Pointless Game Ratings

edited February 2014 in The Walking Dead

Anyone else think game ratings are pointless and just cause delays. It's not like they're effective at stopping kids from playing age rated games at all.

Comments

  • edited February 2014

    It's the worst shit there is about it. Have these ratings stopped me from playing 16+ titles early? Nope. Has the 16+ game I have played as a 12 year old made me into a terrorist? Nope. Is it stopping all these kids from playing CoD? Nope. It's fucking useless.

  • I don't get what you're saying? It's not telltale who gives the ratings.

  • Never said it was friend, just that the whole idea of age restrictions on media is pointless as it does nothing to stop kids from accessing it, so having to submit things to get age rated is basically a waste of time on money because it's impossible to restric a "Mature" game to a mature audience, so whats the point?

    I don't get what you're saying? It's not telltale who gives the ratings.

  • You have to placate the parents groups though. Ratings may not work but neither did the war in drugs, but we keep that mess going.

    Groovy420 posted: »

    Never said it was friend, just that the whole idea of age restrictions on media is pointless as it does nothing to stop kids from accessing it

  • They're still necessary. How will I know If the game is appropriate for my son?

  • Game ratings, as SonEdo said, are necessary. If a parent buys their son/daughter an M rated game, they can't chew out the seller since there is a rating on the back. unfortunately, I know a lot of parents who completely ignore ratings.

  • Personally I go off my own research rather than arbitrary ratings, which are really just peoples opinions. A responsible parent should be interested in what they're kids are playing/seeing, but you don't need ratings for that, just the will to check out what your kids are playing.

    Plus it depends on the child. Some kids are way more mature. I let my 9 year old play Outlast because she's mature and she knows it's just a game. I wouldn't let my 12 year old nephew play Zelda, as he's really immature and cries for no reason over stuff on the news.

    My point is it should be up to the parents, and, like the way on drugs it's totally inefective and a waste of time and money.

    Unlike the war on drugs, game ratings don't support organized crime and ruin the lives of people who just want to be left alone to toke.

    Neither make sense though.

    SonEdo posted: »

    They're still necessary. How will I know If the game is appropriate for my son?

  • There are a lot of frustrated people in the world that like to ruin stuff for everyone and so if the game doesn't have that some parents communitty will join and throw eggs at the CEO's car and he can't have that...

    So I guess these ratings are made so stupid people that have no life, ambition or habilities feel that they are changing the world when at the same time their 12 yeard old kids are playing God of war and Call of Dutty...

    Oh well what to do? it's not like we can kill them right? "Or can we?" whispers

  • I pretty much completely ignore ratings, but before I let my kid play on something I at least check it out myself if it's something that looks like it could be bad for her. Just letting them play whatever may be easier, but it isn't responsible.

    I take it game by game, or movie by movie, and I take into account my daughters maturity level. For instance, I let her play Silent Hill 2 but I wouldn't let her watch Basic Instinct. I let her watch Evil Dead but not torture porn bullshit like Hostel.

    I just think age ratings are so arbitrary, we all know kids mature at different rates.

    Game ratings, as SonEdo said, are necessary. If a parent buys their son/daughter an M rated game, they can't chew out the seller since there is a rating on the back. unfortunately, I know a lot of parents who completely ignore ratings.

  • edited February 2014

    Think ratings are vital especially if under 10 and want to buy game for your son,daughter,niece, nephew etc for myself at young age wouldn't care but wouldn't want my younger relatives playing games with themes don't understand gave my nephiew a shot at last of us his 11 and had nightmares for week lol not fair and kids heads seeing violence,drugs,drink, language etc our minds filter that out saying just a game but kids will take everything on board thinking it's cool and acceptable. Just image of my little niece playing one of these games scare me

  • edited February 2014

    My dad used to let me watch anything, fuck I think I saw Cannibal Holocaust at 7 so I became pretty desensitized to gore stuff early on.

    I'm a lot more careful about this stuff than my Dad was, I just don't see that they're needed if you take the time to just check up on things yourself. I'm pretty busy but I take the time.

    Markd4547 posted: »

    Think ratings are vital especially if under 10 and want to buy game for your son,daughter,niece, nephew etc for myself at young age wouldn't c

  • edited February 2014

    Game ratings are pretty pointless with so many titles getting such high ratings. For example I see not to much of a big deal with kids playing GTA to free roam, its mindless fun. However that game has the same rating as Dead space and FEAR which creep me out now. If parents were responsible we wouldnt need ratings they would check out a game and asses whether there kid is ready to play it.

    I mean I bought Scribblenaughts the other day and that was rated 7+ I mean WTF its a game for kids and it is being made for seven and older?

