ID Requirement for M, AO Game Purchase
Today on Political Drama Hour, Variety reports that a new video game related bill is making the rounds. The proposition? ID boys and girls who want to buy M and AO rated games.
The “Video Games Endorsement Act” was suggested by Representative Lee Terry. Not only would ID checks be mandatory for kids with mere shadows on their chins and upper lips, but stores caught selling to minors could receive a fine.
I’m actually pretty supportive of the idea, minus one issue…
Mr Terry shouldn’t be the one proposing this bill. His pitch, as it were, stinks of the same clueless fear mongering dished up by the likes of Fox News:
“The images and themes in some videogames are shocking and troublesome. In some games high scores are often earned by players who commit ‘virtual’ murder, assault and rape. Many young children are walking into stores and are able to buy or rent these games without their parents even knowing about it. Many retailers have tried to develop voluntary policies to make sure mature games do not end up in the hands of young kids, but we need to do more to protect our children.”
(”Will somebody please think of the–!” etc.)
Is there any game out there that actually lets you commit “virtual rape?” I mean, an actual licensed game that I can buy off the shelf at EB or Wal-Mart? I’m not talking about homebrew bullshit.
Or Hot Coffee, which wasn’t rape in the first place. It was consensual dry-humping, and quite silly looking.
I’m not a Libertarian (I don’t know too many Canadians who are), so I don’t fear the Government or the introduction of new laws. I wouldn’t mind if they were introduced by politicians with a speck of brain matter, however. I was watching a Screw Attack video today on GameTrailers (I see and dodge your tomatoes) that mentioned one of the good things about the Wii is that it’s repairing gaming’s tarnished reputation. That’s worth an LOL. It takes one Manslaughter to undo the good press of a thousand Boomblox.
On the other hand, my sister in law teaches grade three, and her kids are constantly getting their hands on the likes of Grand Theft Auto and Halo. I just don’t think that’s right. It’s easy to say, “It’s up to the parents to police their own kids,” but it’s obvious that video games release spores that numb parents’ brains when it comes to the hobby. So few parents know anything about the ESRB, and they’re not willing to learn a whole new set of ratings, God forbid.
So it looks like the Government will get involved because the people who should be in charge of this matter are scratching their bums and letting Gordie do whatever he wants. And to be fair, Terry knows nothing about games, but his bill is still a good idea. Better than having to crusade uselessly against another Jack Thompson.
