W.T.F.
June 23rd, 2007
It is hard to be a gamer these days and not run into the controversy surrounding Manhunt 2 (via IGN). Perennial anti-gaming crackpot Jack Thompson started all of the bru-ha-ha by calling the game a “murder simulator” and by trying to block the game from reaching store shelves in much the same manner as he has done previously for the Grand Theft Auto series of games. (Both Manhunt 2 and the GTA series are produced by Rockstar Games a division of Take-Two Entertainment). Sadly, Cracker Jack seems to have prevailed in this case.
The British Board of Film Classification rejected the game for sale in the UK. Shortly thereafter, the US ratings board, the ERSB, handed down an Adults Only rating for the game. This last doesn’t seem, at first brush, like it is that big of a deal. Afterall, isn’t the sole purpose of such a rating system to tell consumers about the content of games prior to purchase so that they can make informed decisions on what is appropriate to buy for themselves and their children? Where this story gets truly tragic is the move by both Nintendo and Sony to forbid the release of Adults Only titles for their platforms.
Excuse me? Who do they think they are telling me what games I can and cannot play on the gaming console I purchased with my hard earned money? What happened to the laws of supply and demand? I know many gamers who simply cannot wait to get their greasy cheeto-stained fingers on a copy of this goriest of gory games. Last time I checked I was an adult so why should I be prevented from purchasing and playing a game which has been rated suitable for my consumption?
I know what you’re going to say. It isn’t the adults who will play the game that we need to worry about, it is the children. Well then, who in the hell appointed the video game console producers the custodians of my children’s well-being? As a soon-to-be first time parent, I am all too aware of the dangers and demons that lurk out in this big, bad world just waiting to prey on my as-yet unborn child. I am also very aware that it is the sole responsibility of myself and my wife to ensure that our child is protected from such. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Why do I have to be deprived of an excellent gaming experience simply because so many parents these days are just too damn self-absorbed or lazy to take responsibility for protecting their own children? If you are afraid of your child playing Manhunt 2, then you need to take a more proactive role in that child’s life. Do not buy your child Manhunt 2. Are you afraid of them playing it at a friend’s house? Get to know their friends’ parents. Get involved in their lives and take an active role in protecting them and raising them properly. I am sick and tired of having my life and freedoms restricted to protect the children of people who were never smart enough to become parents in the first place.
I think if we, as a society, are going to act like this then we need to take it all the way. We have ratings for movies but if the ratings for games aren’t enough to control who plays them, how can we rely on movie ratings to keep children from seeing movies they shouldn’t? Maybe the makers of DVD players and theatre projectors should no longer allow R-rated movies to be played in their devices. You never know, there might be a child in the audience who will be terribly harmed by such an experience. Of course, if the child has not been harmed by his parents’ obvious lack of concern or caring which has allowed him to find himself exposed to such a movie, he is likely tougher than we give him credit for.
Now that I think of it, I am a pretty busy person. Maybe we should extend this mentality all of the way so that I don’t have to put any effort into being a parent. Ban cars, they run kids over. Ban all chemicals, kids can get poisoned. Ban adults, they can abuse children. Or maybe we just need to ban shitty parents.