  • Its the same with my parents; I am allowed to get M rated games, however, if the said game contains certain content such as partial nudity or nudity, I would not be allows to play it, which was why I was not allowed to get The Wolf Among Us. It depends on the standards of the parent.

    Groovy420 posted: »

    I pretty much completely ignore ratings, but before I let my kid play on something I at least check it out myself if it's something that looks

  • edited February 2014

    i think the ESRB ratings are necessary, but that they really need to fine tune them. i mean, violence and suggestive content/dialogue has many different levels, and i don't think they're being properly rated. OMG, this guy is holding a beer!, rating up for alcohol use. gasp that old man has a cigar, and he's spouting off suggestive and graphical comments!

    given that, lately, horror seems to be focused more on "how bloody and disturbing can we make this" rather than atmosphere, and kids have been watching things like final destination and saw, the ratings system is pretty pointless and ineffective. heck, the games with online play are worse for kids and all the ratings say on that is that they can't actually rate it. there's more trouble with kids talking shit to eachother and throwing rage fits and breakin stuff with the online play part of games that have relatively moderate ratings. a kid may be scared in a bloody, gory, horror game, but they wont act out based on it. put them into a halo or CoD match with people way above their skill level and see how long it takes for them to curse and throw the control around. then take a look at the ratings, they should be the same. the difference is that the horror game looks worse on what it contains, but the game with online play gets the worse reaction out of kids.

    it must be the game's fault. lol. now, i'm not sayin that online play is bad, i love it, but the real issue is that parents aren't aware of just how bad these online interactions are in some of these overly competitive games. The ESRB just doesn't do a good enough job of rating, hence why so many get an M for mature and parents just ignore it. if the rating actually meant what should, that shouldn't happen quite as much.

    just my thoughts...

  • Good point about online games, it's fucking crazy the abuse that comes out of the mouths of someone who sounds about 8 years old, getting his ass handed to him on Battlefield 3 for the thirtieth time. They get so angry!! It's funny for the first time but then you think what the fuck? Who are this kids parents? Where are this kids parents?

    That shit is far worse than letting your kids play Amnesia.

    Depending on the child of course

    TheCygi posted: »

    i think the ESRB ratings are necessary, but that they really need to fine tune them. i mean, violence and suggestive content/dialogue has many

  • Honestly it is the content that will affect the person mentally and physically. If a child would not be affected by certain content unless he is very young Rated M games should vary

  • I'm sorry if i spelled vary wrong.

    Honestly it is the content that will affect the person mentally and physically. If a child would not be affected by certain content unless he is very young Rated M games should vary

  • edited February 2014

    I don't really want kids but if I had theme I would rather let them play TWD than watch kids rated movies like Homealone where a kid throws a brick from second floor on a guys head, something that would 100% cause a fatal injury in RL. Those ratings are completely wrong.

  • edited February 2014

    I'd rather kids played games than watched TV anyway.

    Shooters increase hand eye co-ordination. Some professional gamers have fighter pilot reflexes. At least that's what I was told at E-3 by this dude

    If it's games with character interaction it helps development by exposing young minds to new situations/ideas. Never a bad thing.

    Increases creativity for the reasons above.

    Burns off stress, but you still need exercise. Games exercise the mind.

    The idiot box does none of these.

    I don't really want kids but if I had theme I would rather let them play TWD than watch kids rated movies like Homealone where a kid throws a

  • edited February 2014

    There are obviously kids who play games regardless of rating, but I don't see cause to drop the system entirely. The same reason that a 9-year-old isn't allowed to walk into an R-rated movie alone, not everyone is going to think that their kid is ready for content like God of War.

    Then again, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't admit that my sister helped smuggle Resident Evil 4 to me back in middle school.

  • its probally ersb

    I don't get what you're saying? It's not telltale who gives the ratings.

  • Yes I guess you gotta have something, for those parents who worry about everything. It's really better just to smile and nod sometimes :)

    There's certainly some kids who shouldn't be weeing that sort of stuff, but personally I think there's no substitute for checking things out for yourself. At the end of the day, ratings are only opinions, often the opinions of more conservative people. They're certainly grossly unbalanced in their current form.

    Mikejames posted: »

    There are obviously kids who play games regardless of rating, but I don't see cause to drop the system entirely. The same reason that a 9-year

  • I was playing Grand Theft Auto, resident evil among other seriously fucked up games when I was like 6 and to be honest I think its made me a lot more mature to death, nudity, drugs etc.. When I eventually have kids of my own, ill be watching all the new horror movies with them. (I'm gonna have some messed up children..)

  • Keep them away from rape bullshit (I Spit On Your Grave) and torture porn and you won't go wrong.

    ruairi46 posted: »

    I was playing Grand Theft Auto, resident evil among other seriously fucked up games when I was like 6 and to be honest I think its made me a l

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