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News

  Survey: 51% Want Regulation Of Mature Game Content
by Leigh Alexander
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December 5, 2007
 
Survey: 51% Want Regulation Of Mature Game Content
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Public relations and public affairs consultancy Hill & Knowlton has released the results of a survey, conducted online by Opinion Research Corporation, which found that 60 percent of 1,147 adult U.S. consumers agree that the government should regulate the sale of violent or mature content.

Additionally, a slight majority, or 51 percent, of respondents said that the government should be responsible for regulating the content itself, while 54 percent of those with children in the home concurred that violent or mature content will affect a child's behavior.

As for current gamers surveyed, they split evenly on whether the government should regulate violent content specifically in games, with 44 percent agreeing it should and 47 percent responding it should not. Additionally, 55 percent of gamers also believe that the government should regulate only the sale of games with violent or mature content.

Hill & Knowlton director Joe Paluska said of the results, "Next generation consoles combined with a near-Hollywood experience translates into increased scrutiny for a $7.4 billion industry that seeks to outpace movies and music as the number one choice for entertainment. We're seeing an interesting shift in economic growth and societal influence across gaming, movies and music. While the gaming industry is forecast to grow faster than the motion picture and recording industries, gaming still under-punches its cultural influence except when it comes to mature content."
 
   
 
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charles howard
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This is totally ridiculous to even consider. How is the content of a game any different from the content of a movie other than you can interact with it? In a movie you are exposed to pre-scripted dialog and actions where the motives are very apparent. The violence is far more graphic and realistic than anything that any game has produced in the past and to present.

Yes, one might argue that a game is open-ended and allows the player to add their own input which can lead to a more violent experience. In my personal opinion this is hardly influential to the user as it is just a virtual environment for them to express themselves or play the way they like, it's nothing more than an outlet for something that is already part of your personality.

Now on the other hand, a movie has developed characters with their own drives, personalities, and motives. This character could be the star and be depicted as someone who is "cool", which can lead to admiration by the viewer. Now you have a situation where the admirer approves of what the star of the movie does; be it killing, fighting, etc because they have accepted it as being "okay" and admirable. So, as a result, you have someone who might be overly-influenced by the movie's character(s) and mimic their behavior.

In response to movies, they placed a rating system. It's simple, and logical. If you do not match the age or guardian requirements, you do not belong. So rather than discipline the entire gaming community or movie community, parents need to be held responsible for what their children are exposed to, not the industry and everyone else.


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