The Blogboard Jungle

     Posted a while ago was a small rant on this site called Rated M for Mature about the ratings system for video games, and how people don't pay attention to them especially when shopping for spoiled little so and so at home.  With the release of one of the most recent version of the most popular and controversial games to hit consoles, Grand Theft Auto V last week people seem to still pay no heed. An open letter by an anonymous game store clerk posted on Kotaku recently expressed the same concern, and mainly blames parents.  To his credit he does a really good job of reading off what the rating represents, much like the former game clerk I spoke to in the piece mentioned above.  We have a lot of people out there forming organizations to inform the un-informed, on top of that it's good to know there are some clerks in the retail business like the one in the Kotaku article breaking it down on top of what's on the box. He closes his letter with this...

       I read on The Hill today that "The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unanimously advanced legislation on Tuesday to study the impact of violent video games and other media on children."  Every time I read these accusation I get flashbacks of the 80's when Heavy Metal was supposed make us worship the devil, and listening to N.W.A was going to make me hate law enforcement and authority. The entertainment industry is aware of what they are publishing and they do a decent job of putting the information out there so that people know what they are getting.  The problem is they have to pay attention to the warnings that are out there.  I've written about this before , but every time I see those that do not enjoy the escape from the daily grind that playing video games provides trying to demonize the hobby, it bothers me.  For the record, I have a few good friends in law enforcement and I have not sacrificed any ...

     This if for the uninformed parents out there that buy games for their kids, then blame them for acting out all kinds of foolishness. I read an article on NJ.com that said "Last Friday, Christie outlined a plan to ban retailers from selling the video game — or others like it rated "mature" or "adults only" — to minors without a parent’s permission." Christie is the Governor of NJ and the video game in the article was Call of Duty- Black Ops and it has the following logo on it:   From ESRB.org         I work with a former GameStop employee and he informed me that not only are they not allowed to sell "M" rated games to people under the age of 17, but if a parent comes in to to buy one they have to make sure they are aware of the content in the game they are purchasing.  I'll use one of his experiences as an example; a parent walked up to him with a copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ...