catered to the rating of the feature (so the trailer for "Boogie Nights" would never appear before a screening of "Ice Age", say) but even so, trailers (in the US) can't have foul language, nudity, explicit violence, etc. when shown on free broadcast TV and the like. All trailers have to go before a ratings board, same as the entire film would be subject to.

:)

I worked at a game shop for a while. I'd see little kids (7-12) bring up mature games to their parents to buy. The store owner always wanted us to point out that a game was mature, regardless of who was purchasing it. Some parents would tell their child to put the game back, but just as many would continue to purchase the game for their child. And one time when the person working behind the counter pointed out that a game was rated M, the father who was purchasing it got really mad and was like "Are you telling me how to parent my own child!" It was not very pleasant. Some parents just don't care.

CammiTac

some or most???? I often wonder.....

[QUOTE="CammiTac"]

I worked at a game shop for a while. I'd see little kids (7-12) bring up mature games to their parents to buy. The store owner always wanted us to point out that a game was mature, regardless of who was purchasing it. Some parents would tell their child to put the game back, but just as many would continue to purchase the game for their child. And one time when the person working behind the counter pointed out that a game was rated M, the father who was purchasing it got really mad and was like "Are you telling me how to parent my own child!" It was not very pleasant. Some parents just don't care.

IAMTHEVIPQUEEN

some or most???? I often wonder.....

Someone who works at a GameStop or the like, we need your help on this interesting question. Tally up a month's (or more) results for us and report back, please!

:)

[QUOTE="dk00111"] That's actually a good point that I've never thought about. Although one could then argue that trailers of R rated movies shouldn't be shown in public stores either.MonkeySpot

Trailers for "R" rated films aren't shown in public (in the US), per-se, they are shown to an audience who has purchased a ticket, and the content of most trailers is catered to the rating of the feature (so the trailer for "Boogie Nights" would never appear before a screening of "Ice Age", say) but even so, trailers (in the US) can't have foul language, nudity, explicit violence, etc. when shown on free broadcast TV and the like. All trailers have to go before a ratings board, same as the entire film would be subject to.

:)

The rating is there for good reason. If a kid isn't mature enough to handle material meant for 17 year olds, then he shouldn't be allowed to play. This is ultimately up to the parents to judge too, but they're sometimes are just as immature as their 12 year old son or daughter. It's the same thing with movies I suppose...:/.

Yea sometimes it sickens me to see little 4 - 10 year olds buying gta 4 or call of duty. But at the same time , when I was 4-5 ish I played M games. then again i was mature enough to handle it. i never jumped around the stores while my parents bought m rated games i just stood by their side. hell even as a little kid i didnt kno why the other children flipped around the store. I knew how to act in public if i acted out my parents beat my ass. (just my ass btw) and i learned my lesson so. TBH the rating is 17+ not bring your mom in to buy the game. So i dont think children should be allowed to play them. But again I did and turned out fine so .

I was at Gamestop not too long ago when some little boy, who looked like he was under 10 years old, tried to get his mom to buy him Red Dead Redemption. The employee, myself, and 2 other customers told her it was not a good idea. She listened to us and told him to pick something else. So he went to the shelf and picked Grand Theft Auto 4. We again warned her against it. He started crying and throwing a fit, but she did not give in. So my answer to your question; Most likely not. If they do, and just don't care...shame on them. But I doubt the majority of parents do any form of research before buying a game for their child. I can't tell you how many under 12 year old kids I have played with, and against in the Call of Duty games. It's ridiculous.ACx7

Most M games are like PG-13 movies as far as content goes IMO. Sure some go beyond that realm but meh, couldnt care less about the rating. Ive yet to play a game that had such objectional content in it that say an 11 year old couldnt handle.

emorainbo

The more I think about it, the more I've concluded that most of these games stories will go over the heads of young kids. I doubt they'd find the emotional connections to certain characters in games like ME2 (if Kasumi had died in the final mission I would have been devestated) or find the wonder in the ending of Demon's Souls.

