Michigan puts a fine on selling M games to minors (1 Viewer)

[Morgan Jolley]

http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories...907789,00.html
The sole reason I don't like this is because it makes it look like the problem originates in the videogame industry, when it's really the retailers who are breaking the "rules."
Doesn't really matter for me, I just turned 17 in October. Maybe this law will fix the problem and then they'll repeal it (though I doubt it).

 

[Rob Lutter]

Good... I am glad someone finally put some legislation on the board. Now let's see if they can enforce it
More laws like this and Lieberman will have nothing to bitch about awww

 

[BrianB]

I don't know, Morgan, it seems to be squarely aimed at the retailers. Personally, I've no problem with legislation to enforce the *voluntary* ratings on retailers - retailers are the weak link in the chain. I know that's not a popular opinion over here in the US, and I've had arguments about it on here before, but that's by the by. Self legislation is definitely the way to go if possible, but if retailers don't enforce it, then there's bugger all the industry can do.

There's similiar laws in the UK, though they're nowhere near as enforced as they should be.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I agree that the government should step in if something isn't being done about this, but what I think might happen is people will start to focus on which games would be affected by this and that would make it seem like the videogame industry is making these games that are so bad that the government has to step in. Hopefully, that won't happen.

I personally don't mind the government saying "if you don't obey your own rules, we'll give you some pretty good incentive to do so."

 

[JamesH]

Blah, I say they're being pricks. What 15 or 16 year old can't tell the difference between real and make believe? If they're going to do it, they should at least knock a few years off the age limit. I'm glad I didn't have to grow up with this type of garbage going on.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

This creates more excuses for parents to not be actively involved in what is going on with their children's recreational activities. This is what many bad, lazy parents want; the ability to have their children run around with excess cash and to trust somebody else to make the tough decisions.

 

[Graeme Clark]

All this does is force the kids with parents that don't care to get them to go and buy the M rated games. The kids with parents that DO care, don't usually end up getting them in the first place.

 

[Damien]

This makes 0 sense. Unless your kid is drug dealing in school, no kid 0-14 years old can have access to money unless there parents supply them. Afterwards, if they can handle a job, they can handle a freaking game. There is nothing real going on in these games, they are for fun. I see how this works for cigarettes, but for an entertainment media that is harmless...pretty dumb if you ask me

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

Note the idiots of the world that constantly imitate the television show "Jackass"--if media has no effect on certain individuals actions, then I'd like that explained to me. After all, these clowns wouldn't be pulling off these outrageous stunts (and, subsequently, have their surviving friends state that they saw it on/were imitating "Jackass") if the show didn't exist.
Note: I'm not looking to get into a flame war about how people aren't susceptible, in a negative way, to certain media. Cleary people are influenced (even though they are the vast minority)--if that makes it so a 15 year old can't run out and buy a copy of GTA:VC without his parent's permission, I won't lose much sleep over it (I'd imagine that lazy parents don't even have a clue what it is their kids are playing in most cases and some might just be appalled enough to say 'wtf?!' if they were forced to do the purchasing).

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I was reading a book for an English project about videogames and in one section, they said that if someone is going to do something stupid, a movie, TV show, videogame, or whatever media is not going to make them do it, but they might derive influence from it. That kid who tried to jump over the car, like in Jackass, was stupid enough to try something like that. He could have just as well gotten a dumb idea from something else and have done that. Just because they did it on Jackass doesn't mean that they're solely responsible for him doing it.

The same can be applied to Columbine. They kids played Doom and wore coats like in the Matrix, but those two things didn't make them kill people.

 

[JasonK]

This doesn't surprise me at all. Last week in 'Video Business' (a trade magazine) there was an article about how Joe Lieberman gave the game industry an "F" in regards to their rating system.

It seems like Lieberman is upset that game developers and publishers produce 'M' rated games in the first place, but since they are playing by the rules and voluntarily allowing their games to be rated, there's not much he can do. So, instead he'll go after retailers to tell them to stop selling these games to children.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

So, instead he'll go after retailers to tell them to stop selling these games to children

I'd much rather he go after the retailers than the developers. At least they can still make the games and we can still buy them.

