Prime Minister to review videogames legislation

[HEXUS]

If I were a betting man, I'd bet that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown knows extremely little about the world of videogames, but that hasn't prevented him from joining in the videogames debate.

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[SuicidaL]

that's because there all a bunch of nobeads who haven't got the first clue. i love a good fragging session as much as the next man and the more gore the better, but it doesn't make me wanna go and do somebody over in the one of may various ways possible.

it's just a convenient excuse to cover their own cock-ups

why don't they just go a fix the things that they are supposed to...................i forgot they cock most of that up as well.

one name for them.......t00sers

[Steve]

'...calling for developers to take responsibility for "casual violence, the gang culture and the degradation of women" in videogames.'

It's appalling how little of this there is in games. Developers should strive to increase it.

[Ferral]

Think they need to be doing something wit regards to minors getting hold of the games. BBFC can slap an 18 on something but a youngster can still get hold of it due to parents and friends that are old enough. More awareness I think needs to be put at the forefront to help stop minors getting hold of stuff they shouldn't be playing.

I have passwords on all the exe files for the games on my system to stop my 3 going on when I'm not about and playing / seeing stuff they shouldn't.

[pollaxe]

Deep joy.. The National Nanny comes to smack our hands again. Parental responsibility is key, as above. You can't really legislate for that.

[Troopa]

that's because there all a bunch of nobeads who haven't got the first clue. i love a good fragging session as much as the next man and the more gore the better, but it doesn't make me wanna go and do somebody over in the one of may various ways possible.

it's just a convenient excuse to cover their own cock-ups

why don't they just go a fix the things that they are supposed to...................i forgot they cock most of that up as well.

one name for them.......t00sers

Surely if you are going to be negative towards the new PM you should atleast learn to spell correctly the words you try and use to flame the story. Perhaps the PM will introduce mandatory spelling tests for ADULT rated games and then not so many people like yourself will be cluttering up the servers..

I actually welcome any further regulation in this area. Not because there is a factual causal link between video games and actual violence, but because if more games were classified/enforced correctly, then more young people under age would have to concentrate on schoolwork, which video games are a major distraction from..

However to simply call the current administration turds without actually reading the substance of any proposed intervention, then you are merely another US type Redneck who believes gun ownership for all is a constitutional right..

[nichomach]

Deep joy.. The National Nanny comes to smack our hands again. Parental responsibility is key, as above. You can't really legislate for that.

QFT; that said, there really DOES need to be a serious attempt to enforce classifications and educate parents that they're there for a reason. That said, idiots aren't an endangered species - well, except when they endanger themselves...

[directhex]

Dear David Cameron,

I find myself deeply concerned this morning by reports in the media that you're putting the battered target of electronic games in your sights, as
something to blame for crime these days.

Society didn't crash with punk rock, jazz, comic books, or any other form of media that those younger than those in power have enjoyed over the
ages, and I'm quite disappointed that any MP under the age of 50 would carry on the endless "new media will kill us all" cycle with the usual
tired rhetoric.

Violent video games are absolutely not suitable for children. Perhaps we should have some kind of mechanism in place to rate such media, with
legal standing and enforcement, to try and keep them out of the hands of those who are not mature enough for a given title - perhaps, say, the way
the BBFC have been doing for more than a decade (backed by legislation in the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994). The same penalties apply
to stores selling or renting adult-rated games to children as, for example, renting 18-rated horror movie Child's Play 3 to a pair of
10-year-olds.

Research carried out by the BBFC (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/news/stories/20070417.html) shows that players are more than capable of distinguishing
between on-screen violence and the real thing, and even that people who play violent games are MORE upset by TV violence than those who don't. The
problem highlighted in the report is that parents are happy to buy 18-rated games for their young children, as games with titles like "Killzone"
are obviously fine for kids. Then again, I suppose telling parents to take some responsibility and parent their kids isn't a way to win votes, is
it? I look forward to you taking the nanny state one step further, with the help of a modern bogeyman!

Yours sincerely,

Jo Shields

[nichomach]

Surely ...cluttering up the servers..

Flame? Pot? Kettle?

I actually welcome any further regulation in this area.

ANY? Regardless of what it is? That doesn't seem very sensible to me.

Not because there is a factual causal link between video games and actual violence, but because if more games were classified/enforced correctly, then more young people under age would have to concentrate on schoolwork, which video games are a major distraction from..

Your assumption is, then, that they are only going to be distracted by games which feature violent or adult-themed content, and not by football games, racing games, skateboarding games... It's an unwarranted assumption, given the popularity of genres which DON'T feature violent or adult-themed content. If anything it's even more ludicrous than the seriously credibility-deficient causal link argument that you distance yourself from.

It would be more to the point to educate parents that classifications are there for a reason; if they go on to disregard those classifications then bluntly that's a problem with the parents, not the legislation.

However to simply call the current administration turds without actually reading the substance of any proposed intervention, then you are merely another US type Redneck who believes gun ownership for all is a constitutional right..

Really? I didn't realise that you could actually kill someone with a video game; what calibre are they, and where can I get the ammo? To compare a presumption that the freedom to publish and purchase content should be protected with the second amendment (by the way, the redneck who believes gun ownership is a constitutional right is correct; that's explicitly what the second amendment enshrines) is ludicrous. We already have legislation that restricts the sale of adult content to adults; if that is being deliberately sidestepped by parents/family etc, then they need fixing, not the law, and the rights of responsible adults should not be abrogated because of their idiocy.

edit: Bravo, Jo.

