I Didn't Need to See That...

[WWE907]

In this thread, you can post your experiences dealing with the fallout of a parent, spouse, or anyone with a sense of decency seeing or hearing the content that earned GTA its M rating.

 

[dhandeh]

Is this a wind up?

 

[ryzno]

In this thread, you can post your experiences dealing with the fallout of a parent, spouse, or anyone with a sense of decency seeing or hearing the content that earned GTA its M rating.

Im lost. IRL problems due to GTA5?

 

[Slash]

My parent don't care. In fact my dad asked me what movie I was watching once haha. They think its funny all the stuff you can do. My grandma gets a kick out of running people over lol. She yells at the tv like get out of my way

 

[High-Test]

I remember being 13 and playing GTA: Vice City and my Dad cheering us on as we would run people over in stolen taxis - even though he was against us playing GTA. I guess he didn't quite know what was going on.

 

[WWE907]

Im lost. IRL problems due to GTA5?

I meant if someone reacted in a negative way to it, you can post what happened.

 

[Ryanswannell]

My Dad let me play 18+ games (mainly GTA III onwards) since I was about 6, but my Mum didn't. But that was only after my little brother ( about 3 at the time) repeated a line from Ken Rosenberg in Vice City . She went ape 🤬 and didn't let me play another GTA game until the release of GTA IV, so I would have been 13 when my mother started letting me play GTA games.

I turned 18 this August so pre-ordering and playing GTA is a piece of cake.

 

[Carlos]

The game is 'PEGI 18' here, but you don't have to be 18 to buy it. It's just rated for 18+, though legal from 16...

I remember being 13 and playing GTA: Vice City and my Dad cheering us on as we would run people over in stolen taxis - even though he was against us playing GTA. I guess he didn't quite know what was going on.

I was 11 or 12, when my grandma gave Vice City as a gift. She asked me if I could let her see some cool stuff, so I shot someone through the head with a sniper rifle She said something like; if I knew that you weren't playing right now!

Parents not allowing their children to play this just because it's violent, short minded people...

 

[Luminis]

I was 13-ish when GTA III came out and played that one as well. Back then, I had to sit down with my dad and talk about games and stuff so he had some sort of certainty I wasn't getting affected negatively by what was going on on the screen. There's hardly been anyone who's butted in with my gaming habits since (aside from me spending too much time with World of WarCraft when I was 16 or 17).

But, nowadays, living on my own, being 25 with a nice, steady job, a place of my own and a healthy social life - there's nobody to bug me about stuff like that. I've gotta say, though, I wouldn't spend my time playing if my dad came over to visit, or whomever else. Well, unless they are into games. That's usually a huge load of fun. Kicking back with a few friends and taking turns with V, that is. Downing a few beers and laughing our butts off as chaos ensues.

 

[Famine]

Parents not allowing their children to play this just because it's violent, short minded people...

Not really. Parents who allow their children unfettered access to age-rated games/films and the internet because they have no knowledge or interest are the ones short of mind. A parent who doesn't let their kid do whatever they please and stops them playing games/watching films/using the internet - even if they're wrong - at least is parenting.

My favourite kind is the one who walks into a games shop saying "Right, which game is it you want?" and then paying for it unquestioningly when the kid brings it over. And then has a fit at the kid for wanting the game all their mates want when I walk over and say "You know that's an 18-rated game, full of death, gore, sex and swearing, right?", rather than telling themselves off for their ignorance at the warnings printed on the box.


My eldest is twelve. I'm quite lucky in that she's a smart lass and knows her own boundaries so it's very little hardship to enforce them, but she's not playing GTA5 even if I had it in the house (which I don't, for well documented reasons). She doesn't want to anyway and refers to her peers who have the game as idiotic sheep with parents who don't care. Perhaps she knows her boundaries precisely because we do show an interest in her.

