Games - the ethics issue

:'(

all i can say is that this would have helped a few weeks ago for an AS computing presentation :)

Well, I must say, that things do actually look a little different here over in America than you might think. The ESRB ratings are not legally binding, though there have been a number of attempts to do something along those lines. (in fact, it was recently National news when a certain law in my state, banning all sales of particularly violent games, was struct down in court)

The thing is, any sort of regulation that goes about must abide by the hierarchy of the US laws; precendence and supremacy as far as laws go are key elements, and some might recognize similar or identical elements that have somewhat taken shape in the EU body itself. (for instance, I'm fairly certain most of you know that EU courts can overturn any law of any member state)

Hence, this is why you see no specific laws; The second right listed in the "Bill of Rights" in the United States constitution is the "freedom of speech," (the first being the "freedom of religeon") and it's been zealosly guarded. Hence there is a zero possibility of any such law passing, unless the writers somehow manage to make it parse with the U.S. Bill of Rights.

However, this is not to say that there is no weight whatsoever; some feel that "self-governance" is impossible, but there have been many cases of seeing it in the US; stores do actually take a fairly pro-active stance on censorship here. Most supermarket chains opt to carry few or no M-rated (17+) games whatsoever, generally sticking to only a handful, but onyl reluctantly carrying even those. And actual dedicated game stores tend to have a policy of restricting sales; it's not done stringently, but the clerks are trained to check the ID's of young-looking shoppers, and refuse to sell M-rated games to those 16 and younger.

So in reality, things aren't quite what some of you have been led to believe.

On another note, I personally draw distinctions that vary a bit from what any rating company says; I see some games are particularly disturbing, and even though they have the same violence, blood, and gore as other games that are rated identically, they might actually be a bit different. One example that pops to mind might be Indigo Prophecy. (most of you would know it as Fahrenheit) It just seems to me that the themes presented in there are far less suitable for children than other M-rated games, such as, say, Far Cry or Half-Life2.

On another note, I'm still puzzled over the rating granted for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The descriptors used by the ESRB are as follows:

• Blood and Gore
• Language
• Sexual Themes
• Use of Alcohol
• Violence

All of them are COMPLETELY applicable, and not simply a case of spotting a place where that element was tossed in once. Yet, in spite of this, the game was rated "T". (13+) This just puzzles me from the logical point of view, thought I suspect that other things may have come into play with the rating for it, that had nothing to do with the content of the game itself.