He was almost reasonable. Going on TV and advising parents to pay attention to what their children are playing is good.

Interjecting the mistaken opinion that GTA will poison their children is bad. If he told them that it contained content that the MIGHT not want their child exposed to...good.

[i]they can fall victims to the unscrupulous, complex morals presented in this particular game…[/i]

:facepalm:


[i]One of the top video games for boys in grades 3 to 6 is Grand Theft Auto…[/i]

:facepalm(again):

[i]...to ensure that the developmental needs of children and youth are met in an increasingly electronic age…[/i]

LolWUT!?
:facepalm:

Seriously, will they ever give it a rest!?

Maybe I'm being unfair. I guess my brother (in fourth grade) will probably do his best to play GTA IV, despite the efforts of my parents.

He doesn't say 'ban teh games'. He says 'raise teh awareness', and I'm fine with that.

Sorry mate. I judge too harshly too quickly.

Note:
Not all Canadians are like this.
At least he is putting most of the blame on parents and not on the development companies despite his very obvious and far-from-correct points.

Looks like this one too has been shovelfed sh#! from the tabloids and thusly brainwashed, yet still has good intentions deep down (as evident in his "awareness" including parents themselves).

I like how he pulls that 'Grades 3-6' stuff out of his ass without any sort of backing to it.

You know, what he's saying isn't far off what needs to be said. Responsibility IS needed.

Look, it's not like he's saying the game is evil at all. He didn't even bash it at all. Like Skylar said, he's placing the emphasis right where it needs to be.

You guys are acting like Jack Thompson.

"First!?

“One of the top video games for boys in grades 3 to 6 is Grand Theft Auto…”

Stopped there. "



"Seriously, will they ever give it a rest!?"

-Altair


A good question, Altair. My question is, Will you?

(not you, Altair. Flamers in general.)

Yeah, have to agree - it seems like he is more just appealing to people to use common sense and look outside of the box for answers.

And yeah - lots of boys at those age just love GTA - I would have.

It's funny how everyone goes on like, OMGZ!! a 10 year old is playing GTA!!!!

But, I recall being that age in the 70's - all that was on TV was cop shows it seemed like - that were cops getting killed by psychos - psycho cops doing the killing (Magnum force for example) and all the like - and if it wasn't that it was horribly mind damaging sitcoms like Three's Company and Laverne and Shirley - sex jokes on and on... bad ones at that - and yes, at my age I clearly understood what they were.

Yet - GTA is so horrible?

It would be nice if these types of people would learn to STFU and let parents exercise discretion. Besides, the clerk at the cash is very able to ask the parents if they are aware of the rating of the game. The parent says yes, no problem.

Most parents are aware of what the ratings mean. Some just feel that their children are mature enough to handle the game and don't need some talking head to tell them to watch out.

"complex morals"

Horror of horrors, morality that isn't black and white!

Still, pretty reasonable comments for one of the usual crowd of alarmists. From reading the actual piece, it seems like he's at least taken a look at the game to boot.

Yeah I stopped reading at "grades 3 through 6." I have no time for people with no credibility. Anyone who does not research a topic should be shot on sight. It's like crying "FIRE" in a crowded movie theater.

DrkMatter. I say that because A.) He does nothing to back it up either. As you yourself admitted everything is anecdotal. And B.) If it's popular among 3rd through 6th graders why is that? It couldn't be the advertising. You can like something all you want by just looking at it but until you play it you don't know. Who is letting 3rd through 6th graders play these games?

That should be the focus of any politico's ire.

Another old man talking about things that he doesn´t have the right facts. At least, he is not saying straight lies, but still, he is giving the right message in the wrong way.

"What we need in dealing with harmful materials and their exposure to children is a campaign of awareness - a collaborative approach that shares the responsibility amongst parents, children and youth, educators, government and industry."

Like, say, a rating system? MADNESS!

@Christian Astrup

Hell, I've been interested in politics since I was 12 or so.

To those rejecting this man's statement out of hand simply because he suggests violent mature games can have a deleterious effect on children: you are engaging in the same type of reactionary thinking we see from the likes of Jack Thompson. You refuse to listen to what he has to say. You refuse to remain open to the possibility that perhaps violent games such as Grand Theft Auto, which are intended for Mature audiences, could have a negative impact on young consumers not yet mature enough to appreciate the source material.

"One of the top video games for boys in grades 3 to 6 is Grand Theft Auto"

Says who?

If he would just have LEFT OUT this alarmist, opinionated statement it would be a well thought out message.

I don't recall EVER when I was in 3rd grade having the attention span nor the maturity to enjoyably play or even understand what GTA was (the crime or the game). Mario Bros and Zelda were the titles to have then and I suspect those are the same today. Well, at least "M" rated games aren't the top video games for grades 3-6.

Reasonable, constructive messages reminding parents that "M" is a mature rating and not for kids is fine. Those who feel they have to do a bit of fearmongering to get their message out really need to just sit down and shut up. They do nothing but demonize the entire industry and make it worse for EVERYONE. Parents are confused because of all the misinformation they get. With all the misstated facts and outright lies (yeah I'm lookin at you on that one JT) it makes parenting video games VERY DIFFICULT. When all your information is tainted you go to a trusted source and that trusted source will be the child. We all know that any kid will manipulate to get what he/she wants if they want it badly enough.

Is it REALLY that hard to simply say that GTA is a game for adults and thusly is rated "M" for mature, so please review the contents carefully before deciding to buy the game for your children?

There. I just said it in one simple paragraph...

No grandstanding. No BS to make it sound like I'm protecting the children. A simple message that relays, "Hey parents we've got your back because you work your asses off to raise your kids and we know you don't have a lot of time to invest making sure Timmy didn't get anything he shouldn't have."

Be for the people, not for your own personal agendas.

*puts soap box away*

grades 3 to 6? i didn't even know it existed when I was in third grade