So I just read the new rules thread regarding the 17+, sexual context and personal information protection topics that can be both blessings and curses. Then I started harkening back to my days as a kid, always wanting to play "grown up" games and faking my age on various game sites, forums, etc. As a child I wanted to be treated as an adult because it seemed "cool". Now lets look at various popular console franchises (Not naming names due to third party but you should know a few of them.) that are rated 18+. In my experience I have almost never entered a lobby in one such game without being welcomed by the squeaky voices of children, children that by the age rating should not be allowed to play or have access to the game itself due to inapropriate content. As I doubt a gaming store clerk would sell such games to minors it would seem that parents or older relatives are purchasing them as gifts for the underage. As the age rating systems are being disregarded so callously it is clear that parents do not care for them or in extreme cases, their own young relatives. This leads to a profit for the companies that make said games and in turn they do nothing about ut for their money is more imporrtant to them than future generations
I ask you as human beings, do you think PIMD shold walk the same path? If the income from players increase, yes the game may become better, but at the possible cost of the children of today. I cannot say that I approve of the rule channges myself however everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I know there are online gamers out there who can understand this view and for those who.cannot, please just keep it clean. Sorry to double post, droid forums are laggy and I had to submit due to it not letting me type for some reason. Thanks for reading
I can certainly see that becoming more apparent in the near future. There are just some things kids shouldn't see like genocide, discrimination, brutality and sexual content, I know that I would probably have been happier as a kid if I was never bought my first 28+ game for my 10th birthday. As ATA said, they have no means of verifying age, this just sounds like a cheap write-off for the issue to me. Plus you know something is wrong when a 12 year old kills you 50 times in one match.
I just dont get why they would want such a drastic change. I've seen countless MMOs grow by leaps and bounds by simply focusing less exclusively for the paying customer and listening to the majority...
It is difficult. I , now and then, love to waste hour or twoo on car racing game. My friend likes to come over and he has 5 years old boy. Wheel and pedals was spot on success and we were glad he can't come to any harm and we can have a chat with no : "Dad,dad,dad!". Well he learned the f word cos some other gamers were shouting it constantly into their mics. It is hard to guard it. This game can't switch off chat, just mute individuals. Chat is part of sound effects, so either no chat and no vavoom or minors shouting f•• while playing games at home and later at school yards. What can PIMD devs do ? Whatever they do underages are going to be here.
there gas been no change to ata's stance on sexual content. posting your sexual orientation is not sexually explicit and should not have been a silenceable offense to begin with… it's nice to see they finally realized that. as far as kids getting on a game meant for 18+, its the responsibility of their parents not ata's to verify those kids are the right age. until ppl are required to give up any anonymity on the internet, there's no way they (ata) can be held liable. why shift the blame of monitoring kids to a faceless company instead of their own parents? and your example of breaking the rules and playing/seeing games not appropriate for your age… hopefully you learned the lesson that will cause you to be more involved with your own kids so they dont repeat your mistakes.
I was not trying to "shift the blame to a faceless company", I was highlighting the facr that the companies in question don't care about the issue as long as they make their profit, a respectable business viewpoint but not a moral one. As was also highlighted with the responsibility of the parents, they take age ratings as a joke and even if they didnt their child would still have the desire and potential means to play them due to it being what the "cool kids" are playing. This is only natural for children though and it is the people around them who influence this behaviour. Some of whom may not even be aware of their influence due to basic human ignorance. As stated, this is merely my opinion, but I will elaborate upon it should one misinterprit it.
don't get defensive. if you're going to express your opinions, why would you think someone wouldn't express theirs as well. this is why forums suck now. ppl want to "express their opinions" but cannot have a discussion (which includes more than just your opinion)… and only know how to repeat themselves instead of bringing anything new to the table.
Children are not literally an extension of their parents. They are their own person, and if their parents were "foolish" enough to hand over their kids an iDevice containing a tool of mass destruction called the Internet, I am pretty sure they understand that their kid is capable of basic speech, or at least have enough trust. I'm not saying that all kids are saints and should be unmonitored, I'm saying that you shouldn't hold the parents liable either. The parents aren't "neglecting" the kids when the kids are oblivious to the dangers of the Internet, downloading strange games like PiMD, they're humans with two eyes, not five eyes in the front, three in the sides and one huge one at the back. Seriously, don't hold the parents liable for everything their kids do.
It's not 100% parents fault or anything like that, if a child had no one to rely upon to buy them said device how would it play out? We did pretty well before the internet was created, but now it just seems to be having a negative influence on the current generations... It can be used for both prodictive and destruction purposes, though the latter seems to be the more common these days.
there are tons of apps for monitoring and/or preventing your child from accessing harmful material. or the parent always has the option of not getting internet access on said device. but i guess that's too much to expect nowadays. how else are you supposed to be able to keep your kids occuppied and quiet without giving them whatever they want. and there's nothing to discuss with you chip, since you think a different opinion is a misconception. continue in your one sided ignorance…