Just a note, today is a HOSTILE TAKEOVER day! James is away ALL DAY playing GTA IV, so I get to take over the site. Be afraid…so very afraid. (And leave me lots of comments. It’s not often that I get out of the kitchen. Har har.)
Last week, James responded to a douchey letter by the Parent’s Television Council, which had blamed violence, corruption, and high gas prices* on Grand Theft Auto. I think that it is great that there’s a parent organization out there advocating for child-friendly programming. There’s tons of shit out there that I don’t want my future kids to be seeing. We can’t just have Cookie Monster armed with a semi-automatic and Dora the Explorer selling her body for coke.
But this parent’s group is a little ridiculous. They’re upset that GTA IV has been given the rating “mature” instead of “adults only.”
Now I don’t have kids yet, but when I do, and when they’re old enough, I’m going to personally buy them copies of GTA IV (or whatever the violent video game rage is when that time comes…hell, we’re talking at least 15 years from now). And here’s why:
- I intend to, you know, actually teach my kids right from wrong.
Public television might be entertaining, but it is no replacement for talking to your kids. They need to learn their alphabet from YOU, not from some animated cartoon character hyped up on life. Give me a break. Life sucks sometimes, and A-B-C isn’t that hard to teach if you take the time to do it. Along with words and numbers, I’m actually going to *gasp* teach my kids that video games aren’t real and that running over a cop with an awesomely hot car is bad, no matter how corrupt that pig may be.
- I intend to make my kids play outside.
You know why some people are conditioned by video games? Because that’s all they fucking do all day. Sure, I’ll let my mini-Allisons enjoy some video games, but when it is a nice sunny Saturday, I’m going to give them a jump rope and a football and tell them to get out of my house before I smash said video games. Kids need stimulation with stuff other than a controller. As a parent, its your job to ensure that happens.
- I intend to actually understand what I’m buying for my kids.
The real difference between the M rating and the AO rating is how it can be displayed. I mean, it doesn’t really make a difference if you’re 17 years old or 18 years old, does it? And I doubt that’s what this parent’s group is getting at. Their problem is that it is displayed for children, who will proceed to whine until their parents give in and buy it. Fuck that.
If you’re going to buy something for your child, how about you KNOW WHAT IT IS. It would be like buying a magazine for your kid without knowing what it was about. Maxim, Cosmo, or Disney Magazine? It should be a no-brainer. Really, if you’re worried that buying GTA IV for your, say, 15-year-old will scar him or her, here’s the simple answer: don’t buy it. Every kid is different, so a game that is appropriate for one 15-year-old who is super mature might not be ok for another 15-year-old. Know your kid.
What this all comes down to is being a good parent. If you buy GTA IV for your son who is seven, guess what? That’s bad parenting. The mature rating is there for a reason. You can’t blame a game for the problems in the world. You can only blame yourself for purchasing a game for someone too young to understand it. The ratings on games only really serve as a way to stop younger children from buying violent games. They aren’t cut and dry for parents. In other words, ratings shouldn’t replace your judgment.
Someday, I will allow my kids to have GTA IV – when they are old enough. Digg this post if you agree.
*Ok. They didn’t blame GTA IV for high gas prices, but I probably shouldn’t be giving them any ideas.
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People seem to forget that the history of man is thick with violence. It is wrong to say that today’s world is more violent than that of the past and that video games and television are the cause of such behavior. Violence is part of the human mind, television and video games are just an artistic display of emotions we are born with. To look back in the history of man is to look back into a violent social structure responsible for the development of intelligence and peace.
Also, remember this. The Bible, that’s right, the BIBLE is chuck full of sex and violence. Every other page there is beggetting going on, Biblical heroes taking extra-wives or committing adultery, HECK, in an often forgotten passage MOSES himself kills and Egyptian in the desert for being mean to two Jews and hides his body so no one will find it.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am religious. But the next time some ass starts talking about this crap, throw a Bible in their face to shut em up.
….That may be the best reply I’ve heard in a while.
Both of them — yours and the one you’ve replied to.
It’s true, but somehow people overlook history in favour of blaming games.
It’s a little ridiculous.
Ahhh yes, I love when people know what they’re talking about. The Bible is indeed very violent, probably one of the most violent books ever written. People also seem to forget that it is human nature to have aggression. I’m a gamer, and one reason that I play violent games is because they’re fun, another is because they allow me to do things I KNOW IS NOT OKAY TO DO IN REAL LIFE, finally it allows me to relieve some aggression that builds up naturally. I agree completely that making violent games AO is no substitute for real parenting. Maybe if those parents weren’t ashamed of their own abilities to teach their child, and if they learned to calm down and think, then we wouldn’t have ever had this controversy in the first place.
I AGREE 100%. These dickheads saying video games are to blame for violence=epic fail.. I’ve already responded to 4 things like this, and I don’t want to have to explain everything again.
IN A NUTSHELL: PLEASE, LET OUT KIDS PLAY VIDEO GAMES.
PARENTS::::AT LEAST TEACH YOUR KIDS THAT WHAT THEY DO IN THE GAMES SHOULD NEVER EVER BE DONE IN REAL LIFE.
There’s a chance that violent video games actually reduce overall violence, too: http://i25.tinypic.com/2r6ns4y.jpg
Here’s the URL at the bottom of the image: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/tables/viortrdtab.htm –Actual Department of Justice statistics were used in the creation of that image.
Yes, but lets not forget that hearing about violence on the news or reading about adulterous behavior in some book is not the same as training yourself to be the best sniper/car thief/cop killer/serial murderer around. Yes, you can be there to try to teach kids right from wrong, but these kids are learning how to do wrong (and get away with it) interactively for hours on end. And if there friends are playing too, they are pushing each other to be better and get further in the game. And interactive learning is the most effective learning technique (especially on their young, impressionable minds.) I think maybe someone needs to stop, take a step back, and see the larger picture here. People have been talking about the violence in the media for years. And for years people have been shedding a blind eye, reasoning good parenting is the answer. And, for years, video game violence has become exponentially greater. Do you know where else violence has grown exponentially? SCHOOLS! School shootings are out of hand! Do I know for sure the games are causing it? No, but it is a statistic that I would like to investigate instead of just letting everything go, and keep getting worse. Remember, YOU may be a good parent, but what about the 500 or so other children’s parents your child goes to school with? Is your child’s life worth a video game?
Yes school violence has grown in America, but not in the rest of the world that plays video games. Violent crime has actually been on the decline in America. No, my child’s life is not worth a video game, but yours is worth my freedom.