I've been waiting for COD to be M rated since last gen. It really is suited for the rating, and I can see why kids want them since they used to be rated T (though i doubt they know that), but at the same time, these games have gotten a lot more intense, though surprsingly easier (well to be fair, WAW was difficult on higher difficulty settings, but MW2 is like a walk in the park compared to other shooters). I do have to point out, that incredibly horrible mission in MW2 in the airport is not taken seriously by kids (I know from family members who've played it). Sure, it is a weak mission, but it's really a horrible thing they make you do, and is sort of confusing why it's even there other than to get publcity in the news for having it there. Note, I just use COD as an example since it's the big game amongst kids, and for what type of game it is it's not bad.

I'm amazed kids can get GTA. I remember always wanting to play it when I was younger, but wasn't allowed to, and when I did play them I was sort of understanding of why I couldn't play them before. This is especially true for GTA IV. That game is really dark in story and everything. It truely is not made for kids.

I also understand when kids think E rated games are too uncool for them. I'm amazed some people I know now still think that. However, there aren't really a lot of T rated games I can think of off the top of my head that are on the current gen systems, at least from my game catalog. IDK why Oblivion is rated M, but it is so I would still suggest parents look into it for whatever reason.

I know when my aunt used to get games for her kids she'd ask me since I've been playing games or have been watching them played literally since forever since there always seemed to be an NES on when I was growing up and we even had a Gravitar arcade machine (until it caught on fire XD). Though, tyring to explain to her how GTA on the iphone is a lot diff than GTA on a console is was very hard to get through to her. I do think more parents should try to find people they know who are well versed in video games to at least get a good opinion on what the game in question is.

There are some parents on the boards here, and they are at least reaching out and seeing what is approprate and what isn't in certain games. Really, they can't sit around and play every game before their kids do, so by coming here or to similar sites they're really taking the initiative and show they care.

Well, that depends. If it's just shooting violence then its fine. Some games might scare the hell out of little kids, like Dead Space and FEAR, so I would say horror games are 15+ probably. But games like GTA and RDR and Mafia II also have an F-word every 10 seconds and have nudity and GTA has drug use, so I would say those ones are also 15+. But IMO COD and Halo should be about 10+ AS LONG AS the kid doesnt have a mic for online play, and mutes everyone in the lobby, becaause just about every time there is an African American with a mic on COD, I heard n-words thrown around. And lastly, games with over-the-top gore like Mortal Kombat or GOW, I'd say those are 13+ because they are just silly gore, they arent trying to be realistic at all. Just make sure your kid doesnt go to school the next day trying to rip a fellow class mate's spine out, he will be expelled.

Well, that depends. If it's just shooting violence then its fine. Some games might scare the hell out of little kids, like Dead Space and FEAR, so I would say horror games are 15+ probably. But games like GTA and RDR and Mafia II also have an F-word every 10 seconds and have nudity and GTA has drug use, so I would say those ones are also 15+. But IMO COD and Halo should be about 10+ AS LONG AS the kid doesnt have a mic for online play, and mutes everyone in the lobby, becaause just about every time there is an African American with a mic on COD, I heard n-words thrown around. And lastly, games with over-the-top gore like Mortal Kombat or GOW, I'd say those are 13+ because they are just silly gore, they arent trying to be realistic at all. Just make sure your kid doesnt go to school the next day trying to rip a fellow class mate's spine out, he will be expelled.

3dfd

GOW has nudity in it, which many parents think is like evil for their kids to see.

Well, that depends. If it's just shooting violence then its fine. But games like GTA and RDR and Mafia II also have nudity...

3dfd

So you're OK with the concept killing another human being, but the human body should be taboo?

That said, I don't hold my language back when playing CoD, and if a kid picks up vulgarity from playing a game not meant for people under the age of 17 (here in the US), then it serves the parents right to have to deal with the "consequences".

;)

MonkeySpot

I hate it when i hear little kids on the mics when playing red dead, parents need to realise that these game's have a rating for a reason. I have parent's who didn't care what i watched or played when growing up, i was watching movies like texas chainsaw massacre and playing games like resident evil when i was 9-10 years old. I mean it was good at the time but now im a parent myself i would never let my kids watch or play anything rated M.

