Saw a very young kid being sold a copy of MW3 in Gamestop today.

Magill

I'd have no problem with young teenagers playing something like MW3.. but 8.. its a bit too young, even tho the only thing they'll probably play is the MP !

At that age tho... i was watching the exorcist and hellraiser ! I'd have probably been playing MW3 if it was out then aswel !! **** it tho.. most of us are hypocrits anyway.

ShadowHearth

By the time I hit 18 I murdered a population of a small country in video games. At this point I am going near mid size country population... I am not a murderer or rapist at my 25 years...

To be honest mw3 is not the worst 18 title out... It has no blood, no gore, no drugs, no sex. Just soldiers shooting soldiers...

And that scene of child die... I honestly found out that it was the shocking scene of mw3 only after I read it here... I played that part before and it was meh. It did not make me feel a thing. It wasn't even shocking or even interesting.

One game I would not give to play to my child - Alice madness returns. It left me disturbed and I am grown man...

deconduo

If there is any negative effects from kids playing violent games I'd like to see any studies that show it. Given that 9-14 year olds have been one of the biggest demographics playing COD since it first came out, its a wonder the entire western civilisation isn't overrun with psycho killers already. :rolleyes:

nesf

Mitch Connor wrote: »

at the end of the day...... it is just a freaking game. You aren't actually killing people, it is sprites on a screen.

I've always played 'violent' games and it has never caused me any issues. GTA 1 to whatever, GoldenEye, Doom etc - all violent games and I played them all when they came out (GTA was a christmas present when I was in 1st year).

They are just games - as long as the kid is being properly raised in terms of being taught right from wrong and moral obligations and the like, there shouldn't be an issue. I'd have no problem letting a 10 year old play COD, as long as I don't plan on it being their teacher and moral compass.

Further than that, even very young children (4 year olds) are fairly impervious to violence once it's bad people for some reason. Show a 5 year old a good guy getting killed and they'll get very upset about it if they were emotionally involved, show them bad guys getting killed and they'll nod sagely and tell you everything is right in the world. Kids have inbuilt moral compasses from a very young age and apparently don't have a problem with capital punishment either.

I've let my 5 year old watch me play BF3 and Skyrim a bit and he doesn't seem remotely fazed by it. It's quite clear who the goodies and baddies are and he gets that it's just a bloody computer game no different to Lego Star Wars and similar that he plays. People are way too uptight about these things, simulated violence is not violence and even very young children can differentiate between the two. People also forget just how violent the stories we've been telling children for generations are. You should read some of the Fianna stories in their original form, they're as bad as any 18s movie for violence.


Now on the other hand I would really not allow my son to watch me play a game where I was an evil character murdering innocents. That wouldn't fit into his world view and experiences at all.

bryaner

Andy!! wrote: »

Was not impressed to visit Gamestop today to find a 8-9 year old boy being sold MW3. The clerk warned his mother of the graphic nature of the game, however they should have been flat out denied a copy by the sales assistant, it was very clear it was for a very young boy as he brought the game to the till while his mother paid. I'm surprised by Gamestops policy of only issuing a warning; but I guess it comes down to the money at the end of the day. Shame on the mother as well.:mad:

Am I just getting old or is Gamestops policy just not cool? When I was 8-9 I was playing Super Mario Land 2 on the Gameboy, not watching a child be blown apart in a gas attack that halves Europe's population... Not to mention what happens at the end of the SP!

Graphic nature me bollox, pansy stuff tbh..

Potential-Monke

nesf wrote: »

Now on the other hand I would really not allow my son to watch me play a game where I was an evil character murdering innocents. That wouldn't fit into his world view and experiences at all.

Not doing the Dark Brotherhood questline then? :P

I can see where people are coming from that they are games and kids know the difference, but i still wholeheartedly believe that kids under 14 shouldn't be playing an 18's rate game. Fine, you ahve the soft 18's games like MW, but you also have the harder 18's games like GTA, Saints Row, etc. And letting them play one 18's and not another must be confusing to them. Then again, i don't have kids.

Maybe the classifications for games are too strict, and will follow the film route of classing them lower in years to come...

nesf

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Not doing the Dark Brotherhood questline then? :P

I can see where people are coming from that they are games and kids know the difference, but i still wholeheartedly believe that kids under 14 shouldn't be playing an 18's rate game. Fine, you ahve the soft 18's games like MW, but you also have the harder 18's games like GTA, Saints Row, etc. And letting them play one 18's and not another must be confusing to them. Then again, i don't have kids.

Maybe the classifications for games are too strict, and will follow the film route of classing them lower in years to come...

I really would not leave my son watch me beat people to death with a giant dildo.

I agree though, there is 18+ and then there is 18+.

Potential-Monke

nesf wrote: »

I really would not leave my son watch me beat people to death with a giant dildo.

That would be fun explaining to the Judge after the social took the kid!

"Ah, it's only a game Judge, i mean you can't even buy a giant purple floppy dildo in shops, and certainly not one that can send people flying!"

nesf

Potential-Monke wrote: »

That would be fun explaining to the Judge after the social took the kid!

"Ah, it's only a game Judge, i mean you can't even buy a giant purple floppy dildo in shops, and certainly not one that can send people flying!"

"But Judge, Manhunt 2 is essential training for the eventual collapse of civilisation that will come with the collapse of the Euro. I had to let him play it, it would have been irresponsible not to!"

noodler

When I was in 2nd year of school (I think) I tried to buy Tomb Raider 3 in EB on Dawson street but was refused due to the ELSPA age on it.

