Convincing parents to let you buy M games?

[-Irish.Kin-]

Originally Posted by Z3CH

Wtf? I'm 17 and they check here and I can buy mature games...

Well, it's been 2 1/2 years. Maybe things have changed :\

[Z3CH]

Originally Posted by -Irish.Kin-

Well, it's been 2 1/2 years. Maybe things have changed :\

That would be pretty dumb. It'd be like the New York smoking laws. You can smoke when you're 16 but can't buy until you're 18. And you can't give cigarettes to minors. So wtf?

[E. Writer]

Originally Posted by Z3CH

Wtf? I'm 17 and they check here and I can buy mature games...

I have never been questioned about my age when buying an M rated game. I guess I look hella older than I am.


full beard ftw!

[jmoran1097]

you're 17 and have a full beard? are your parents Armos?

[E. Writer]

Damn near full.

What's an armo?

[hcky21rskor]

I'm 19 now, but back when i as 14 and 15 i never once was id'ed to buy a M rated video game... And i usually went to walmart, sometimes you can find games cheaper there than you would at best buy or gamestop.

[c0mmand3r]

I haven't taken the time to read every post as I normally would before posting myself, but then again I no longer have the time to do so. I will, however, respond to this thread as it has caught my eye as so few topics these days do.

Buying Mature video games. I remember such a time when getting the elusive M rated video game was more important than booze and women. I talk about ofcourse preteen years. 8-9 years ago when I couldn't even legally buy myself a Teen rated video game I never truly had a problem getting any game I wanted. None of the store clerks really checked what game I was getting, and even if they did I commonly had my parents around when purchasing it because I couldn't exactly wish myself to the store 5 miles down the highway.

This is an interesting topic of discussion. These days we have so many anti-video game supporters it drives me nuts. There are probably more parents against video games than against drunk driving at this point. This is a problem in society. 99% of parents don't care what games we play as children and teens. That 1% make our lives a living hell. They don't let kids get video games because they are too violent. Completely justified, but annoying none the less. Even more annoying, however, are the parents who don't pay attention to their kids gaming habits and then blame their poor parenting on video game systems which they have purchased to make their lives easier and essentially do the parenting for them. These are the ones who become protesters. They don't realize it is infact their own fault, and not the games or television shows we play/watch.

Kids who are teens should be able to get their hands on Mature games if the parents allow it. Any teen who has parents who refuse to get them these games are affraid of what society would think. However, most parents who disallow us the M games are the good parents who are just looking out for us. The people in society who actually make it ok to frown upon these games are the terrible parents who have 20/20 hindsight and now think they must be preachers and warn everyone and to tell true, loving, good parents how to raise children when their own are hellraisers - and what is more is they turn out this way completely unrelated to video games.

If my kid wants to play GTA games for example when he is 13, I would let him. However, I would explain to him what is right and wrong and why this is a video game and not reality. Parents who are lazy would throw a 10 year old in front of the tv with rambo on and not say a word to him/her about what is happening. THAT is the problem. Not the actual entertainment, but the neglection.

Ok - that was my 2 cents. Night.

[OME6A]

First, appreciate the fact that you have parents that are concerned about what you're exposed to, and don't leave you to be raised by media.

They may be concerned with what you're spending your time with, because it will have an influence on you as a person. They're likely just trying to do everything they can to be sure that you turn out to be a decent person.

So you're 13 going on 14, and they don't want you playing Mature or possibly even Teen rated games. How are they about what movies or tv shows you can see?

If they're fine with you seeing anything over PG, you could use the argument that the ESRB ratings are modeled after the MPAA (movie) ratings. So if they're ok with you seeing a graphically violent, obsenity filled R rated movie, then you may be able to talk them into allowing you to play more mature games. The negative to this argument is that they may end up saying that you can't see R rated movies anymore.

What's their reasoning to not allowing you to play mature games? If it's something like violent games leading to violent people, or trashy subject matter, you could put some real effort into it and prove some maturity on your part.

Write them up a well worded, well researched paper speaking to your case. How research has proven that violent games don't necessarily lead to violent people, or how most M rated games are no worse than the programming on primetime TV.

No matter what, be smart about arguing your case. The idea is for them to see some maturity in you, because that just opens the idea that maybe you can handle mature games.

[theshivies]

I believe there are reasons companies have created such regulations. Mature video games should not be dealt out to "underage" users, there is nothing more annoying than young players on online video games, talking about sexual acts and calling everybody homosexual slang. Maybe the Mature rating wasnt just for the content, but because they wouldnt be able to take the content responsibility and negatively affect other players game which are actually of age to play the game.

[EAsTon]

I really don't convince my parents to buy me M games and never have. I just tell them I've seen much worse things that are in those games. I'm also not the person who will pull out an Uzi in the middle of downtown because I did in GTA, and my parents know that.