So if you were to film some kids in their living room drinking while under age with the parents permission its the parents fault yet when you let kids play games while under age with their parents permission its ... the gaming industries fault?

Or atleast thats what i am assuming the Newsnight team are implying seeing as their "report" didn't actually involve any reporting, they simply showed a scenario and made little comment on it.

Why weren't the parents being put under the spotlight and being asked why they are allowing their kids to play these games? Why did the reporter also not ask why the kid who was affected by GTAIV was allowd to play an 18-rated game?

So they aimed to 'show' the reality not reality itself but what in fact was a illustration of what the supposed reality looked like, that says a lot doesn't it!

Aren't we all over reacting to this ?
NewsNight appear correct in their approach of acknowledging that under age kids play mature games - this is a fact.
In the same way that under age kids drink, smoke etc.
The fact is that although items intended for older age people should not be consumed, played etc by younger people, they often are. There is no use blaming the parents etc because even those kids with the most responsible parents will still play such games if they want to (in the same way most kids have an over 18 porno mag under their mattress).
Smoking has always been age restricted, but with little effect - hence introduction of supplemental laws such as limits on advertising of cigarettes etc - maybe if video games were found to have similar effects on society, similar laws would be needed instead of banning/censoring etc ? I hope not.
I for one do not believe video games cause problems in the majority of children, but as many studies state, it is those children that already have problems that are negatively affected by video games - to blindly state parents should not allow their kids to play such games, is ignorant of the fact that kids always will find away.
I do not think parent responsibility lies predominantly in restricting the play of such games (although they should forbid it, the reality is they still will) - what parents need to ensure is that they instil a sense of right and wrong in kids from the outset, so that when they do play these games, they understand that shooting someone to steal his car is a fantasy in a game and is not something condoned in real life.

@4: If thats the case then why should we have police, criminals will find a way to commit crime anyway so whats the point?

Parents have an important role to play. I've worked in a shop and sold games to a parent at xmas. That parent is going home to give the game to their son/daughter who may or may not be 18. Now if i gave that kid the 18 rated game and he was under age i lose my job, get fined £5,000 pound, my boss loses his job, he gets fined and the company we both work for gets in a load of bother.

Obviously it works both ways as some parents may feel their child is able to play those games and make the choice which is fine as they are taking responsibility and making a definitive choice but the majority of parents fall in the middle group of not really caring. They hide behind the same argument you made of the kids will find a way.

So what? It's not illegal for them to play it. I don't understand your point. If their parents are happy for them to play 15-rated games what business is it of yours?

'@ ka0znrky

Although not disputing your point, I think you have misunderstood my point. There is a broader issue than placing responsibility solely on parents. I am not saying parents should not care, as they are the frontline of defense against preventing underage children (or at least those children not responsible enough to view such content) but we are ignorant if we dont acknowledge the fact that a percentage of kids will still view such material and dont consider the effects of this.

I belive the ratings are just a weak way of saying what age this game is intended for, if the parents belive their chuldren is mature enough to play higher aged games it is allowed. It is just a GAME!. GTA is probably the worse howvere i still belive a mature child will be able to handle it, IT IS THE PARENTS DECISION, i think the people who wrote this article are fools.

Its all well and good to say the decision is that of the parents but as far as ive seen no parent has ever been criticised on a program like Newsnight, instead the blame for kid's playing mature games seems to almost exclusively fall on the developers.
I also dont believe the consideration of whether a child is mature enough to handle the themes of most mature games even crosses a parents mind when they buy the game for the child, instead i would say the choice is simply made by what game the child demands.

@:scottmpamp: i do agree with you, the only reason im focusing on the parents is because of the way newsnight went about reporting this "story". Its not an objective story showing both sides, it was very biased.

My annoyance came from the fact the story manages to paint games in a bad light and yet says nothing about the parents. I've nothing against these particular parents as 13 yer olds playing a 15 game is hardly the extreme end of the scale but i get annoyed when a "news" story talks about games and disregards the role that irresponsible parents play.

sorry scottmpamp, i should've directed my frustration at the newsnight team and not you.

Just watched the report and the material either side of it. The troublesome bit is the report itself, which seems to focus purely on the game itself as some sort of source of danger to children, and the reporter asks some very leading questions of children who no doubt want to sound responsible and important (therefore I doubt the veracity of their claims). The talk by the psychologist beforehand and the debate after were a lot more balanced and raised some of the points of parental responsibility, and indeed government resposibility for wider societal problems, instead of taking the lazy option and blaming media. just a shame that there wasn't a representative from the games industry there to debate with Julien Brazier in the post-report discussion.

When it comes to stories like this, there are three factors involved:
1.Parents - Are the parents letting their kids who are under the age rating of the game.
2.Mental State of the kids - Do the kids have a history of addiction and/or violence
3.Peer Pressure - Are these kids wanting to play these games because there "cool".

I'm 15 and i'm a Christian, and i began playing grand theft auto san andreas at the age of 14. I had the option of buying Hitman or GTA: San Andreas, and my mum said no to Hitman because it looked alot more violent so i got GTA. It didn't make me want to go out and steal a car, it didn't make me want to go out and shoot someone.

It all depeneds on the person and the variables of their family/life and wether they know the difference between FANTASY and LIFE.

Leave 'em it's a game, theres a small chance it's going to effect the kid mentally and make them want to go out and do something illegal. And if your a parent and you think that your kid is going to be influenced by this game DON'T BUY IT FOR THEM. IT'S UP TO THE PARENTS!!!!

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