Rep. Baca Introduces Legislation to Make Violent Video Games Sold With Health Warning

[95Viper]

I do not play video games to further myself. I play video games for relaxation and enjoyment.

My wife got me Crysis and warhead for Christmas and she got carded. She is way over 21. So the rating system works, no need for more crummy, useless legislation.

My son played and loved, and still does, so called violent video games; he is a CSI in Texas and got his Dive Master at age 16 (one of a very few). Yes, parents need to raise their children, the goverment doesn't.

Sorry, my aggressive tendencies have come out, I guess the games I play caused this...

 

[Homeless]

Doesn't really hurt games, so it doesn't bother me. But like others have said, it may lead to restriction escalation eventually. Hopefully not though

 

[The Witcher]

My thoughts exactly.

If war is what they want then we shall give it to them

Really, if they started to ban games then millions of gamers will have nothing to do and start doing bad things instead, like (taking drugs,alcohol addiction and smoking problems) believe me this is what will happen.

For example the Saudi youths don't have anything to do because the government banned a lot of games like GTA and God war..etc, so most of them has smoking problems and violence.

 

[Random Murderer]

And we'd probably be a better world because of it. Video games do nothing to further humans in any positive way.

the fact that you say that proves how ignorant you are.
not that i had any respect for you before, but if i had, you would have lost it.

we do not play games to further anyone. we do it for enjoyment and/or relaxation. i bet you watch tv or play video games or smoke or drink(i could go on). do any of these further anyone? that's what i thought. stfu.

edit:
if you actually contemplate it, the development of games does further technology, which furthers society as a whole. if we were not playing video games, the developers would have nothing to do and therefore probably no longer exist, slowing advancements in certain technologies to a crawl.
think before you speak, and have a nice day.

 

[ShadowFold]

I'm only 16, I have been playing violent games all my life and I don't have a single violent thought in my mind. They need to do tests on people that don't have down syndrome or something..

 

[PCpraiser100]

GTA 4 and Saints Row has proved it's worth to parents, now that in those kind of games you can do anything in the dark side of life. From gangs to just plain gore sandboxing, parents should notice about these games more often especially when kids get away with it most of the time.

 

[ShadowFold]

GTA 4 and Saints Row has proved it's worth to parents, now that in those kind of games you can do anything in the dark side of life. From gangs to just plain gore sandboxing, parents should notice about these games more often especially when kids get away with it most of the time.

I was playing Saints Row 2 last night..

 

[VIPER]

What company will be chosen to print the labels? Some relative with the nice congressman? Since there are millions of labels to be done, all I can see here is another "legal" business to earn some "legal" money...

 

[newtekie1]

Yep, because those labels on the cigerrettes really stop people...

 

[alexp999]

What company will be chosen to print the labels? Some relative with the nice congressman? Since there are millions of labels to be done, all I can see here is another "legal" business to earn some "legal" money...

I would imagine it would just be added as a mandatory thing on the product packaging, say something like this:

 

[hAKtivate]

I'm sick of this, I really want to bitch slap these ignorant people who blame games because their children go and beat up other people or shoot them.

Someone has been playing too many video games.

 

[VIPER]

I would imagine it would just be added as a mandatory thing on the product packaging, say something like this:

Yes, maybe in a perfect world... Come on, there is always a catch like this... I have a lot of examples (at least in my country, but I am sure the examples are worldwide)...

 

[farlex85]

Although I am no proponent of censorship, it has been a pretty consistent finding in a number of different studies that modeling does indeed take place, and watching aggressive acts can lead to aggressive tendencies. Of course, this is only part of the equation, and you won't find actual researchers claiming school shootings are b/c of video games; temperament (which appears to be largely genetic) and mental stability and such of course play a big role. But it is an undeniable fact though that we are to some degree products of our environment. When that environment is violent, we can be as well. I'm all for the warning, I would much rather them slap that label there than try to control what is on the game. I'm all for education, I'm damn tired of control though (the public should be well-educated in sex, drugs, speeding, such, but should optimally not restricted from any of it is my current thoughts).

 

[Random Murderer]

Although I am no proponent of censorship, it has been a pretty consistent finding in a number of different studies that modeling does indeed take place, and watching aggressive acts can lead to aggressive tendencies. Of course, this is only part of the equation, and you won't find actual researchers claiming school shootings are b/c of video games; temperament (which appears to be largely genetic) and mental stability and such of course play a big role. But it is an undeniable fact though that we are to some degree products of our environment. When that environment is violent, we can be as well. I'm all for the warning, I would much rather them slap that label there than try to control what is on the game. I'm all for education, I'm damn tired of control though (the public should be well-educated in sex, drugs, speeding, such, but should optimally not restricted from any of it is my current thoughts).

the whole reason the esrb and other ratings boards were created was to put labels on these games saying what it contained and who its target audience should be. why do we need another label? if parents and retailers don't enforce what's already in place, then adding another label isn't going to help.

 

[CStylen]

now I know who NOT to vote for...

This is just another baby step towards the US controlling what games can and cannot be sold here. Just forget about people making decisions for themselves, the government will do it all for you...

 

[farlex85]

the whole reason the esrb and other ratings boards were created was to put labels on these games saying what it contained and who its target audience should be. why do we need another label? if parents and retailers don't enforce what's already in place, then adding another label isn't going to help.