I stumbled across this site and I 100% agree. Nothing annoys me more then parents that blame video games on the problems in their child’s life when said parents don’t even bother to take the time to talk with and teach their children.
It’s pretty sad that the American way is to do nothing and then complain and blame it on someone else when nothing gets done.
Parents want to blame the schools when their children don’t learn, and yet if you ask the same parent to name the child’s teachers, they can’t. They just figure that the school is supposed to be the cure-all to their poor parenting.
Sheesh. Who’s up for moving out of the country?
Come to Australia. We need more people.
Except Australia outright banned GTA3 at one point, and received censored versions of the games. Also game releases are often many months late.
I am a mom
and a gamer
and I totally agree with you.
Children learn what they are taught, they learn by example.
My 5 y/o son loves to play lego Star Wars, does that mean that he’ll try to beat people down with his plastic light saber? No, because he has been taught right from wrong, right from the beginning.
At this age, I do limit what games I will let him play, mostly because of the cussing, but as he gets older I have no problem letting him play games like grand theft auto.
you *intend* on doing a lot of things for someone who doesn’t even have kids yet.
Yeah, and I 100% consider anyone who doesn’t do these things a HORRIBLE parent. You don’t need to have kids to know that. Perhaps “intend” was a bad word. I WILL do these things with my kids.
Believe me, I know that a parent can’t do everything. I’ve been doing baby-sitting and nanny-ing since I was about 14 years old, so I get it – it is impossible to know everything about your kids and make the right decision every time. However, in general, there are a lot of bad parents out there, and I’m not going to be one of them. The end.
Oh, you’ve watched children while their parents where out doing something, I guess that solves it. Babysitting someone elses kids is just like having your own. I guess this solves it, you’ll have perfect kids because you’ve babysat before.
I hope you’re right, and that you’ll have great harvard bound kids. But, do you think for a second Dahmers parents said “I’m going to be a royal fuckup and raise a kid raping murder”? Probably not.
I grew up in a home with a drunk father who kicked my ass constantly and told me I’d never amount to anything. When I got married, he reminded me I’d fail. When I got my first degree, he told me I’d screw up. When I paid for my first house outright, he told me it would fall apart. When I sold that house for alost 20 times what I paid for it, he told me I’d fail on the next one. When I bought my next one with cash in a better neighborhood than he’d ever even been in, he told me I was trying to be better than I was. When all of my children were born, he told me i’d be just like him. Currently, He’s living in a nursing home that I paid for. When I bring my children to visit, he still says the same shit and yet I’ve surpassed anything he could say.
Whats the point you’re wonder? I had “bad parents” and turned out fine. I own a business and I’m well educated. My brother on the other hand, who was raised by his do-gooder father is currently sitting in jail.
The point is, it doens’t really matter what you do as a parent, your kids are going to be their own person no matter what you do, and that includes videogames.
You possess a valid point about “per child” and we follow that system at my house for games. But, to assume you’ll let your kid play a game already because they’re going to be perfect is lolable at best. Reality will set in sooner or later and if this page still exists, you’ll see how right I am. Good luck in life.
That’s an amazing attitude to have – don’t be a good parent because it doesn’t matter anyway.
“You possess a valid point about “per child†and we follow that system at my house for games.” Why do you care if it doesn’t matter what you do?
I think I made it clear that I know I’m not going to have perfect kids, nor am I going to be a perfect parent. What I do know is I am a success in life today because of the amazing support from my family and the way they handled issues with us as children. I didn’t grow up privileged, but I did grow up with a strong sense of morals, and that is something I WILL pass on to my children – or at least something I will try with all my heart to pass on.
And honestly, if you’re going to argue with that, you’re a dumbass, and I cry for your children.
I’m pretty positive no one intends or tries to be a bad parent. I’m also pretty sure most bad parents do not realize they are bad parents.
“The point is, it doens’t really matter what you do as a parent, your kids are going to be their own person no matter what you do, and that includes videogames. ”
that’s insanely stupid. we should not have a society of neglectful, abusive parents because things worked out for you. every child IS different and will handle abuse, neglect, early exposure to sex and violence differently. you turned it into something positive, but little johnny is in a crack house downtown.
this argument has nothing to do with GTA, btw. i just couldn’t believe anyone would be so daft as to say that abuse doesn’t matter in the long run. that’s seriously the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard.
I’m a 14 year old, but I happen to be (according to test scores) in the top 1% in England intelligence wise. Admittedly, I’m not getting GTA IV (I find them all dull >.>) but I play a wide range of games involving plenty of violence. However, I despise the way that adults refuse to believe that we can understand the difference between a game and reality… Well, most of us. There are always those of us that can’t, and knowing several of these people, it’s generally because they’re remarkably stupid. So, in an ideal situation, higher rated games should be allowed for the more intelligent, where as there would be restrictions for the stereotypical idiot. Hopefully, they would be too foolish to find a reliable way around it.
Thanks for your incessant bragging. I really would not have taken you seriously if I didn’t know that you were in the top 1% based on some test you took (which of course measures your intelligence completely accurately because we all know exactly what it is and that it can be summed up with a number).
With that said, I was the same at your age. I never had a problem distinguishing between games and reality. For most, this isn’t a problem. For those at risk for violent behavior, it may be adding fuel to the fire (even if they know it’s a game).
That’s a brilliant idea let’s toss out the rating system and use an IQ minimum instead! Guess you’d have to carry around a IQ ID card to prove you are “smart” enough to purchase a game. Though I’m not sure being smarter than 99% of the other 14 year old KIDS really means anything at all.
Shocking, a smart guy thinks smart people should be superior citizens. Meanwhile, religious people elect religious politicians, Plato thought the ideal society would be ruled by philosophers, and feminists think a woman would never have dropped the atom bomb.
As for a correlation between IQ and mental stability – there’s a fine line between madness and genius. Psychopaths typically have very high IQs and little if any empathy for their fellow humans.
Geez, lighten up on the boy. He wants to brag about being smart, let it be. Focusing on his intelligence doesn’t address the points he makes. I, for one, enjoyed his post, ignoring the boasts.
He’s right in that many, if not most, adults don’t understand that gamers, young and old, can distinguish between pixels and reality. I’ve been a gamer since I was 10 (I’m 20 now) and I’ve played games just about every kind of game out there, on most systems. Sure, I’ve daydreamed about wailing the kid who made fun of me in high school with energy-pulsing fists and teleporting kicks, but that never made me do it. Because you know what? Allison is right! Shocking, I know, that one’s upbringing may possibly determine how someone learns to interact with the world.
