I hate the idea of a super positive correllation some people have between age ratings and 'maturity'. 3, 7 and 12 games are 'kiddy', while 16 and 18 games are better.

IMO most of this generations 'great AAA games' are rated 12 or below, with a few exceptions (for example Valkyria Chronicles, Monster Hunter 3 and Bioshock)

If we had half the otaku games in Japan for the PS3 and 360 then this whole issue would be much more black and white. By otaku, I mean filthy Japanese Hentai games where the goal of the game is to have sex with or rape a woman/girl.

Seeing as how those otaku games stay in Japan, we can only comment on the violent nature of games and whether 2 year olds will be harmed by playing Postal or Grand Theft Auto.

My take is that GameStop, Wal-Mart, Target, and any store who sells video games with an 18 ESRB should be held to the same standard as a liquor store selling alcohol to minors. Yes, they will most likely not die from consumption or get into a car wreck. However, some do thus to protect the minority who cannot differentiate reality from fantasy because of neglectful parents or their dad having weak sperm, we should fine GameStop stores just like police departments fine liquor stores for selling liquor to minors.

This raises the question, "Do violent video games have a harmful effect on children?" I would guess no for the vast majority of children. However, just like the minor illicitly buying alcohol and consuming it, we have certain laws in place not only to protect the "vast majority," but to also protect the minority who due to bad parents and/or bad genes (polite way of saying someone has a low IQ and is borderline retarded), we need to hold mature video game content to the same standard as we do with alcohol and minors.

I am not innocent here. I watched "Maximum Overdrive" before age 5 at my babysitter's house and played Doom and Duke Nuke'em 3D before the age of 14. That being said, I rented out every Disney and SNES game for rental in Blockbuster regardless of review score.

The difference now is movie rental stores have their video game rental shelves full of mature games. Back in my day, you would be hard pressed to find the majority of SNES rental titles as 18 plus. Nowdays, looking at Blockbuster's 360 rental shelves, I see a majority of mature content games and not enough kid friendly games. Same applies for PS3, but not the Wii.

I am not arguing from a position of strength here as I am a hypocrite regarding this issue. My concern is not for the vast majority of kids who can play, watch and listen to whatever and turn out normal, upstanding citizens in their society. Who I am concerned for are those kids because of a lack of nurture and or a bad nature, just cannot differentiate between fantasy and reality causing them to learn society is just like the video game and behave in such a way that it not only destroys their life but other innocent lives as well. If the evidence shows I am wrong, then please enlighten me and I will throw this belief of mine out.

This is the point I'm trying to make. Either the rating system needs to go, or it should be enforced more vigorously, such as with alcohol etc.

Maybe getting rid of gamerankings altogether is a bad thing. However, the prejudice in the media and gaming community about 3-rated games need to stop. They aren't all kiddy. Look at my examples, for example. The difficulty of the game isn't taken into account, and maybe there should be a seperate rating for this

No, there is no proof against you. Keep this belief, because it's pretty much the same as the one I have. For example, maybe 2 or 3 kids have EVER gone out and killed someone because "that's what it says on the game". What other things are we missing? Are we forgetting that in al cases, the parents were alcoholics/drug addicts who neglected their child? Gaming doesn't affect how a child becomes in later life. What happens with the family and how the parents mould their child produces the outcome

I used to. Dark times. Dark times indeed...

Have a book or a film then.

If you're still wanting a game, I'd definitely reccomend the Layton series. The 3rd one is the best, but al have immersive stories. 

And I agree with you. Some of the best games (Layton, Galaxy, Metroid, Twilight Princess, Little King's Story, Blue Dragon etc.) are rated 12 or below. Does this make them Childish? No. It's the difficulty which I believe should be taken into account, not the actual content of the game

Most try to isolate video games just like critics of Marilyn Manson tried to isolate his music as a primary cause for the Columbine shootings. This isolation between dependent and independent variables is a fact of life if you get academia involved to research "Do violent video games produce violent behavior in youth."

Human life does not occur in a vacuum-sealed, decontaminated ivory tower. There are other, greater factors involved. Factors which cannot be isolated because they are ingrained or congenital.

I realize the way kids are raised, including all of us here, have more of an effect on our future behavior than any single one or set of video games we played at an impressionable age. This being said, I cannot assume all kids have responsible parents who aren't neglectful from drug or alcohol abuse, who don't physically abuse them or others in front of the kid, and who don't sexually abuse them. I cannot take my upbringing, project it upon all of today's youth, and say "Well I turned out fine, violent video games did not produce a 16 year old on Death Row, therefore violent video games should be available to all youth."

Some youth like the mentally disabled, you have to protect from themselves and the rest of society. Some youth come from God awful backgrounds where the only thing they learned from their parents was to "Shut the fuck up, get out of my face!" I am fairly sure these type of parents did not teach little jimmy or jane the difference between fantasy on the television screen and reality.

Henceforth, I am favor of a penalty system that cards each underage gamer for games with mature content. If the youth are with their parents, then the employee should be trained on just what "mature content" contains and fully inform the parent before they buy. If a store sell "mature content" to underage youth without a parent or guardian present, then their should be financial penalties severe enough that they take adhering to the system almost perfectly.

I'm not so sure about that one...

hmm...now THAT'S an interesting idea! I think that maybe a more slack penalty would need to be introduced after, say, 3 years or so. This way, the penalty on the developers of mature games wouldn't lose too much business. They'll always be ways of getting around the system, but at least it acts as a deterrant. 

Also, I agree about how people need remember that the world is a scary place; it's not always one factor which causes the outcome of a child...