 

[JamesH]

Cleary people are influenced (even though they are the vast minority)--if that makes it so a 15 year old can't run out and buy a copy of GTA:VC without his parent's permission, I won't lose much sleep over it

What about a 20 year old? Couldn't a 20 year old be "influenced" too? By this logic, lets just completely ban violent games and all go play Elmo's Brain Games or Pokemon Snap.

 

[GlenHaag]

This creates more excuses for parents to not be actively involved in what is going on with their children's recreational activities. This is what many bad, lazy parents want; the ability to have their children run around with excess cash and to trust somebody else to make the tough decisions.

I second this notion.

People need to be held accountable for their own actions. If they blame it on a game, shame on them. The same things have happened over and over throughout time. In my lifetime, it was Music being the cause for kids doing evil things, then it was D&D, then music again, now video games.

People, and their parents, need to teach right and wrong.

Glen

 

[Tony-B]

I just did a project for my English class on this subject. I found a website that is really good for information about violent video games. http://www.idsa.com/IDSAfinal.pdf. It is a report put out by the IDSA, and it is a very interesting read. Check it out.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

People need to be held accountable for their own actions. If they blame it on a game, shame on them. The same things have happened over and over throughout time. In my lifetime, it was Music being the cause for kids doing evil things, then it was D&D, then music again, now video games

I agree 100%, but what do you do when nobody is trying to fix the problem and the people in charge of enforcing the voluntary rules system aren't doing their jobs? The government steps in. The idea of you being the one controlling the action in a game makes them more influential and impressionable on people than music, TV, and movies (some would say).

 

[Rob_Pierce]

What about a 20 year old? Couldn't a 20 year old be "influenced" too?

Comments edited by moderator Neil Joseph - comments were a little too political (sorry)

 

[Jeff Kleist]

This doesn't surprise me at all. Last week in 'Video Business' (a trade magazine) there was an article about how Joe Lieberman gave the game industry an "F" in regards to their rating system.

Joe Lieberman will give the games industry an F every single year until every game is fluffy bunnies. If he didn't have violent games to attack he'd be calling Mario insulting to Italians and sexist

 

[MikeAlletto]

Note the idiots of the world that constantly imitate the television show "Jackass"--if media has no effect on certain individuals actions, then I'd like that explained to me. After all, these clowns wouldn't be pulling off these outrageous stunts (and, subsequently, have their surviving friends state that they saw it on/were imitating "Jackass") if the show didn't exist.

People are prone to do those things without a tv show or movie being there to 'influence' them. People are born idiots. They will do stupid things no matter what is going on around them. Where do you stop? How long until they start putting ratings on books. A big M on the front cover of books will be really bad for business. Why aren't they attacking books the same way they attack video games. There are kids out there who read violent books and don't go around hurting themselves and others. I would say a kids imagination that is triggered by a book is more powerful of an influence than playing a video game or watching a movie.

There is NO reason the gov't should be acting like a parent. Let the parents be responsible for their kids that they willing got pregnant and had. Start punishing the parents of minors who break the law. It is so PC these days to throw the blame on someone else because the parents are the voters. Don't want to upset the majority of your voters.

Any kid that can't buy a video game just come to me. Give me your money and I'll purchase it for you. I don't care. The ratings for video games is completely voluntary. How can a state fine someone for selling a minor something that has a voluntary rating on it? This'll get overturned in a few weeks.

 

[JasonK]

Lieberman was joined this year by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), who also took issue with depictions of sexual violence in some games.
"As a mother, I find the escalating violence, particularly
violence toward women, deplorable," McCallum said. "These games are creating a culture of virtual victimizers."

I have a feeling we'll be hearing the phrase 'virtual victimizer' much more in the future.

Those quotes provide some food for thought. It seems we'll be hearing much more from Sen. Lieberman this year.