Fresno Famous

A couple of points here.

A couple of points here.

First and foremost, parents not being knowledgable in how parental controls work or how the rating system works is no fault of the industry, that rests soley upon the parents. And, IMO, not knowing what the hell you're buying your kid is downright irresponsible (my parents would never have bought me a rated R movie, and probably not a PG-13 movie that hadn't either seen first or knew about. Because, they were responsible parents.). Furthermore, IMO, the argument of parents "not being able to learn" how to set up parental controls is a cop out argument. There are instructions manuals, or I'm sure you could find help from a person by calling Nintendo. I've always found them quite helpful. Parents can learn, just far too many don't care, and that's the scary part (these are, btw, the same parents letting their 12 y/o go see Blade III.)

Don't get on the industry about things that are the fault of the parents. The only fair thing I see here is getting on stores for not upholding their sales to minors policies as they should be. These should face stiff fines and penalties, just as a movie store would be caught selling porn to a minor.

Does video game violence affect small children? I believe so. I believe that argument grows pretty weak as the child enters their teenage years, but again, parents can control (at least somewhat) what their kids are being exposed to. And again, I do NOT believe videogames affect kids any more or less than any other media.

semi-related...

I'll be the first to admit this is only a tangent to the subject of this, but I think you'll all enjoy this thing I heard:

There's lots of comedy on TV nowadays. Guess that means there will be more humor in the streets.

That first nintendo gun was bad ass! A close second historically would be the Time Crises gun for Playstation because it was exactly the same as the one in the arcade. And then Silent Scope in the arcade had an extra little LCD screen in the sight! Very cool...

holy cow

Holy cow, I've been waiting for a game like that again. No guns anymore that just totally sucks ballz. You know in other country there are less shootings and they have all sorts of shooting games, especially in japan. I use to play my nintendo duck hunt and all these other shooting games and it was awesome, I have never shot nor intend to shoot a real gun ever in my life.

maaaaan ....

Wii Zapper? Shieeet, when I was 6 and got my first Nintendo we had this awesome piece of Japanese wonder and I ain't never killed nobody.

But seriously, I love how all the people that get worked up about this kinda stuff are so out of touch with reality and think that ALL video games are violent and will take over the minds of their poor children.

Case (kind of) in point:
For Thanksgiving I took my Wii home with me -- anticipating it would be a hit at family gatherings, much as it's a hit at gatherings with people my own age.

We took it to my mom's house. She and my stepdad, though, have this rule against my little sister (she's 12) playing video games -- for many of the reasons talked about in the article that Spleece posted.

That was, of course, before an hour's worth of Wii bowling and tennis.

Even my mom got a kick out of it.

And guess what my sister is getting for Christmas?

Point being: Video games are like anything else -- music, TV, movies, mayors, downtowns, Web sites, Fresno skys ... OK, you get it ...

There's good, there's bad, there's the grey in between. Yet people seem to never be able to see the full spectrum.

Yamon!

I hear what you are saying and as a parent agree wholeheartedly, but the reality, especially in the Central Valley, is that parents DON'T or CAN'T read / understand video game rating systems and many are completely unaware that a rating system is in place at all.

Here's something I republished several months ago in 'KC's Korner' a quarterly publication of Central Valley Children's Services Network...

This article originally appeared in the January-February 2006 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

How Video Games Affect Kids and Tips to Help Parents Set Limits

By Andrew Aldrich

California now bans the sale or rental of “ultra-violent” games to minors. The new law was passed to keep adult-rated games such as Grand Theft Auto, where players witness a prostitute getting kicked to death, out of the hands of teens. The video game industry is challenging the law.

While media coverage often centers on older kids, advocates say young children also play games that are too violent, and play them too much, but the game industry and some media experts counter that video games can teach important skills.

Video games have come a long way since I played Atari as a child, bouncing a green square back and forth on the television. Now they are played on computers, televisions, and hand-held devices (such as Game Boy, Leap Pad, and even cell phones). Games are categorized by a player’s age (see Video Game Rating System) and by type: for example, educational, sports, combat.

Good or bad?

Advocates applaud the new law but say more is needed. “Violence is present in almost all games (60% of) children over age eight rate (games for people over 17) as their favorites,” says Becca Arnold of the Child-Responsible Media Campaign.