Tried to explain it wasn't requirement and I'd just go to Game on Grafton St but she wouldn't sell it so thats exactly what I did.

When I was in England in Gamestation (I was 23) I was asked for ID when I bought Fallout 3 (had to show the Paddy Passport).

Lastly, I was asked in 2004 I think it was what age I was (I was 20/21) when buying the guide for San Andreas in Game (or was it a EB then) on Henry Street. I just replied I was 21 and why? And she said because "this book is for an 18s game"....she took my word for it but I was kind of like WTF? She was younger than me too defo.

um7y1h83ge06nx

I think parents draw a big distinction between content that is unsuitable for their children. I doubt that mother would have bought porn for the son.

It reminds me growing up. At that age (9-10) I had seen loads of violent films - Terminators, Rambos etc. etc. My parents didn't really see the big deal with violent being portrayed. But god forbid there would be nudity or sex being depicted on screen, the channel would be changed immediately.

And almost 20 years on which activity do I engage in regularly, shooting people in the face or sex? :P

I remember our mother buying us the original GTA in complete ignorance. She lately heard all the controversy surrounding it and whenever we happen to discuss games she says she can't believe she bought it for us (the sales assistant didn't mention anything back then). Up to that point her main knowledge of games was the Christmas she was almost brainwashed from the music of Mario-All-Stars on the SNES.

Twilightning

If you're gonna let a kid play a game that's clearly outside of their intended age-range then at least make sure it's a good one. I bought Resident Evil 2 with my first communion money around 7 or 8. I'm 21 in February and I just got through completing it last night for the millionth time. Letting kids have these games is one thing, giving them a microphone and leaving them unattended on a service like Xbox Live surrounded by grown men with a lack of accountability due to the anonymity of the internet is entirely another. No way in hell I'd ever allow that, and if parents actually allow this to happen (and they do), they'd wanna re-evaluate their parenting skills.

LighterGuy

I dont see an issue with this.
Because (1) it was the mother buying it and (2) lets be honest lads, we all watched our share of 18s movies when we were kids.

Its not like COD has porn or something freaky or really messed up in it (think a video game version of "videodrome" .. yeah then that would be totally wrong with a kid playing that!)

Danonino.

I suppose its like the 50's when the oldies were screaming about Rock and Roll being evil


This is my last post in this thread cause it seems to be going in circles and the more I write the lamer I sound :rolleyes:
I refuse to believe a kid of 8 playing COD is a good idea. Half the replys have been how people dont find it offensive or how they watched/played worse, but its a fu*king 8 year old. Someone mentioned 2nd year... a kid of 8 is in 2nd class. 8 is the target audience for stuff like Pokemon, Beyblade, Meccano, LEGO... seriously.

I cant get my head around anyone trying to justify a kid that young playing games designed to entertain adults, over 18 games aren't rated that just for ****s and giggles. I can see where a few are coming from, Twilightning makes a very good point about the online aspect. I've ran into a few dudes who sound no more than 10 spitting some serious bile. With Resident Evil I think theres a difference between fantasy horror (zombies) and a realistic representation of war (killing dudes with guns). Plus Resident evil was always rated 15's wasnt it?
My Dad bought me Mortal kombat 2 on the snes for Christmas when I was no more than 10 but that was 15's too, I actually had to check the box lol
Also I'd be lying if I didnt get in trouble in school the next january for drawing pictures of people getting decapitated by Baraka everywhere

I guess Its impossible for me to have played an over 18 game at 8 years old because when I was 8 I had an Amiga 2600 LOL (everyone else had megadrives) got a Snes the next year so it all was good.



Anyway those oldies were wrong, Charles Manson just really really liked the beatles

nitromaster

Could we get this topic title changed to
"Saw a middle aged (or whatever..) woman being sold a copy of MW3 in gamestop today"

The current title is confusing. :pac:

Danonino.

nitromaster wrote: »

Could we get this topic title changed to
"Saw a middle aged (or whatever..) woman being sold a copy of MW3 in gamestop today"

The current title is confusing. :pac:

I give up

Im gonna go down and buy a pack of fags and then hand them to a bunch of primary school students as soon as I leave the shop.
But if it was my son I was handing them to it'd be fine as its just bad parenting, shame on me.

PickledLime

Bottom line OP, is the guy at the till did everything above board. The mother should have enough interest in her kid's hobby to know what kind of content he is consuming to make an informed decision. I've been in my local Gamestop on many occasions where the staff member stresses that it's an 18s game for a reason, but the parent is still happy to buy it (partially because they don't know how to say "no" to their kids, but that's a different thread altogether).

A mate of mine who once worked at a Gamestop a few years ago told Little Jonny he couldn't sell him a game without an adult present. The kid came back with his father 5 minutes later only for the father to eff and blind at my mate because he was double parked and it was his fault!

Podge_irl

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

As said, if the mother bought it the store had no right to deny her the game, if they did they'd end up in court, at least the minion explained the problem to the mother, who went ahead and bought it.
So Kudos to Gamestop for doing the right thing and not so much to the mammy.

The store can refuse to sell games to whoever the hell they want as long as its not a discriminatory policy.

Gandalph

Some people are more sensitive than others in these sort of decisions...it doesnt define the line between bad parenting or not.

SeantheMan

Totalbiscuit discussed around the topic in his latest Mailbox - worth hearing his take

@ 11.16 it starts