Kid-Unfriendly Games?
 

Before I discuss the point of this discussion, I want to relate a personal story to you all. A few years ago, I was in Wal-Mart, looking for games for my Playstation 2 system. I overheard a woman speaking to her grandson about picking a game out for his birthday. The kid was roughly 11-years-old and very decisively chose Grand Theft Auto 3 for PS2, a game I am all too familiar with. The woman, not knowing what this game was about, quickly agreed and was about to walk to the counter and pay for it. Being the honest guy I am, I felt it a personal duty to approach this woman and explain what this game was about.

The object of this game is that you are a criminal. You earn money by committing various types of crimes (i.e. robbery, assassinations, theft, and fraud), while dodging the police, and you follow the storyline to acquire these "missions" from the local mob/gangs. This game openly encourages such acts as prostitution, automobile hijacking, resisting police arrest, illegal street racing, and other typically twisted activities.

Once enlightened on the content of this game, the woman naturally refused to buy it for her grandson. This particular game series, and others like it, are meant for adults to play and are clearly marked on the box. The problem is that most parents don't read the box before purchasing games for their kids. Instead, parents typically buy the games, catch their kids engaging in such activities during the game, scold the kid, and sue the game manufacturer.

The boxes are stamped with a rate for each game for a reason. If we all pay attention to the rating system and took a moment to read the BACK of the box, we'd be more enlightened on what are kids are doing when they are out of the room.

Rating System:
EC (Early Childhood)
E (Everyone)
E10+ (Everyone 10+)
T (Teen (13+)
M (Mature (17+)
AO (Adults Only)