Should minors be banned from buying violent video games? / LJWorld.com

Asked at Massachusetts Street on April 27, 2010

“Absolutely, without a doubt, yes … we should be responsible towards our youth and make sure they have as little contact as possible with violence.”

— Patti Lyon, campus center director, Kearney, Neb.

“I think high school (age) and up should be able to handle it, but I think elementary school (age) or younger should not be able to buy it freely.”

— Savannah Abbott, KU freshman, Topeka

“I think ban is a pretty strong word, but I think all parents hopefully could make that decision that it’s not appropriate for children to do.”

— Amy Grant, sales representative, Lawrence

“I think under 16, maybe 14 should be banned, but 18 is too old to be banned.”

— Gunter de Vries, carpenter, Aurich, Germany

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RoeDapple 3 years ago

This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.

trinity 3 years ago

given that 29 coal miners were buried just a few days ago-this post makes me feel rather sad. not real funny, right now.

merrill 3 years ago

Violent movies are all over the television screen daily...

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years ago

At what point does utopian cooperation become dystopian conformity?

Prydain 3 years ago

They are all ready restricted to minors voluntarily by the industry (ESRB). Any mature rated game is only sold to people over 18.

GreenEyedBlues 3 years ago

"Until mankind is peaceful enough not to have violence on the news, there's no point in taking it out of [games] that need it for entertainment value!"

Why is there still discussion about all this? There is a rating system. Store employees typically are pretty strict about it, if you aren't at the right age, you can't buy it. Kids mainly get these games because of the stupid, irresponsible parents who buy video games without checking the rating first. Mom, Dad, would you buy your child a dvd that is labeled R? Then why are you buying your kids M rated video games?

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp

rando1965 3 years ago

LEAVE IT UP TO THE PARENTS TO DECIDE.

acg 3 years ago

I thought they were already banned from buying violent video games. Why are we even talking about this?

relocatedtarheel 3 years ago

GreenEyedBlues gets the win for quoting Clueless in this discussion.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years ago

prospector,

http://www.google.com/url?q=http://popup.lala.com/popup/504684706550975722&ei=8BvXS-7QJZ3GMpbt1e0F&sa=X&oi=music_play_track&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=2&ved=0CAYQ0wQoADAA&usg=AFQjCNHRdoUTC7Q0HwdRl6PbzmAayy-A6w

kantubek 3 years ago

Well, children are already banned from buying violent games, depending on the rating it is given by the ESRB. So it's the parents that must buy these games for their children.

Stupid OTS

bwoody 3 years ago

FYI http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20100427/BIZ/304279979

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years ago

prospector Sorry, that song was just hanging around in the back of my mind today.

jonas_opines 3 years ago

Since, as pointed out, there already is a system in place to keep minors from buying violent video games, this questions seems like nothing but a prelude to another question: "should violent video games be banned?"

Dejacrew423 3 years ago

How about we just ban Super Mario Bros. in my house? I bought the Wii for the Wii Fit not sitting around trying to beat Bowzer!

labmonkey 3 years ago

How about we ban bans?

Nachtwolf 3 years ago

Yes, Patti, by all means, let's censor all violence. Let's take away all games remotely violent, and while we're at it let's just get rid of the bulk of all cartoons, any super-heroes, all those action figures and all those toys. Shelter our kids, let them know that the world is safe, that nothing bad happens. You might as well not let them outside ever, and home-school them too, who knows what violent things other kids might doing! Kids need exposure to reality or else they'll never be able to cope when faced with it later in life. I'm not saying let your five year old watch Hostel, I'm just saying let kids be kids.

The idea of a ban is absurd. The government does not need to act like a parent. Whether or not a child can handle a game is up to the parents. Everyone knows about movie ratings, but it seems like almost nobody outside of the active gaming world knows about the ESRB's game rating system. Almost every game out there that's violent is rated M these days, and you have be 17 or 18 to buy those, much the same as R rated movies. PG-13 has the T for Teen equivalent, as well.

I played Doom when I was 5, back in 1993. I've killed millions upon millions of video game Nazis. Devastated the turtle population of the Mushroom Kingdom. I've gone on civilian shooting sprees and destruction runs in San Andreas and Liberty City. I've punched, kicked, chopped, shot, sliced, and maimed my through countless foes. I grew up during the rise of the video game empire, and I can say that I've never seen anyone act violently towards anyone else or anything because of a video game. I don't walk around shooting people or the like. I play some of the goriest games available, I've played through the controversial mission in Modern Warfare 2 several times where you play as terrorists shooting up a Russian airport, and do I feel more violent as a result? No, I've never acted violently towards another person, and I certainly have never felt like doing as the result of a video game. How are violent video games any different than playing with toy guns, or acting like sticks are swords?

Don't blame the games, blame the parents.

oneeye_wilbur 3 years ago

Minors should be blamed for having parents.

Liberty275 3 years ago

Only if the violence involves the use of picks and shovels.

Seriously though, no. Parents should pay attention to what their kids are doing and use their judgment. Generally, kids are wards of the parents, not the state. No more stupid laws.

parrothead8 3 years ago

I think it would be great if kids today were exposed to a little less violence, but I think parents should bear much more responsibility than video game store employees for the games kids are playing.

Boosh 3 years ago

As a long time gamer (PC) I feel I can say most of you understand. It is the parents responsibility to monitor what their children are doing online. If your child is playing any game where interaction online is used you should try the game (online) before deciding if your child should play it, no matter the ESRB rating.