If it's just shooting violence then its fine. Some games might scare the hell out of little kids, like Dead Space and FEAR, so I would say horror games are 15+ probably. But games like GTA and RDR and Mafia II also have an F-word every 10 seconds and have nudity and GTA has drug use, so I would say those ones are also 15+.

3dfd

[QUOTE="3dfd"]

If it's just shooting violence then its fine. Some games might scare the hell out of little kids, like Dead Space and FEAR, so I would say horror games are 15+ probably. But games like GTA and RDR and Mafia II also have an F-word every 10 seconds and have nudity and GTA has drug use, so I would say those ones are also 15+.

Granviaboy

Are you kidding? Being an avid scholar of all things-cartoon, I heartily disagree, from the standpoint that cartoon violence (GI Joe, Gundam, Voltron, Transformers, and on and on) is not NEARLY what is presented in the average "M" rated game. Not by a long-shot. There are no explicit kills or cursing in anything on Nickolodeon or the Cartoon Network (CN has limited attrocities only well after most children should be yanked from infront of the idiot-box anyway). And if kids are watching "Burst Angel", "Hellsing", or other anime, the parents are just as guilty of not checking content because those DVDs or streams off NetFlix are clearly rated as adult in nature as well.

I think it is really a matter of the parent. Some might actually have mature teenagers who are ready for Call of Duty and other non-content filled games. Mostly, I think, it is just the perception that all M games are equal that convince parents to buy M rated games.How can a game like Halo receive the same rating as GTA? it implies that they have the same amount of content, which they don't.

As a child, my father, who was primarily responsible for getting me games made sure to check all my games to make sure they were appropriate. Occasionally he did let me play some M rated games even though I was only 13 at the time he bought me my first one. I think as long as the game is just violence and blood, children could be allowed to play those M rated games. Although, maybe there could be a feature online that mutes voice chat to/from other players depending on your age. that way, children don't need to hear me swear in COD,and I don't need to hear them.

who cares if kids play M rated games,, .. hey.. have you ever watched the news.. has your son or daughter sat down with you to watch it/ theres alot of F up **** shown. it pisses me off when i see people tell the parents (the ones buying the game for theere kid) how badan violent the game is. i remember seeing this one kid infront of me, he had killzone 2, he was probably 12. and the guy told his mother . oh oh you dont want that game unless you like haveing your son poke peoples eyes out with there thumbs,, what a d**ch. i wanted to jump over the counter an slap this guy.

who cares if kids play M rated games,, .. hey.. have you ever watched the news.. has your son or daughter sat down with you to watch it/ theres alot of F up **** shown. it pisses me off when i see people tell the parents (the ones buying the game for theere kid) how badan violent the game is. i remember seeing this one kid infront of me, he had killzone 2, he was probably 12. and the guy told his mother . oh oh you dont want that game unless you like haveing your son poke peoples eyes out with there thumbs,, what a d**ch. i wanted to jump over the counter an slap this guy.

iamshivy

I agree it's always on the news, but that doesn't make violence right. Plus, he better not get KZ2, enough little kids have ruined that game online for me already.

[QUOTE="3dfd"]

Well, that depends. If it's just shooting violence then its fine. But games like GTA and RDR and Mafia II also have nudity...

MonkeySpot

So you're OK with the concept killing another human being, but the human body should be taboo?

[QUOTE="iamshivy"]

who cares if kids play M rated games,, .. hey.. have you ever watched the news.. has your son or daughter sat down with you to watch it/ theres alot of F up **** shown. it pisses me off when i see people tell the parents (the ones buying the game for theere kid) how badan violent the game is. i remember seeing this one kid infront of me, he had killzone 2, he was probably 12. and the guy told his mother . oh oh you dont want that game unless you like haveing your son poke peoples eyes out with there thumbs,, what a d**ch. i wanted to jump over the counter an slap this guy.

blueboxdoctor

I agree it's always on the news, but that doesn't make violence right. Plus, he better not get KZ2, enough little kids have ruined that game online for me already.

