In what may be remembered as the single most ignorant anti-gaming argument ever put forth, the Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force has somehow, someway, linked Animal Crossing: City Folk with pedophilia.

I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.

So what could spark such great concern that our children are at risk of online predators inside Animal Crossing: City Folk? Could it be the fact that you’re all playing as anthropomorphicized farm animals? Could it be the brightly colored, child-friendly world in which said anthropomorphicized farm animals live in? Could it be the fact that there is a giant speaker sitting on top of the TV that lets everybody in the room hear every word being said in-game?

Nope! According to MMICTF’s Andy Anderson (not to be confused with The Cure’s Andy Anderson), the reason is much more simplistic: Adults shouldn’t be playing the game. Period.

There is no reason an adult should have [Animal Crossing: City Folk]

Oh, sure. On the surface that may sound like the single dumbest thing you’ve heard all year. But you know what?

This is our fault.

We have spent so long trying to educate parents that children aren’t allowed to play M-rated games that we have seemingly forgotten to reinforce the fact that adults are actually allowed to play games that are rated E for Everyone.

For the record, adults are also allowed to play E10+, T and the ever-rare EC and AO ratings.

Where games like Counter-Strike and Doom are often blamed for violent crimes, could games like Animal Crossing become a convenient scapegoat for blame where crimes involving children are concerned?

The natural response would be to laugh at the absurdity of the idea and then move on. Sadly, though, when it comes to video games it seems that the absurd tends to be commonplace.

via GamePolitics

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