I think most adults don’t give enough credit to their kids abilities to reason. As a society we have a tendency to treat our kids as inferior citizens, and make them out to be too young to have a good thought. In most cultures, historically, people were considered adults around the age of 13 etc. Today however we treat them like children until their twenties. If a parent is concerned that what their children experience in the media is going to effect them, they should take the time to find out from their kids how they react to the games. Game ratings are a great heads up to concerned parents, not a perfect way to determine the moral content of a game.
As far as the 14 year olds comments on his own intelligence. I think that he was making a mistake that he had to prove that his point has some validity to it by adding some personal experience, just like most people in this post their argument by saying “I’ve been gaming since…” or “I am a parent so…” He just didn’t get that usually saying that your smart has a tendency to piss people off. I think he has a point about the intelligence of a person, and that it could be a factor in the ability to distinguish between a game and reality. However deciding that a game is suitable for a child is based on one factor is foolish no matter what the criteria, including an arbitrary game rating.
i am seventeen, a little old but young for having kids. i am a heavy gamer and started playing since the NES i played goldeneye when i was 10 and never liked GTA 1 through 4. i like more strategy involved games, command and conquer and COD for example i have an eleven years old brother who is currently playing GH but loved Gears of War because of the blood nonetheless that game is rated mature and shouldn’t be playable for my brother still he likes it and i know he can figure out that killing locusts is good but killing your classmates is bad. and i have a question for the Parent’s television council, you believe that games like GTA make violence on schools but still in mexico they also play GTA and none school killings have taken place so is it real that GTA causes violence?
thanks for your opinion i liked it a lot and it shows that they are still some intelligent people on this planet.
Sam, for a supposed intelligent boy, your ideas are childish and silly. it comes across as if you are some sort of king due to the fact that you are in the top 1%.
“So, in an ideal situation, higher rated games should be allowed for the more intelligent, where as there would be restrictions for the stereotypical idiot.”
you sound like a stereotypical twat who is so far up his own ass he cant see that GTA is pretty damn awesome, but hey, maybe when u get a 1st in English writing and literature at Oxford University, you might be able to form a less stupid comment. however you are 14 and have a lot to learn. keep up the hard work.
You know, for someone who’s critiquing someone on their intelligence, you really should make sure your comment sounds somewhat intelligence.
All I can see is petulant whining and no capitalization where there should be.
Sam’s response, on the other hand, was intelligible, had good syntax, and wasn’t whiny in any way. He was stating a point, which I happen to agree with.
Perhaps the way he worded it didn’t mesh with you because, as he stated, he’s 14. So yeah, he has a lot to learn, but that wasn’t really the point, was it? It was that he’s mature enough to handle a game that’s dealing with issues that aren’t usually suited to kids his age.
Way to be a shit.
He never said he was mature enough to handle the game, he said he was smart, smarter than 99% of the other 14 year olds. He said that smart people should be able to get the more mature rated games while the stupid people can play tetris. Intelligence is not a basis for maturity. You should reread his “point” before you agree with it, since you obviously did not get it.
Some people are so stupid, everyone knows that until video games were created, there was no violence.
(That, of course, was a joke.)
…we don’t approve of humor on this website.
Thanks, that explains the lack of entertainment value here.
Nobody’s asking you to stick around, Dick.
So, when your kids are 17 and old enough by the ratings’ standards, you’ll buy it for them?
Great, now what was the issue again?
Oh yeah, kids UNDER 17…
No, when my kids are old enough by the ratings standards, they’ll buy it themselves. Before that, I’ll buy them a game if they are old enough by MY standards. A parent should know how mature their kid is.
The issue is with parents buying the game for kids under 17. Hell, if my 16-year-old (or even younger) is old enough, sure I’ll buy it for them. But the game isn’t marketed toward children, and it is bad parenting that has some people buying this game for those under 17 who are too immature. Changing it to an AO rating isn’t going to change the fact that you have to be a good parent.
OK I misunderstood your point.
Now THATS an opinion I can get behind – I completely agree.
TEACHING your kids? You are a madperson.
This was the Talk of the Nation on NPR today and the main guy (NEal Conan) seemed a bit biased as he talked to this guy from G4. It very much irritated me. They were talking about some of the more violent aspects and made it sound as if you had to kill prostitutes to play the game.
It was obvious Conan had done minimal research as her referred to getting “points” in the game – that’s another story.
Never mind that a fairly definitive study just proved violence in video games DID NOT cause violence in kids. Imagine that. Kids actually being smart enough to discern this stuff. It’s as if some parents actually do their jobs.
After my years of gaming, I still do not know how to skateboard, cannot jump higher than my own body, do not go around rescuing princesses, and do not open treasure chests that I just happen to find in people’s houses.
Hmmmm…I though those mushrooms had a very different effect on me than Mario.
I agree with everything you said, and it fills me with hope to see parents who think the same way I do.
I am seventeen, getting ready to graduate high school, and rather disappointed in parents. Parents nowadays are often so naive, and, when they see their children fuck up, they are so quick to blame pop culture!
First of all: It is not the government’s responsibility to protect your kids. If you don’t want kids to play violent videogames, watch violent movies/TV, or listen to profane music, then stop being a goddamn pussy and put your fucking foot down. Why the hell should the rest of us suffer because you suck at being a parent.
Second: You cannot protect your kids from everything. If you force to kids to grow up in a bubble, they are going to be really fucked up once they get out.
Third: Talk to your kids! Jesus Christ! If your kids don’t know the difference between right and wrong, reality and fiction, etc, then YOU ARE NOT DOING YOUR JOB. Get off your lazy ass and get involved in your kids’ lives! Talk to them. Explain these things to them. And, like the OP said, monitor what they watch/play/listen to. It isn’t my fault that you are a lazy, ignorant sonofabitch!
Finally: Peer pressure is a motherfucker. I remember when I was a young kid, I told myself that I would never do drugs, drink, smoke, or have sex. I didn’t want to make the same mistakes as my parents. I wanted to live a pure life. Well, I have changed a lot. Once again, you cannot protect your kids from everything. I have started drinking and smoking, and I do pot every once in a while…
It may sound like i’m ranting, but there is a point:
LIFE SUCKS
kids will find outlets. We need to. Life is so stressful, especially right now. So much pressure. So much stress. So, I found ways out of it. Smoking makes me feel good. I love being high. Drunk is ok…. but being tipsy is fun! These are ways to relax… to chill. Videogames are also a way to relax… Videogames create a simulated environment in which the kid can escape and do things he can’t do in the real world… mostly kill people. Humanity is violent in nature, and to repress it will only cause it to burst out and cause harm. Same with sexuality, but I digress…
As another seventeen year old, I too was raised with some idea of a moral standard. I was raised by a single mother, and even with all the work she had to do to keep us out of the poor house, she still managed to keep tabs on what I was doing, what I was playing, and how it was changing me.
