Here we go again, the never-ending saga that we all know and love, one of the debates that will seemingly never end. I'm talking about banning the sale of violent video games to minors. The topic most recently came into focus from Connecticut's Attorney General's office via a press release issued on July 19th, 2010.
Here is a quick blurb from the press release:
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal joined a multi-state coalition today seeking to uphold states' rights to restrict video game sales to minors that feature extremely violent content -- including games where players burn people alive with gasoline and urinate on people to make them vomit.
Well now, if you're going to put it that way, who in their right mind would want to say this is a bad idea? And they are absolutely right, the sale of mature rated games should absolutely be restricted. The problem, as it goes on to state the following.
"Parents deserve tools to protect children from games that showcase digital decapitation and rape," Blumenthal said. "Certain games dangerously desensitize children with simulated homicide and hate crimes, turning graphic executions into entertainment. In the face of continued industry inaction -- enabling unattended children to buy such games -- states must preserve their critical right to protect children.
Do parents need help? Yes, indeed they do, and they have it as well. Imagine that, the protocols are all in place, we just need to follow instructions.
First off, all recent video games are rated by the ESRB (Electronic Software Rating Board) and are clearly labeled. Next up are the consoles' Parental Restrictions settings. If you are a parent and are concerned about what they are playing while you aren't around, read up on how to use the parental controls on your hardware. Chances are either your television or the console has them.
And finally, shouldn't we all just stand up and say we care about our children? If you are a parent and you made it this far into this blog post you've already done that, congratulations.
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