Jack Thompson, Parents, and Gaming

Jimmy James 70 Says: In the following article, Kube00 maintains that some extremists, like Jack Thompson, like to use video games as the reason for violence in today’s youth. He continues to say that parents are responsible for their children’s actions.

As the founder and Executive Editor of The Goozex Report, and the father of 2-year old twins, I feel it necessary to throw my opinion into the ring.

To tackle the issue of characters like Jack Thompson, I must state that people like him are solely in it for the publicity and to make a name for themselves. It’s always the extreme radicals that grab the headlines, and in the process, make some money and a name for themselves. Back in the 1980’s, rock n roll and Ozzy Ozbourne were the equivalent of video games. There were several court cases in which Ozzie’s music was held responsible for teenage suicides. The cases were dismissed, much like Jack Thompson.

There have been study after study about violence and sex in the movies and on television and that we must protect our children from such horrors. The basic arguments are, does the media reflect society, or does society reflect the media? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? I’ll stop here before I start re-writing my old college papers… I will say this though, there will be another Jack Thompson, and there will be another target, but they will be dismissed just as all their predecessors were.

Society is responsible for the welfare of one another. In the United States, we happen to live in a warrior culture, and that is reflected in the movies we watch and the games we play. Perhaps one day that will change and there will be peace on earth. Maybe. One day.

To tackle the issue of parenting, well, that’s a whole other story. Parents are responsible for the safety and well being of their children and to teach them right from wrong. Teachers also share in this responsibility. Friends and neighbors share in this as well. Anyone and everyone that is an influence in your life helps shape your perspective on this world. After a child leaves the house, they become responsible for themselves and those they care for. At this point, when the child leaves the home, hopefully they have learned the lessons taught to them. That’s all anyone can hope for.

Kube00 Says: Jack Thompson is a name that strikes fear into gamers. He is the lawyer known for going after video games and their connection to juvenile crimes for a variety of reasons; mainly to highlight the “evils” in video games. He is best known for going after gaming giant Rockstar and its publisher Take-Two Interactive for the Grand Theft Auto series. He’s also gone after Midway for Mortal Kombat.
He tried to change the ESRB ratings, and ban the sale, for such games as Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Bully, Manhunt 2, as well as a few others.* He was fascinated with the idea of preventing retailers from selling some of the games listed above because they “glorified violence, made it pleasurable,” and contained sex, nudity, drugs, as well as several other mature themes. Thompson sees violent video games as an outlet to blame people’s actions upon, especially those of young teens who steal cars, shoot up schools, and act like the laws don’t exist.

One of the oddest things he tried to place blame on dealt with trying to connect the Virginia Tech shooting and the shooter Seung-Hui Cho with the game Counterstrike. Thompson stated Seung-Hui had learned to kill from the game because it, "drills you and gives you scenarios on how to kill them [and] gets you to kill them with your heart rate lower.” Seung-hui hadn’t played the game since high school and there was no connection. It’s like blaming Marilyn Manson for the Columbine Shootings.* Right….

Well, let me ask this question. Where were the parents in all of this? Shouldn’t they be teaching their sons and daughters right from wrong? Most people understand what takes place in video games is not possible in real life. You can’t commit a carjacking, rob a bank, or run down pedestrians in a delivery truck and get away with it. And besides, I’m sure most of us have seen “R” rated movies and played mature game before we were 17, and most of us function normally in society.

I may be preaching to the choir, but honestly, parents need to take some time and do some “parenting;” and lead by example. Pay attention to what is going in your sons’ and daughters’ lives. Video games are fun and full of senseless violence, but they don’t teach gamers how to kill, and they should not be teaching what is right or wrong. The parents should be teaching their children and not video games. If anything, the average gamer learns how to improve their hand-eye coordination.

Society can’t blame GTA III for what little Tommy does in his daily life, that’s just an excuse. The parents need to be held accountable for their children. If anything, I didn’t mean to preach, I just wanted to shed some light on something I think gets swept under the rug or miss directed. Also, I’m sure gamers haven’t seen the end of Jack Thompson, although it seems the Florida Bar has imposed sanctions on him. Until then, just remember, it’s just a game.

