Do violent video games need health warnings on the box?
There I was thinking that politicians had finally got the message that video games aren’t all bad. But it seems this is far from the truth. Barack Obama may be taking his Nintendo Wii to the White House with him but that hasn’t changed the general feeling amongst our law-makers that games are evil things which need moderating.
If you’ve been a reader for a while, you may well recognize the title of this article as strangely familiar. And that’s because it is. In March, 2008, in the light of a newly commisioned study into the effects of video games on youngsters, child psychologist Tanya Byron recommended cigarette-style health warnings on game packaging and shop shelves.
And now the U.S. wants a piece of the interfering busybody, create new laws for the sake of it pie.
Game Politics reports how Republican Congressman Joe Baca is pushing through a new bill called The Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009. Catchy title. If the bill, which has been referred to the House Energy & Commerce Committee, makes it into the law books, it would mean a warning label would be attached to every game rated Teen or above. The warning will be something along the lines of “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.”
Baca’s office has issued a press release explaining the reasons behind the bill, with Baca himself stating:
The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families, and to consumers – to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products. They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility. Meanwhile research continues to show a proven link between playing violent games and increased aggression in young people. American families deserve to know the truth about these potentially dangerous products.
We must hold the video game industry accountable and do everything in our power to ensure parents are aware of the detrimental effects that violent games can have before making decisions on which games are appropriate for their children to play. I am proud to introduce the Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009, and am hopeful my legislation can work to stop the growing influence of violent media on America’s children and youth.
Seriously, just shut up. That’s got to be the biggest pile of hogwash I have ever read in my life. The video game industry does have a responsibility to its consumers but only the same responsibility that the porn industry does. Every game is now rated and shops aren’t allowed to sell them to kids under the age printed on the box. If a parent decides to go against the age rating and buy the game anyway, it then becomes their responsibility.
And since when has the link between violent video games and aggression been “proven.” I must have been ill that day. There are studies which suggest as much but there are also studies which prove the opposite is true. It all depends on who commissions the study – pro-gaming or anti-gaming groups.
What really makes me sick though is the fact that Baca seems to be embarking on a one-man mission to take the games industry down a peg or two. He has proposed several game-related bills over the years, none of which have made it past the first stage. But he keeps on trying nonetheless because he has an agenda and he’s going to stick to it.
Surely there are more important things Baca could be doing with the power invested in him by the great American public? Because not only is this bill utterly pointless and without merit, it’s got no chance of becoming law. Stop wasting your time and get a hobby. Why not give gaming a go? You may even like it.
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73 Responses to “Do violent video games need health warnings on the box?”
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January 14th, 2009
that would hurt sales but save lives…prolly
January 14th, 2009
Yeah, give the Wii a go Baca.
January 14th, 2009
OK, so I rushed home last night, all excited to play the Kill Zone 2 demo. When I tried to actually download it, I noticed that you can’t download/play it until next month. Needless to say, I was a little annoyed.
January 14th, 2009
On the topic at hand – I think the rating system the US has in place now (ESRB?) works well. I think younger children shouldn’t be exposed to some of the more violent and graphic games. If retailers and more importantly parents followed the rating system, there wouldn’t be any problems.
As far as this new warning – “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior.†– It’s obviously ridicules BS. Some people are unstable and sick, it has nothing to do with the games they play, shows/movies they watch, or the music they listen to. More importantly there is not solid scientific data to back up this claim.
January 14th, 2009
HAHAHHAHAAAHAH serves you right barnabe… Im so happy now…
January 14th, 2009
Do these people aver stop to think that it may be that more kids with violent tendencies like to play violent games and not that the games make the kids violent?
F@#k, that pisses me off. I’m 32 and not violent and still wish to play adult games. Every murder eats so maybe eating makes them violent. We should all stop eating!
These retards are just trying to make the public think they are worth the money they are paid with tax dollars. I believe we all have violent tendencies inside of us and if we are not parented right and taught right from wrong then that is what makes bad kids.
