Rated M for Minors « Hawty McBloggy Invites You to Play

6 Jan

Rated M for Minors

Posted by bs angel in Video Games. Tagged: Freakin' Funny. 26 Comments

graphjam bars ftw

Source [GraphJam]

26 Responses to this post.

Posted by Mondo Titan on January 6, 2009 at 2:07 pm

that’s just what the media wants you to think..

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Posted by Ryan on January 6, 2009 at 2:12 pm

lol my parents dont care how violent or sexual a game is

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Posted by Tortacular on January 6, 2009 at 2:27 pm

Well after in a game of Call of Duty with a six year old this weekend, it’s clearly the red one.

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Posted by cbd on January 6, 2009 at 2:50 pm

Yea, you would think that parents would realize that a game called Grand Theft Auto 4 would have violence but guess what one of my aunts bought my 10 year old cousin for Christmas because he heard his older cousins (i.e. me, and a few others) talk about it (and the series) at Thanksgiving and asked his mom for it.And then she has the audacity to get mad at me, my other college age cousin, and my cousin who is a senior in high school for “putting ideas in Landon’s head” ~insert rolling eyes here~

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Posted by Tortacular on January 6, 2009 at 3:27 pm

You should have to pass a test to be a parent. It should be a hard test. Many people should fail.

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Posted by Whaappened? on January 6, 2009 at 3:32 pm

I can’t believe I have Left 4 Dead-I think I only bought it because my mom was in Portland at the time and my grandfather was too naive to notice why he needed to buy it.

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Posted by COL0NEL SANDERS on January 6, 2009 at 3:39 pm

Lol, thank God I don’t need their permission.
My parents wouldn’t care too much anyway.

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Posted by z0mbyjr on January 6, 2009 at 5:30 pm

Lol… my parents never cared what games I played… except GTA.
I was playing Call of Duty when I was like 9…
lol…
Seriously though. Its fucking annoying having 6 yr olds playing Call of Duty. After kicking their ass, they cry. Its so damn annoying.

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Posted by Das Kalk on January 6, 2009 at 5:54 pm

Coming from someone who works at a video game store, I see this a lot, even though I warn every single parent about the content. What happens is the kids butter the parent up before they get in the store, and nothing I say will ever change their mind.

Like the woman who was buying Call of Duty: World at War for her 8-year-old, and I explained the opening sequence to her (a man graphically getting his throat cut open by a samurai sword). She simply shrugged and said “what are you gonna do?” and laughed while all the other parents in the store looked at me. Then i told her that 8 was far too young to be playing the game and that it was so violent. She bought it anyway despite my warning of vile language and detaching limbs.

Then there are the kids who are 13 and want GTA IV so bad they are willing to throw a shit fit in the store until their parents buy it for them out of sheer embarrassment. Even when I explain that the objective of the game is to “steal cars to commit violent crimes, thereby raising your status as a “good worker” and solidifying your position in the crime world of a metropolitan city”.

Once again i am met with “well, he’ll just find someone to buy it for him anyway”.

Kill me now.

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Posted by deora on August 4, 2009 at 5:33 pm

you see THATS why i want to be a gamestore clerk

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Posted by COL0NEL SANDERS on January 6, 2009 at 6:14 pm

@ Das Kalk

That makes me sad to hear that.
That’s just bad and irresponsible parenting.

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Posted by nam on January 6, 2009 at 6:53 pm

I hate parents who buy M rated games for their 14 or younger kids, they should get charged for this shit. I’m surprised there isn’t a law for this yet. Sometimes I just wish I worked at game stores just to cram that information in their face and then annoy the kid by saying “no your too young”.

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Posted by bs angel on January 6, 2009 at 7:13 pm

I almost feel bad for my kiddos since my video game knowledge is a bit more than the average parent. Unfortunately for them it means they don’t get to play some of the games their friends are playing but such is life.

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Posted by Das Kalk on January 6, 2009 at 8:05 pm

the biggest problem I have is parents feeling like I am doing their parenting for them, when really I am doing my job, and that is to give them accurate information on which to base their decisions. The good news is that means It’s my job to play lots of video games :P

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Posted by Mobius on January 6, 2009 at 9:44 pm

Well that is kind of hard to believe though, that’s over 90% of stupid parents, I mean sure there are a lot of these parents but this much?

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Posted by Legendary Blue on January 6, 2009 at 11:10 pm

My parents never really minded, they always watched me play when I was little and if they had a problem they would say so. Then I wouldn’t play in front of them lol.

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Posted by NINJA Dusk2Dawn on January 7, 2009 at 12:09 am

When i was about 8 i bought GTA2 just because it was the last PS game in the shop. i had teh volumed off so i didn’t really realise the content was vulgar for about 2 weeks.

Another story was when i was in EB and i saw a kid in their school uniformasking her Mum/Mom for GTA 3, San Andreas and Vice City for an afternoon treat, i got $2 australian every week and bought my first console after a year of saving not for being good for 8 hours.

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Posted by Queen 0f Blades on January 7, 2009 at 3:41 am

My parents always researched the games a bit. I have good parents.

