Censors ban ‘brutal’ video game

BBC NEWS | Censors ban ‘brutal’ video game

I’ve had an epiphany.

I was on the bus this morning and the headline on the Metro cover was ” ‘Sadistic’ game banned”. They comdemn this game for its violence, and yet no-one objects to films like Hostel 2, which is closer to the mythical snuff movie that I’ve ever heard of.

What gives?

Is it because this game is more shocking than the movie? Or is it because games are seen as fundamentally “for kids” reardless of their age rating.

People don’t seem to understand that the age certificate on a game is just as legally binding as the one on a film. It’s an offence to let anyone under the age play the game.

Video rental shops used to have a bad rep in the UK. Cinemas were usually better, because they could have their distribution licence withdrawn if underage kids watched an 18 film. They’d get no more films to show people. But rental shops were different. Commonly, videos were rented to kids not old enough to watch them legally. It was only through prosecutions, fines and a lot of advertisements that people finally got the message: An 18 film is for adults!

Yet this message is being lost on game shops. Time after time I’ve seen a parent (often a mother) in the queue at my local game shop buying an age restricted game, with a young kid standing nearby, shuffling their feet.

How much effort does it take for the assistant to mention that the game has an age restriction?

Thing is, I don’t think it would matter if they did anyway. The parent would shrug it off thinking “it’s a game, it must be for kids…”

Anyway, back to my epiphany…

Newspapers are a terrible idea. Their money comes from their circulation. Their circulation is dependant on their stories. So of course, they’re going to jump on any bandwagon going.

There’s a reason why every few years you see stories about coffee gives you cancer, or coffee prevents you getting cancer, or coffee has bugger all to do with cancer. Medical researchers want to make a name for themselves. A name brings reputation, funding and success. So they write a paper about something that’s bound to get published about a common food that has a link to a disease everyone fears.

It’s not that they’re lying, far from it. It’s just that they don’t care about warning people about a danger, they only care about making a name for themselves.