Who Here Has Ever Followed The Esrb Guideline?
<div class="IPBDescription">I could bet a million dollars on this...</div> I'm sure most of us here are part of the anti-censorship camp, but even most of us agree that children (those under the age of 12), should be watching sex and violence, and that this age group should have censorship applied to them.
That being said, has anyone ever actually adhered to the guideline?
I think I first saw/played Wolfenstein 3D at like seven or eight, (movies would have had an even earlier history). Now looking at the ESRB, I'm sure that was an "M" game, which would make it 17+. Truth be told, my parents never really cared about me playing violent games, but even if you have parents that restrict violent games on your TV, wouldn't you usually go to a friend's house whose parents didn't care? And would you be insane enough to tell your friend, "I'm sorry. My parents don't want me to look at such cool games. I'll just stare at this wall until you finish playing."
If you were normal, (I'm assuming all of you), then what, if anything, could your parents have done in order to make sure you were technically old enough before you could play/view such games?
That being said, has anyone ever actually adhered to the guideline?
I think I first saw/played Wolfenstein 3D at like seven or eight, (movies would have had an even earlier history). Now looking at the ESRB, I'm sure that was an "M" game, which would make it 17+. Truth be told, my parents never really cared about me playing violent games, but even if you have parents that restrict violent games on your TV, wouldn't you usually go to a friend's house whose parents didn't care? And would you be insane enough to tell your friend, "I'm sorry. My parents don't want me to look at such cool games. I'll just stare at this wall until you finish playing."
If you were normal, (I'm assuming all of you), then what, if anything, could your parents have done in order to make sure you were technically old enough before you could play/view such games?
Comments
For instance, back when I was in second grade, everybody had seen Robocop, an R rated movie that was very close to being rated X because it was so violent. Yet most of the boys had seen it. Same way w/ other R rated movies, all throughout life...
Quake 2 at 10.
HL at 13 I think.
Vice City at 16.
They never carded me for any game. Oh yeah, I now enjoy beating baby seals and my application to the NRA is in the mail.
At 7, I was playing MK. Duke Nukem at 7. Resident Evil at 11. GTA III at 13.
I was, however, prohibited to buy Resident Evil; Code Veronica when it was released cause the guy from the store said I didn't look old enough for the ESRB rating (which I wasn't and I still aint)
On vacation in the States, I got <i>carded</i> when I tried to buy Fallout. I'm 24 for god's sake!
So I guess at least retailers follow the guidelines, if consumers don't.
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lol, I always figgured they were suggestions (not enforced)
Then again my parents understand that I do know the difference between Reality and Fiction, thus I have always had an ok to go see what ever I felt like <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
So when I was 14 I bought half-life at a car boot sale when they wern't looking.
Me 1, Overprotective parents, 0
After that they didn't seem to mind any more. But then I was buying my own games by that point so they couldn't really stop me. Short of total computer bans but let's not go into my parent's torture devices.
I'm not saying I hate my parents or anything, tbh that's the most unreasonable thing they've ever done, but still. I was 14. Fourteen for crying out loud and they wouldn't let me play the coolest game in the universe (at the time).
*edit* went off-topic..... baleted *edit*
last year (14) i bought the following:
GTA:III, GTA:VC, SOCOM, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance and Half Life
before that, i bought:
Metal Gear Solid: Sons Of Liberty
Before that:
Metal Gear Solid
Even earlier (when i was 11-12)
Perfect Dark
all of the above are rated M, i have a bunch more lying around, somewhere
in short, hell no
Then again my parents understand that I do know the difference between Reality and Fiction, thus I have always had an ok to go see what ever I felt like <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Exactly.
I play ns or whatever and my dad plays Desert Combat, and he just bought me HALO:Combat Evolved for the PC. And im buying the Radeon 9600XT which is $400SGD here in singapore once it comes out.
you **** shouldn't be making me feel old, i'm only 23 ffs...
surely SOMEBODY else here saw Robocop when it was new? Anybody?
I have no curfew. They don't ask me where I'm going. They don't ask me who I'm with.
It has bred nigh-on teenage alcoholism in me, but other than that, I get straight A's in school and even do community service.
Then again, there are some kids who are just psycho, so the ratings aren't all bad. <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
robocop was new? wth?
robocop was new? wth? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yea you know there was this time when you were a little kid and there were people OLDER than you.. wait they still are.... I remember when Robocop came out, and I watched it.
you **** shouldn't be making me feel old, i'm only 23 ffs...
surely SOMEBODY else here saw Robocop when it was new? Anybody? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeh I did and christ did it disturb me, there was some scary crap in that film at the time for a youngster. The shotgun + hand scene still makes me cringe when I see it today.
Vulgar, what exactly is your beef with the ESRB? For christ sakes they don't even enforce anything, they mearly rate the content so parents can make a decision on whether or not a particular title is appropriate for their kid. You don't hate the MPAA do you?...... Wait, no, don't naswer that...
Personally I think parents protect their kids too much, to the point that it causes psychological harm when they are finally exposed to certain material. Seriously, why do parents (in the US anyways) feel the need to lie to their kids about the way the world really is? Why do they need to fill their heads with silly notions like Santa, the Toothfairy, God, the Easter Bunny, the Strork, ect?