[StoX]

The government will probably waste more money (and time), then decide it's best to stick some great black and red sticker over the box of any game rated 15 and over.

[kalniel]

Wait a minute. Don't be guilty of jumping onto bandwagons that may not even exist. Just as JT jumps onto anything in a box there are some people who jump onto any whiff of legislation and deride it before actually checking.

The only thing I can find that's relevant is

He said he was aware of growing concern about the effect of screen violence on youngsters. And he would study whether new rules are needed on advertising and sale of violent games to them.

The research link isn't from Brown, it's from the Mirror themselves. As far as I can tell, Brown is saying he's aware that people are concerned. There are two reasons for that: either there is something to be concerned about, or people are wrongly concerned. Brown does not stipulate which of the two it is but instead says they'll study it.

That is, ultimately, the job of government - to look into the concerns of the people and see if there's any merit to them, and address them one way or another, either by fixing the cause, or fixing the misplaced concern.

[SuicidaL]

Surely if you are going to be negative towards the new PM you should atleast learn to spell correctly the words you try and use to flame the story. Perhaps the PM will introduce mandatory spelling tests for ADULT rated games and then not so many people like yourself will be cluttering up the servers..

well between this one and the last i don't see a whole lot to get excited about. but that's for another debate.

I actually welcome any further regulation in this area. Not because there is a factual causal link between video games and actual violence, but because if more games were classified/enforced correctly, then more young people under age would have to concentrate on schoolwork, which video games are a major distraction from..

like that has ever stopped them before, so where do you start? sony/nintendo/ms or maybe developers being told to make nanny friendly games. theres a damn sight more violence on tv than in games. and a lot of it must come down to parental responsibility.

However to simply call the current administration turds without actually reading the substance of any proposed intervention, then you are merely another US type Redneck who believes gun ownership for all is a constitutional right..

did i mention the turd word......thought not. and by no means am i a redneck as you so beautifully described me. don't tar people with the same brush so go shove it in your bleedin heart liberal pipe and smoke it

[StoX]

lol, politics is a load of

wasn't it Manhunt that got banished from this country for being violent? Surely this shows that there is a system in place for games which are considered too violent??

[kalniel]

Quite. No-one's saying there isn't.

They're just saying that they've heard of concerns, so they're going to see what can be done about those concerns. Could be they can address them by making the advertising better fit the intended market.

[djfluff]

Prime Minister review # 1



" I Give Bioshock 9/10. It's Frikkin' Awsome "

[Troopa]

Flame? Pot? Kettle?


ANY? Regardless of what it is? That doesn't seem very sensible to me.



Your assumption is, then, that they are only going to be distracted by games which feature violent or adult-themed content, and not by football games, racing games, skateboarding games... It's an unwarranted assumption, given the popularity of genres which DON'T feature violent or adult-themed content. If anything it's even more ludicrous than the seriously credibility-deficient causal link argument that you distance yourself from.

It would be more to the point to educate parents that classifications are there for a reason; if they go on to disregard those classifications then bluntly that's a problem with the parents, not the legislation.



Really? I didn't realise that you could actually kill someone with a video game; what calibre are they, and where can I get the ammo? To compare a presumption that the freedom to publish and purchase content should be protected with the second amendment (by the way, the redneck who believes gun ownership is a constitutional right is correct; that's explicitly what the second amendment enshrines) is ludicrous. We already have legislation that restricts the sale of adult content to adults; if that is being deliberately sidestepped by parents/family etc, then they need fixing, not the law, and the rights of responsible adults should not be abrogated because of their idiocy.

edit: Bravo, Jo.

My comments in this area obviously upset a few of the sub standard members of the community. I stand by what i said. The original article was with regards to further attempts by the UK, yes UK government to try and remedy some of the harm being caused to infants and teenagers from online and games in general. My point made earlier was aimed at the actual ESRB classification that already exists which is like a token gesture from the industry to classify games. My view is that the government in the UK does have a role to play in monitoring this classification as it is clearly not working at the moment..

The people that disagree with my statement are the same people that believe eating fast food 6 days a week is healthy. I wasn't at all attempting to say that young people who play violent online games will go and kill people,, rather i am saying that not all violent online games should be available to young people and children who use their dads pc to play the games they should be studying,, or playing the sims.. ..

On the one hand i do agree with the flame message from nichomach that parents are responsible, but i disagree that my comments in this area should warrant the redneck response given.. I used the term redneck in my original post forum response to describe people who are seemingly incapable of understand both viewpoints and to describe the fundamental things wrong with the USA, to name just one of the problems!.

The right to own or use a gun is in the USA constitution which is over a trillion, (yes i know its not a trillion) years old.. Thank god the UK doesn't have a written constitution.. Yes it may be correct to use and own a gun in the USA, written a long time ago.... in the UK about 30 or 40 years ago a husband couldn't be prosecuted for raping his wife because the law didn't recognise consent of the spouse... are you saying that because this was the case 30 or 40 years ago that it should still be valid now?

shut up man/woman/child... i was merely showing support for legislation or further enforcement by the UK government to restrict further the ability of minors or people who are under 18 to use and play violent video games... not because of the possible causal link between these games and actual violence, but because kids should study and anything we offer or enforce to prevent or get in the way of this merely makes us a society of rednecks, like you!

support the UK government,, it will get better under cameron,, but moreover we have to work together to make it a better place, not just complain about the nanny state or the tax, or the enforcement of ESRB ratings to prevent minors using adult orientated games..

That was my point so go screw your wii and make yourself happy..