I agree wholeheartedly with your first point, but I take a little offense at the second point. I did grow up in a bubble starting after fifth grade when my mother decided to homeschool. Sure, I sill played the games everyone else did, and had more time to do it, but I’ve never harmed another human being or defenseless animal. Any injury I’ve caused has been a direct result of keeping my own body intact. The bubble put around me has slowly been relaxed as I’ve grown more mature through online contact. My friends, mostly on the internet, have been great moral support and decreased the bubble effect.
The third point brings me back onto your side. My mother talking to me about things changes the way I see them. She understands that I drink, and that part of my drinking is a problem because I feel I need it to communicate around girls (I didn’t say the bubble was all peaches and creme after all). She understands, and she’s taught me about safety, setting a limit, and making sure nobody does anything stupid.
On your final point, Kids will and often do find outlets in violent video games, I did it when I got frustrated at my mother’s choice in raising me, and it prevented a serious meltdown that would have threatened to tear the important bond I shared with my mother. In all honesty, it’s because she taught me right from wrong that I ended up the person I am.
“She understands that I drink, and that part of my drinking is a problem because I feel I need it to communicate around girls”
I completely understand this and it’s fine that you drink but, really, you should try to talk to girls sober, too. It’s an important life skill, my man.
I applaud this article not only for the fact that you are one of the smart people out there, but mainly because i wish this is what would happen to me! I might be 14, but i’m actually quite mature for my age (which is why i’m using proper spelling and grammar for this, due to the fact that it’s what i do normally). I know i could handle M-rated games, unfortunately my parents might as well be brain-washed slaves to the ESRB for all they care. So i’ve had to rely on my trusty (and very, very, VERY dusty laptop) to play some of the classic games that i can’t got out and buy (i.e. Fallout and Unreal). Unlike a lot of teenagers (that i know) i can control my anger, and i’m not one of them who cusses with every other word.
But back to the point. Yes, i hate it when people blame the video game instead of the parents. But apparently in most countries, you can’t do that, because too many Moms would be calling in and getting their knickers in a bunch. It sickens me when i see a parent buy an M-rated video game for their 8-year old son. I just want to go up there and tell them to go put it up, and buy something else. Unfortunately, i’m too shy. I just wish parents would actually LISTEN to the Cashiers and other, actually informed, customers, before they buy something for their kid.
You get a gold star by the way
I honestly don’t think anyone could have said it better. Playing violent video games does not a violent kid make. Of course a violent kid is probably going to play violent video games(duh), and that is where these idiots get their fuel. Also, if parents are going to let TV and video games raise their kids then they have no place complaining about the results.
After reading all of these comments, and (re)reading your article, I have to applaud most everyone (especially you) for being educated on the matter.
I may be 17 as of two months ago [which people could be going, "Yeah, so what?" and I'll just ignore them.
], but at 15, I bought my first R-rated movie because the people at the store (the name escapes me) thought that I was mature enough to buy it because I was the most well-behaved in my obnoxious group of people I had gone with. I was perplexed at first, and they just assured me that it was alright. People seem to think that I’m older than I really am, and I think that’s quite alright; I’m just your average 17-year-old gamer who plays all genres of games with ratings from E to R.
Coming from this, I’d have to agree with CG Lord of Numa in that video games don’t create a realistic environment for us to dwell; they give us something new, something different, and generally [with computer games anyway; my main focus] a way to still meet people and not be socially inept. If we wanted a realistic view of society, we wouldn’t have to play these “violent” video games; we could watch the news, or actually go outside [blasphemy among my little circle of friends, but I love going outside.
] This violence gives us an outlet, especially teenagers, who: with pressure to do well in school, pressure from our parents because we’re still ne’er-do-wells, and pressure to begin the sad breakaway that is college (in my case anyway), we need this outlet. With my games, I can submerse myself in a world of something different and interesting, generally filled with violence, but that doesn’t detract me from the correctness of what’s right and wrong. Killing giant locusts: Good. Killing police officers/civilians: Bad. I’m sorry, but these concepts are basic things that kids nowadays are neglecting because parents don’t teach their kids; a shame really, and I’m glad my parents taught me. I’m one of the few people at my school who think that getting into a fight is stupid, and I was taught that fighting was stupid; see a correlation? It’s great, right?
Okay; now I’m just ranting, but… I’ll finish here.
Keep up the writing; you’re definitely hitting my bookmarks tab. 
Wow…
I’m about to turn 40, no kids but plenty of friends who have them ranging in age from just born to just enlisted in the military, and I have to toss in my two cents on this.
Back in the 1980’s (yeah, when dinosaurs roamed the earth), we had a number of parental groups form over the detrimental and corrupting influence of explicit lyrics and satanic rock bands. You think I’m joking? Do a quick google on the Parents’ Music Resource Center and Tipper Gore. Back then several parents were convinced that musicians like Prince, Madonna, Frank Zappa and Frankie Goes to Hollywood were getting out of hand with their overt use of sexual language. Some took it a step further and saw groups like Motley Crue, Metallica, and Rush as pushing things like Satanic cults and suicide. According to those on the pulpit and those in various public offices, we were on the fast-track to lives of drugs, orgies, abortions, and murderous cults. I’ve been an adult for a long time folks; can’t say as I know too many Satan worshipers or drug dealers… though I will confess to being a bit kinky and enjoying a good spanking
.
If you think that’s humorous, go back another few decades with it. There was a big push against the idea of rock and roll when it first came out, claiming that the influences of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Motown were going to turn the youth of the era into savages. The “jungle rhythms of the negro” were being foisted on the youth of the 1950’s, turning good clean white children into savage, disrespectful and criminal hoodlums. Before than was Jazz and before that… well, I think you get the point.
Technology has changed so much of our lives, and with each generation we grow so fast that the previous era is caught off guard. My video games were on the Atari 2600… and the graphics sucked ass! But I at least kept up with them to some degree. GTA doesn’t surprise me so much, but just think what it will be like when your children’s children are around. We’ve been dreaming about advances like virtual-sex and full sensory immersion for a while. When people can have sex with other people who are in another country or on the other side of the planet, well… makes me wish I was born later, ya know?
