Okay I don't have any kids myself and when I was a kid I wasn't a big vid. game freak. So this was never an issue with me, but I never got the upset over so-called "violent" video games and kids. A video game is a video game. It's cartoony computer graphics. Is it that big a deal if the imagery is violent? I don't see it being on the same level as a violent movie. It seems like unnecessary coddling. What do you think?

I have to disagree, now violent ones like Mortal Kombat and King's Quest 8, we had those, I liked them...but something like Grand Theft Auto where the goal is to steal cars and shoot people for bonus points, forget it.

Depends on how 'violent' I guess. I won't let my 10 yr old play Grand Theft Auto. But if it's a kung fu or karate game or something like that, I wouldn't mind it.

I agree with both Nystyle and Supernova, I wouldn't mind games like Mortal Kombat but I wouldn't be ok with my kids playing Grand Theft Auto.

I think there is a certain point at which violent video games just go too far.

stonestatic wrote:

Okay I don't have any kids myself and when I was a kid I wasn't a big vid. game freak. So this was never an issue with me, but I never got the upset over so-called "violent" video games and kids. A video game is a video game. It's cartoony computer graphics. Is it that big a deal if the imagery is violent? I don't see it being on the same level as a violent movie. It seems like unnecessary coddling. What do you think?

I was never a video game fanatic either. I think that I was already a teenager when they introduced the rating system, and by then I had moved on from game playing. From what I have observed from afar, some of them can be on the "graphic" side, and I know that the making of them have turned into these lavish productions, with known actors providing the voices for characters, and a music soundtracks. So basically, it looks as though they have become like interactive feature films…and since there are movies that are inappropriate for kids, I guess this would apply to certain games as well.

But honestly, I sometimes DO have a hard time wrapping my head around how serious some people are about how "inappropriate" some games are for kids. When I think of video games, I think of Mario for Nintendo and Sonic the Hedgehog and Sega Genesis, and they were like cereal boxes.

Nhaiyel wrote:

But honestly, I sometimes DO have a hard time wrapping my head around how serious some people are about how "inappropriate" some games are for kids. When I think of video games, I think of Mario for Nintendo and Sonic the Hedgehog and Sega Genesis, and they were like cereal boxes.

That's how I still tend to think of video games, but it's sure not what you see anymore, all the games you see now are shoot everybody, shoot cops, run down pedestrians, shoot hookers in the heads for bonus points, we've come a LONG way from Super Mario Brothers, Sonic, Final Fantasy, Moonwalker and Tetris.

Supernova wrote:

Nhaiyel wrote:

But honestly, I sometimes DO have a hard time wrapping my head around how serious some people are about how "inappropriate" some games are for kids. When I think of video games, I think of Mario for Nintendo and Sonic the Hedgehog and Sega Genesis, and they were like cereal boxes.

That's how I still tend to think of video games, but it's sure not what you see anymore, all the games you see now are shoot everybody, shoot cops, run down pedestrians, shoot hookers in the heads for bonus points, we've come a LONG way from Super Mario Brothers, Sonic, Final Fantasy, Moonwalker and Tetris.

ITA with both of you! The really violent video games seem more lie RPG games than video games. I know they can all fall under that category, but there's a difference between Mario kicking up his heals and floating to the top of my screen and someone getting blown to pieces or mutilatedand so forth.

I don't have kids but when I do, I'm going to monitor the games they play and keep them age-appropriate. There are some pretty disturbing games out that. ITA about Grand Auto Theft.

A lot of video games today follow a script/storyline and can be very graphic, like a movie. So I can't argue against the rating system, or some being deemed inappropriate for kids.

Some video games are inappropriate for kids, but this isn't an area that the government should be regulating IMO.