Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - "Bad for children"... duh?

[feakbeak]

I'm sure many of you have seen the Hot Coffee mod for the PC version of GTA-SA in the news recently. Now, Joe Liberman jumped on this one, which is too be expected but I was a little surprised that Hillary Clinton is beating this drum now too. It is sad - simply pathetic! This article (http://web.morons.org/article.jsp?sectionid=2&id=6393) represents my views quite accurately. One thing I'd like to add is that I am sure that by installing the mod for this new content you are not only altering the game code but also violating your EULA and breaking the law - you don't hear anyone complaining about that. Nope... awww, the poor children - but wait, they have parents to take care of them, right? Apparently not judging by the following quote.

No wonder these games are falling into the hands of our children and no wonder so many parents feel everyday like they are fighting this battle with their hands tied behind their backs."Hands tied"? If you aren't keeping track of the music, movies and games your kid is listening to, watching or playing that is not the fault of big business. Yes, kids are always going to be able to get their hands on things they are not supposed to but as a general rule parents have control over what media their children encounter.

Issues (pun) like this make my blood boil. I can't believe educated people are calling for an investigation of this matter. This is just as bad as the congressional hearing about steroid use in the MLB and Janet Jackson's breast. What a colossal waste of our goverment's time and money. There are serious issues that need to be addressed in our country and this is not one of them.

I just had to rant about this. *sigh* I feel slightly better now.

[zelmo]

No wonder these games are falling into the hands of our children and no wonder so many parents feel everyday like they are fighting this battle with their hands tied behind their backs.

The video game industry agreed to create and monitor a ratings system to appease these buttheads. Isn't the point of the ratings system to (1) make it easier for retail to enforce purchasing guidelines and (2) provide parents with a means to easily monitor what their kids watch/play/read without having to be up to speed on all the actual content? Heck, I play plenty of games and subscribe to some mags, but I still can't keep track of all the content. How much effort does it take to look at a game package, see an "M for Mature" stamp, and decide little Jimmy isn't ready to play a little GTA?
If they really wanted censorship, why didn't they just say so in the first place? As long as our own government rallies around stupid concepts like this, there will be parents who are too happy to ignore what their kids are doing and blame everyone but themselves when it all turns to *****.

Hey, I feel better now, too, feakbeak.

[solvs]

I swear, Liberals and Conservatives take turns playing up this issue every couple of years. It's all a lot of talk and no action anyway, but it's still a waste of time. Yes, violence is bad. But I used to play video games when I was younger, still do sometimes, and I get that it's not real. It's just a game. This is a social issue, not a legal one. And it shouldn't just be more political rhetoric. There are real problems in society that lead to violence, and some stupid game is not even close to being a major one. If you're afraid your child is going to be so heavily influenced by a game, you are not doing your job as a parent.