Two Big League-Licensed Video Games Are Inappropriate

[Akasha]

une 30, 2004� Nine-year-old Stephane Safar likes to play MLB Slugfest, a video game rated "E", that is, for everyone 6 years old and older.

But then he played it in front of his mother Amy, and what she saw went well beyond real-life baseball, as players punched and kicked each other during the course of the game.

"Now that I've seen what's in MLB Slugfest, I'm shocked," she says. "I haven't watched the game before and it really is a slugfest."

Wrong Message for Kids?

Many sports video games, including MLB Slugfest, use the likenesses of real athletes. And that can be a problem, argues Kimberly Thompson, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and co-author of a recent study on violence in E-rated video games.

"The important message that a lot of kids take away from viewing their heroes, these sports heroes, committing acts of violence … is that maybe it's OK," Thompson says. "You know: 'Maybe it's OK if I don't follow the rules because my heroes aren't following the rules.'"

In fact, Amy Safar is "concerned that he might mimic the behavior that he sees. … Does he know that that's not really how Barry Bonds acts out on the field? Does he know that Nomar [Garciaparra] can't punch somebody?"

MLB Slugfest is licensed by Major League Baseball, which declined to be interviewed for this story.

"My own personal opinion," says New York Mets pitcher Mike Stanton, "is that's something you're really not going to see here at the baseball field or any Little League field, and it's not really promoting the sport the way we would like it to be promoted. But, you know, sometimes money speaks louder than words."

Amy Safar says parents can be misled when they see products endorsed by professional sports leagues.

"I think it's irresponsible for Major League Baseball to give their stamp of approval to a game that doesn't truly reflect Major League Baseball," she says. "That stamp by Major League Baseball on the cover, with their logo, made me feel that I was going to buy something that was more appropriate for my son than I actually did."

And a new version of MLB Slugfest has just been released. It is rated "T" for teens because of some sexual innuendo by the announcers and even more-intense fighting.

‘Women Are Objects in This Game’

An NBA-licensed basketball game also has raised the ire of some critics. NBA Ballers allows gamers to acquire possessions such as mansions and cars.

"I think the message that kids take away from NBA Ballers is, it's all about money," Thompson argues. "Women are objects in this game. They are like the other things that you can acquire � a house, a car, a woman. You acquire them by scoring points on the court and then you go and get the woman that you want."

While the NBA declined to be interviewed, it did issue a statement saying, in part, "NBA Ballers is a fantasy game [which] contains no salacious, violent or inappropriate material."

But Jerry West � who has been a part of the NBA for 41 years and whose silhouette is used in the league's official logo � was supposed to be one of the "NBA legends" featured in NBA Ballers. When he learned what was in it, he insisted upon being removed.

"The only thing that a player has is, to some degree, his reputation and his integrity," West says. "I think all of us would like to feel like that's important to us."

Information Source : ABCNews.com

[Whispdragon]

This is one subject that I feel strongly about.

Many parents find themselves at a loss for words when they see what games there kids are playing. Heck, I was playing Doom when I was around 8 years old. But when parents actually look at what games there kids are playing and are shocked at what they see. They go apecrap and start pointing fingers at Game Companies stating that there subjecting kids to violent behavior.

IMO this is utter bullcrap. I get two things from the Slugfest article

A. How long before she found out what was in this game? The article doesn't say. If the mother didn't find out for 2 weeks, then she doesn't partake in enough activities with her son. I know people have things to do like work, etc... But both my parents worked long hours and still found enough time to harass me and to check in on me from time to time. On the other hand, if she found out right away and took the game away from the kid then not much harm could have been done. Also the article doesn't state the childs age. The kid could be 6-14, and in my opinion if he was around 12 or above I think he can handle people punching eachother. Such things are not my call though, parents can do whatever they want with their kids, and its none of my business anyway.

B. Obviously the mom didn't read the back of the box, I would bet $20 that there is probably a picture or some writing stating that people beat the living crap out of eachother in this game. Obviously if the boy was old enough to buy this game himself he either has a job, which in my opinion he is old enough to make his own decisions(but see above, not my business.) Or his parents just gave him money. Is this not asking for trouble?

About the second part of the Article.

This is a touchy subject, I just don't know how I would comment on it. I will say this though. I don't think that anything they see in a video game, because nudity is not allowed in a E, or T rated game can be any worse then what they see on TV or the movies. If the game is rated M then the parent's or the store are the ones to blame. If the kid is 17+ which is the requirement for an M rated game then he is old enough to make his own decisions. True, parents still have the ultimate decision if the child lives under their roof.

In the end, I would say kids that are "warped" by video games needed help in the first place.

[Whispdragon]

Bah, I took all that time and no one has anything to say?

