I went into my local Target the other day and at the check-out counter there was a nine year old kid and his mom. His mom was buying him Grand Theft Auto Vice City.

“ HELLO! Are you mentally slow? “

There is no reason a nine year old kid should even see that game played. Sounds like the same type of parents that took there (8-10 year old) kids to Saving Private Ryan just so they could see what war is like. I don’t understand. So to all you anti-video game parent’s groups, its not your kids we are worried about. It’s all these other dorks that don’t know how to READ!

The ESRB ratings are there for a good reason. I don’t see any other industry in the world so willing to keep kids from consuming their products that may be inappropriate. The public defiantly doesn’t see the tobacco industry or the movie industry so willing to be this involved.

The ESRB was invented by the gaming industry! It’s good for both developers and parents. Developers don’t have to tone down content for fear that it will fall in to the wrong hands, and parents can know exactly why a game gets the rating it does. So if you see a game that says, “ RATED M, EXTREME VIOLENCE AND NUDITY” , do not let your young kids play it. It is simply the parents fault if they permit this!

Just stand inside your local game store and watch the parents buying M-rated games for the young kids. Many of the stores I’ve been in, the clerks even say to the parent:

“Under law I am required to tell you that this is an M-rated title. It has extreme violence and should not be played by anyone under seventeen.” - or something to that effect.

The parents almost always say,

“That’s okay, I understand that.” Then they walk out the door. “Here ya go Jr. Go have fun.” There are so many times when I want to say something, but as the old adage goes: No good deed goes unpunished. So parents, you need to SHUT THE HELL UP and get involved in your kids lives and make sure they are not playing games they are not old enough to handle.

And to all the protest groups, your efforts are wasted. Until you get parents on your side you will never make a difference, and I don’t see that happening any time soon. Also, the next time I see a parent buy a kid under ten years of age Grand Theft Auto, I may have to beat them like a red-headed step child. Does that make me a violent video gamer?

Sincerely,

Chris Scheidies