GTA San Andreas pulled from shelves due to rating change

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

I have two kids, but I disagree with this.

Nothing magical happens when you have kids--yeah, you've got to make some decisions for your kids that are difficult, but being a parent (biologically or otherwise) doesn't mean you have a moral wisdom particular to "parents."

In fact, I suspect the percentage of people who are parents that have any business *being* parents is probably no better than 50%.

So would you let your kids play GTA?

[Falls City Beer]

Originally Posted by WVRed

So would you let your kids play GTA?

If they were old enough to earn the money to buy it, yes, I would.

But I'm not going to buy them that crap (and I mean that more from a monetary standpoint than a moral one--they only get but a fraction of what they ask my wife and me for). Something tells me, though, that my two girls couldn't care less about stuff like that.

[Redsfaithful]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

Something tells me, though, that my two girls couldn't care less about stuff like that.

Hey, wait a minute ... doesn't the older one belong to RedsZone? You been holding out on us FCB??

[Falls City Beer]

Originally Posted by Redsfaithful

Hey, wait a minute ... doesn't the older one belong to RedsZone? You been holding out on us FCB??

She broke free. She learned how to handle all kinds of weapons playing GTA.

[MWM]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

Nothing magical happens when you have kids--yeah, you've got to make some decisions for your kids that are difficult, but being a parent (biologically or otherwise) doesn't mean you have a moral wisdom particular to "parents." .

Maybe it didn't happen that way for you, but for me, having multiple children has changed my entire perspective on just about everything from what it was prior to having children. Sure it's not something magical that happens during birth, but it's an evolution that couldn't possibly have happened without having gone through child rearing. I don't think you'll find that many parents saying things like, "I played violent video games and never committed murder so they must be OK." I don't think many people with children will deny the influence these things have on them.

Rarely do I believe people have to experience certain things to have a valid opinion on the matter, but raising children is an exception. That's just my opinion based on my experience, and I don't expect others to agree.

[Michael Allred]

Originally Posted by MWM

Maybe it didn't happen that way for you, but for me, having multiple children has changed my entire perspective on just about everything from what it was prior to having children. Sure it's not something magical that happens during birth, but it's an evolution that couldn't possibly have happened without having gone through child rearing. I don't think you'll find that many parents saying things like, "I played violent video games and never committed murder so they must be OK." I don't think many people with children will deny the influence these things have on them.

Rarely do I believe people have to experience certain things to have a valid opinion on the matter, but raising children is an exception. That's just my opinion based on my experience, and I don't expect others to agree.

Get over yourself. Seriously. Maybe YOU needed to have children to look at things differently, perhaps others do not. Your having kids does not, in any way shape or form, make your opinion more valid than my own.

[RFS62]

Originally Posted by Michael Allred

Get over yourself. Seriously. Maybe YOU needed to have children to look at things differently, perhaps others do not. Your having kids does not, in any way shape or form, make your opinion more valid than my own.

Michael, it does give a different context to the way you look at things. That's not a put down to you, or your ability to relate.

It's just an observation, that I happen to agree with.

Something changes in you when you become responsible for another persons upbringing.

[REDREAD]

I really think the ratings should give more details than just a single letter rating.

Like list exactly what the potentially offensive things are. Put a warning on the box that a sex scene can be seen with an internet download, etc. Put more information on the box, because many parents just don't have the time to spend a couple hours on the internet researching the game (or don't want to). If you're at the store, and the kid wants to buy the game now, it would be nice to look on the box and see what the game contains.

[CrackerJack]

I think this guy pretty much sums up my reaction to this:

Betrayed By Video Games


As you may have heard their is now a kindly 85-year-old woman protecting all of us. A wonderful grandmother purchased a video game for her 14-year-old grandson only to find out that it was full of pixilated filth. The game was the much talked about "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas". I'm sure you have heard about how you can download, install, unlock, and then view fake nudity in this game.

I was more than surprised when I found out about this. How could someone sleep at night knowing that they had the potential to expose the world to this slime? Shame on you Rockstar Games! You have managed to take something pure and beautiful (carjacking, banging hookers, dealing drugs, etc.) and ruin it.

