Sunday, November 14, 2010

Video Games

I've been meaning to talk about this for a while. But there are some really stupid things said about the Video Game industry.

Let us take the example of former lawyer, Jack Thompson. Or as I like to call him, "an idiot who doesn't have a clue what he's talking about."

While few people took this guy seriously because he's an idiot who doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. People listen to him less because of his disbarment. While this is certainly not new news, it brings my point home.

For those who don't know, Jack Thompson is a extremely conservative, middle aged, white male, ex-lawyer, who was disbarred in 2007 due to "professional misconduct."Or as I prefer to say, "because he did stupid things." Like attempt to have Florida's Bar deemed unconstitutional for having a "pro-gay, humanist, liberal agenda." to which he also stated that "[the] wedding of all three functions of government into The Florida Bar, the 'official arm' of the Florida Supreme Court, is violative of the bedrock constitutional requirement of the separation powers and the 'checks and balances' which the separation guarantees."

The sad thing is, was that the example given was settled out of court. Having taken place in 1993, it would take many other such incidents in order for his disbarment to occur.

Now, rather than banter on, I shall try to get closer to the point. Many people have argued that violent video games should not be sold to minors, and that violent video games make violent children.

This argument is completely ridiculous.

Now, Video Games in every country are rated before they can be sold, by organisations like the United States Entertainment Software Rating Board, the British Board of Film Classification, and the Pan European Game Information. Each rate video games, and are usually on the same page with each other, A game with a ESRB rating "M" will almost always get an "18" from the BBFC, and an "18+" from the PEGI. Ratings on the same level.

Now, at least in the United States, it is illegal to sell M rated games to people under the age of 17. Every time I've gone to buy an M rated game, (which for some reason, are the most numerous.) I get my ID checked. So obviously, minors are not getting the games on their own. Rather their parents buy it for them.

I don't know how many times I've played an M rated game, only to have an eight year old in the same match. And you can very easily tell how old some people are. People say that Video Games breed violence. They are wrong. Irresponsible parents breed violence.

Do you blame a gun for killing someone? No. You blame the person behind the gun. A gun is a tool, it does not make people kill others. Like wise, Video Games on there own do not breed violence.

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