The debate of M-Rated and AO policing has escalated in the last month or so (the 'Hot Coffee Mod')--it started small on the internet and slowly seeped into media coverage. Now of course, every politician wants to jump on the free-votes bandwagon by saying they are against such games--and, of course, the ludicrious "truths" and "studies" come up from all over.

Now, unless I'm mistaken, there's some lack of representation on the other side of things. It looks good if politicians everywhere shout about protecting your children, but, fuck, this is a democracy. But we don't live in the ideal government, so it's not exactly expected. Common sense should say "but aren't games sophisticated enough not to simply be lumped together under the banner of 'kiddy'?" Are games not as evolved as motion pictures in many respects, in that with an objective view they can be scrutinized and divided into age categories? It is silly and ridiculous that game developers must be blamed so much when, since the days of earlier violent games (post-ESRB), it is almost always the parents' fault. If you can't tell the difference between "Barbie's Horse Adventure" and "God of War", yet you can tell the difference between "Poo's Heffalump Movie" and "The Devil's Rejects" simply because of a blind cold-shoulder to something you "can't understand", there's really something wrong there.

Also copyright laws immediately spring to mind when thinking of hot coffee mod, which in itself can be illegal. Many fail to recognize that the code was blocked off, and though it may have been "irresponsible" to not remove it, doing so may have interfered directly with many parts of the game (and thus proven too much of a hassle when a simple block of that section of the game would have done). And yet the game is blindly criticized as "pornographic".

Here's something to think about. A movie like "The Godfather" or "Scarface" is brought into theatres. These very movies contain many things that are considered inappropriate to children, yet are respected, enjoyed, and highly praised. People aren't seeing these movies because they need to fufill sexual needs or violent thoughts, but they seen them because they want some entertainment. The story, the plot, the characters--all are shaped to make a compelling and enjoyable film. The film isn't labeled as porn, and isn't taken by the public this way. Seriously, if you were watching a movie and a sex scene started, would you truly turn it off in disgust? Not really, because in most good movies, it's there to help the plot along.

Now we enter a medium were cartoons, movies, and books have already filled the public with the impression that video games are entirely made for children. And while the video game industry has a self-regulating department called the ESRB, most political lunatics and guilt-filled parents ignore this and blantantly call out the developers themselves as the problem. They ignore the box that says "Resident Evil: 4, Rated Mature (17+)", and simply think "Super Mario Bros." They think of idiotic 80s sitcoms that display gaming as a childish distraction. And then when little Robbie's mother walks into the room to tell him dinner's ready, she see's a head exploding after her son unloads a shotgun round to a zombie's skull.

Which brings me to the point of media coverage and the blame of video games in this respect. You'll always have the few cases that state that a child stabbed someone to death, and usually a video game is linked to the case. Yet in reality, most of these cases are the result of previous mental instability. Think about something else--is the news going to report the millions of other children that didn't go about killing anyone because of games? No, of course not. But people only take in what's broadcasted, not the whole picture.

This situation is horrendous. The game has been out for quite a while yet, not including previous installments. And while talk and debate has grown over the extreme violence of Grand Theft Auto, there hasn't been most commotion as this new case. And yet we bring something so vile and evil to the general public, that it causes a general gasp of terrified exclamation...dare I say it.....sex!? Yes. in this society, it's quite normal to have tons of violence appear, yet when heterosexual intercourse takes place, it's suddenly too much. Do we really in such a sea of bullshit? Why are some people so afraid of sex? Can they not see that in many respects, violence can be more affecting then coitus?

And yet, really, shielding children from some of these things is more disastrous than actually letting them see it (imagine seeing a loved one spread out, dead on the street after years of being 'protected' from such images--you would freak out on a hundred different levels). The parent must display a good sense of judgement and responsibility, and be the main force in correcting their child of what is right and wrong. You cannot truly believe that the Television will dominate your child's conscience unless you give way and let it. If you do your job right than nothing can truly 'perverse' or 'desensitize' your child. After a few good years of mental development, the kid should be able to realize what fantasy is (a failure to do so is a sign of trouble), and what reality's limits are. That's why the video games are given the moniker "game".

Chess is there to test your wits without having to actually go to war, and that's the same premise of a real-time strategy rame. Games like Dungeons and Dragons allow to the player to take on a different life without the risks involved, just like RPG and MMORPGs do. First Person Shooters obviously bring the gritty involvement of war, and a game such a paintball can do much the same thing. The list can go on for quite a while. It's just a different form of visual entertainment, and often much more realistic, but entertainment nonetheless.

Overall, video games are simply the scapegoat society has been waiting for. Why blame real-time reality shows, mind-numbing game shows, pornography sitcoms, violent movies, popular culture magazines, musical influences, and all the other forms of entertainment that we now take so lightly, and push their effects and focus onto something else? That what video games are being used for, and truthfully, I am really disgusted. No one is really pushing for the other side, the other view of things, and that's really depressing.

And with easily thrown-together shit balls like this: http://www.protectmichiganschildren.com/, it's only getting worse.

Voices of reason, however, are hard to find, such as this man: http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolutio...pact/myths.html

And the last thing I have to say is: video games, like any other form of entertainment, have bad effects, that's true, but to ignore the bad effects of other mediums is just wrong.

So....Discuss.