*Information taken from Wikipedia.

Disclaimer: this is just the opinion of one writer, kube00, and does not reflect the ideals or opinions of The Goozex Report.

Sex and Extreme Violence in Video Games

MrWeymes Says: Without a doubt, video games are one of the most heavily censored forms of media available. If the ESRB feels that a certain scene or gameplay segment is too violent or sexual, it either gets cut, or heavily edited to secure a mature (M) rating. Sure, a developer could always decline changing their product in anyway and opt for an adult only (AO) rating, but that would pretty much be financial suicide for that game. Most major retailers refuse to carry games that receive the AO rating, which in turn persuades developers to tone down their games. If a game were to receive an adult only rating, it would most likely be limited to online sales, which would undoubtedly not make as much money as it would were it released in retail stores as well. Should the ESRB be more lenient when it comes to mature games, or should major retailers relent and carry adult only games?

As far as most of the media is concerned, video games are for children. Granted, children do play video games. However, there is also a very large adult gaming population that contributes tremendously to the video game industry. Films have had full frontal nudity, sexuality, mature themes, and extreme violence in them for decades. Video games haven't been as fortunate. There have been adult only games around for over a decade, but they are rarely anything more than interactive porn. The production values are low, and the intent to sell to horny gamers is obvious. Over the past few years, game developers have been pushing the envelope when it comes to the mature rating. The ESRB does allow frontal and rear nudity, extremely tame sex scenes as seen in Mass Effect, considerable gore, and plenty of foul language. There is no denying that there is progression in the adult content allowed in mature rated games.

Although it's clear that many adults play video games, a good portion of the media just can't seem to grasp that these games with sex, nudity, gore, violence, and foul language are not meant for children to play. These games are intended for adults, and will only be sold to adults in major retailers because of store policies. If the media could grasp this concept, then we wouldn't be seeing every news station covering "violence in Grand Theft Auto 4," or "sex and nudity in Mass Effect." There is rarely a media explosion of sorts when a film has a couple of naked people having sex throughout the storyline, or a young girl getting mutilated by some random psychopath. However, video games just don't get the same respect. It's engrained in most people’s heads that video games are for children. There needs to be a change in the way the media perceives video games as a whole. Much like the film industry, there are games geared towards children, there are games geared towards teenagers, and there are games geared towards adults. A man or woman that is eighteen years or older should be able to see, or participate, in almost any sexual act that a developer sees fit to include in their game; as well as seeing, or participating in any brutal, violent act that a developer sees fit to include in their game.

It's ignorant to believe that because a movie gets an R rating, or a game gets an M rating that it won't be watched, or played by under aged people. At the end of the day, the MPAA, and the ESRB aren't going to march in to a person’s home, and scold underage people for attempting to watch, or play media with adult content. It is a parent’s responsibility to monitor what their children are watching and playing. If they feel that an underage person is mature enough to watch or play media with adult content, then that is their business. If they are not doing their parental duties by monitoring what their children watch or play, then that is not the fault of the film maker, or video game developer for creating such content, but the fault of the parents.

Adults do not want, or need the ESRB forcing cuts and edits on developers because there is a chance that a minor will play a mature rated game. Adults do not need to be protected from adult content. It's silly to have a mature rated game edited because it's "too violent" or has "too much nudity and sexuality." If a game is meant to be played by people seventeen and older, then it shouldn't have to be edited to be more appropriate for children. Perhaps that is the loophole to the M rating that keeps adults from getting the content they are entitled to. An M rating concerns people "seventeen and older," which is odd because at the age of seventeen, you are still a minor legally. Perhaps the M rating needs to be revised so that only people eighteen and older are able to purchase them. By doing that, it's possible that adults can enjoy the content they are entitled to.

Apart from an M rating revision, there is only one way to get the content that adults deserve, and that is for most or all major retailers to start allowing the sale of adult only games. The problem with this is that by allowing adult only video game sales, retailers can’t discriminate against the adult only games that are strictly porn. So, major retailers carrying adult only games is not likely. Game developers deserve the right to have artistic freedom. Hopefully, this isn't just a far-fetched dream, but a soon to be reality.