[Dark Drakan]

I was reading the following article on CVG and thought id post it here to get some comments on it and see peoples views as we have people from all ages here.

Originally Posted by CVG

New Zealand's chief government censor has called for parents to face prosecution and hefty fines if they allow children access to mature-rated games. Bill Hastings said that the potential punishment of three months' imprisonment or a fine of up to $10,000 would serve as "shock value". In New Zealand it's already illegal for adults to allow children access to mature-rated titles, although nobody has yet been prosecuted under the law.

Originally Posted by Bill Hastings

They might think the offence is silly, but it ain't. That's what the law says, but... you're not going to have police officers in every bedroom... There would certainly be some shock value to prosecuting a parent who gives their under-18 child access to a restricted game. It would send out a message that the enforcement agency means business. I think the word 'game' can mislead people for sure. It's not checkers. For the first time in history, kids are more savvy with technology than parents... parents need to get up to speed on the digital divide. They need to look at what their kids are playing and doing.

[Zjuggernaut]

That's completely stupid. If the kids are mature and responsible enough to play Mature games, let them. I first played GTA 2 when I was about 8 years old and I'm ok (I think).

[TJ Griffin]

thats stupid and will never pass. the game ratings are a guide for parents and its up to them to decide what their children are exposed to. what, are you saying a 15 year old cant play oblivion? how bogus.

[Zjuggernaut]

Originally Posted by TJ Griffin

thats stupid and will never pass. the game ratings are a guide for parents and its up to them to decide what their children are exposed to. what, are you saying a 15 year old cant play oblivion? how bogus.

It is pretty damn stupid. It's like "No son, you can't play GTA until your 18th birthday tomorrow!" - I think a 17 year old wouldn't be easily misguided by GTA.. As you said, with Oblivion.

[Skotekal]

If they are really going to enforce this, then they better lower the rating standards. Games like Saints Row 2 I can understand. You can go flashing in a trench coat for god's sake, and that is apparently as bad as minor blood, violence, and language in Oblivion. This is going over the top.

[TJ Griffin]

it always amazes me how people can be so excepting of violence in movies and games, and so squemish twards sex and nudity. violence and swearing is ok, but nudity? **** no! I would rather have my son see a film of too people making love, than 2 people trying to kill each other. killing = ok, love = adults only? what is this world coming too? now, Im not saying we should expose kids to porn, Im just saying wtf is the world coming to?

[James Butts]

Oh my god I would hate to live there, the only games I play with the exception of guitar hero are M-rated games, and I'm not effected by them, sure I can't play grand theft auto or saints row, but I can play gears of war, true crime (and only that one because you are the good guy and there is no sex) and fable two (which doesn't really have sex, just the noises and babies part) and gears of war is pretty damn gory if you've ever played you will know.

[Dagzey]

I let my daughters play Fable 2, they already kind of understand the whole making babies biz, so they just think it's funny. they have no interest in the violent bits. my oldest girl has also played GTASA, but she tries as hard as possible to not break the law, which is obviously the total opposite of what it's really about. she just thinks it's a more realistic version of Simpsons hit and run, which if you've played it, is just a kids version of GTA anyway. other than that, they're more than content with their my little pony and bratz games.

the whole thing about the ratings system that sucks in australia is that we have no 18+ rating for video games, and because of this, we get these crappy edited versions of games like Haze, due to it's "Drug References" where those drugs don't actually exist, and we have to wait longer than the rest of the world for it, whereas GTA has much more realistic drug references & more graphic violence, but apparently it's OK for 15yo's.

the whole ratings thing sucks, but it is necessary and should be overhauled to make it more relevant to the subject matter. it should be up to the parents whether or not the game is suitable for their children. if my kids are upset, scared or offended, they'll stop playing it. if we think it's not suitable, then we keep it out of reach, or atleast inform them about what is actually happening, ask their opinions on the matter, then come to the conclusion of whether they should play it or not.

to sum it up, imprisonment or fining is a bit too extreme. it should be controlled more at point of sale, and if the parents are buying for their underage kids, then it's at their disgretion, and they should really look into what the game entails before making that decision to buy it for them

[ScareCrowReturn]

Hahahaha Always Bloody New Zealand trying to be Different and Standing up for the Law.

What I have to say about it..

**** it. Everyone does it.

Oh Yeah James Butt, I live there.. In New Zealand.

[Tsuyu]

Well, it really depends on the country how to interpret the rating system. On my trip to Germany, for example, I never had to show ID when buying booze but when I was gonna go see a sneak preview of some upcoming First-person shooter on the 360 they wouldn't let me inside if I didn't show that I was 18+.

[Dagzey]

^ you probably could have been allowed to enter a peep show with people defecating on each other without ID in Germany too. Beer is a big thing there, i would not be surprised if they serve it to their kids with sauerkraut and bratwurst for dinner. if the shooter was a WWII based game, it would probably be a rather touchy subject considering how they fared in it.

Don't take this post seriously, please, it was just to humour myself!!!

[Tsuyu]

Way to enforce a negative stereotype, dude. Y'think they walk around in lederhosen all day, too?

[Dagzey]

^ Ya! It was more of a comic/political satire based on your experience, from my point of view, rather than enforcing negative stereotypes!!!

[James Butts]

Originally Posted by ScareCrowReturn

Hahahaha Always Bloody New Zealand trying to be Different and Standing up for the Law.

What I have to say about it..

**** it. Everyone does it.

Oh Yeah James Butt, I live there.. In New Zealand.

Well are you a kid, I have nothing against them really, just the stupid goddamn law.
And it's not James Butt it's James Butts.

[Angel]

I dunno what to make of this really - on the one hand, parents need to be aware of the content their children are exposed to and they need to take responsibility for what they get up to. But on the other hand, my kid has played games from Viva Pinata to COD4 - provided I have seen the content beforehand I'm happy for her to have a go at driving around in GTA or hunting Hobbes in Fable 2.

Up to a point it depends on the maturity of the child and their understanding of what they are seeing/playing - but the rules are there for a reason and all parents ought to be aware of what their children are getting up to. Policing something like this could border on impossible - responsibility ultimately should lie with the parents.

Going extreme is more likely to cause harm than good. What average parent has $10,000 lying around? How is it going to affect the children seeing their parents banged up over a video game? I get the idea of needing shock value but it seems like this hasn't been completely thought through - and you cannot categorise all children aged 0-17 under one banner - one child can handle killing trolls in Oblivion and one might cry the minute they see Mario (who wouldn't?).