True, it may be a bit gratuitous. I can see though just from the comments in this thread than many are unaware of the scientific research that has been done surrounding this, and the findings it has produced. If a label is needed to make those aware, that isn't necessarily a bad thing to me.

now I know who NOT to vote for...

Cause you didn't before.....

 

[CStylen]

I understand how some parents aren't up on the current games, which may need a label, but when the guy on the box cover is holding a gun....might be a little suspicious.

 

[Random Murderer]

True, it may be a bit gratuitous. I can see though just from the comments in this thread than many are unaware of the scientific research that has been done surrounding this, and the findings it has produced. If a label is needed to make those aware, that isn't necessarily a bad thing to me.

i can see your point as well, but i am one of those aware of the research and i still think this is redundant and unneeded. the warning is already on the box in a black and white square with the esrb logo on it. people need to stop trying to add precautions and use what's already in place.
people should already be aware, and if they're not, just look at the box of the game/movie/album. if there's a person hanging out of the side of a car firing a gun(ala saint's row 2) there's a pretty good chance the game is violent. if that's not warning enough, look for the ratings board logos: esrb/pegi/grb classification, explicit content warning, or mpaa/bbfc/oflc rating. most of the time, it's on the FRONT of the case as well as the back.
people need to take responsibility for what their children/teens see and stop blaming everyone else.

 

[farlex85]

i can see your point as well, but i am one of those aware of the research and i still think this is redundant and unneeded. the warning is already on the box in a black and white square with the esrb logo on it. people need to stop trying to add precautions and use what's already in place.
people should already be aware, and if they're not, just look at the box of the game/movie/album. if there's a person hanging out of the side of a car firing a gun(ala saint's row 2) there's a pretty good chance the game is violent. if that's not warning enough, look for the ratings board logos: esrb/pegi/grb classification, explicit content warning, or mpaa/bbfc/oflc rating. most of the time, it's on the FRONT of the case as well as the back.
people need to take responsibility for what their children/teens see and stop blaming everyone else.

I agree with all of that for sure. I guess I should have said that it wouldn't bother me one bit if the label was there, but I don't think it's necessarily needed. It really is common sense too, as you are saying, parents shouldn't be shocked that a game with violence on the front of the box may inspire aggressive behavior to some degree. You have to spell it out for some though.....

 

[Random Murderer]

I agree with all of that for sure. I guess I should have said that it wouldn't bother me one bit if the label was there, but I don't think it's necessarily needed. It really is common sense too, as you are saying, parents shouldn't be shocked that a game with violence on the front of the box may inspire aggressive behavior to some degree. You have to spell it out for some though.....

people are stupid. period.
for example: there's a lawnmower called the "flymo." it has no wheels, it hovers. after the initial production run, there needed to be a warning and a new carburetor fitted. why? because some moron decided to trim his hedges with it. he lost grip and cut his friend's arm off.
honestly, sometimes i think we should just remove the warning labels from everything and let the problem solve itself.

 

[farlex85]

people are stupid. period.
for example: there's a lawnmower called the "fly-mow." it has no wheels, it hovers. after the initial production run, there needed to be a warning and a new carburetor fitted. why? because some moron decided to trim his hedges with it. he lost grip and cut his friend's arm off.
honestly, sometimes i think we should just remove the warning labels from everything and let the problem solve itself.

I have no counter to that point. Sounds about right.

 

[DrPepper]

people are stupid. period.
for example: there's a lawnmower called the "flymo." it has no wheels, it hovers. after the initial production run, there needed to be a warning and a new carburetor fitted. why? because some moron decided to trim his hedges with it. he lost grip and cut his friend's arm off.
honestly, sometimes i think we should just remove the warning labels from everything and let the problem solve itself.

I can't believe he lost control of a lawnmower.

 

[DaedalusHelios]

Not like the label will make a difference.

Put the label on all alcohol saying: "May cause excessive stupidity. Do not operate large machinery including a motor vehicle and construction equipment."

You still will most likely have massive amounts of drunk drivers murdering whole families on the US roadways. A label changes nothing.

For all children to get psychologically checked every few years is more important than limiting what they may play on a console. That way if a child is struggling with sanity you can help them. Videogames may be the only outlet for expressing psychotic behavior and keeping it in check for all we know.

 

[thoughtdisorder]

As a parent myself, I tend to believe that yet another label is BS. As RM and Farlex have already discussed, there currently are ratings on these games. If they're not sufficient perhaps parents themselves need to start being held accountable for not paying attention to their children enough.

Too often in today's society it seems we point the finger at everything but what is really the cause of problems. There is NO excuse for not knowing what your kids are watching, who they're hanging out with, etc. Make time to do this, period.

The school system is the same way. The "under achievers" are typically the same students whose parents have never shown up for an open house and are not engaged in their child's school experience. These are typically the first parents that will stand up and shout out that the school system is not doing enough for their kids. Bullshit.

Bottom line, pay attention parents or a thousand labels won't help. Rant over.

 

[Thermopylae_480]

It is the responsibility of the parents to be aware of what they are purchasing for their children, and purchase products that reflect their views on parenting. The video game industry is not guilty of any wrongdoing and does not need to be legislated to and treated like a criminal. If any irresponsibility is truly occurring it is on the parents side.