I won't deny that violent video games can have an effect on people...And I won't say that I'm surprised by this developement...But I also see the problem with allowing a minor to buy "The Passion of The Christ" or "Dawn of the Dead" but not being able to buy a mature rated video game...It's that old american double standard...If you can download it off the internet, better make it easily available to kids who want to pay for it as well...

Finally someone else agrees with me, that video-games rule. I also like that they had to resort to using the columbine theory as well. I think someday someone should make a game where you run around and shoot little baby puppies and have marilyn manson do the soundtrack, if for no other reason than just to show it to these "lawmakers".

I thought there already was a way to prevent minors from buying adult rated games, it's called the ESRB.

but salespeople often don't give a crap about the ratings. they'll make the sale regardless of who's buying it. from what i gather, the bill is aiming at penalizing the retailers for sales of mature rated games to minors, something like the way a convenience store would get penalized for selling cigarettes to minors.

i personally think its a good idea - you don't see video store clerks allowing minors to rent movies from the 'back room', and they shouldn't be allowed to give access to similarly rated video games.

Agreed. But I have a feeling it's not going to stop a lot of clerks. I've been renting gory, violent video games since I was 10. My little brother, who is 14 now, has been too. Granted it hasn't turned us into the gun wielding psychos that everyone's afraid of.

Now... where's my Medal of Honor... I have puppies to kick.

I must admit that i HATE Grand Theft Auto and what it stands for. If 16 year olds can't get into R rated movies, why should they be able to buy video games that in many cases, were they movies, be rated NC17 at least?

If the parents want their kid playing these games, they can come in and buy them, kids grow up too fast nowadays as it is. And maybe their will be less cries of "OMG CHEATER" crap in game also.

I can dream, at least.

As an (alleged) adult, I have to agree with the prohibition of sales to minors, not because it makes them more violent, but because I'm sick of getting my ass handed to me in Mortal Kombat by my 12 year old cousin.

If they think that violent video games are the sole cause, try playing pong for 4 hours... then you'll really want to kill someone.

As for this? I'm going to throw barrels off my roof, then maybe sue Donkey Kong for making me do it. They only blamed GTA because they're too young to think of any real life things to relate it to...

Best idea ever!

omg whatever.

the new 'mortal kombat'? for those of you who don't know anything about video games (say, the good people of rochester university), you will be able to count how many people buy that on one hand when it comes out. it's a dead franchise. real threat to national security

[Edited on Jul 07, 2004 by Scuderiaferrari]

waste of american taxpayer's money.


parent's should do do better at parenting, not video game companies.

And I care why? I'm 27. I can buy whatever the hell I want. =)

i have agrued constantly on this. it doesnt really apply to me anymore, since i'm 20 though.

a girl i went on a date with, was murdered a month later by a kid who happened to play grand theft auto 3. they turned to rockstar games and put the heat on them because of this murder. well, it obviously isnt the game. me and my friends have played games like grand theft auto and a lot more all our lives, are we out there murdering people? no. if you look at the kid's history, he's been in and out of juvi, his mother doesnt care about him, and his father is in jail for life, for what? MURDER.

dont blame the games, blame the parents. maybe the game triggered it, but that isnt the game's fault. would you blame the news if some kid saw a story about a murder or school shooting and decided to do it? no, you wouldnt turn any heat on the media.

Personally, I feel that only those people who are completely Schizophrenic would get the inspiration to slaughter another human being from a video game. If violent video games has done one thing for me, its that they serve as a vent, to release my anger. I realize what death is in the real world, so I put a few shells into some pixellated AI humans, and feel better. Also, Mortal Kombat is not a dead series, just look at the sales for Deadly Alliance compared to the other brawler games released.

Also robj has a damn good point, look at how these killers were bred and raised.

Look, forcing Frogger to cross a busy highway and watching Donkey Kong fall off a building traumatizes me and makes me affraid of crossing roads or pushing apes off of buildings!

Seriously, the second first person shooting games and realistic modelling came around all of the creativity in gaming was destroyed. Now the only think that seperates Quake III from Grand Theft Auto is a change of venue and a few rules. But that's it. So now games have "evolved" into the bad B-movie world where a "better" game has more blood and gore and that's it.

Storylines and costumes have replaced creativity in gaming. And it sucks. Say what you will about Pac Man and Tetris, but there was something more inherently creative in these limited/primitive worlds that you can't find in modern games.

[Edited on Jul 07, 2004 12:03PM]