January 14th, 2009
DWH – I was so pissed I actually played my PS2 instead. I put a few more hours into FF XII… until my party got slaughtered which made me even more pissed.
January 14th, 2009
Barnabe Jones,
I take it you didn’t get a bc PS3… so now the PS2 is getting more playtime at the moment than the PS3?
The warning label actually seems reasonable, considering the definition of the words “excessive”, “linked”, and “agressive behavior”. It also includes “other violent media”. It didn’t say everybody, and it didn’t say your kid would be a psycho killer if he played the game, so what’s the harm? Especially if the label goes on “other violent media”? The parent can still buy the game for their kid with an added warning that would signal them to communicate with their children more about the violence contained therein if they haven’t already, and adults can still buy the game. Big deal.
January 14th, 2009
The big deal is there is added cost to that crap and I think games cost enough as they are.
The game company is not going to eat the added cost it ALWAYS gets passed to the customers.
January 14th, 2009
Well… I just beat the new Prince of Persia (which was good). I’ve been switching between Resistance 2 and Little Big Planet in the mean time… I finished both of those already also, so I was looking for something new.
I have put in over 11 hours on FF IV (DS) and I’m only a little bit of a quarter through (I think), I’ve put 58 hours into XII…so I feel kind of like I have to finish it up.
January 14th, 2009
I’m kinda on the fence. I mean, if they want to put labels on them, let them. In theory no one under 15/18/21/whatever should be playing rated games anywhoos and those over that age aren’t going to care about the label.
At the same time tho, I don’t really want them to ‘brand’ a past time of mine with a false label (seeing as evidence on this seems to go both ways).
January 14th, 2009
Seems like the cost would add a few cents to a $60+ game, fairly minor.
The label is vague enough to be accurate for the evidence that does exist, though it could definitely improve with specifics like stating “in some individuals”.
January 14th, 2009
“Your comment is awaiting moderation.” – I’m not sure why I got it this time?
Well… I just beat the new Prince of Persia. I’ve been switching between Resistance 2 and Little Big Planet in the mean time… I finished both of those already also, so I was looking for something new.
I have put in over 11 hours on FF IV and I’m only a little bit of a quarter through. I’ve put 58 hours into XII…so I feel kind of like I have to finish it up.
January 14th, 2009
I think I know why… before I used “( )”
It picked up up as a smiley face maybe?
January 14th, 2009
Smilies are WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 14th, 2009
Dave Patrick has a vendetta against both smiles and prentices. He’s not too found of kittens either.
January 14th, 2009
from his picture… he doesnt look like a smiley nazi… anyways… a little tete a tete would be nice dave… specially if you have Fifa 09… then hit me up… Im looking for challengers…
January 14th, 2009
mmm…. Jan 26… playing the RE5 demo…
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/944/944888p1.html
January 14th, 2009
Oh yeah, 360 players only.
January 14th, 2009
Barnabe,
Sorry, I got jealous that you were going to get to try out Killzone 2 before me. So I made Sony aware of your plans of breaking the review embargo here on blorge. They told me they would take the proper steps in making sure you couldn’t play the demo until next month. Again, I apologize for my jealous behavior and ha, ha!
January 14th, 2009
serves his right wylie… no one is going to show off killzone 2 to me before I get a chance…
you watch your PSN back barnabe… ima coming for you… *insert sneaky smiley face*
January 14th, 2009
serves him right wylie… no one is going to show off killzone 2 to me before I get a chance…
you watch your PSN back barnabe… ima coming for you… *insert sneaky smiley face*
January 14th, 2009
Sorry… double post
mmm…. Jan 26… playing the RE5 demo…
xbox360.ign.com/articles/944/944888p1.html
Oh yeah, 360 players only.
January 14th, 2009
We’ll do co-op Carl B… you might want to make sure the friendlily fire is off though *wink*
Wylie and DWH – you have no idea how pissed off I was. I should go back to GameStop and Judo chop that idiot who told me it was ready to play.
January 14th, 2009
why dont you get chuck norris?? he will make Sony BUILD you another game…
khek khek…
January 14th, 2009
Posted on the KZ2 thread Carlb. I played the RE5 demo weeks ago.
