I feel this is especially true when it comes to kids playing rated M games. I agree that they shouldn’t be playing them, but at the same time that doesn’t mean that such games shouldn’t exist. It’s up to parents to take responsibility for what they allow their children to partake in. Once you buy your child a violent game, it is no longer the games fault if the child plays it and concludes that violence is okay. The fault is now yours, because in buying the game for them and saying it’s okay for them to play (without talking to them about what’s bad in it or anything), you have just put your stamp of approval on anything they see in that game.

I’m sorry if I ruffle anyone’s feathers here but that’s how I’ve always seen it when media or something else is blamed for violence and the like. Our actions are our own responsibility and no one else’s.

I usually compare it to cinema since they both suffer the same dilemma of whether or not it’s an art form. Cinema has been judged harshly many times, and still is on occasion, but it’s now accepted as a wide media for entertainment. Why did it happen? I can’t say, and I’m certainly not going to make something up, but my hopes are that gaming can go down the same path.

But one of the reasons why I think this is going to be difficult is interactivity. Let’s face it, in movies, books and theater plays you’re not the one committing relentless murder. So, It’s going to be a difficult and long ride into acceptance.

There’s just so many excuses people can use to continue calling games “A bad Influence.”

Most mediums, even ones we hold up (such as novels), seem to go through a similar period of scrutiny as they are integrated into the cultural identity. In time, as more and more generations of serious game enthusiasts get older and as the industry as a whole matures, I think they’ll find the broader acceptance we all are looking for.

Though, there are still book burners out there. I can’t imagine this problem will ever be completely erased.