What most people tend to forget is that games are not for kids.  The concept that a video game is “kids’ stuff” has been the folly of parents and guardians everywhere, and it’s something that should change, and change soon.

And this is true not only for video games.  Very often parents will just leave their kids in front of the television set to keep them pacified, or leave their children to surf for hours on end not really knowing what they’re looking up.

When I was in Vancouver I saw many a parent hand some money to their kids to buy what they wanted for their birthday.   Much like the movies, it is important to understand that computer games ARE rated and classified; and this is something few parents are aware of. 

Now, the authors of the bills about computer game regulation cite the need for game companies to help the parents.  Due to the changing times, with both parents having to sustain steady jobs to support their families, it becomes harder and harder for them to look after their kids and censor what they do.

But are the difficulties of life an excuse for parents not to watch their kids?  Can they really say something like, “I’m working all day; I don’t have time to check what my son/daughter is playing.” Well for me, the answer is no.  Whatever happens, the first and the last person to decide what is appropriate or not, and to do something about it, is the parent.  There’s no passing the buck. 

That being said, the game companies don’t have to make it harder for the parents than it already is; hence the ESRB and their ratings. Ratings, which sadly, many people don’t read. 

This is true up to a point: it is not the responsibility of the game company (or any other entertainment company if one really thinks about it) to raise anybody’s children.  Of course, while the latter may be true, it IS their responsibility, to the parents and their kids, and to society as a whole, not to come out with any inappropriate material.  And if they do, it falls to them, to some extent, to make sure that no minors can readily get hold of the inappropriate material they may produce.

Here is a story I came across on the Internet:  A seventy-eight year old grandmother bought a “Rated-M for Mature” game for her fourteen year-old grandson, and now she’s suing the game makers.

This story is at once a bit funny and a bit sad.  Here you have a poor old lady looking for a gift for her grandson and unwittingly purchasing material which is detrimental to his growth.  And in her distress, she decides to sue those responsible for making the games. To look at it that way, it seems so black and white.  How dare a company make inappropriate games?  What seems to have been forgotten about this case is that the company doesn’t control to whom the games are sold.

A big fuss is always made to the effect that game makers are poisoning the minds of our youth.  But if you look at the issue, these games were never really intended for kids.

If anyone is at fault, it is the retailer for not caring enough to properly inform the little old lady.  So in the end, where does this leave us?   We end up with the conclusion that yes, this proposed bill will help with limiting the amount of electronic games with excessive violent and/or sexual content that reach a minor’s game console. We can also see that yes, there is a market for “grown-up” games, and there are people who legally can buy these games. 

When a game is called unsuitable, it’s unsuitable for a minor.  There are people who are smart enough to know right from wrong and can intelligently appreciate a good, mature game.

However, the game makers do have a responsibility to society to limit the amount of sex and violence and other depictions of unsuitable ideas and actions. And at the very end, no amount of legislation can keep kids away from any material that isn’t intended for them: games, magazines, videos, whatever.