Good old japanese version with full english.
Google it, torrent it, burn it to cd and play…
Its funny, because MS went to the trouble of corrupting the download on north american 360s (those people who used jap live accounts to download the demo).
January 14th, 2009
No DWH, Chuck Norris would take one look at the codes and make them work now! And by the way, if you ever type Chuck Norris without showing him his due respect by not putting caps on the first letters of his name, well you’ve been warned, you don’t want to know the consequences!
January 14th, 2009
I got my World at War whores… read em and weep… now Im off to put the entire world… in a war… YEAH WHAT!!!
Chuck Norris cant even hold a candle to my messiah Stephen Colbert… does your fake god have a band?? did he release a track in Rock Band 2??? Pfft… check and mate…
January 14th, 2009
SW – I still haven’t had an opportunity to try that yet. It would be so much easier if I actually owned a 360.
Capcom have announced that the demo will be downloadable via the PlayStation Store in the week of February 5th. Glossing over the fact that it is out a week earlier on XBLA, the demo will include two levels, including three types of co-op play: single-player with AI, two-player split-screen and two-player online.
In a fight between Batman and Darth Vader, the winner would be Chuck Norris. Steven Colbert would pee his pants.
January 14th, 2009
SW,
You played it on your PS3?
January 14th, 2009
Carl – you can play it now for the 360 (not PS3). You just need to:
-find the file
-Burn it to a DVD (make sure you name the directory correctly)
-Play it from the 360
January 14th, 2009
guys.. what are the challenges on COD 5 online?? Why would I do them? stuf like “get a headshot with this gun” do they matter???
January 14th, 2009
CarlB, we only have to wait a week longer for RE5 demo, but you will never get the Killzone 2 demo, PS3 only maaaan. Mwhahaha.
January 14th, 2009
DWH, you have to kill 3 people whilst in the air, with only your hands. It is hard, but I did it.
January 14th, 2009
“potentially dangerous products”…?
between sony and these morons i’m beginnig to hate the word “potential”.
since the “potential” is there to be dangerous, i’m wondering where the benchmark is that indicates the potential danger. have there been ANY instances where a game has proven to be the catalyst of danger? can’t think of one.
at least thompson was funny…this guy just sucks.
January 14th, 2009
wait I dont get it… did kev just turn this topic around and bash on Sony again???
Roy… is that a real achievement?? seriously??? cus I did a ninja stance and like shot people up the arse… muahahahahahah
January 14th, 2009
Well Kev… that’s like when M$ offers the three year warranty… “POTENTAILY†you may get a working product, but we all know chances are you will be on the phone with there call center in India with in a few months.
Yes Kev, the word “POTENTAILY†can be very dangerous indeed.
January 14th, 2009
kev,
I completely agree about the word ‘potential’, it is getting a bit ridiculous.
January 14th, 2009
Royzy,
True, which makes me grateful I do not particularly care for shooters in general.
January 14th, 2009
DWH,
no, but it should be. I haven’t played it tbh.
January 14th, 2009
dont guys… dont stoop to his level… you will lose your soul and never get it back…
also… 3 year warranty ONLY for RROD… if your console gets fucked up and DOESNT show red rings… NO WARRANTY!!!
damn I just sank to his level… I feel sad now…
January 14th, 2009
[reaches arm down to save DWH] Don’t worry! I’ve got you!
January 14th, 2009
I saw things in there that would make your hair crawl… BACK TO COD!!
January 14th, 2009
There is also a higher than average chance the disc drive as a whole will fail and stop working…. Damn! I did it again!
