You know, over the years I have heard pretty much all the sides there can be made in the war against video games, what makes up those video games, and I have come to my own personal conclusion on how I feel people should view video games.
Too many people have been getting into uproars on what they find their children playing, that they never thought the game they bought their child and the game their child have been screaming and crying for months, had so much violence, sex, or other adult material. They think video games should be like pong, or like Tetris, or perhaps some My Little Pony simulator..... but once you put adult themes to something with the identification of "Game" then you've gone too far and you're attempting to corrupt children's minds and make them into crazy murderers or kids who run away from home because they get addicted to the game.
Now on the flip side, you have the counter-argument about video games being just entertainment, expression of a story or art, they're just for fun and shouldn't be taken seriously. This side get's into an uproar because the other side wants to take the things they find fun out of the things that are supposed to be fun. They feel that governments, law makers and protectionist groups are trying to police and restrict freedom of expression and all that good stuff..... and soon, nobody will be able to do anything unless it is run by the government first and their board of politically correct fear mongers.
But much of the things I see continually being left out of the arguments are the following:
1 - Almost everywhere you go in the world where you can buy and play a video game, no matter what computer you have, or what console you use to play them, they all have ratings on them that look sorta like these:
^ Very much like movies, some are designed and marketed for a particular age/maturity group. If you don't want your children to play certain video games, then you do exactly what you do with movies. You check their ratings, you check the details of why they have those ratings (Nudity, Violence, Course Language, etc.) and if you are not sure, then like when you hop into Blockbuster, you ask the sales guy about the movie and if it is right for your child or yourself....... just as in a game store you do the exact same thing. If it is not what you think is appropriate, then don't buy it.
2 - Now a days, some people are complaining that video games are causing some people (in particular, children) to commit certain crimes or they are causing them to act out in ways they never acted out before and causing a degrade in society. But wasn't that same argument made about Rock and Roll - later - Heavy Metal, horror movies or movies in general, tv shows, the Simpsons.... now South Park and many other forms of entertainment? They all eventually just because more of the background noise of our current societies and never really had any real impact on society then the next genre of entertainment.
Hell, people thought certain books were causing people to commit crimes and do bad things in general..... remember Harry Potter? Remember Clockwork Orange when it comes to movies?
What makes video games more special to be treated with more censorship?
Is it because they are interactive and are more realistic then ever before? How is that the Video Game's fault? How is that the designer's fault? How is it Ozzy's fault for some kid shooting himself because he listened to Suicide Solution? I heard the song, I own the album.... haven't killed myself yet...... haven't killed anybody else.... to my knowledge.
To me, it is no more different then how movies have become more and more realistic and more detailed over the years. Jeez, back in the day, Nightmare on Elm Street was pretty realistic.... now it's pretty tame by today’s standards.... then jump back to the 50's or 60's for some movies people thought were pretty realistic. Was there a big issue when things started coming in Technicolor? It all had the colors of life after all..... one more step to reality right in front of you.
I see video games not much different then a movie or a in depth book. The only difference in video games to those, is simple interaction. They all have story lines, they all have characters, they all have a beginning, a middle and eventually, an end. With books and movies, it's all static and it all plays out exactly as it was created to, and you're just a viewer along for the ride and experience.....
.... with video games it's very much the same thing.... there is a story you are thrown into, but the difference is that you normally play a character in that story, and in order to get through that story and find out how it ends, you need to play out the actions of the story through the character (Be that good actions or bad actions) and if you fail, you go back and do it again..... as you can not simply fast forward beyond a point.
So when you're the tough guy in Grand Theft Auto and you have to commit a crime or perhaps save someone's life, the game isn't trying to tell you that those things are ok and to go do them in real life, anymore then a movie you watch that has a character in it who does the exact same things. It's part of the story that was already written and predetermined before you got your hands on it..... you just play a small part in carrying out the story to it's end to see what happens.... just like turning a page in a book (perhaps a bit more complex in design but the principle is still the same.)
So in saying all of that, maybe what is really needed to be done is for parents and individuals to actually stop their thinking at the word "Game" and look a bit further into if it is appropriate for you or the person you are getting it for. Look at the rating.... if it says 18 years or older and claims to have violence, nudity, sexuality or course language in it..... then perhaps you should treat it as you would a movie with a similar rating.
Seriously, would you give your 13 year old kid a porno? Would you let your 7 year old daughter stay up late and watch Pet Sematary or The Hills Have Eyes?
It should be common knowledge as it is for the companies who make these games, that the average gamers’ age today is roughly in the mid-30's. Some might be surprised on that number, but it is true. Go google the information and see what comes up.... the average age ranges between 29-35 years of age.... most between 32 and 35 years of age, depending on when the study was conducted and where.
The point being is that many of these games are designed towards this age bracket and are certainly not meant to be sold to kids around the ages of 12 -17..... that's why they have the ratings on the boxes in the first place. They're not slapped on there just to make the game seem cool.
So in closing at this time, maybe the thing that is really needed is not more regulation and control, but perhaps people using their judgment and responsibility more..... I know it can sometimes seem like hard work to do this, but in the long run, you might just see it can reduce a lot of problems in the future.