The points a lot of you have brought up are pretty legitimate. We are inherently a violent and sexual creature. We needed to be in order to dominate the planet the way we have. True, we’d like to live in a world where war, rape, and evil don’t exist, but we are fighting part of our own nature.
There have been studies showing that playing violent video games is less harmful in the long run. It’s a way to let off stress, to get outside of ourselves and our problems a bit, before we do something really crazy like bring a shotgun to school or work and start dusting off people randomly. We can’t change our nature faster than our advances in technology, and we will always look for ways to take those advances and turn it towards satisfying our passions. Look at television: originally, people thought it would be a great tool in education and enlightenment… and it is. But it’s also where we watch syndicated reruns of dreck like Charmed, E.R. and Real World. For every educational show on there are probably a hundred soap-operas, reality shows, bad sitcoms and sporting events.
A hundred years from now people will look at us and laugh over this. GTA will look like nothing when people can buy immersion suits, go into cyberspace and kill friends and enemies alike, all with high-def sensory mods like the smell of blood and the feel of organs as you disembowel someone. True, some few will loose the ability to discern from reality and fantasy, but that happens now and it happened in the past. Look at the Manson Family, David Koresh and any number of other historical examples of people hearing Jesus telling them to off the neighbors. Sure enough, some parent’s group will form then too to complain and bemoan loudly about how the children of the twenty-second century are being corrupted and turned into murderers and rapists.
Welcome to the human condition. Get a helmet. It’s messy around here.
Anyone manage to read that whole thing without falling asleep? Was this some high school essay on the coruption of our youth in the 1980-90’s. Clif’s notes version next time please.
tl;dnr
I actually found the so called “essay” entertaining and insightful; apparently my ignorant peers don’t share my feelings. Although I’m not particularly fond of history lessons, Noan is exactly right. Several periods of time throughout the 1900’s gave birth to countless new things, many which were controversial and fought by opposition such as what we are seeing now. Today, we find things like rock music, for example, to be very commonplace, because over time the extreme realists have come to realize that these types of things enrich our society rather than destroy it. (I for one can’t imagine why so many would oppose rock so strongly, though being born in 1992 I can’t possibly emulate the typical mindset of a citizen from that time period).
Change always scares people, the powers that be were saying the same thing about Democracy 200 years ago, and that it was going to be the downfall of man kind. Their was always talk of heresy in the middle ages, and people were put to death for scientific beliefs that differed from the norm. Hell we would all be demons and witches if any of us were to think we do now back then.
i am 11 and my dad let me watch R rated movies when i was 9 and bought me halo3 and dead rising i am very good at handling M rated games but my mom is ESRB slave and i am not a bad kid M rated games dont chang kids i know because i am.
I’m sorry, but 9 years old and watching R-rated films? Bad parenting.
I started watching R-rated films when I was 4 or 5 because my uncle would be watching them in the living room at Grandma’s house where I was supposed to be sleeping.
Now, at almost 21 years old, I have a hard time with horror films and I have a serious neck-phobia -I’m afraid of something happening to my neck- thanks to those films.
My actual *parents* didn’t let me see even PG-13 movies until I was 12, and then R-rated until I was 14, because they knew how badly those movies messed me up when I was a little one.
And that M-rating? That’s there for a very specific purpose. There’s sexual innuendos that you should not a) even see or b) shouldn’t understand yet.
Great article BTW. I know that I’ll have my kids READING and playing Mario and Pokemon before I let them tackle the more mature games.
It all comes down the individual. Ratings are simply a guideline. They cannot tell you whether the game is alright for your kids or even for yourself. They simply assign an age range to the game depending on how “bad” they believe it is. You can be 40 and a mature game can be too much for you. On the other hand, that 14 year old up there seems stable enough mentally to handle an AO game.
There simply is no substitute for personal responsibility. Other people can attempt to hold your hand and almost spoon feed you what is right and wrong, but when it comes down to it, it’s your responsibility… as a parent, and as an individual.
Moreover, I simply can’t believe that playing GTA will alter one’s morals to the point that they kill someone without any fear of consequences. Murder has been around as long as humans have existed, this is not some pandemic.
Why wait until 15? You let them watch Bugs Bunny run over Daffy Duck at age 5. Or am I the only adult who sees violence in Warner Brothers cartoons? I have no problem with violence in children’s entertainment as long as parents teach their kids the difference between reality and fiction. Attacking the video game industry is not the answer to bad parenting.
Yea because a human size talking duck and bunny are very realistic and your kid might one day happen upon a situatiion where he has a chance to strap an acme rocket to said animals and we all worry about the choice they might make. Btw, I don’t think my 8 year old knows who bugs or daffy are….
Gennnafer, seriously, you’re taking things a bit too literally. Look at the point and not the method of expressing it.
Don’t mind her — I think she’s just a bitch.
I’m an employee of a video game retail chain and fresh out of my first year of college. Working in the store, I see people all the time who buy games like GTA for their seven-year-old. And I’ll ask, “Ma’am/Sir, are you aware that this is a mature-rated game?” Occasionally, I’ll get a parent or usually a grandparent who says “Oh, wait. I don’t want them to have that.” And I feel like applauding. Or I’ll get a mom who wants to return a game because her husband bought it for her five-year-old yesterday and she thinks it’s too mature. This is great! This gives me hope for the future of our country!
Unfortunately, it’s mostly the parents that just nod their head and say “Whatever- he plays it at his friend’s house all the time.” Which is just even more upsetting- it’s bad enough that your ten-year-old is allowed to play a Mature-rated game, but what right is it of yours to allow someone else’s child to play that game? I think it’s worse where I live too- things are definitely in a slump here and the “ghetto” lifestyle is beginning to take over. So at work, I’ll get a nine-year-old with his pants near his knees wearing a wife-beater and “bling bling” threatening to “pop a cap” in my ass if I don’t sell them this game.
This is one of the best articles I’ve ever Stumbled upon because it reaffirms what I’ve been saying for years. At the stores, we can only do so much. ESRB ratings are there for a purpose but it’s not up to us to enforce them beyond asking for ID when a Mature-rated game is purchased. Parents need to step up and actually take a hand in raising their children instead of just looking for a scapegoat. If parents really need someone to point a finger at, they need to look in a mirror.
I totally hear you. I used to work in the electronics section of a department store, and there’d be 10-year-olds trying to buy mature games like Black and GTA 1-3, or Diablo for the PC, or R-rated movies, and I’d always tell them the same line: “I can’t sell this to you. You’re too young. That’s a mature rating, and you shouldn’t play/watch this until you’re that age.”