Studies link video games to a host of problems:

• Exposure to violence: “Graphic and sexually charged media violence...can be as dangerous to our kids’ health as cigarettes,” says James Steyer of Common Sense Media. The American Academy of Pediatrics finds that playing violent video games increases youths’ violent behavior as much as smoking increases lung cancer.

• Obesity: Playing video games can help make children overweight because they don’t get enough physical activity, says the National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF).

• Promoting stereotypes: In a 2000 survey of games, “African American characters showed no reaction to pain,” but Latino characters did, says Eileen Espejo of Children Now. In 2001, 73% of player-controlled characters were male—and 87% of heroes were white (Children Now, Kaiser Family Foundation).

Studies also point to video game benefits:

• Strengthening reading, logical thinking, observing, and problem solving (NIFM, KFF).

“I don’t think video games are bad,” says Tessa Jolls of the Center for Media Literacy, mother of a 15-year-old boy. “They are very compelling: my son wants to play them a lot! Parents need to teach children to set thoughtful boundaries.”

Tips for Parents

Shop smart: Carolyn Johnson, mother of a seven-year-old girl, Chase, says, “I play the whole game and (decide) whether I want Chase to play (it).” She looks at how women and people of color are represented. Parents can rent games or have the store demonstrate them. Parents should also check the game’s rating (see Video Game Rating System).

Ask questions: Do characters in the game harm others? How often? Is it rewarded? Shown as funny? Are nonviolent parts less fun than violent ones? Is the “bad guy” always African American? Are there racial slurs? Are the women victims or sex symbols?

Set limits: In my house, we limit our seven-year-old son Nehemiah’s video game time: up to one hour a week for educational games, 30 minutes a week for other games. One game is a bit violent: we’ve stopped letting him play it, but recently, Nehemiah talked about playing a game at his aunt’s house, saying he “kill(ed) the bad guy with a gun. Since he was bad, it was OK.” This was a real eye-opener. We called his aunt. She agreed to limit video games when she’s babysitting: only Early Childhood-rated games and only an hour a day.

Other parents recommend:

• Limiting game time: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children not use electronic media more than one to two hours a day. “I set strict limits for Chase,” says Johnson: 30 minutes on the Game Boy or the computer.

• Supervising games: Heidi McLaughlin doesn’t let her son play games without a parent around. Experts suggest children play video games in a main room, so parents can oversee.

• Allowing only age-appropriate games: Jolls doesn’t let her son play adult-rated games at home, and explains to him why. “Many movies are not appropriate for children,” adds Michael Romero, a video game developer with two children. “We carefully choose which ones our childrn watch.”

• Restricting games with violence: “(Our) rules are that video games cannot have any guns, no beating people up, and no karate,” says Jennifer Hughes, mother of a seven-year-old boy. Arnold says that although she did not allow violent games in her house, her son would play them at friends’ houses. “Parents need to work together to limit games, so no one is taking all the pressure,” she says.

Talk with your child: In my house, we discuss what’s happening in the games Nehemiah plays, to reinforce that some behaviors aren’t good in the “real world.” Johnson adds, “After Chase plays a game, I discuss it with her. (This) equips her to think about what she’s playing.”

Encourage other kinds of play: Children should play without the “screen,” whether it’s TV, computer, or Game Boy. Parents suggest physical and pretend play, sharing jobs, art and reading, and playing with friends.

Advocate for safer games: Parents can talk with retailers about the video games they sell to children, and to restaurants and arcades where children can play games. Parents can also write to their legislators about the need for more “child-positive” games, and talk with their PTA, church, or parent group.

Video Game Rating System

• EC - Early Childhood (ages 3 and up): may have cartoon violence (“comic mischief”)

• E - Everyone (ages 6 and up): some cartoon or “mild” violence, and/or mild language

• E+10 - Everyone +10 (ages 10 and up): more cartoon or “mild” violence, and/or suggestive themes

• T - Teen (ages 13 and up): violence, suggestive themes, minimal blood, and/or strong language

• M - Mature (ages 17 and up): intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language

• AO - Adults Only (ages 18 and up): prolonged, intense violence, and/or graphic sexual content.

Resources:
• American Academy of Pediatrics, 847-434-4000, www.aap.org/family/ratingsgame.htm
• Child-Responsible Media Campaign, barnold@childresponsiblemedia.org, www.medialegislation.org
• Tolerance.org, 334-956-8200, www.tolerance.org
• Video game reviews: www.commonsensemedia.org, www.mediafamily.org