She's seen me playing age-rated games (primarily the five Assassin's Creed games, GTA4, Fallout 3/NV and Skyrim) and watching age-rated films and TV shows for a few years, so she's familiar with them. We, as parents, have even exposed her to films and TV shows rated beyond her age because we think they're part of her cultural heritage, contemporary knowledge (okay, we let her watch Anchorman so she could join in with the Famine-house in-jokes) and education - she's old enough to ask questions and that means she's old enough to have the answers. But most importantly, we know what it is she's watching and playing, rather than just leaving her to her own devices.


A parent that doesn't let their kid play GTAV (even at 17) just because it's violent? I've got no problem with that - at least they're showing an interest in what their kid's up to. A parent who lets their kid play any game, even totally unclassified ones, without any knowledge of it isn't doing their job.

 

[Mark T]

At the midnight launch I saw about three parents with children that couldn't have been any more than 12. I wouldn't want my 12 year old playing a game like GTA V, in the same way I wouldn't want them to be watching a film like Saw or Basic Instinct.

I can relate to Famine when he says that his 12 year old daughter knows her boundaries as my niece who is just turning 13 will actually make an effort to do something else if there is a sexual scene or strong violence in a film. It was actually good to see self restraint.

I expect most kids of 14 upwards have the game as their parents probably think of it as just another "computer game". If the parents actually watched their child play the game and saw the scenes in it, I doubt that they would let them play it.

 

[Nurburgthing.]

*snip*

Reminds me of this story regarding the game Manhunt.

What isn't mentioned in the article is that the kid was 16 and his mum bought the game for him.

I personally think that if a game makes you turn psycho, you were probably going to be a psycho anyway.


Back on topic.....My Mrs face when I picked up a lady of the night and took her to a secluded spot was quite amusing to say the least .

 

[Luminis]

I personally think that if a game makes you turn psycho, you were probably going to be a psycho anyway.

While I generally agree that you've got to have at least a certain tendency towards snapping in order to snap from playing a video game, I'd say that there's a pretty big difference between someone who's sixteen playing a game like manhunt, or a child. Exposing a child to excessive violence in one form or another might not make it snap, either, but that the sort of thing that could potentially cause such tendencies to manifest in the first place.

I wouldn't hand the game over to my kid if I wasn't certain that it wouldn't be leaving any sort of lasting impression (aside from being a good, fun game to play, that is). Let's not forget that children are a bit more easily affected and influenced by such things than youths and adults... From personal experience with my cousin, I can tell you that playing games like GTA can affect a kids behaviour, to a degree. Sure, he didn't turn violent, but he regularly went basically hyper active when playing games that involved a lot of action. That's not the same as snapping and blowing someone's head of, far from it. But complete ignoring the affect that unsuitable content could potentially have on a child's mind seems like the wrong train of thought to me.

 

[Snapey]

I first played GTA vice city at the age of 10 (Ten years have gone so quickly!) the reason why I played it was that we got a demo disc with a ps2 magazine which I had bought, and there was a trailer for Vice city on it, the game looked interesting and my dad was watching the trailer with me at the time, and liked the 80's feel to the game trailer the song playing in the background was 'i ran(so far)' by a flock of seagulls.

I was never allowed to play the story through until my dad played through the missions himself (if my dad thought the cutscenes/missions were too inappropriate, he would tell me to skip the cutscene).

This also happened through San Andreas.

I can totally see why parents don't want their children playing GTA, I honestly think that the child themselves is the problem, as any child who knew any better would see the difference between a game and real life.

If anything playing Vice city showed me music that I otherwise wouldn't of probably heard if I hadn't played the game, and never trust Diaz or Lance Vance.

 

[Slash]

I can see why parents might not want children to play GTA at a young age but personally I started at a young age at my aunts house upstairs with no one but me and a few cousins and friends a over. They made me swear to god not to tell anyone they let me play it. When I heard it swear and them blow up a gas station, I was floored! But I thought it was cool and realized it was a game and not to do it in real life. If I ever wanted to do it, to do it there.