Then that same kid always came back the next day, or only a couple hours later, with an elderly grandma in tow. You know, the kind that can’t hear AT ALL and if you try telling them they shouldn’t buy this, they start ranting “My grandson is the brightest, most mature boy I’ve ever known. He’s smarter and more mature than you and could be your manager if he got a job here!”
I hated those days.
You think your kids will be interested in GTA 4 in 2020?
Then, there’ll be actually things that *do* shock you as a parent.
insert long opinionated comment here plz.
Even if the game was rated AO instead of M it still would have made truckloads of money. Past GTA players have been waiting for this game for a fucking eternity. Obviously there will be a huge demand regardless of the games rating.
I smell a jealous board of cunts who make under $40,000 a year…
Parent says : ” video and TV is bad for my kids ”.
The real meaning of this sentence is : ” Fuck i cant let TV teach my kids anymore ”
Personnaly since im 7 year my parent let see any tv show i want like southpark. I’ve seen Basic instinct a 12 and full metal jacket at 7.
My parent were always there to tell what is wrong and what is ok.
Everything is about teaching ur kids, whaterver they see it is not important, just be there to explain them what they see.
I personnaly have friends with parent that never let them see these kind of show, movies or play some game, and now they are violent phsycotic and sexual maniac because if you hide these things to ur kids, when u will be away and they get acess to it, they will over-consume it .
( is over-consume can be said? im french XD )
10000000% agree.
I absolutely hate people who blame pop culture for their own lack of parenting and good judgment. No, GTA IV will not destroy everything we stand for, convince the entire youth generation to become a bunch of mindless thugs, and send us all to hell. If anything, that will be the result of the parents. I played my first M-rated game when I was 8 (Diablo 2), and I played GTA III when I was 10. Yes, I spent quite a lot of time blowing heads off with the M16 and wreaking unspeakable havoc. I watched my first R-rated movie when I was 6, and have watched so many of them since. I listened to a lot of explicit/suicidal/sadistic/etc. music when I was younger (not into that stuff now). And yet here I am, bringing in good grades from school, participating in both school-related and extracurricular activities, performing music (I play the piano and drums, and I like both classical and contemporary music), using proper grammar and spelling even over the internet, and with a rich social life. And without a single intention to ever commit crime, kill myself, worship Satan, live in my mom’s basement, smoke weed and drink alcohol excessively, or anything like that. And I’m not alone; I’m quite sure a lot of you are in the same boat I’m in. It makes me hopeful that this ridiculous pop-culture-is-the-reason-for-all-evil crap won’t outlive the current adult generation.
I feel Like you’ve been living my life for the past few years( except the piano and drum part);). But aside that, I completely agree with the article and some of the posts. I’m a 19 year old college student, and video games are a favorite past time of mine. It sickens me when I hear of parents, the media, and politicians who blame video games for acts of violence. They seem to blindly attack anything they don’t agree with or know very little of. If responsibility is a burden to parents, then they might want to rethink their position.
great article
if only the rest of the world had half the sense you & I do haha
“…the Parent’s Television Council, which had blamed violence, corruption, and high gas prices* on Grand Theft Auto.”
That organization reminds me of a t-shirt I saw a while back…
“Beware the Power of Stupid People in Large Groups”
I agree with this article. I am sixteen and I own GTA 4. I have no problems with anger and personally think I am mature enough to play it. We have had violent games for years, Mario and Donkey Kong for example. But I have never seen anyone jump on turtles heads and kidnap princesses(or in more recent games beat up alligators). The reason why there is all this fuss is because Grand Theft Auto is considered Imitable violence as is all the other violent media. People are scared that since its possible to do it we will do it. Nobody is concerned with jerry hitting tom in the head with a frying pan because it is colorful and the characters are animals. All the censoring going on is absurd, the fact that I live in America which is supposed to be a free country and don’t have the right to play the video games i want to play because the government is starting to meddle with peoples lives on a more personal level is disgusting. Just because we are able to do violence does not mean that we will. The difference between these games and real life is we have morals and video games don’t. I will play Grand Theft Auto and I will have sex with a prostitute and kill her and take my money back. I would never dream of doing this in real life because I have morals, I have a conscience and know that killing people is wrong. When your killing things in a video game no matter how pretty it looks you know, in the back of your mind, that its just a game, its just a computer program, and killing things in a game doesn’t matter because its just a game.
Try not to let Parents Television Council upset you. They are fanatic, idiotic pieces of shit, and no one with a full cerebral cortex takes them seriously. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of some of the things those fundamentalist assholes have tried to do. Watch the movies “FUCK” and “This Film is Not Yet Rated”. They will either make you feel better or stoke your anger that much more.
The FCC listens to them. That’s a problem.
So do our politicians. He who yells the loudest…..
Ok, I feel compelled to say something, which is a first for me in this type of scenario. I happen to love the Grand Theft Auto series and find it quite entertaining. I am also a 28 year old male and have full capabilities to perform such violent acts found in these games. I however, do not do them.
The rating system unfortunately is nothing more than a sham. I work in an environment where a lot of my co-workers play and enjoy video games, some of which are violent. One such co-worker is 36, single and most likely a virgin (poor guy.) He is literally double the age for the limit at which you can buy a violent game. The reason I mention this is because, although he may qualify to purchase the game by the rating system, he by no means should own it. This is the kind of guy that sits in his chair and tries to find childish insults to rile you up into an argument with him. Generally pathetic behavior.
On the other hand, I have a friend who is very close to me and has a 14 year old daughter. She has been a single mother since she herself was 14 (poor girl) and plays video games daily, and quite frankly can kick the crap out of me at just about any fighting game. >_< Her daughter has been subjected to games from a very young age and simply thrives on them. They also however do exactly as Allison here intends/WILL do, they go outside together.
Shocking I know.
The point of this all is; Age doesn’t matter, intelligence doesn’t matter, upbringing doesn’t always matter, individuality doesn’t matter, maturity doesn’t matter.
Now before you start flaming me, here is what DOES matter. ALL OF THEM. A 30 year old, average intelligence, brought up in a good home, violent nature and generally immature person does not NEED to buy a violent video game, because they stand a good chance at being influenced by that game and driven to make a poor choice.
The problem is, in order for a rating system to be effective, those determining that rating system would be to intrusive into our lives.
The sad truth of it all is, even with a big brother telling us what we can or cannot buy, a parent instilling in us a sense of right and wrong, being mature or intelligent, the fact of the matter is, there will always be those idiots out there that don’t quite realize how to function in society.
