James Delahunty
22 Jun 2005 23:50
Just one day after we reported that a U.S. Senator was calling for a boycott of the game 25 to Life and other violent titles, the controversy over violent video games continues. Research in the UK shows that parents are ignoring the age warnings on video games. Many people believe that violent games could influence a child and that the games shouldn't be played by them. For this reason, they have an "age rating" in the UK that is similar to the age rating on movies.
A violent game, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which is a best seller and has been the receiver of much criticism for its content has an 18+ rating, which simply means the game is unsuitable for anybody below that age. However, most parents don't believe that games could possible badly influence their children. "Most parents think their child is mature enough so that these games will not influence them," Modulum researcher Jurgen Freund told a games conference.
Last year, parents of a 14-year-old blamed the game Manhunt for his death. After an investigation, police dismissed the claim but since then the debate over the influence games have on minors has arisen again. "Parents perceive age ratings as a guide but not as a definite prohibition," said Freund. "Some may have not liked the content but they did not prohibit the game." Parents seem more concerned about how many hours their children spend playing games than the actual content of the games.
One thing believed to be a problem at the centre of this debate is that a lot of parents feel disconnected from the gaming world. A parent who has little or no interest in gaming would not understand any influence that would possibly come from a game. There is no doubt that the games industry is feeling discomfort dealing with this debate. "It raises more questions than answers," commented Nintendo's UK boss David Yarnton. "We need to look at solutions and as an industry we are quite united on this."
Source:
BBC News