That said, if I had kids I wouldn't mind them playing it so long as they understand that. GTA V is a bit much with dirty content so I'd probably start with a different one, but even still I'd probably let then play it. Hell I'd play it with them.

 

[Darren.]

I began to play GTA when I was 14, and started out with GTAIV. It was only then my parents realised I knew the difference between Virtual and Reality (I knew it anyway), so bought me GTAIV for christmas. Since then I've been hooked, they don't car about the explicit content as you're going see stuff like that in real life anyway.

 

[Slash]

Didn't take long, but the graphic torture scene has come under fire from human rights groups. Fortunately, they are not calling for censorship, removal of the mission, or anything else that could be done, but they are asking parents to take more care and notice because little ones are seeing such things.

I wouldn't be surprised if this turns into another hot coffee kind of thing. At least I got to experience this one.

http://www.theguardian.com/technolo...t-auto-5-under-fire-for-graphic-torture-scene

 

[DDastardly00]

I don't beat around the bush, I tend to be very, very direct when it comes to poor judgement calls and well, bad parenting in general. I have very little tolerance for either of these things.

Some people should not have had kids, quite frankly because they are horrible parents, the same goes with some dog owners, who never should have bought a dog because it's clear they don't know how to deal with one or properely take care of one. I was at the mall the other day when I witnessed a mother with two teenage daughters dropping F-bombs every other word, GTA's dialogue has nothing on this woman. The stuff she was saying to her own daughters was simply unbelievable. It was in the food court area, and several people with young children (toddlers) got up and moved it was so bad and very loudly stated their reasons for doing so.

I really don't care how mature you think your 6, 7, 8, 9 year old is, they shouldn't be playing an M rated game like GTA 5. And it's pure stupidity on the parents part if they think otherwise. Kids are always going to want something they shouldn't have and that isn't going to change, but it's up to the parents to make those judgement calls and in many cases it's the parents who are failing their kids, very badly I might add.

Mature games are for adults not children. I can understand it if the kid is 16, maybe 15, but 9 or even younger? Come on people that is just ridiculous.

 

[Bones Brigade]

My parents are more concerned with when they're getting grandchildren than what video games I'm playing.

 

[Slash]

My parents are more concerned with when they're getting grandchildren than what video games I'm playing.

Same

 

[Bluntified]

A day or two ago I was doing a side mission, it involved breaking signs. I didn't want to draw attention from cops so I decided to kick/punch them. Little did I know, my 19 month old was glued to the screen, for the next 10 minutes or so, all she did was kick things (mainly air)! Not only did she kick, but she was kicking the same way they do in the game - which is a weird video game kick . My wife didn't like that one bit so I'm now back to playing only when my daughters asleep.

I know she's still too young to know what's going on but it was a real eye opener, me, as a parent, needs to keep an eye on what she's expose to.

My wife on the other hand, has a fit when she sees the strip clubs on the screen, I try to stay away from it but damn, it's part of the story/mission. They should have kept that optional, not incorporate it into the missions.

 

[Luminis]

My wife on the other hand, has a fit when she sees the strip clubs on the screen, I try to stay away from it but damn, it's part of the story/mission. They should have kept that optional, not incorporate it into the missions.

If they did, they'd probably have to scratch the shooting people in missions, abducting people in missions, killing animals in missions, illegal street racing in missions and whatever else - because someone, somewhere will have a problem with it.

I don't know, it's GTA, it's not supposed to be politically correct and the games always caused some controversy. What I find most interesting is that you can kill thousands upon thousands of human beings and nobody bats an eye, but go to a strip club or kick a cow, and everybody loses their minds. Makes you wonder how de-sensitized to violence against humans (in video games) we are.

 

[anim8r_uk]

I'm a Parent, a Game Developer and a huge fan of gaming....and I think GTA V is bloody fantastic, but as a parent, I wouldn't let my kids play GTA V or any game that is rated an 18+. Why? cause they aren't 18.