So lets shoot em all!!!
kidding
Great post Allison, I commend you and hope that your efforts will add yet another shining example of what truly is good in humanity.
TLDR (too long didn’t read)
Oh wait.. I typed it.. nevermind
While I agree with everything you are saying, there is one factor that you haven’t considered. Being a parent, I am well aware of this: Other people lack common sense and allow your child access to things you would not want them to have access to.
Before you read further, understand that I am 100% against the momsVSvideogames war. There is no reason to outlaw games, they have maturity ratings for a reason.
However; some parents (I would argue MANY parents) lack common sense. The seven year old playing GTAIV that you mentioned above (I agree that’s bad parenting by the way) is going to have a friend or ten over who are also going to play the game, unbeknownst to their parents.
Also, it is important for parents hide shit that they don’t want their kids to have access to. My dad used to hide his porn when I was growing up because he didn’t want me watching it. I found it, sure; but that’s not the point. It shouldn’t be readily available for the child. Saying “don’t play this” isn’t enough because the kid will get curious and start playing it when you leave the room to go cook or take a shower or drop the cosby kids off at the pool.
Think for a moment about how much time these moms against video games spend away from their kids while fighting the evil games. The bottom line, as you mentioned, is to teach your children right from wrong. If more parents would take the time to do that instead of blaming their problems on everyone/everything else, the world would be a much better place.
I’m sorry what were we taling about again? Are we debating whether GTA4 is contributing to the crime rate or likely to make our kids violent criminals? If that is the case than yes the same can be said about tv and other forms of media, short version is you will have to live in a fall out shelter if you to get rid of it all (or become omish). Whether it is bad for children or even the human race to play doesn’t really matter since, at least in America, they have the right to make and sell the game just as we have the right to buy and play if we choose.
If however the question is something as simple stupid as chnaging the rating of the game from mature to adult only, why is it bugging anyone that isn’t 17? Thing is I can see why the “Crazy Parents Council” or whatever they are called want it changed. As a parent of a young child I have to filter a lot of what they can see like tv, movies and games. Call me a bad parent if you want but I don’t have a lot of time to research every game, tv and movie for content so often I go by ratings. The parental controls on the tv are set to allow my kid to watch shows of a certain rating or lower. I have over 500 channels and can not be there every second to make sure she doesn’t switch to skinimax or something. Point being the rating system while not entirley accurate gives parents some idea of whether thier kids are mature enough to watch it. Now ignoring whether GTA4 is “evil brain cell killing video game” is everyone really going to tell me that getting laid, blow jobs and hookers doesn’t fall in the same category as say a porn magazine which is deemed as adult only? I say who gives a crap if they change it to adult only, if it elps parents great, if it pissed off some 17 year olds who’s parents think they are too imature to play it then thats great too. If you are over 18 why do you care and if you are under 17 you can’t buy it anyway so stop crying and start kissing your parents butts so maybe they will like you enough to buy it.
I stumbled upon this article and i REALLY agree with you. parents should take responsibility for raising their kids. it’s not just video games, it’s TV, print and people they interact with. if you don’t pay attention, your kid may be out there buying coke from strangers (or worse, selling them
)
so please, before you blame other stuff, blame yourself for not paying attention to what your kids are immersing themselves in.
more power to you and yours!
The problem with adults and parents these days is that they dont realise how much quicker children are maturing, kids are exposed to much more graphic and mature stuff at a far younger age than the last Gen. You see, the amazing things about kids is there ability to adapt, they understand much more than there parents did at there age, and people just find it hard to grasp. Movies that you got nigthmares from as teenager are laughed at by ten year olds and they probaly know more about the birds and the bees than you did as a teenager. Anyways that has nothing to do with GTA which rocks, to deny any HARDCORE gamer from playing a fantasic title like this should be illegal. Age dosent = maturity trust me i know.
Im 16 play gta 4 and have played almost every violent game out there, I have never walked out picked up a gun and killed someone…..if ur worried ur kid might do that, they’re fucked in the head and need help, and you’ve been a shitty parent:)
p.s. if you’re from america and worried that something similar might happen perhaps its the fact that guns are legal…and parents should stop blaming tv, games, movies, the internet, porn, whatever
Oh yes, since they’re available, we automatically feel the need to use them.
You try to find a way to successfully control weapons in this huge country.
But I agree, media shouldn’t be a scapegoat.
Good job totally stereotyping video game players. I would really like to see you try to stop a 14 year old teenage boy from playing this game or any other M rated game that he really wanted to…
You know, back in the good ol’ days — during the days of “The Greatest Generation”, kids got ass beatings if they disobeyed their parents.
I think we should go back to those days.
I saw on CNN one night they were ripping on GTA IV and they said that the school shooting in Red Lake, MN was also because of GTA San Andreas or Vice City…Well I live near Red Lake and know people who had friends or family members killed or maimed in the fracas and most of them admitted that the poor fat kid was picked on in school and that everyday the other kids would punch him when he rode the bus…Do you really think that a video game is gonna make him decide to mow down all of the people who kept fucking with him??? I’m sorry but some of those kids had it coming to them and I do not blame him for ridding himself of the misery that they constantly caused him…but to even partially blame it on a video game???? GET REAL BONEHEAD!!!!!!
Am i the only one who recalls life before computer games? The time when Pong on the Atari was absorbing entertainment!
Believe me I experienced more violence and bloodshed in the school playground than any game I ever played. This witch hunt against computer games simply reminds me of similar witch hunts against Dungeons & Dragons, Role Playing Games in general and, of course, television.
Want to be a good parent? Golden rules – spend time with your kids, even if it’s just half an hour. Let then do what their friends are doing and think is cool at the time even if that is playing a “violent” video game. Read to them. Ask about their day and show genuine interest. Encourage sports and hobbies. Don’t spoil them. Draw lines and make sure they know what side of the line they are on.
Well, that’s me done, enjoyed reading the comments, nice post too.
That’s golden words. Bravo.
Nice post, Allison! It’s so good to see someone with that attitude. Obviously, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” and if you actually do have kids, it won’t be as simple as you think it could be. But, nonetheless, you have a good plan for what to do and at least you won’t try to place the blame on “society” or “violent video games” and other scapegoats. I do take issue with this line, though:
“I think that it is great that there’s a parent organization out there advocating for child-friendly programming.”
The PTC is a group of self-righteous pricks who have made it their mission to suppress free speech. They’re the ones that always call the FCC and complain about all the sex and violence on television and call for stiffer fines and more restrictions. They’re not just a group trying to make sure children’s television is wholesome; they want to censor all TV content they deem immoral.
