So are we fast approaching Games Censorship in Ireland.

mewso

Well I've heard, and I could be mistaken, that the Irish Censor IS going to start censoring games. If true then I think it's got to be bad news all round.
Just a thought but as a group we represent practically all of Irelands online gaming community so maybe the IGN should step in with a few words against censorship somewhere down the line. I'm not talking communism here folks. I'm talking using the power we have before silly ignorants make dangerous changes. Anyone remember the demise of binaries on newsgroups in Ireland?

M

Hobbes

Your preaching to sheep Muso.

Anyway won't change anything to people who know where to look.

Take Carmeggeon for example. The Green zombie blood was put in instead of real people or it would of been banned in the UK and Ireland (defo about UK, dunno about IRE). But you could just download the Blood patch off the net.

I have no problem with censorship in games, in fact I welcome it. However I won't be too happy if it's "Remove this from the game" rather then giving it a rating on the game and make it illegal to sell to minors.

Kali

ehh all games need to have is some sort of parental lock in them and most censors will let them through no problems.
Duke 3d for instance (haha)..
Haven't played kingpin so i don't know if that has a lock or something..

but to be honest it is pretty fu<ked up thinking that 5-12 year olds would be playing these sort of shoot the muther ****er in the head type games..
around 14 kids stop being influenced by this sort of ****e (unless they're american of course)

Soldier Of Forune should cause a few debates when it comes out though..

Shinji

The current bullsh1te was triggered by Silent Hill and Kingpin being released at almost the same time.... Fu(kin ignorant politicians trying to impress the "concerned" housewife down the countree who listens to Pat Kenny moanin about violent videogames.... gah. Sickening...

It'll die down sooner or later, and they'll find something else to blame for kids going nuts... like.... I blame cornflakes. There was never any mad killing sprees before cornflakes were invented, thus cornflakes are OBVIOUSLY to blame. Why aren't our politicians doing something about this menace to our society!!!!

Wibble.

Ja,
Rob

Kali

que simpsons quote:

Lisa: "And by your logic i could say that this rock keeps tigers away."
Homer: "It does?"
Lisa: "Well do you see any tigers around?"
Homer: "I wish to buy your rock"

heh

mewso

My concern was not ratings on games (we get them from the british classification anyway which is fair enough) as these are a perfectly adequate guiedline - assuming the shops adhere to them?????
My concern was that if the Irish censor gets control of this then games might be banned outright. Yeah I know games have toned down content and re-admitted games but the Irish Censor has banned films for the subject matter (e.g. Whore by Ken Russell - a ****e film with nothing explicit in it, just that the Irish Censor thought the topic of prostitution was not for our eyes, later made a laugh of when Ch4 showed it on telly ) and it's alot harder to change subject matter in a game.

M

P.S. Actually that gives me an idea for a game where you play a pimp and your task is to extort money from your sluts and then ......

Kegser

Censorship? Yes.

Removing elements from games to achieve this? Nope.

Laws need to be introduced to prohibit selling games like Kingpin, with an 18+ rating, to people under 18.

Thats all there is to it, and this business of completely banning or removing parts from games is complete and utter tits.

Kegs.

Polish

Hmm i hope it doesnt happen becuase I firmly belive in freedom of speach (unlike some fascists who reside on these boards). Anyway I dont think it will come in stronly becuase of industry pressure. More censorship = less sales.

Polish

"I'm a writer, a poet, a genuis, I know it!"

Hobbes

I don't know about the European version, but the US version of Kingpin has two install modes. Kid install (no bad words/blood/more clothes on the women) and Full install(everything).

There is also as well as a license agreement another screen that talks about the CH-Shooting and that by accepting the agreement you are in fact policing your kids.

Add to the fact that it's got a massive "NOT FOR CHILDREN" slapped on it, and my local shop wont sell the game to minors.

I don't see the problem with the game. It's not as if they haven't tried to be helpful.

TwoShedsJackson

To quote a satirical article on the Onion - 'people should ask themselves why, if they can't even exercise a moderate degree of control over their children, they ever bothered to have kids in the first place'.

Blade

Blade

Shiminay

Love it Lors!

I think the thing is for shops / rental places to enforce the law. I was in Xtra Vision a while back and I saw the assistant giving out GTA for the PSX to an 8 year old. I asked her if that had been an 18's video would she have given it to the kid. She obviously enough said no, it would cost her her job. So I asked then why she just gave an 18's cert game out. She said "I never even noticed! What can be so bad about a game?" I proceeded to explain the content matter to her and she turned a strange colour or pale when I said that maybe I should mention the fact to her manager (who'd justy walked in the door).

This is why the housewives have something to talk about - ignorant staff working in this kind of place.

---

All the best,

Dav
@B^)
homepage.tinet.ie/~davitt

DEATH

we know ur type kharn hassling some poor youngen

bold

ste

Em the problem with rating games isn't giving games a certain age rating, it's the fact that games will be delayed for up to months because they'll have to go thru the irish censors b4 they can be released, and the fact that the raters will be tools who don't know **** about nada and don't realize that a 2 month que in rating the games will **** the irish gaming community on its head.

Jedi

I tend to agree with introducing a law against the "extreme language" side of the games, definitely. After purchasing KINGPIN i can see why there is some worry out there. KINGPIN steps a little bit over the mark in its use of language. Its a class game, But they seriously messed up on the marketing side of things, by limiting its it range of consumers to over 18's. If they had of toned down the language and the graphics slightly they would more than lightly double there final sale count, by bringing in the lower ages groups also. But if this is the way games are tending, I agre with Kegster about a serious clamp down on selling to under age costomers.

DEATH

Thats why in kingpin there is an option for a kiddy install, no language, no blood . as hobbes has said

mewso

Very obvious point to al that has been said and it is this:
The parents have to be the people buying and, yes, installing the game so the lesson for us all is that if the ****e hits the Celion Dion fan then it's the parents fault.

M

tHE vAGGABOND

quick - someone lock this post before shinji finds out about it and we get the complete works of waffling knowitall post here

Draco

Too late!
He's already posted!

Draco

Hecate

there was a guy from "The player" mag on five seven live the other day talking about this...he said that censorship on games here basically follows the english model, if they give a game a 18's cert it will get one over here too.

H_K

slapping an 18s cert on a game is bull...
a 14 year old could buy drink (18 age limit) or a game (1 which is ****in worse ?!
the drink one kinda works, or discourages it cos the parents actually give a ****e - concerning games they wont give a crap unless theyre nerdy new age listen to the bull**** on pat kenny and be concerned.
when i was about 8 i tried to rent the first robocop but yer man wouldnt lket me so i just got me Ma outta the car and got her to get it - me ma would hardly then have gone into an offy and bought me a 6 pack like

Pat

[This message has been edited by H_K (edited 29-07-99).]

WhiteWashMan

hey, shinjis knowledge on subjects such as these is like a nice warm wind blowing up my kilt on the moors of a sunny afternoon.

refreshing.

of course, what do you say to someone with a silly name?
white(there aint nothing wrong with my name!)wash