State officials clamp down on sale of violent video games
By Joan Garvin, Town Crier Correspondent
 California legislators plan to put more restrictions on the sale of violent video games to juveniles. At right, a police officer shoots at a thug in the game “Grand Theft Auto:Vice City,” one of the most popular M-rated games. It is especially aggressive because the player is the thief and is rewarded for brutal killings. |
One of the most dangerous Christmas presents under your tree may be one of the smallest. Packaged innocuously like any music CD in a plastic case with a flashy photo cover, violent video games have insinuated themselves into the gift-wish of many young children to the tune of a $10 billion industry.
The only hint of their danger is a small square rating label on the cover. An M(ature), content suitable for 17 and older; may contain mature sexual themes, more intense violence and/or strong language. The most popular games advertise that players can “satisfy her (the wickedly sexy heroine) passionate lust for human blood” (BloodRayne), “unleash explosive special attacks and shoot holes in foes”(GunGame) and “Wield brute force” (Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter).
Local stores like Circuit City in Grant Park Plaza in Mountain View post the rating code and train their employees to check identification. According to employee Evan Kennedy, the reality is that most games are purchased by parents, older siblings or friends. Circuit City seldom has to check anyone under 17 at the counter.
What makes these games so dangerous? According to a Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children compiled by health associations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association and the American Medical Association, based on 30 years of research and over 1,000 studies, “this type of entertainment can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes, values and behavior.”
Unlike TV and movies, these games involve “first-person shooters” where the player advances in the game by killing. Video games are not passive spectator games; they are simulations where the player actively causes the mayhem.
Currently, there are no sanction for violating the ratings system. To correct this situation, Assemblyman Leland Y. Yee, assistant speaker pro tem, from Assembly District 12 in San Francisco, plans to introduce a bill to fold violent video games under the same penalty that currently exists for selling other harmful material to children, “punishable by a fine of not more than $2,000, by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both “
Even with firm sanctions in place, enforcement is “extremely difficult. It is certainly easy to get an older brother or sister to get the games. A lot of parents allow them,” according to an experienced law enforcement officer.
With or without the legislation, parents again are the final protectors. And since this issue arrives on your doorstep Christmas Eve and you already have 10 video games wrapped and ready - What can a parent do? If you don’t have time to swap them out for one of the age-appropriate games, insist your children exchange them for less aggressive games.
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