With regards to the picture…
She’s going to have a hard time playing GTA IV anyway with that X Box controller in her hand. Maybe when you update to the 360, you can decide whether or not she can play.
Obviously you didn’t read her article.
“”Now I don’t have kids yet, but when I do, and when they’re old enough, I’m going to personally buy them copies of GTA IV (or whatever the violent video game rage is when that time comes…hell, we’re talking at least 15 years from now). And here’s why:”"
3rd Paragraph.. come on.
Obviously Picture = Unrelated
I think Trav was just trying to be a smartass. It’s all cool.
I will say one thing about violent games influencing children. Everyone always says that children are very impressionable. Play the game Manhunt. In this game, you are required to find shadowy hiding places so you can sneak up on your enemies and kill them by suffocating them with a plastic bag (and other very gruesome death scenes). After hours and hours of training yourself to look for choice hiding places, your train of thought tends to stick with you in the real world. You start noticing these nice little hiding places. Sure, adults know better, and you can say that you will sit down and teach your children. But kids act first and think later (if at all). If they have been “training” for even 2 hours a day, that would be 14 hours a week; almost a part-time job. What types of things are they being desensitized from?
But she also said that parents should decide if their children are mature enough to play the game.
I also highly doubt that some kid who’s played that game will think they should run around killing people. There is a difference between reality and games. Just because you play a hit man in a game does not mean you are one or are capable of killing a real, living person.
Great article I might say.
I´m a 30 year old german man. I said my nationality because in germany it´s already gone the wrong road way too long. Our “FCC” already bans, restricts and totally mutilates video games since a long time. some politics already yell for an total stop on “violent games”.
But that´s going a little off topic. I was raised with Video games. I started playing them since their early baby-steps. I also saw the hardest Blood orgy movies when I was only 11. (at a friends, my parents surely didn´t let me watch them). And I´m a person that picks up spiders and puts them in the lawn outside.
Allison is completely right that it´s all parenting and how you raise your kid.
People still think kids can´t see the diffenrence between game and reality, but it´s actually almost the opposite. let me explain my point, What the kids see in a video game is Textures, bump-mapping, Anti-Aliasing, Dithering, Shaders, ect ect. What a grown up parent that has no relation to video games sees is Blood, Violence, Murder, ect ect.
catch my drift?
“Know your kid” is a good line. srsly sit down with your little one and play with him/her for a change. spend time with your children, and you´ll see they are actually very aware of whats going on.
There are exceptions of course, but the hell will freeze before I let my video games get taken away from me because of “mentally challenged” kids…
When it comes down to it.. kids that shoot up schools or involve themselves in violent situations in their lives are..thats right… messed up anyway. Though most likely not their fault.. abusive parents.. unresolved difficulties at school or home that flattens their self esteem, or a disorder that has been overlooked. It’s a parents natural tendancy to deny playing a part in their childs misconduct. So they complain about it which in turns means I gotta import GTA IV from the UK because Australian parents are so conceit on their parenting.
completely agree with you, im sick of parents now a days thinking that the government has to protect the children or its always someone elses fault that a game is rated mature instead of AO, which is retarded cause mature should might as well be considered AO, whats the point of having a teen rating then mature then AO. whats the mature group suppose to be? its 18 to buy a mature game anyway right? does AO make it like drinking, “You cant buy this game until your 21!” if it were that way i assure you someone would die. haha. basically what im getting at is what happened to good old fashioned parenting? what happened to the days where the parent took responsibility for what they kids are doing and tell them what may be dangerous, if gaming is at all. if anything gaming is a good way to vent i think. there i go again with the sidetracking. parent your children people stop blame shifting and raise your own kids.
Another argument organizations like MADD are giving is that “kids can’t tell the difference between video games and real life.” I’m sorry but that is just utter bullshit. A normal person’s mind is far to sophisticated to confuse the two. Obviously there is something already wrong with you if you can’t. And part of reasons why there are so many parents jumping on to this blame video games bandwagon is the media. They blow shit way out of proportion, a few months ago I saw a story on Fox about the game Mass Effect, and they were ranting and raving about some side boob and an ass crack that should make the game AO. They had a “psychiatric expert” there for correspondence. I use the quotes cause that bitch was stupid. She said that the University of Maryland has conducted a study that showed kids can’t tell the difference between games and real life. WHAAAAATEEEVVVVEERRRRR
kids can tell the difference between game and real…i know i am 11 sean R movies sence 9 been playing M rated games at 8 1/2 they dont chang you you let all your anger in the game
They just don’t have any children. Thats why they are thinking children are idiots.
Like Allison said…
I’ll be the judge of if my kids should get to play a violent, slaughter-oriented game. If they’re mature enough–fine. If they’re not, then they can stick with their Wiis and Mario Kart.
I am 12 years old, I have three GTA’s but I am not going around shooting people, stabbing people, smoking crack or any other stuff in the GTA’s! It’s not about the game, it’s about your parents/carers tell you what is ok and what is bad.
No shit and I got kids. A four year old girl and a year old boy. I’d let them play gta Iv.
I have very specific opinions on children and M-rated games. One thing I have learned is that the more you restrict a child, the more likely they are to do the thing you restrict them from doing. It’s good old fashioned curiosity. From personal experience, I know that the things you can’t have are far more desirable than the things you can. I would let my child have such M-rated games but, I would personally monitor the kid’s behaviour before hand to make sure he/she is mature enough as one thing that really annoys me is the parent who simply picks up the M-rated game the kid is waving in front of their face and simply buys it without a second glance. One such thing happened to me the other day, I was browsing through the pre-owned games in a shop and I saw Brothers in Arms: Hells highway. I went to take the game when it was snatched by a small kid who couldn’t have been older than eight and he showed it to his mum, I thought she would see the rating on it and proceed to tell him to put it back when she simply took it off him and added it to the staggering pile of games she was already carrying! That’s a sign of bad parenting and should be properly discouraged. Long story short, if the kid is mature enough in YOUR eyes, buy the game.
My little brother (he is 10 now) played GTA since he was 4-5 years old (actually he played almost anything he wanted and could). He was not good at reading but he was fine at killing some bastards in a game. And know what? It didn’t make him aggressive or whatsoever.
He perfectly understands it is a game. Bang bang, kill some cartoon guys. Phew, that doesn’t do anything, it is not real.
On the other hand there is a lot of realistic shit on TV which can be much more harmful then guys jumping and burning each other with a firethrowers.