UK Politician Admits: No One Cares About Game Rating Labels
Children's innocence slaughtered by... games.
Iain Duncan Smith. Probably not going to be playing Killzone 2 with his children anytime soon.
Tory politician Iain Duncan Smith could well be relishing the recession, because now it appears people are listening to him for a change. In an interview with The Times, the Conservative outlined his ideal plans for a more structured British society, and computer games once again took the fall.
Amidst talk about how the benefits system works against couples and tax exemption and all of that other stuff, Smith warns that children's television and computer games are 'destroying innocence'. “We are driving children to lose their childhood, and some video games are incredibly violent, like Grand Theft Auto,” he said.
“They are meant to be 18 but nobody cares what it says on the label.” Surely the former Tory leader isn't suggesting that adults should be denied quality entertainment because some parents can't be bothered to adhere to legal age restrictions? What democracy!
Of course in context, the argument is part of a larger debate in the Times interview about family values and how society appears to have crumbled in the last few years. We would agree that parents should be competent about understanding age ratings and care about their child's upbringing rather than relying on plonking them in front of a TV set for their 'educashun'. Perhaps that is the problem that should be tackled instead.
Amidst talk about how the benefits system works against couples and tax exemption and all of that other stuff, Smith warns that children's television and computer games are 'destroying innocence'. “We are driving children to lose their childhood, and some video games are incredibly violent, like Grand Theft Auto,” he said.
“They are meant to be 18 but nobody cares what it says on the label.” Surely the former Tory leader isn't suggesting that adults should be denied quality entertainment because some parents can't be bothered to adhere to legal age restrictions? What democracy!
Of course in context, the argument is part of a larger debate in the Times interview about family values and how society appears to have crumbled in the last few years. We would agree that parents should be competent about understanding age ratings and care about their child's upbringing rather than relying on plonking them in front of a TV set for their 'educashun'. Perhaps that is the problem that should be tackled instead.
Games:
Grand Theft Auto
Read More Like This
Comments
Matias 25 Jan 2010 12:52
1/7
He is wrong, I do use the rating system to inform my purchase of games for my children, and I am sure most other parents do also.
jay 25 Jan 2010 13:26
2/7
To be honest it's a load of crap. it aint destroying childhoods. me personally have not been affected by 18 games. and im 16. i have been playing GTA from a young age aswell, and it's not that violent or affecting. this is just another excuse for the goverment to try and make more money off something else, from what it sounds like.
more comments below our sponsor's message
Simon 25 Jan 2010 14:51
3/7
I don't understand where politicians get off talking smack about videogames, i'm 20 years old and the first game i played was alien trilogy on the playstation, it didn't motivate me to kill people believing that something was about to pop out their chests, it scared the crap out of me! i play GTA also and i'm not motivated to go carjacking or kill random people like you can do on the game because i know that it is fiction. I guess politicians believe that anyone who plays computer games can't decide whether it is fiction or not, which isn't the case, granted some parents don't adhere to rating systems but most do and in many stores if an adult is with their child and the staff notice that the parent is buying the game for the kid, they can refuse sale as it isn't for minors. Also childrens TV making kids lose their innocence? what a load of bull! when i was a kid they showed gratuitous cartoon violence, nowadays they broadcast shows that define problems and how to solve them, it's not like CBBC broadcasts Scarface!
miacid 25 Jan 2010 14:56
4/7
@Matias That's great that you do and I'm many other parents do, however there are still a large number of parents that don't pay any attention to the game rating or think it's okay as it's just a game!
@Jay Good for you, I too grew up playing games, although it was before the days of GTA, so I never had this problem, I'm sure many young people growing up playing games that they aren't allowed to will turn out fine, however what happens to the ones that don't,
--
If parents take an active roll in their kids lives and take the time to understand what is involved in the game they are buying for their kids then I don't have a problem with that. (Which by the sounds of it Matias does)
Perhaps the government should run a new add campaign that starts by showing a scene from the Texas Chainsaw massacre (or similar slasher flick), then say and 18 rated soft porn movie and then ask the question "Would you buy these for your kids?", "No". Then show a clip from say GTA4 and ask the same question!
@Jay Good for you, I too grew up playing games, although it was before the days of GTA, so I never had this problem, I'm sure many young people growing up playing games that they aren't allowed to will turn out fine, however what happens to the ones that don't,
--
If parents take an active roll in their kids lives and take the time to understand what is involved in the game they are buying for their kids then I don't have a problem with that. (Which by the sounds of it Matias does)
Perhaps the government should run a new add campaign that starts by showing a scene from the Texas Chainsaw massacre (or similar slasher flick), then say and 18 rated soft porn movie and then ask the question "Would you buy these for your kids?", "No". Then show a clip from say GTA4 and ask the same question!
Anonymous coward 25 Jan 2010 16:31
5/7
Some of the most disturbing imagery I've come across is in books. Books seem to get a free pass on age ratings. Does anyone know why this is?
Glink 25 Jan 2010 18:50
6/7
@miacid you probably don't even need to show scenes from those kind of movie. Just the retail boxes would be enough.
Jimbo 25 Jan 2010 20:06
7/7
Damn politicians, steal his car and run him over with it.