I bah you! :p

[Akasha]

LOL I did... but it was yesterday and I was sleepy... then I forgot... :oops:

Corse now I can't remember, but was basically "I Agree" :D

[R2D2]

my eyes are to tired to read all your words wispdragon....


nah seriously you have some good points but the article is kindda pointing out some good points too... but we all know that there are violence in everything anyways so why bother!! At least most are used to violence,and expecially in computer games

[Whispdragon]

I just don't think that they should point there fingers at the Game Companies, theres a rating on there for a reason.

Everytime I see one of these articles I always say to myself.

"Just leave em the $#@$ alone"

-George Carlin :lol:

[Azathoth]

I have to agree with Whisp on this one - they already put ratings on their.... can't blame the developers for delivering what people want. Its up to the parents to police their kids - not game developers.

[Kalazor]

When i have kids, i will make it very clear what is "right" and what is "wrong", as such. My kids will know that you can't just go and hit people with baseball bats or start verbally abusing people for no reason - therefore they will know that the game is just that, a game.

I expect any half-decent parent to outline what is acceptable in the culture that they live in - and if the kid DID for some reason become very violent, he/she either has a problem mentally or has bad parentage.

There would've been a blurb on the back of the box clearly stating what the game was about - and at the bottom of the box would almost certainly say, "Contains mild violence". The game developers have virtually said, "You've been warned".

The parents that usually make a fuss about these things are usually the type of parents that won't let a 13 year old watch a 15+ rated film until they are exactly 15 - or the type of parents who force their teenage kids to go to a church club against their will or something. Don't get me started on parents like that - one of them once told me to get out of her house and not to see her daughter again because i had long hair! How out of order and stupid is that. Argh... oh well.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Kalazor

My kids will know that you can't just go and hit people with baseball bats or start verbally abusing people for no reason -

*changing content of diary*

[Akasha]

Oh yes, don't you know? All boys with long hair are rebels that only want to corrupt the minds of their precious daughter. My mum was way cool about things like that... even when I was 17 and dating a 31 year old she never ever said a thing. Course it might have helped the 31 year old acted like a 15 year old at times, and I was more relationship stable than he was but hey, she knew I was old enough to make decisions for my own and was always there when things went wrong.

Not really the same area as games because I never played them back then, I have my current man to thank for turning me into a nerd lol. But I think a lot depends on the parents, and what a lot don't realise is that if you give your kids a little rope they tend to be ok. I know from my work and seeing god knows how many different families and parent styles that it's usually the kids that are brought up being taught the right values, but still being allowed to watch M rated films when they aren't quiet 15 or even playing violent video games that turn out ok. It's when you start depriving them of everything that "everybody as school has it / plays it / owns it" that they will venture out more to try it and because they can't talk to you about it try it on the street.

It's the same sort of thing that marriages breaking up over EQ thing. I know from when I first started playing it I would often get up in the middle of the night to get a drink and the boyfriend would still be up playing it, or I would stir at 6am for something and think "I might as well get up and play" because it was fun... but I also knew that it was just a game, and a computer is not something you can really take to the bedroom or have it cook you dinner... yet ;)

While I agree that parents should watch what their kids do, there is only so much you can keep from them. I remember when I was about 9 or 10 my mum said to me, "When you see your friends having drinks and getting drunk I want you to come to me, I will let you get drunk but you will do it here, in my house where I can watch over you." So I'm around 13 and all my friends are somehow getting ahold of alcohol, and of course being 13 didn't listen to my mum.. till I took my first swig of beer and nearly threw up because of the taste. I went home and promptly told my mum to not worry about me drinking as the stuff is awful.

About 2 or 3 weekends after that she brought home some UDL cans, not sure if you have them over there but basically they are pre-mixed alcoholic drinks. She brought home Brandy N Dry which I tried and hated, Scotch and Coke which burned my throat and a few other's, till we got to Vodka and Orange to which I proudly said, "Yum! Tastes like Fanta!"

The following Saturday night my mum brought home about 5 cans of Vodka and Orange UDL, some pizza and a couple of Movies. Man I thought my mum was like the coolest mum in the world. We sat there, drinking and eating and she kept topping me up. By around 11pm I was laying fully clothed in the bathtub saying hello to my breakfast again with my mum holding my hair back. Boy was I sick...

The next morning I begged my mum to "just make me better and I will never drink again I promise". I found out later my mum had purposely made me drink that much to show me just what it was like and we talked about how would I feel laying on the grass somewhere feeling like that? Would my friends stick around to help me? How would I feel the next morning when I wasn't in my bed? etc etc. She told me she wanted to make me so drunk I would never drink again... and I didn't until I was 16 and nightclubbing... underage ;)