December 5, 2006
Child pornography or video games... which is more of a concern?It's a ridiculous question. The first is a horror, illegal in every corner of the planet. Games, on the other hand, are a thriving, creative, global entertainment business.
But the European Union seems to be wrestling over which deserves their attention. As reported by the Evening Standard, British Home Secretary John Reid addressed EU members in Brussels. Reid said he agreed that violent video games were a danger, but added most games did not feature objectionable material. Reid also acknowledged the work of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) in rating game content. Reid told his EU colleagues:
I am aware that what constitutes unacceptable material differs from country to country in the EU and that it would be extremely difficult to try to impose common standards...
Violent video games are one issue on this spectrum. But I am also concerned about what more we can do to tackle the most extreme and harmful end of the spectrum. In particular I am concerned about child pornography.
Reid was responding to the recent European flap over Rule of Rose, a PS2 horror RPG. An earlier report in The Parliament.com indicated that Reid would back EU efforts to limit children's access to violent video games. The website said that Reid planed to call on EU member countries to model a British law forbidding the sale of adult-themed games to minors.
Comments
I'll say it again, though I've said it alot here before, our system can tolerate a restriction system. From what I can see at present the states can't (Disagreements on what should be rated what, shops deciding what to sell, hell some Americans got angry apparantly over the message in "Happy Feet" an animated film about penguins!).
@dagrak
I havn't seen that thing about people beeing pissed at "happy feet". Is there a link for it?
http://film.guardian.co.uk/patterson/story/0,,1960806,00.html
I hope that link works
@Everyone
I don't think he really is trying to compare games to child porn I think what he is actually saying is that there are far more horrific and pressing matters then computer games.
Yes, I'm glad that they are going after child porn rather then video games, but they shouldn't have even had to take 5 seconds deciding.
Certain content in games is deemed unacceptable in certain countries, hence the fact he acknowledges that all the EU countries agreeing on what is acceptable is unlikely. The German and Italian governments enforce an outright ban on certain types of content? Well, that's for the voting public of those countries to agree or disagree with. But kiddy porn is recognised as being unacceptable by any country, which is why Reid puts it waaaay on the other end of the spectrum of unacceptable content, and why he is reminding people that those concerned with games should realise that they have bigger fish to fry.
I think you'll find that was the point he was making, all be it in a more diplomatic way...
Are all politicians on drugs or what?
http://film.guardian.co.uk/patterson/story/0,,1960806,00.html
I hope that link works
I loved the end of that article. "Build a bridge out of them!"
To be serious though, I agree that what was being said was not 'Video Games are in the same spectrum as Child Porn', the problem here is the etiquette imposed on Politicians by the Houses or Parliament in the UK, so everything has to be worded in a specific way. For a UK Politician to say this is the equivaent of saying 'You're all stark staring mad. Wake me when the sky lands.'
Let's suppose you own a candy store. And some punk kids keep stealing your candy, so you call the cops. And the cops say "Well, what's more important? Murders or stolen candy?"
The obvious answer is murders, but that doesn't mean we should dedicate ALL resources to solving every murder in the world before we begin to worry about enforcing the laws on stolen candy.
No. Technically not.
The German laws regarding that are the strictest in the western world, but they are nearly always overstated by people who don't know them.
Very, very, very few games are outright banned. And the ones who are generally deserve it.
The worst that can happen is that games are put on a list of media that can't be openly sold or advertised. But adults can still legally buy them. They are just a bit harder to get. But these days you don't need to deal with stocks in some closed backroom anymore and just order them over the internet. Either over local companies were they ask for an age verification or simply abroad (shipping doesn't cost any more there either).
18+ games can even be sold openly in shops
The downside is that games are often self-censored by the PUBLISHERS to get a 16+ rating.
The problem is more the enforcement of the current laws as young people can buy the games in shops relatively easily
Sometimes it feels restrictive to not just be able to walk into a shop and buy an uncut version of some games, but it's also not as bad as foreigners think