Recently, the ESRB has assigned Manhunt 2 for the Wii an AO Rating. This effectively reduces sales by reducing the number of retailers that will carry the product. This made me think about how unfair the system in place really is. Video games keep being hammered by people who appear to be "caring" and lack rational thinking skills.
All of this starts by saying violent video games affects young children. I will grow tired of saying this but it's quite easily the most truthful statement you can make about this situation, it's the parents fault. Quite frankly, parents are supposed to lead a child in the right path. They should guide him or her and shape their child into what is to become responsible, rational thinking adults who will contribute something to society. Parents are not doing their jobs, however. Most parents have no idea what their kid is doing, and that applies to video games. Most parents let their children play violent video games and then blame it on the interactive entertainment industry. They criticise the sale of violent games like Grand Theft Auto and many Take-Two releases because they say it is too violent or inappropriate for children. What they have failed to see is that those games are not meant to be played by children. They are too busy complaining about video games that they fail to supervise their child when they play games and end up allowing their child to be raised by violent video games. Young children are said to be bad at distinguishing reality from fantasy and end up violent because of bad parenting, not because of video games.
Parents are not being smart, with the overwhelming amount of information that is displayed on "The Internet", you would think they'd have enough time to check up on parent resources and do their homework when it comes to raising their child. But they do not, they keep on letting their children buy violent video games and blame it on the stores not enforcing the policy, when they are the ones that have to enforce it, not some random guy who nailed a job at GameStop or Circuit City. Even though such companies do try to enforce it, by trying to educate parents, who refuse to be educated. Parents need to pay attention to their child, and to understand them and learn what they are like. If they know their child is easily influenced they might want to steer clear of inappropriate content the child might try to emulate. If they know however, that their child is intelligent, can differentiate right from wrong, and has a very logical and rational thought process then they should allow that child more freedom. Parents want to just open their mouths to tell government how to raise their children and then have government put laws that will effectively limit that kid's ability to play those violent video games, rather than the parent him self going up to the kid and being like "Get the hell off" That is not to say that parents are the only problems video games have.
The interactive entertainment industry, also called the video game industry is a very misunderstood business. People in general think of video games as "just games" for "kids". However, that is like saying all movies are for kids. Does that mean I should take my five-year old to go watch Hostel 2? Probably not. Video games have gone way past the "just for kids" target audience and now appeal to people of all ages. They're not "for the geeks" anymore.
The appeal this industry has is tremendous and our success is to be opposed by closed minded individuals. A fine example could be Jack Thompson, a Florida attorney who has fought a valiant and relentless battle against the sale and distribution of violent video games, this was after he gave up his war on rap. Of course I used Jack Thompson as an example because his stories are quite humorous and has been a complete failure as a lawyer, as the guys at Penny Arcade will tell you. Needless to say, I'll probably be sued by Thompson a couple of days from now just for this blog; he'll probably sue me for "harassment of character" or something similar. He is not the only one on that mission though, he's just the most popular example.
The fact is however, that a lot of people discriminate against the video game industry. They treat it unfairly and are holding it on a much more strict stick of judgement than other media such as movies or music.
It is just as easy for a ten year old kid to get into a rated R movie than it is for that same kid to buy a rated M game. Yet people don't see it that way. They see movies as a simple mean of entertainment and video games as a murder simulator. They are trying to make the levels of gore and violence in a game like Grand Theft Auto equal Saw III and I have to say, it is not.
You can't measure everyone by the same ruler you measure your self by. That means that not everyone thinks like me, and I accept that. Nobody has to be like anybody else. I personally am 15 years old. I've been playing Grand Theft Auto III since it came out. I can think logically. I realize not everyone is like me, some kids take it harder and can't differentiate what is right from what is wrong. Yet I still don't see why the industry I love should be bombarded with limitations that makes it hard for developers to make the violent video games I want to play. I don't believe in the old principle that if I let one person do it I have to let everyone do it. I think people are individuals and should be treated as such and not just grouped together in a huge stereotypical pool of thoughts that make all teenagers have problems with differentiating reality from fantasy.
To conclude I think video games are really getting a very unfair treatment and I am frustrated that parents blame their poor parenting skills on video games. Parenting is getting harder, but that's not an excuse to be a bad parent. If your not up to the challenge that parenting now represents with so much information flowing everywhere then do not become one.
I would like to hear your thoughts on this, also I am very much interested on comments or constructive criticism on the blog it self, and on my writing skills. I hope that through this blog I can increase my skills and experience and produce quality blogs.