[Cerek]

Originally Posted by Luvian All rules are useless if you're willing to commit a crime to break them, it doesn't have anything specific to do with video games. Kids manage to get their hands on alcohol, so I suppose we should stop creating alcohol too? Oh, they also manage to get their hands on firearms! I guess we need to stop creating firearms! Oh no! Some kids could get his hands on his parent's car keys and go for a joyride, let's stop creating cars too! What about lighters? Some kid could set fire to something. Let's stop creating lighters! Do I need to go on, or can we simply agree "Let's stop creating things because a kid could get his hands on it" doesn't make much sense as an argument?

*sigh* We did this dance a few pages ago, but what the hell. I'll go another round.

These products are NOT marketed towards teens and young adults. Yes, things exist that any child or adult can harm themselves with through ignorance or carelessness or both. I'm not advocating banning the games. I'm suggesting that manufacturers choose to NOT produce games that specifically center around breaking as many laws as possible in order to be rewarded and have your character succeed.

Sadly, we have seen that the industry chooses NOT to regulate themselves, so the government has to create some type of regulation. We've also effectively concluded this system does NOT work effectively. Some stores comply, others don't. So the kid has to go out of their way a little to get it, it just requires a little extra effort.

One thing getting lost in this discussion is the fact that these games don't harm JUST the child, but other members of society as well and - by extension - society as a whole. You can claim (rather pompously) that I am trying to force my own set of values on others. I see it as common sense that a game designed to reward the protaganist for breaking laws of society is a bad idea.