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Jack Thompson praises UK games rating system

This might be the first time in the history of mankind where the words "praises" and "games" were used in the same sentence in a somewhat positive light.

Strange thing is, I agree with his angle on the US adopting a similar rating system as the UK. The ESRB's rating should not be an ineffectual 'guideline' but an enforcement. If any retailer is found flaunting that enforcement by selling 'M for Mature' or 'Adults Only' titles to minors they should be prosecuted by law. The mighty dollar should not win this particular argument.

You gotta work at a game store to really know what's going on. At every game store I've been, they always check my I.D., without fail. The problem is when the Parents/Guardians want to get the games FOR their minors, what's the clerk gonna do? Deny them the game?

This is stupid, if the U.S actually supported I.D checking(or where i am) there wouldn't be a need for the game ratings system.

I'm glad aboout the rating decison to ban Manhunt 2 in the UK. Some of you may be in denial of how this game can affect the psyche of people. But I'm happy about this. And I'm happy Jack Thompson is around to keep is in reality about false pleasures.

You'll never see Tetris being banned, mate. But games like Manhunt will be a thing of the past within just a few years. We have freedom to play any game we want. We have freedom to poison our psyche. But for the good of mankind they'll be wiped out.

but serously speaking, this only applies for kids buying the games themselves, but in most cases parents are the ones buying the games so there is a great contradiction here...

That's exactly how I got GTA:SA. My older sister bought it for me.

I used to hate our rating systme because a lot of the best games used to be rated 15 or higher, but now I'm almost 18 it doesn't affect me as much as I almost have free choice on games.

me to goyun except im turning 16 in march

Poor Jack, that First Amendment thing is really annoying here in the US.

No matter what your opinion is on game content or its affects on people, we live in a free society. We are responsible for our own actions, and the actions of our children. The ESRB is not an enforcement agency, they were created to allow the consumers an informed decision about the games they want to play, and what games adults should buy for their children. Government intervention into our lives always turns out badly.

Thompson needs to figure out that there are more effective ways of getting his point across. Start boycotts of stores that sell violent video games, begin educational programs, do something other than sue companies making products that there is an obvious market for. Trust me, if no one bought GTA, Rockstar would stop making violent video games. Not everything has to be handled with government intervention.

If Jack Thompson wants to ban violent video games in the United States, that's going against EVERYTHING this country was BUILT UPON. The First Amendment gives us the freedom to do what we want, so long as we are responsible for our actions. Triple B is entirely correct in his statement. If Thompson doesn't like the games, he doesn't have to play them.

Jack is a -C U Next Tuesday - for sure

It is the parents fault for letting there kids play games like this...If your child's mood and lifestyle start changing from a video game, then why doesn't the parents step in and take that game away from the child...sure games MAY be able to change a child and make them become more violent...but for a LARGE MAJORITY games are no more than entertainment...no matter how gory they are

In my debate class at school, we debated that the game industry should not be interfered by the government. And Jack Thompson's name has been mentioned a bunch of times. I can even tell that this moron doesn't even play video games, he was calling Grand Theft Auto "Grand Auto." he has problems.

To tell you the truth, I only own one 'M' Rated game, and I'm proud, If Jack Thompson want's to take my game away he can't I'd die before anybody took my Turok: Evolution game.

Before he gets his ass tight in the gaming industry, he should brush his teeth

Hmmm ... I've always thought the US rating system is too harsh. They put EVERYTHING on the front cover ... for example, if someone smokes for 5 seconds (DoC, anyone?), then the game has "mild tobacco use" stamped on the front.
Most countries don't even have a "tobacco use" rating.

And M rating over there is 17+
M rating in most other countries is 15+

Yeah, too harsh, imo.

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Is Jack Thompson actually taken seriously? The man seems to be out just to piss people off, moreso than anything. A lot of his arguments are unresearched or unconvincing. There is nothing wrong with an "AO" rating - it sums up the game perfectly - it's ADULTS ONLY. If a child gets their hands on the game, then it's not the Game Company's fault. It's the child (or their parents) fault.

Gothic Girl, I agree completly, the industry is not at fault and no matter what happens video games will never change. All Jack is out for is mainly violence and Drugs, what he need to work out instead of Video Games, is everyday problems like: underage sex or racism, never the less, he'd be putting good companies out of buisness, and that is not fair to the company owner, the economy or the gamers that have nothing to do with their lives. Sorry Jack but you need to MYOB!

I wonder if the founding fathers of the US constitution is looking down at us in shame. I mean Not all of us are bad but its people like JT and Hillary Clinton that is destroying what it means to be an American. I hope someone steps up to the plate and stop this. I mean I truly wanted to play manhunt2 and it seems we wont be able to.

i think that the us system of rating is a little flexible as i have seen some stores that dont enforce it

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Specifically, Thompson thinks the 'Adults Only' rating the game has received in the US is not sufficient and believes North America should be just as strict as the UK when it comes to rating videogame software.

How is giving Manhunt 2 the "Adults Only" not enough? If it's rated Adult's Only, Sony, nor Microsoft, nor Nintendo will allow the game to come out on their console. Which I think is BS anyways. What's the point of having a rating in the first place if it can't come out on any consoles?

I think Jack Thompson is an idiot plain and simple. If a game is rated Mature you have to be 17 years of age and older to buy it. Children can't go out and buy Manhunt 2 at any store legally if it has a Mature rating. I don't know about the rest of the world but whenever I go to buy a video that has the rating "M" they always ask for ID so I can't buy it since I'm only 15. Stores ask to see ID when selling videogames rated Mature and up. Most of the time parents buy the videogame for their child. If a parent wants to get a videogame that is rated Mature for their child then fine let them. It should be nobody else's business except for the parent's and the child's.

Also I'm still sticking to my opinion that Manhunt 2 should have been rated Mature.

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MATURE
Titles rated M (Mature) have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.

That sounds a lot like Manhunt 2 to me minus the sexual content. So therefore Manhunt2 should have been rated Mature and not Adult Only. Manhunt 2 is not a porno like most games that receive the adult only rating yet they give it an adult only rating anyways. Plain and simple Manhunt 2 should be rated Mature. No more, no less.