It's the responsibility of the parents to inform themself, either about the rating or by just watching them play, to decide wheter or not the content is ok for their children. I don't really think it's a bad thing if kids play games like RDR btw., I played Resident Evil when I was around 10 and it didn't really effected me negatively :S

[QUOTE="blueboxdoctor"]

[QUOTE="iamshivy"]

who cares if kids play M rated games,, .. hey.. have you ever watched the news.. has your son or daughter sat down with you to watch it/ theres alot of F up **** shown. it pisses me off when i see people tell the parents (the ones buying the game for theere kid) how badan violent the game is. i remember seeing this one kid infront of me, he had killzone 2, he was probably 12. and the guy told his mother . oh oh you dont want that game unless you like haveing your son poke peoples eyes out with there thumbs,, what a d**ch. i wanted to jump over the counter an slap this guy.

iamshivy

I agree it's always on the news, but that doesn't make violence right. Plus, he better not get KZ2, enough little kids have ruined that game online for me already.

true enough. I do think parents should at least take a few minutes to go online and check out the game before getting it. I played M rated games when I was young, but my parents would look at why it's rated M, look at the game itself (fantasy games were usually ok cause it's well not real), and then ask the person working. Though, there were a lot more T rated games back then as well, so this wasn't as big a problem for me.

Are you kidding? Being an avid scholar of all things-cartoon, I heartily disagree, from the standpoint that cartoon violence (GI Joe, Gundam, Voltron, Transformers, and on and on) is not NEARLY what is presented in the average "M" rated game.

MonkeySpot

Im only 17 but I believe I can contribute in a professional manner.

I have seen a lot of parents with their kids in game stores and buying their kids rated M games. Some games IMO don't really deserve an M rating (Halo for example) and aren't really that bad but most of the time when I see this happening, It's a game like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto. Like someone said a few pages back, There a difference between Mortal Kombat M and Grand Theft Auto M. If I had a kid, I wouldn't overly mind if he were playing mortal Kombat because it just a bunch of gross out finishers (I even decided not to buy the new MK because the blood, guts, bones cracking. etc. was just too much for my taste) but I would rather he/she play a different fighter like Street Fighter instead. Now GTA on the other hand, I would not let my kids near at all. Kids are very impressional and letting them play a game where your main objective is to commit crime, kill etc. That will most likely rub off on them. On top of that, GTA gives you the ability to do whatever you want in the city, this includes killing innocent bystandards, stealing, etc. The game gives impressions on the kid first and them gives them the tools to do this themselves in the game. Once again, they are kids so they don't fully understand the differences between real life and the life-like city and people in GTA. Disclaimer: I don't look down on GTA players but I don't the games myself.

From what I've seen mostly with today's kids is that their parents give in way to easily or just don't care. I've seen parents in stores when their kids say "I want this!" and the parents reply with no and then the kid throws a fit and the parent just gives in. Seriously, If yhou do that to them than they will assume that crying and throwing a fit will get them anything they want.

So ya, A good amount of parents don't care what their kids play and another good amount will just spoil their kids. Plus kids tend to think that M rated games are "the s**t" because why?.....It's forbidden to them.

im all for kids playing m-rated games

hell i played my first m-rated game when i was 4 and that was Mortal Kombat

but parents need to do their job and make sure that theyre teaching their kids right from wrong and the difference betweeen reality and fantasy

spawnassasin

This man wins the thread.

I would have no problem if my kids (when/if I have them) playing M rated games. Your duty as a parent involves teaching your children the difference between right and wrong, as well as the difference between fantasy and reality. Therefore if the parents do their job properly, the child should not be affected by playing an M rated game.

I grew up playing Unreal Tournament, Quake and Mortal Kombat. I wasn't affected in any way because my parents taught me properly. True, games are given ratings for a reason, but if the parent believes their child is mature enough to handle the content, so be it. The problem arises when poor parents instill bad values in their children and let them run amock, which can result in these children copying what they see in M rated content.

