Violent Games Still Marketed to Kids, Says FTC

and alcohol is still marketed to teenagers.

obviously though, its the video games causing kids to hang around on the streets starting fights and stealing stuff. not the alcohol.

How can the companies regulate Viral Marketing? They do everything (and more) than porn sites to make sure kids either lie (enter a wrong b-date) or goes "geewiz I better not" (lulz). It's not like the site can ask for Social Security numbers and other forms of ID on websites.

Besides, isn't viral marketing things like an actor Tweeting that X movie they're in is F-ing awesome and the blog'o'sphere giving reviews, posting pictures, etc? (Oh wait, the government decided blogs are under their jurisdiction... great!)

Kevin, change the picture to an FCC guy censoring Peter's life from Family Guy. I'd think that's more appropriate for this article.

if kids didn't know any games, they would be all working hard and having more family time in their lifetime

Guns don't kill people, kids playing violent video games do.

Its all about priorities, kids playing violent videogames don't grow up to be serial killers, there are just too many factors involved. To have a conclusive study, one would have to definitively answer the question of, nature vs nurture. All we can do is not hope for the best society, rather the best possible society by educating are kids through government funded programs at schools; the problem with this is schools get the ass end of funding, while the military gets fucking spartan laser guns and warthogs. lol

In Australia we don't market "violent" games to kids, we just ban them.

It's not like the game forces them to to be violent, they have the choice of being violent.

damn you south Australian attorney general "shacks fist"

no R-rating for us

damn you south Australian attorney general "shacks fist"

no R-rating for us

...And that is so hard to get around...

Not having a (whatever) 18+ classification is a royal pain in the ass. But the AUS Post has never blocked a shipment to me, yet...

It's a minor inconvenience, but it's still an inconvenience that shouldn't exist. I buy most of my games on Steam now anyway, and they are often cheaper in the US, so I just get them gifted. AVP got banned recently, I think it's a record number of bans this year

Rated M for mature in the us means you need an adult or something to be 17 to buy it and every major retailer follows those rules so don't want your child buying scary shit don't buy it for them.

The problem is that an M rating in the game industry is closer to a PG and above* in the film industry, and what gets an M in the gaming instury gets attacked more than an R-rated film.

Hell, Halo was given an M rating, and I remember IGN (which I read at the time) had a section on whether your parents would object, stating that they wouldn't unless they were obviously aliens.

Basically, a prime time TV show can get away with more than an M-rated video game.


*(often PG-13+ and rarely approaches R-rating. Aside from Custer's Revenge, I'm not sure what would generate anything higher)

And yes, M and R have the same age restrictions, as does consensual sex (in NY, and as is about the average in the US) and the ability to drive at night (again, at least in NY state).

And then you have those retards at Australia banning every other game ( not talking about the ppl there but whoever is responsible for the matter ofc )due to VIOLENCE. Every time i hear about it its pissing me the fk off. They also just banned the new AvP from there which looks stunning with just about enough ( plenty ) of gore. Which is actually a huge "screw them" not only to the developers that dont sell as much as their efforts would pay for but also another "screw them" to the adults of those countries that dont get to enjoy shit unless they aquire a copy through torrents which is illegal.


Hell.. Im irritated and Im not even in a country that has issues of the kind. Imagine If I was. id go nuts on them or go full throttle on torrent hoping for a quick crack or something.

See?! Thats what i was talking about.. lol Sorry dude, I just scrolled up and saw your post

To people in places that outright ban violent video games:

Do they also ban all war movies? Alien movies?

If not, then write letters/petition/advertise to show that one medium is no different from the other.

Nope, I can't think of any high-profile films that have been banned.



Oh but it is. One is interactive Anyway, petitions have been signed plenty of times and nothing will change because of one man who has publicly stated that he will never move his position on the matter. This man affects the whole country, even though he's only a state politician. Queensland has taken some initiative and is moving to get a state-level R18+ rating, but it's not going to be much good if importers don't bother getting a game just for one state. Hopefully it will pass and other states will follow suit

My theory is that they'll figure it out eventually, so who cares. Boys will be boys when they're young, i.e. they'll beat the crap out of each other regardless of what they're watching or playing.

I am the only gamer in my class and i am the one that talks the less.
I play Games to get agression out of me.
Games helped my life. If i wasnt a gamer i wouldnt have friends.

who really cares about virtual violence when the real 1 is inside most homes?

I do find it rather selective as well as hypocritical, to point the finger at 'the gaming industry' in general.

With regards to purchasing and playing these games, I mainly blame the parents. But let's not stop there. I also blame them for not keeping an eye on what their children are being taught at school as well as what they are being exposed to in the general media. A corporate media.

More parents are deciding to home school, if possible. They're also ensuring the box on the corner of the living has restricted access which I think is a good thing.

Funny because after playing a "violent" video game, I never had the urge to go out and reenact the plot by hurting someone. It's called a GAME. Video games aren't the problem. To blame video games is as ridiculous as blaming books! What happens when you read a novel (or history for that matter) depicting violence, rape, war, murder, etc? Your brain conjures up the images of terror and brutality...so doesn't that make it even worse than simply seeing the 'violence' on screen? I have read books far more disturbing than any video game I have played. Read about the Japan-Sino War of 1937-1945 which left 20 million people dead... Oh wait, maybe we should not read history because it might get us to go out and murder.

You are totally right.
People with IQ are thinking that this is true.

oops i mean LOW IQ

The whole violent video game discussion is funny to me. It's funny because it's also ironic that the only reason I didn't turn violent/ criminal was video games. Something about being able to hide away from my reality (which was hell) and avoid the insanely bad influences around me, probably lead me away from the life of crime, hardcore drugs and violence I probably would have ended up in!
I can't remember the last time I was violent... well, unless you count L4D last week ;D

Ahh, once again, those in charge find themselves a scapegoat for the ills of society. "Video games make kids violent". I mean, I remember when I was in 7th grade and Mortal Kombat came out. In my school alone, we had at least 5 instances of kids ripping each other's spines out. Hell, one kid even successfully pulled off the Scorpion fire-breating-burn-your-skin-off move. That was bitchin'. Seriously though, this sort of thing is just meant to divert attention away from the real problems. (i.e. parents not taking a more active role in raising their own children, etc...) I expect to hear more from Jack Thompson on the subject soon.

Oh Man! It's just the same old story.

Ha...
What about sites like Newgrounds.com?
I was introduced to it while it was only in its infancy. I was quite young. Pico's School, Chainsaw Kid, Club a Seal etc. you get the point. They helped raise me, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.

Though recently I went to a EB games in a different city, and bought some 14+ crap, and the asshole told me I needed ID... when I was 15 I was at the bar (18 now). Those dicks requiring ID for just a damned game need to lay off already, r I'll start showing them al the violence I did learn in video games.

The FTC shouldn't be involved in this debate. They have more important issues to deal with.

Besides, they think everything made to look fun targets kids. Why the heck can't 40 year olds have fun?

40 year olds these days are much too influenced by video games! They may grow up to be violent fathers or worse! I support the petition for the R60+ rating. Then we would really weed out all the susceptible, relatively weak minded individuals.

In all seriousness, though, it's the fact that kids can walk into stores and buy these games unchecked that the FTC keeps waving in everyone's faces. And the argument always comes back to parents, except you can't blame a faulty home (in regard to violent TV) the same way you can blame some Joe Schmoe behind a gamestop counter.

But what it all REALLY comes down to... It's the FTC's job to find stuff and complain. If they didn't find stuff and complain, there would be no need for the FTC. They are a self-fulfilling entity. The problem exists because they exist.