January 14th, 2009
ROY!!! We need to tie everyone by their waists togather… this way whenever we fall to the pit.. the massive weight of all the other asses can save them…
on other news… having never played COD 4 online… I have to say… COD 5 is fucking awesome to play online… for a second there… all my principles were taken over by the awesomeness of killing noobs… it was so much fun… now I know why more people play this and COD 4 than Gears 2… leveling up was so fucking addictive…
but… this is nothing that couldnt have been done by DLC… adding another unneccessary game to the franchise just divides the gamers… it wouldve been a lot more fun to play COD 4… and I wont buy COD 4 till I get a 360 (cus of the achievements)…
anyways… this was waaaay more fun to play than Socom… maps were perfect for the amount of people… so far… Im hooked… Im afraid between this and street fighter… I may never get to finish MGS 4… *HUGE ANGRY SAD FACE*
January 14th, 2009
Damn it… you guys are dragging me in now… at least my PS2 is bc, has a “future proof” format, and a good library of games. Thank the lord that Sony doesn’t copy either… they might have things like trophies and ranking and free demos and… oops. At least the PS3 has a good library of 1080p games like they said they would with the only HD console, and Sony is making a profit on the console as well, just as predicted (claws way to top of pit, breathes sigh of relief).
January 14th, 2009
high definition games aint a good thing for people with a regular TV… games like Burnout Paradise and Dead Rising and Banjo Kazooi… were “optimised” for HD… and had text that could only be read by a microscope in the normal TV…
lets have some flexibility… keep the SUPAH HIGH DEF games for down the line… a coupla years from now… gimme games that look decent on any TV… and are fun to play…
gawd… COD 5 so awesome… DIE NAZIS DIE WHORES!!!
SUPAH HAPPY FACE!!!
January 14th, 2009
yeah I’m guessing Sony has realized that by now considering the way they downplayed their initial HD hooplah. Dead Rising was awesome though, can’t wait for 2.
I’m all for listening to what Sony says will happen when it happens dwh, screw flexibility… oh wait a sec, I guess you really don’t have a choice but to be flexible when it comes to Sony “SUPAH” promises.
“gawd”… OEF 8.2 so awesome… DIE TERRORISTS DIE!!!
SUPAH GUMBY FACE!!!
January 14th, 2009
I think Carl is mocking me… its a nice imitation of me… but to fully experience the darkwhitehair ride… pay me $10 an hour and I will come to your house and jump around screaming racial slurs…
act now to get the 10% blorge only discount..
January 14th, 2009
‘fully experience the darkwhitehair ride’
*gulp*
January 14th, 2009
I thought it was you for a second DWH, he did a good job.
I’d like to experience the full darkwhitehair ride, but does anyone come back from it?
Also, I don’t have any $, only £. And my cards have expired.
January 14th, 2009
Im so glad that you guys are extending my crappy joke… you will rue the day you made fun of me carl… RUE THE DAY!!!
You guys need to grow some bawls and pay COD 5 with me… specially “I-dont-plays-ze-FPS-Arvis”
dude… atleast get gamefly so you can atleast play Killzone 2 with us for a few days… then you can go back to your JRPGs…
also do I seriously sound like that carl??? I couldnt understand what you were saying?? maybe Im overanalysing a joke… boy this is pathetic…
check my blog though… Im a lot more “normal” there… and gimme some pointers… none of that “you are teh suxorz rawr rawr rawr” business…
January 14th, 2009
darkwhitehair,
You do sound like that at times, but you are not that bad, and you are definitely improving, so +1 to you.
I think the desert may be getting to me though.
January 15th, 2009
I have to say that COD5 pisses me off with there spawn points. Nothing like spawning and being killed a sec later. Last night I spawned right in between two enemy tanks and three enemies. It was like they spawned me right in the enemy camp. I think I made it a whole 3 seconds before I was dead. Lucky for me when I re-spawned there was an enemy grenade at my feet!
One other thing about this game. What’s up with sub-machine guns and hand guns being able to shoot like two hundred yards and have enough accuracy to kill me? That’s just dumb. But over all it is addicting. As long as you can stay away from people who glitch. Stupid bastards!
January 15th, 2009
I’m trying really hard to not buy any more games until KillZone 2… all this talk of COD 5 has me thinking though…
Carl – I know I asked before, but I missed your replay – When are you coming home? My cousin is there also at the moment (Marine – Infantry).. he thinks he’ll be home early spring.
