There's a lot of griping from parents that retailers need to be more vigilant in who they sell titles with more mature themes to. Perhaps it would be better to hold the parents more accountable.

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Sign On the Dotted Line

We see it all the time in the press, in speeches from politicians, and from various parent groups: videogames are terrible, violent menace destroying the moral fibre of today’s youth. Whether or not you believe this, it’s usually the game publishers/developers, and the retailers that are held accountable whenever the subject comes up. Apparently those responsible for making and selling games should also be responsible for the children out there playing them, even when the kid is too young to be playing the game, and the parent who bought it can’t be bothered to fully understand that the game has a totally inappropriate level of violence for their young child. Is this line of reason a crock of hooey? You bet it is. There are plenty of people out there that want to place responsibility on the game industry to keep violent games out of children’s hands, even though it should be the parent’s job (whether or not they like it, this is part of the job description of raising a kid).

As such, I propose that game publishers and retailers start to require parents to sign waivers at the point of purchase, or agree to a terms of service upon initially loading a game. Both of these would put the onus of responsibility directly on the parent if their kid turns into an axe-wielding maniac after they start playing a game that is obviously not intended for their age group in the first place. This way those who make and sell games cannot be held responsible for anything that happens because a kid’s parents got him a game that he really shouldn’t be playing.

It’s obvious that there are a lot of parents out there that are just not up to the task, and buy games for their children without taking the time to see what the game is all about. Then they have the nerve to raise all hell when they see guns blazing, and blood splattering while junior is playing the game. Of course, the first thing they do is march down to the shop where they got the game, and scream at the manager for not telling them about the content of the game in the first place. Forget the fact

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that the game has a big, bold “M” right on the cover (*Pssst, that means it’s not for little kids*), or that the cashier mentioned on several occasions that the game is meant for an older audience. Come hell or high water, the parent will have their righteous indignation.

Sadly, we live in an increasingly politically correct world, where it is becoming more and more frowned upon to tell someone they’re a moron, even when they deserve it. It might hurt

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their feelings, and we certainly can’t have that, now, can we? It doesn’t matter how much of a half-assed job the parent is doing, it will always be someone else’s fault when something goes wrong, and the entertainment industry is a convenient target for this sort of mumbo jumbo. Game publishers and retailers aren’t going to find much sympathy with politicians or the press either, as both of these groups just love to tear into the game industry with all the manufactured, heartfelt altruism that they can muster. This just further cements the need for the industry to introduce waivers or terms of service, legally protecting them from crappy parents, self-righteous politicians, and fear mongering members of the mainstream press. No one else is going to help the game industry, so it needs to take steps to protect itself.

However, some may argue that by introducing these forms of legal protection, it would somehow be an admission of guilt on the part of the game industry that their titles were indeed a problem. The thing is, publishers have never denied that games could be dangerous in the wrong hands, potentially proving problematic for youngsters. That’s why there is a rating system in the first place. Titles with graphic violence are rated accordingly so that parents can know what they’re getting into when buying the game, and can put two and two together, realizing that certain games just aren’t suited for their 10 year old. Obviously, not enough parents are paying attention to this rating system, so more drastic measures need to be taken, hence the introduction of waivers and/or a TOS.

The game industry has been getting a bum rap for a while now over the violence in some of its titles, but all the people doing the complaining are staunchly against recognizing that it is up to the parents to decide what their kids do and don’t play. Maybe it’s time that the game industry said “Enough is enough” and made the less talented parents out there legally responsible for when their kid becomes not so right in the head after playing a game they shouldn’t have been in the first place. Just have mom and dad sign on the dotted line.

Mr. Nash

(March 9, 2005)


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