Teddy James
AFA Journal staff writer
March 2011 – In the 1970s a new form of entertainment came into American homes. Families could now sit around a television interacting with a video game console. From the earliest days of Pong to the technological marvel that was the Super Mario Brothers circa 1985, people of all ages have enjoyed playing video games.
Today’s games are much more technologically advanced than those predecessors. Not only are the graphics cutting edge, but many times a video game will have as much professional acting as a blockbuster movie.
Video game producers use top scriptwriters and composers to add flair to the gamer’s experience. Unfortunately, sometimes that flair includes sexual scenes, egregious violence, drug use and other objectionable content.
So how much can parents trust video games? How widespread is the objectionable content found in games? To answer that question, parents must examine the three basic types of games.
Console games
A console game, for the purposes of this article, includes anything offered by the three dominant manufacturers of home consoles: Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony. Their products include the Wii and DS, Xbox 360, Playstation and Playstation PSP respectively.
Like movies, video games are rated for content by an independent organization, the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Their six ratings are:
Early Childhood – For children three and up.
Everyone – For children six and over. Can include cartoonish violence and infrequent offensive language;
Everyone 10+ – For age 10 and over. Content can include mild violence, mild language and suggestive themes;
Teen – For ages 13 and over. Content can include violence, crude humor, minimal blood, simulated gambling and strong language;
Mature – For ages 17 and older. Content can include intense violence and language, blood, gore and sexual content ;
Adults Only – Only for ages 18 and older. Titles in this category may include prolonged scenes of intense violence and/or graphic sexual content and nudity. Of the thousands of games rated by the ESRB, only 24 titles currently have the AO rating.
Matt Yaggi, founder of Reviews4Parents.com, told the AFA Journal that “game ratings are actually more strict when it comes to sexual content than movie ratings, because most game companies want to avoid the negative publicity of being too sexual.
“In addition, if sexual content in a game is too graphic, the game gets slapped with the dreaded AO rating, which all the major retail stores refuse to carry,” he said.
However, sexual content that includes curvaceous women wearing tight clothes and showing mid-riff and cleavage is very common, Yaggi said.
But Yaggi says video games are only one threat to video game players.
“In my opinion, the bigger concern is kids having unrestricted Internet access in their bedrooms where the door can be closed,” he said. “We did some tests at Reviews4Parents and found that using the Nintendo Wii, anyone can access pornographic content. In addition, there are movies available for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. Some of those movies have sexual content.”
But parents do have some tools to protect their children, if they learn to use the manufacturer’s built-in parental controls. These settings can restrict the times children can play, disable access to games with certain ratings or reject particular Web sites. For information about setting parental controls, visit www.esrb.org/about/resources.jsp.
PC games offline
Many console games are also available for computers. However, the vast majority of games with the AO rating today are sold only as computer games. These are games that are bought in a store or downloaded from the Internet and can be played offline. Like console games, the majority of PC games are safe, but parents still need to do their homework.
Many computer-based games are designed for playing online. These games typically thrive on communication among players, both verbal or typed. So players can be exposed to foul language from other players. Some video game producers attempt to censor language or peer-to-peer communications. However, players generally find ways around those restrictions.
Parents can protect their children from this by the use of an Internet filter. While it will not censor every occurrence of foul language, it will prevent their child from visiting any porn sites discussed during in-game chat.
PC games online
While the majority of console and PC games can be judged by their ESRB rating, there is a class of games that are not even looked at by the ESRB. This class of games is found only online and cannot be played once disconnected from the Internet. Many of them originate from Japan or draw inspiration from Japan’s “hentia” pornography fetish. Hentia is a cartoonish type of pornography. For some of these games, the point is to find women and rape them. Other types of games include strip poker and many other types of hardcore pornography.
While most of the game types described above are found only at adult Web sites, many games equally appalling and offensive are found scattered across the World Wide Web. As mentioned in the August 2010 Journal, the children’s television channel Nickelodeon linked to sister Web site addictinggames.com, which hosted several inappropriate sexual games. Those games have since been taken down. However, many different Web sites seem to be “family friendly” but simply are not. Many of the sites containing adult themed or pornographic games simply ask the player if he is 18 or over. No other age check is required. If the player clicks yes, he is not asked again.
While it may seem impossible to protect your child’s innocence and integrity, Yaggi offers several great resources in relation to knowing what games are appropriate for your home. He says, “Obviously, I think Reviews4Parents is a good resource, especially since it is from a Christian perspective.” What is unique about Reviews4Parents is that the site does not grade games. They simply review the game, listing and giving brief descriptions of violence, language, sexual content, spiritual content and the reviewer’s thoughts. They review games this way because, according to the Web site, “Reviews4Parents recognizes that not all parents are the same and what one parent feels inappropriate for their family, another parent may feel differently. Therefore, our reviews are meant to help parents make decisions, not make the decisions for the parents.”
Yaggi also points out that parents can visit www.esrb.org for ratings and see why certain games are rated certain ways. He also says, “I have found Common Sense Media to be very good.”
So the next time your child or teen asks for $50 for the latest big game, or you are interested in a game yourself, realize that there are ways to protect your family. Video games can be a great source of entertainment and a wonderful way of bringing families together for a modern game night. The key is to be attentive, educated and try to play the games with your kids. It may deepen your relationship and allow them to teach you something, knowing you are interested in their lives and want to learn what they enjoy. 
Yaggi: Five ways to protect your children
1. Do your homework. There are many resources available to parent. Parents should seldom, if ever, say, “I never knew that was in the game.”
2. Use the built-in parental controls. The Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii can be set to restrict access to inappropriate content.
3. Respect the ratings. Don’t be surprised when a game rated “M’ contains objectionable language and content. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the age of the average gamer is 34, so that’s the age for which most games are designed.
4. Check your child’s download history to see what games and movies he has accessed from his computer or console game.
5. Remember, parents, you are responsible for the influences that enter your home, including entertainment content. If you have reservations about a particular game, don’t be afraid to deny your child access to it. At the same time, use the opportunity to explain to your child why you are not allowing a particular game in your home. Even if your child disagrees with your decision, you have kept communications open with him by showing respect.
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One-third of British children view porn
One in three British children is accessing a tsunami of explicit pornographic images on the Internet by the age of 10, a study has revealed. At the same time, four in five teenagers regularly look up unsuitable photographs or films on their computers or mobile phones, and the average age of a child first exposed to pornography is just 11.
Parental advocates and child behavioral experts warned that exposure to these images inflicts serious mental harm on children and prevents them from forming healthy adult relationships in later life.
At a conference in the British Parliament in December, campaigners called on ministers to force Web sites to carry cigarette-style health warnings.
www.dailymail.co.uk, 11/23/10