January 15th, 2009
Hopefully sometime early this year.
January 15th, 2009
Good to hear. I bet you must have a pretty long list of games to get caught up on.
January 15th, 2009
I think RE5 will be my first.
January 15th, 2009
I finally watched the movie (Resident Evil: Degeneration) last night. It was pretty good. I love Mila Jojovich, but the live action movies were god awful. Degeneration, does the series right. The movie is kind of like a Resident Evil 4.5. It’s nice to catch up with Leon and Clair.
I have to admit, Kill Zone looks great and all…. But the game I am anticipating the most at the moment is RE5.
January 15th, 2009
I finally watched the movie (Resident Evil: Degeneration) last night. It was pretty good. I love Mila Jojovich, but the live action movies were god awful. Degeneration, does the series right. The movie is kind of like a Resident Evil 4.5. It’s nice to catch up with Leon and Clair.
I have to admit, Kill Zone looks great and all…. But the game I am anticipating the most at the moment is RE5.
January 15th, 2009
barnabe – since the only number you fanboys have generated is “33% failure rate” it’s safe to reason the majority of owners won’t have that problem.
they POTENTIALLY will have a workable unit. if not, they will have to wait one, POTENTIALLY, 2 weeks to get it back free of charge….ooo…teh horror…
unlike sony who forced ps2 owners to buy a 2nd or 3rd ps2 while they refused to acknolwedge any problems with the ps2′s DDE and DRE errors.
hypocrite.
January 15th, 2009
Kev,
we banned the “P” word. I can’t believe you are talking about the PS2 problem again. Oh, wait, I guess I can. We get it, Sony screwed up. I also like how you try to spin the 33% failure rate into a positive. If condoms had a 33% failure rate would that be ok because the majority worked fine? Thank GAWD MS doesn’t make condoms!
January 15th, 2009
So how did this article turn into failure rate… *yawn*
January 15th, 2009
hahahha its nice to see that my 15 hour hiatus hasnt changed anything here… kev… just because Sony made a shoddy console doesnt give Microsoft a reason to make a shoddy console…
January 15th, 2009
LMAO – I had to scroll up through the comments to try to find out what he was talking about…
January 15th, 2009
Ha ha! Ah, Carl, your impression of DWH was priceless. Absolutely spot-on. *grins*
Speaking of RE5, however, that week-early release of the demo only applies to XBL Gold members, just so you know. 360 owners with Silver will be getting it on Feb. 5 just like PS3 owners.
So, is it really true that you “haven’t had to pay a dime extra” to play games on your 360?
-Arvis
January 15th, 2009
FUCKING HELL DONT MAKE FUN OF ME!!!
*sobbing is a corner* you mean fucks… *winking smiley face*
January 16th, 2009
Arvis,
Thanks.
It is true I haven’t had to spend extra to just play games on 360, but I did decide to shell out the extra 13 cents (dime and three pennies) a day on Gold for music, shows, movies, video, early demos, game downloads, and other extra benefits. To me it is worth it but I can see how others wouldn’t see it that way.
January 16th, 2009
Actually, scratch that, it is under a dime a day now for Live Gold ($38.99 for 13mo on Amazon) at under $3 per month.
amazon.com/Xbox-360-Live-Month-Gold-Bonus/dp/B000B9RI00/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1232094576&sr=8-1
January 16th, 2009
Or…. It could be free with the PSN *winks*
January 16th, 2009
Are they the same quality now?
January 16th, 2009
CarlB,
Content-wise, they have been equals for a while now with PSN beginning to pull ahead in quantity, if not quality (which is subjective anyways).
As for how well the networks hold up to online gaming, I can only compare Halo 3 online to Warhawk online, both of which ran perfectly for me.
-Arvis
January 17th, 2009
Arvis,
meh, I guess it’s the price you have to pay to subsidize 270+ more games and achievements on all of them. I don’t play much online anyway, so I guess I can always go back to Silver for free sans the extra games, music, early demos, videos, etc. when 9 cents a day becomes too pricey for me… doubtful.