86 replies to this topic

[Autosaver]

http://www.gonintend...story&id=174013

Two congressmen have introduced a bill that would require almost all video games to feature a warning label concerning exposure to violent games, similar to the health warnings on tobacco products.

Called the Violence in Video Games Labeling Act (H.R. 4204, PDF link), the bipartisan bill seeks to label games in the U.S. with a message that reads "WARNING: Exposure to violent video games has been linked to aggressive behavior" on their packaging (or in another clear and conspicuous location, if distributed digitally).

Hasn't this been proven wrong like 300 times already? I hope this bill doesn't pass.

[VizardJeffhog]

So, how long until stomping on human sized anthropomorphic turtles is considered violent?

[King Sombrero]

Might as well do it for movies like Project X too.

Aren't ESRB ratings enough or are parents too stupid to read them?

[y cant solkia crawl]

Isn't that the entire reason the ESRB was put into effect? A bill forcing parents to stop being stupid would be a better idea.

[VizardJeffhog]

Aren't ESRB ratings enough or are parents too stupid to read them?

Yes.

[Mollfie]

Sadly I've talked to parents who are that stupid. I've had to explain to parents multiple times that their 8 year old should not be playing Call of Duty or GTA and why, and they've still bought it for them. Lots of parents didn't understand game ratings or how they worked. The easiest way I found was "This game is rated 18, would you let your child watch an 18 rated film? No, then don't let them play this game. Simple". People are stupid, but that doesn't mean you should ban games. People need to take responsibility. I do wonder though if having two systems (BBFC and PEGI) confuses people?

[VisionaryBlur]

I'm sorry, what was that? It sounded like a fly buzzing by my ear. Oh look, there is goes to the Senate and... oh... oh, ouch, well there it goes. CLEANUP!

[Speederino]

A warning label? How oh how could they possibly implement that?

Spoiler

Oops!

[JezMM]

Honestly I wouldn't be bothered because parents have proven time and time again they are too retarded to be responsible for the entertainment they provide their children with. Yet another giant warning label that they cannot argue against not paying attention to is fine by me.

Granted the actual wording on the label is terrible of course.

I'd sooner see (easily removable upon purchase) labels that take up a third of the box, saying exactly what the game contains, like:

THIS GAME CONTAINS HEAVY GORE, BAD LANGUAGE AND MILD SEXUAL REFERENCES AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18.

[Tornado]

Blah blah Bill is Retarded Blah blah Such a link doesn't exist Blah blah.



That's not why I posted. I just wanted to say this:

Yes.

Fucking nostalgia bomb, right there.

Edited by Tornado, 20 March 2012 - 08:11 PM.

[Generations (Chaos Warp)]

This would not be needed if people just looked at the damned rating.

[Rusty Spy]

Here's a suggestion: Put the ESRB label from the back (which highlights specific content in the game) and put it on the FRONT of the box if our parents still have their training wheels on, or BETTER YET, put a big fat poster in game stores that explains what each rating means.

But, really, that's not what these guys are trying to do, they're just finding more ways to validate their paranoia-filled agenda.

Edited by Black Spy, 20 March 2012 - 08:37 PM.

[Nintendoga]

Well clearly if a kid hi-jacks a taxi, picks up a hooker, has sex with them before killing them, then does a drive-by in the city, it's clearly GTA's fault for making a little kid play an M rated game and not the dumbass parent's.

Yes.

Ah, the good 'ol days.

[Mono]

When I was...what, 13? I got my mom to buy me Conker's Bad Fur Day. She read the warning on the box, out loud, and still got it for me.

[xJvilous]

LOOKS LIKE WE'RE BACK IN 2005

[ChaosSupremeSonîc]

I find it hilarious how parents can easily read movie ratings that say a movie is rated R for restricted, and yet they can't read game ratings that are spelled out for them the same way. Ignorance of the ratings isn't any excuse because if you go to a place like Walmart, they have the ratings placed in some of the most obvious places and spelled out in the most obvious manner that the only way you could fail to understand them is if you can't understand english.

And going to a place like Gamestop is absolutely no excuse because the employees tell you about the ratings along with them being spelled out even MORE obvious that Walmart does.

Apparently Congress forgot that they've already handled this in the past when it came to games like Mortal Kombat, which was whole fucking reason why the ESRB was made in the first place. Honestly, I doubt this is going to get far.

[Lemanic]

A problem here is that kids goes to buy these things when there's no parents around. Lazy siblings are also something to count in.
Good supervision and guidance can teach the kids the importance of patience and atmosphere.

But the biggest problem here spells P-E-E-R P-R-E-S-S-U-R-E.
Can easily be solved with mandatory media classes teaching about age limits, censorship, netiquette and such.

inb4 IT'S THE LIBERALS FAULT!!!

Edited by Lemanic the Teufhog, 20 March 2012 - 09:01 PM.

[Autosaver]

I don't think the bill is restricted to games that are rated M. Any game that could be considered violent could have the label. Goldeneye 007 for example only has a T rating.

[JezMM]

A problem here is that kids goes to buy these things when there's no parents around.

It's illegal to sell mature games to kids. If any stores are doing this it is their fault and should be held responsible in the law.

[Lemanic]

It's illegal to sell mature games to kids. If any stores are doing this it is their fault and should be held responsible in the law.

Remember, I live in Sweden. We're liberal as heck here when it comes to selling games, music and movies. Gangsta Rap? Fine! Matrix? Fine! Modern Warfare? Fine!

Edited by Lemanic the Teufhog, 20 March 2012 - 09:06 PM.