I would have no problem if my kids (when/if I have them) playing M rated games. Your duty as a parent involves teaching your children the difference between right and wrong, as well as the difference between fantasy and reality. Therefore if the parents do their job properly, the child should not be affected by playing an M rated game.

I grew up playing Unreal Tournament, Quake and Mortal Kombat. I wasn't affected in any way because my parents taught me properly. True, games are given ratings for a reason, but if the parent believes their child is mature enough to handle the content, so be it. The problem arises when poor parents instill bad values in their children and let them run amock, which can result in these children copying what they see in M rated content.

KlepticGrooves

In all honesty, those games really are nothing compared to the M rated games of today. I don't think kids should be playing games like GTA IV simply because they can be rather disturbing. If they make GTA V anything like IV I can only imagine how real the people will look that you senselessly kill in the streets. I still find it disturbing to kill people in GTA IV while San Andreas and Vice City didn't look real and felt more like a videogame, making it fun to go around and mess stuff up. Not to mention the old ones you never flew out of your window, which is the most annoying thing ever in a game with driving as a major part of it.

[QUOTE="KlepticGrooves"]

I would have no problem if my kids (when/if I have them) playing M rated games. Your duty as a parent involves teaching your children the difference between right and wrong, as well as the difference between fantasy and reality. Therefore if the parents do their job properly, the child should not be affected by playing an M rated game.

I grew up playing Unreal Tournament, Quake and Mortal Kombat. I wasn't affected in any way because my parents taught me properly. True, games are given ratings for a reason, but if the parent believes their child is mature enough to handle the content, so be it. The problem arises when poor parents instill bad values in their children and let them run amock, which can result in these children copying what they see in M rated content.

blueboxdoctor

In all honesty, those games really are nothing compared to the M rated games of today. I don't think kids should be playing games like GTA IV simply because they can be rather disturbing. If they make GTA V anything like IV I can only imagine how real the people will look that you senselessly kill in the streets. I still find it disturbing to kill people in GTA IV while San Andreas and Vice City didn't look real and felt more like a videogame, making it fun to go around and mess stuff up. Not to mention the old ones you never flew out of your window, which is the most annoying thing ever in a game with driving as a major part of it.

Fair point, but at the end of the day it's still a video game - still just pixels. I think perhaps M rated movies have a stronger case considering it is "real" people in scenes, albeit staged scenes.

The parents likely aren't bothered, and it's only a game anyway. I was playing adult-themed games at a young age...

I would have no problem if my kids (when/if I have them) playing M rated games. Your duty as a parent involves teaching your children the difference between right and wrong, as well as the difference between fantasy and reality. Therefore if the parents do their job properly, the child should not be affected by playing an M rated game.

I grew up playing Unreal Tournament, Quake and Mortal Kombat. I wasn't affected in any way because my parents taught me properly. True, games are given ratings for a reason, but if the parent believes their child is mature enough to handle the content, so be it. The problem arises when poor parents instill bad values in their children and let them run amock, which can result in these children copying what they see in M rated content.

KlepticGrooves

Usually the people that actually copystuff what happens in games have mentalproblems of some sort.

[QUOTE="KlepticGrooves"]

I would have no problem if my kids (when/if I have them) playing M rated games. Your duty as a parent involves teaching your children the difference between right and wrong, as well as the difference between fantasy and reality. Therefore if the parents do their job properly, the child should not be affected by playing an M rated game.

I grew up playing Unreal Tournament, Quake and Mortal Kombat. I wasn't affected in any way because my parents taught me properly. True, games are given ratings for a reason, but if the parent believes their child is mature enough to handle the content, so be it. The problem arises when poor parents instill bad values in their children and let them run amock, which can result in these children copying what they see in M rated content.

Venom_Raptor

Usually the people that actually copystuff what happens in games have mentalproblems of some sort.

Yup. But my point was that kids are impressionable, and so parents must instill the right values in their children. If not, then the child is more likely to be influenced by a video game. I'm not meaning, go out and shoot someone (like you said, mental problems are usually to blame), but I'm talking about using foul language and general bad attitudes that are found in many M rated games.