Video Games, Mainstream Media and You

Recently, several sites reported on a Fox News Article that ponders whether Epic's upcoming Bulletstorm is the "Worst video game in the world."  This is not the first time that a game has elicited a media reaction that proclaimed the end of days.  But the following line is the one, as a parent, that particularly unnerved me:

And with kids as young as 9 playing such games, the experts FoxNews.com spoke with were nearly universally worried that video game violence may be reaching a fever pitch.

My question going back to Fox News is where the big exposé on the dangers of DVDs being watched by kids is at?  I think I could make a pretty convincing argument that the content of a rated "R" film such as any in the Saw series is equally detrimental to a young child.

The key in both cases noted above is the parents. Bulletstorm is rated "M" by the ESRB, meaning that it isn't recommended for play by anyone under 17 just as Saw is rated "R" for the same reasons.  This is where I put my parent hat on in addition to my video game hat and ask: "Why are children under 17 playing this game or watching this movie?"  The answer is because the parents are letting them. If a child of nine years old is playing Bulletstorm or watching Saw it is a parental failure.  It's no fault of the retailer that sold the disc.

All current generation systems are equipped with rating restriction abilities as well as many other ways to monitor a child's use of the console depending on the console.  It's not up to our government to tell us what our children can and cannot view.  That is up to us as parents.  If I decide down the road when he's 15 that my son can play such a game, then so be it.  He can go to the store and buy it and play it to his heart's desire.  I don't get that option if laws such as the one in California proliferate.

If you're a parent, and you're reading this blog, then chances are you're well aware of what your children are playing and have set your consoles up to apply your rules for your children.  If you haven't, do it!  It only takes a few minutes of your time and ensures that your kids' friends can't bring an unapproved game to your place and play it without your knowledge.  I know your little angel would never do that, but little Johnny next door certainly may.  Cover your bases and make sure the parents of your kids' friends are aware of what you allow your child to play as well.  It does no good to set a rule at home just to have them go to a friend's house and circumvent your rules.

The article goes on to make a reference to the ongoing Supreme Court case going on as being extremely important, which it very much is, just not in the way the author is clearly inferring.  It's important in the fact that precedent can be set.  If it is set in allowing the law to stand, a domino effect of books, movies, and music could follow.  Then the next logical step is whether anybody at all should view such content.

Let's work to ensure we never get to that point.  Be a responsible parent, and let the government and mainstream media know that we don't need them to tell us what our kids are doing and what games are out there. We already know.