Dead Space Warning: Remember, Mature Means Not for Kids
Friday October 24, 2008
Dead Space is one of the hot games of the season, but EA is attempting to head off any censorship crys by reminding people that it is a mature game. Keith Ramsdale, Vice President and General Manager of EA UK, Ireland and Nordics offered the following to the UK public, a place even more reactionary to videogames than the US:
Dead Space is a bold and often bloody gaming experience filled with tension and terror - this one isn't for kids. We recognize the need to help British parents better understand the age rating system for video games, and 18 means a game is not appropriate for minors. But for adult gamers who crave gruesome action in a survival horror fiction, Dead Space promises to be a big hit!At the end of the day, parents just need to treat games like every other meduim. You wouldn't give your kid an R rated movie, or an adult themed book. If the box says "Mature" it isn't for your young ones, nomatter how mature you think they are.
Wow, that sounded like the party line, didn't it? In reality, I honestly don't care if parents let kids play M rated games. Before you ask for my head on a silver plater, know that the reason I say this is that media effects research has yet to show that media has the influence on kids that we all like to think it does. Raise your kids as you will, but when you give them a game, don't complain about its contents. You are the one who gave it to them.
Companies shouldn't have to issue warnings, the rating system already does that for them.
Comments
Your statement about media effects on kids not being what we like to think they are seems to minimize the presence of such effects. But make no mistake about it–media exposure affects kids. There are any number of good books out there (many used in college courses on this topic) that will help to educate you on these effects. Type in media effects on Amazon and start reading.
Yes, I do believe media effects are minimal. I presently teach at a university and am familiar with the research. While there are studies on both sides of this issue, for the most part, they have some real methodological issues. Additionally, while games have been shown in some studies to raise aggression, they have not been shown to induce violence, which in mainstream media reporting may seem like nitpicking over words, but in academic circles these are very different things.