08-15-2005, 09:41 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Junkie
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Do parents really care about game ratings?
From joystiq, linking to the BBC site they reference.
http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000807054464/
Quote:
Posted Aug 15, 2005, 10:00 AM ET by Conrad Quilty-Harper
Related entries: Culture, PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox
gta san andreas
The BBC has released an article on the subject of parent’s views of game ratings, with the summary that a majority of parents don’t care about game ratings. The article brings evidence that the ratings system isn’t the problem, it’s the awareness of the games purchaser that needs to be addressed. You could have a ratings system that requires fingerprint identification, voice print id and a 30 second lecture by the nearest concerned game shop attendent, but it still wouldn’t stop a parent that doesn’t care or doesn’t know why a game is rated above their child’s age. The article even suggests that rating games 18+ can make the game more appealing, and therefore more children ask mom or dad to go and buy it for them. The study that the article is based upon won’t be light reading for anyone involved in the creation or marketing of violent games.
Obviously the question now is; what does the game industry do about it? My opinion is that the solution lies in moving gaming (in particular violent gaming) into a more mainstream arena so adults have some idea of what their kids are drawn to. The ironic solution may be to get more adults to play violent games!
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4118270.stm
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Parents 'ignore game age ratings'
By Alfred Hermida
Technology editor, BBC News website
Screenshot from Manhunt
The Rockstar game Manhunt made the headlines last year
Parents tend to ignore warnings on games that say they are unsuitable for children, research shows.
A study commissioned by the UK games industry found that parents let children play games for adults, even though they knew they were 18-rated.
"Most parents think their child is mature enough so that these games will not influence them," Modulum researcher Jurgen Freund told a games conference.
The report reflects concerns about children playing violent video games.
Gore and carnage
The issue rose to prominence last year when the parents of a 14-year-old blamed the game Manhunt for his death.
Police investigating the murder dismissed its influence and Manhunt was not part of its legal case.
Parents perceive age ratings as a guide but not as a definite prohibition
Jurgen Freund, Modulum
But the case rekindled the debate over 18-rated games that appeared to relish in gore and carnage.
Like movies, all games receive an age classification. This works through a two-tier system involved the British Board of Film Classification and a voluntary European setup known as Pegi.
But the research presented at the Elspa (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) summit in London suggests that few parents pay much attention to the age ratings.
Magic number
Ironically, most people knew that games had age ratings, the study by the Swiss research firm Modulum showed.
US parent looking at video games
Video games have to carry labels with age ratings
However, parents were still letting their children play 18-rated games.
"Parents perceive age ratings as a guide but not as a definite prohibition," said Jurgen Freund, Modulum chief executive.
"Some may have not liked the content but they did not prohibit the game."
The research showed that parents were more concerned about children spending too many hours playing games, rather than about what type of title they were playing.
And to a certain degree, sticking an 18-rating on a game made that title more desirable.
"We called it Magic 18," said Mr Freund. "The 18+ label was seen as promoting the content, promising adult content rather then saying 'my parents will stop me playing this.'"
Leisure disconnect
Mr Freund suggested that the problem was that parents felt disconnected from the world of video games and so showed little interest in this aspect of their children's lives.
Screenshot from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was last year's best-selling game
"Parents are too divorced from what teenagers play," he said.
The study has not yet been finalised but it makes for uncomfortable reading for the games industry.
"It raises more questions than answers," commented Nintendo's UK boss David Yarnton.
"We need to look at solutions and as an industry we are quite united on this."
Ways of making parents more aware about the age ratings of games were discussed last December at a meeting between UK government officials, industry representatives and the British Board of Film Classification.
The number of games aimed at adults has increased in recent years, as the average age of gamers has risen.
Games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, last year's best-selling title, tend to receive most of the media attention.
But 18-rated games only make up a small number of software released each year.
Between January 2003 and July 2004, just 16 out of the 1,208 games on sale in the UK were given a 18+ certificate.
Around 1,000 UK adults were interviewed by phone for the Modulum study. A further 100 people who questioned after buying a video game and in-depth interviews were held with 18 teenagers.
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And there's the crux of the problem. Parents just don't care about the letter on the box. Video games are still regarded as froo-froo entertainment by many individuals and not treated as a serious medium. I mean, it's like the way people perceived anime back in the 90's. Most people thought it was a cute little cartoon sent overseas by those quaint little japanese folk. Then they saw Akira. |
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