Call me old fashioned, but there are things that children shouldn't be exposed to....whether it's 'just a game' or not. I love GTA V. I have no problems with 18 rated games....in fact, most of my games are 18 rated.... but they are 18 rated for a reason.

As a developer... I also get a tad angry when tabloid papers report how games like GTA are making the kids of today violent. They shouldn't even be playing it! It's down to the parents.....not the game developers. They're making a game with adult themes....for adults.

 

[Katiegan]

I first played GTA when I was 12, and that was IV, which came with the PS3 I got for my birthday. My parents were aware of what was in the game, and I've always been mature for my age, from what I've been told. So they let me play it, knowing that I had my head screwed on right and fully understood what was going on. When V came out and I asked if I could get it, the only question asked was if we had the money.

My sister's boyfriend plays COD in front of their kids, aged 3 and 1, which sounds pretty bad, but both of the kids tell him off for swearing at the other players rather than copy what he's doing. I wouldn't like to think he'll play GTA in front of them though, as the 3 year old is starting to understand things more now. The only games my sister really plays is Need for Speed, and her boyfriend isn't home often because he's in the army.

 

[DK]

I've played GTA games since I was 13, and if I were a father, I wouldn't let my kids play GTA V. Franklin and Lemar's liberal use of dropping N-bombs is enough to get me to err on the side of caution, never mind the "torture scene".

 

[Bacon]

18 is a number, a guideline. It doesn't represent a person. You can have 12 and 13 year olds more emotionally mature than 18 year olds. Therefore are just as able to handle the content of GTA V. If I was a parent, I would wait until my child is at least 13 before they could play it. As it is around the time that children begin to mature.

But for example, to not let your 14 year old play it just because they are 14 is nonsense. You need to look at your child and see whether they are actually mature enough to play it. That's real parenting. Actually assessing your child, having a real interest in their development as a person.

 

[MatskiMonk]

My friends two kids learned more disgusting pathetic behavior watching Football, than they've ever picked up from computer games, but all kids are different, one of them will most likely repeat some of the dialogue if they heard it... the other would probably drive around stopping at red lights, not hitting anything to avoid damaging the car! They played IV as free roam... out of the context of the story line there's little harm just letting them explore the map.

 

[Serum]

I let my kid play cod, but he can't play nor watch me play gta v. I allowed him to watch, until they introduced trevor. He laughed and said "WHAT!", as Trevor railed the chick bent over the counter. I later laughed about the situation once I had him leave the room, but it wasn't funny at first because I was also in shock. Didn't see that coming as gta 4 wasn't as graphic.

 

[Waheed]

I let my kid play cod, but he can't play nor watch me play gta v. I allowed him to watch, until they introduced trevor. He laughed and said "WHAT!", as Trevor railed the chick bent over the counter. I later laughed about the situation once I had him leave the room, but it wasn't funny at first because I was also in shock. Didn't see that coming as gta 4 wasn't as graphic.

Me too, my young brother watches me and before a cutscene starts I make him close his eyes until I check if there's anything

 

[Luminis]

Not to question anyone's paranting or anything, it's just something that generally strikes me as a bit... Odd.

Now, both sexual content and the visual depiction of violence are not suitable for children (in my opinion). I just wonder why people are generally more lenient with children being exposed to violence (like killing people) than to sexual content. Assuming that video games do influence their behaviour, well, I'd personally rather have my son bone some chick on the kitchen counter than beating the living hell out of someone. He'll want to do the former pretty badly, anyway, thanks to puberty... Being sexually active isn't quite bad. Most people are, anyways. Being violent, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be acceptable under any circumstances. We generally tend to be okay with exposing someone to content that might make him/her behave in ways that are not acceptable at all, but strictly avoid content that might make them behave in ways that aren't necessarily bad. Why?

Again, I don't want to question anyone, but that's something I hear a lot. And I can't quite wrap my head around it.