What the hell...

[Tonberry_Kid]

Alright while I was in Babbage's yesterday, I heard this guy talking to one of the employees...They were talking about how stupid some people were and everything about how "video games promote violence and corrupt our youth into thinking it is ok to steal cars, shoot cops, and kill hookers"...They continued talking for a bit and the employee said they're trying to put a 100% tax on "M" rated games.

Has anyone else heard anything about this???

[lord_carbo]

Re: What the hell...

I've heard something like awhile ago. The truth is, it isn't going to happen. There is no evidence supporting that video games promote more than a very small minority of violent acts, especially when you consider crime has gone down in the past decade.

PS It's stupid anyway. Just think about it. It's one of the dumbest things ever.

[Omeganitros]

Re: What the hell...

Though they're not really THAT alike, eveytime I hear about something like this, I think of how America went through two Red Scares.

[Grandiagod]

Re: What the hell...

Wouldn't a 100% tax double the price? I doub't they would do that.

[Shopowner200]

Re: What the hell...

I highly doubt they would put a 100% tax (That would be doubling the price). It is possible that they add a much smaller tax.

[-Jes-]

Re: What the hell...

There actually was an article lurking around the internet about an 8 year old boy stealing his teachers car and leaving school property with it. In all irony, his favorite game was, infact, Grand Theft Auto.

Discipline really needs to be put down to work against this type of thing. Yes, games like GTA/25 to Life/etc DO promote and put ideas in young childrens heads that it is okay to steal vehicles and whatnot. Which is mainly why they put out a 'You must be 17 to purchase an M rated game' law, which is probably the only thing the industry will do. It's making it so - unless your parent/guardian is dumb enough to buy you the game, you're just going to have to wait.

-Jes

[vashthestampede0987]

Re: What the hell...

I watched barney as a child and I like playing with small children, does that make me a bad person?

[Grandiagod]

Re: What the hell...

I watched barney as a child and I like playing with small children, does that make me a bad person?

Do you stick it in?

[evilbutterfly]

Re: What the hell...

100% tax = piracy goes through the roof

What they need to do is make sure that younger kids aren't playing M-rated games and aren't watching R-rated movies, and if they are, their parents are telling them that it's just a movie and that they shouldn't exhibit those behaviors. Younger kids have a harder time distinguishing reality from fiction. I remember when my little sister thought that cartoon characters would people in suits. She used to comment about how certain characters were "really good actors!" I think the real problem is that many/most American parents suck balls at parenting.

But overall, if somebody is crazy enough to kill people, they're going to do it no matter what. Violence in the media just gives them the idea earlier than they may have thought of it themselves. And even without M-rated games, there's plenty of violence in movies and TV, even in the news, which kids are encouraged to watch.