Back to our gray-haired heroine. Here she wants to buy a nice present for her angelic grandson. How could you go wrong with a game named "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas"? It practically screams good family values. Perhaps her thought process went along these lines:

"Grand" is a good word. "Theft", maybe they are stealing from the rich and giving to the poor like Robin Hood. I certainly want little Billy to help poor people. "Auto", maybe he has to drive elderly women around to cash their social security checks. "San Andreas", well I think Bettie use to live near there..."

Yes, I think our senior-citizen never stood a chance.

If my sarcasm has escaped you, I think these people are so retarded they should have a padded helmet on their head and be eating every meal from a straw! How do you buy GTA for a 14-year-old kid and not only be outraged when you find out there might be something objectionable in it, but you actually file a lawsuit against the company? It's FAKE partial nudity!

This is the crap that leads to a violent society, not video games! There have been many monsters in society that have committed all sorts of atrocities that were not influenced by video games; Hitler, Stalin, John Tesh. Excuse me we aren't talking about the violence in the game we are talking about how you can see pixels the colors of skin.

Thankfully we have Hillary Clinton coming to help out Grandma. Wait a minute. Theft, drugs, nudity. Hillary must not like it coming from a game and not her husband. I'll tell you what Senator Clinton. Why don't you take all the tax dollars you will spend to "investigate" this game and just buy all the copies? Then we can have a video game burning.

[Falls City Beer]

Originally Posted by RFS62

Michael, it does give a different context to the way you look at things. That's not a put down to you, or your ability to relate.

It's just an observation, that I happen to agree with.

Something changes in you when you become responsible for another persons upbringing.

Sure, some of the priorities change (money/time, etc), but my core values haven't shifted.

[RFS62]

Originally Posted by Falls City Beer

Sure, some of the priorities change (money/time, etc), but my core values haven't shifted.

I don't think my core values shifted either, FCB. In fact, my son is actually my step-son, he was 12 when I met him.

Something did shift in my psyche though, the day I took responsibility for his upbringing. I can't really say how it differs from being a biological parent, or how it differs from person to person. I know from reading your posts the last few years that you're a good man. I don't have any doubt about that in any regard. Maybe you're more evolved than I am. Maybe my shift was an expression of some shortcoming in myself, that I overcompensated for with Garrett. I don't know. But I do know that it changed me the day I accepted responsibility for raising him.

[Falls City Beer]

Originally Posted by RFS62

I don't think my core values shifted either, FCB. In fact, my son is actually my step-son, he was 12 when I met him.

Something did shift in my psyche though, the day I took responsibility for his upbringing. I can't really say how it differs from being a biological parent, or how it differs from person to person. I know from reading your posts the last few years that you're a good man. I don't have any doubt about that in any regard. Maybe you're more evolved than I am. Maybe my shift was an expression of some shortcoming in myself, that I overcompensated for with Garrett. I don't know. But I do know that it changed me the day I accepted responsibility for raising him.

Me more evolved? Pssh. Hardly. Parenthood changed me, no doubt, but I guess I don't think I've gained any more moral wisdom than anyone else in the world and that includes people who've never raised a kid and never will. I think age plays a factor in wisdom, but not parenthood in and of itself. That's my only point.

[MWM]

I'm not sure how this turned into a conversation about core values or moral wisdom. Mine didn't change with children and I certainly don't think I have any more wisdom than anyone else. I was responding to the point about understanding how things influence or don't influence children's behavior, and the idea that "parents need to do their jobs". Being a parent isn't that simple and the more things parents have to constantly be on the lookout for, the less realistic it is to be an effective parent.

[RFS62]

I guess we can only speak from our own experience. I really feel like I changed when I became a parent, even as a step-parent. Garrett was my one shot at being a parent in my life. I was 40 when I married his mother. In fact, our 10th anniversary is Tuesday.

I went from a life of self-indulgence and adventure to putting others ahead of my own well-being practically overnight. Maybe that enhanced the effect it had on me, I don't know. But it really did change me, and I didn't expect it.

[LvJ]

The key here is to balance it out. Let your kid play GTA and watch whatever he/she wants, but balance it out with knowledge of what is right and wrong. In my opinion, any sane/normal kid will not be swayed by a movie or a game to do harm unto others. If you allow him to play the game, you must make sure he understands it. Don't abandon him and allow him to develop whatever he wants to think about the product on his own. Make sure he has guidance and a second strick opinion on the subject matter.