Ah, this graph brings up fond memories of the Mass Effect controversy, and me in a screaming match with some woman who was saying that this game was the bane of America. I asked if she had even bothered to check the ESRB rating. She didn’t know such a rating system existed. Then she started yelling at her kid. And I told her it wasn’t the kid’s fault. She’s supposed to be the responsible parent. That kid probably hasn’t played anything rated higher than Teen since. I feel bad for him. :(

If parents whould just take an hour to look up the game, and ask around, and then ask themselves, “Is my child capable of handling and understanding the content of this game, and do I want them exposed to this content at this point in their life?”, I think that would do a service for everybody. And that goes for Xbox Live and other online services as well. Because if I hear another small child with a voice higher-pitched than mine, I am going to hunt down their parents or guardians, and I am going to tape open their eyelids, and I am going to make them memorize the ESRB by heart.

/end rant

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Posted by Queen 0f Blades on January 7, 2009 at 3:45 am

Oh. And I’m going to make them listen to what their kid says when they’re not around. That’s the other problem. People think parenting is sitting their kid down in front of the TV, handing them a controller, and saying “Don’t burn down the house while we’re gone.” Because I guarantee, the moment that door shuts and the kid is home alone, every curse and swear he’s heard during his time on Live comes out. And I’m pretty sure that he has no clue what the majority of the shit coming out of his mouth even means.

Ok, now I’m done. For realz.

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Posted by Jim 028 on January 7, 2009 at 6:38 am

In the UK any game that would be rated M for Mature are usually rated by the BBFC the British version of the MPAA. It is mandatory to submit a game if they depict human sexual activity, human genital organs or gross acts of violence.

Because of this games like Halo are often rated Category 15 or 18 meaning it is illegal for a shop worker to sell a copy to someone they suspect of being under that age or to someone they suspect is buying it for someone under that age.

I once watched a mother throw a temper tantrum when my friend (the store manager) refused to sell her a copy of GTA 3: Vice City after he saw her 10 year old son ask her for it.
“I’m over 18!” she cried,
“He’s not and I know you are buying it for him.” was his reply.
She stormed out effing and blinding.

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Posted by Mizzy on January 7, 2009 at 9:39 am

Kudos to your friend, Jim. Wish that kind of system was adopted here…but the Brits do seem to go to a bit of extreme, when I got carded for wanting to buy a bottle of blue nail polish there 2 years ago. =/

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Posted by Jim 028 on January 7, 2009 at 11:01 am

Carded for Nail Polish? That’s insane, even for Britain. :D

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Posted by Jillybean on January 7, 2009 at 11:28 am

@ Queen of Blades – you’re right about using the console as a way to babysit. My little sister very rarely gets to play the console alone, it’s a family activity. My Mum follows the storylines of our games.

At work too (I used to work with a child care company) we had a Playstation and we were very strict about the ESRB ratings. Not only that but unless we were incredibly busy we’d have a member of staff keeping an eye on the behaviour at the games.

One kid desperately wanted his mum to buy him Gun. My colleague told his mother that he let his kids play the game, but he wouldn’t recommend it to anyone! Mum and I decided we’d let Ruth play it because we’d be sitting with her when she did. This kid was very irritated that he couldn’t play it – but his family wouldn’t take the time to watch him, to help moderate the content. I think it makes such a difference. Kids get isolated in their world when they game, they get het up and upset – even if you’re just sitting on the couch beside them saying “oops!” or teasing them for getting it wrong, they remember that there are rules of behaviour.

Some of the most ADD kids have had really rewarding sessions gaming if one of my colleagues have been with them, helping them to calm down when they get too caught up in the moment. There’s a real sense of achievement they get for calming down and doing the game properly.

And when bad behaviour does threaten, we simply said “right, you’re banned” and they’d go off outside or onto a board game. It was a really good system. Unfortunately we’re under new management so we don’t have enough people to do it anymore – instances of playstation violence may have increased . . . I couldn’t say.

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Posted by BerserkerBarage on January 7, 2009 at 11:51 am

@ Das…

Put the number to the local CPS on speed-dial!!!

My Exec. Dir. just bought her 12 year old a 360 this past Christmas. I actually helped her get a really good price on one. However I warned her that a good amount of the more “popular” game titles for the 360 are rated M for Mature. She said she knows and that she knows about the ESRB. Which is a step in the right direction, but I can already see her caving in and buying her son a copy of either COD or Halo. Which I guess explains why there are *so* many <18 year olds on both games. FPS seem to attract them like drones.

~B.B.

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Posted by Trixie on January 7, 2009 at 12:39 pm

Personally, I think there is a huge difference between COD and Halo 3. The violence in Halo 3 is more like a cartoonized, non-graphic nature. My son is 7, and he plays on XBL, but isn’t allowed to have a mic, nor is he allowed to have the other players voices come through the tv speakers. And…unlike some other 7 year olds, he doesn’t cry when he loses…he simply plays again. I am not comfortable with him playing much COD: World at War though…the violence is very graphic and real looking with blood splatter and losing legs in grenades.

In addition, he knows that he isn’t allowed to even load Left for Dead or Gears in the drive whatsoever. These games are way too intense for kids under 12 or 14.

I guess my point on this is that parents need to know their kids. Some kids are more mature at 7, than others. There is no set age where suddenly the violence and intensely scary images are acceptable. :P

But I will admit, common sense doesn’t always go hand-in-hand with parenting. And games are no different than movies with the same types of issues…parents take their kids to movies that they probably shouldn’t be seeing either. Ok, off my soapbox.

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Posted by NiVeKeR14 on January 9, 2009 at 7:25 am

It’s a sad state of affairs we live in now, but just think, in 10-20 years it’ll *practically* be a non-issue, because by that time, all the kids that grew up playing video games will be well educated on the matter to deal with their kids.

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Rated M for Minors

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