Don't hate the game...

Alright, so it's been awhile since my last post, but I havn't forgotten about everybody. I have so many ideas and things to talk about I get overwhelemed sometimes and then I don't compose anything. I have the guts to do so now, so here we go with another rant.

Tonight it's video game violence. I'm proud to say that yes I am a game addict and I enjoy every minute of it and wouldn't change it. I spend a portion of my yearly income on games and have been playing games since I was in third grade and got the 8 bit Nintendo Entertainment System for christmas that year. Ahh, those were good times. I remember spending several hours in my room playing that thing, not moving to eat or do anything else productive. Ever since I picked up that controller I haven't put it down. Now back then, video games were considred "kids toys". They were enjoyed by a younger crowd for the most part and more then likely you were considered a nerd if you were an adult playing them. You had great games like Super Mario Brothers and Mike Tyson's Punch Out! to name a few. The graphics by todays standards were primative by todays standards but there were hours and years of fun to be had. And I think even the most violent of topics that were made games then, wern't depicted as too violent. I mean you had crappy movie games like Friday the 13th. Now of course the movies are gore fests but the game wasn't bad. No blood to be found if I remember right. I really didn't here any parents complaining about that game.

Then I remember the 16-bit era of gaming, when Sega's 16-bit Genesis had the throne then. Thats when violence began to take center stage as Mortal Kombat came to home consoles I think in 1995 or so. The Genesis version had all the blood and gore anabled with a code, while Nintendo bitched out at the time and decided to "sanatise" their release by replaceing the bllod with "sweat" and toning down the fatalities. A mistake which they did not make the second time around when it came time to bring Mortal Kombat 2 home. Even thinking back to those games, I still considered that "kid stuff". Nothing they couldn't see in a good horror flick or on the 9 o' clock news.

Nothing really comes to mind in the 32-bit era of major importance other then graphics were getting more realistic with fast changing and inexpensive technology. The Playstation established itself and today is a household name. Which kid these days doens't have a Playstation or PS2? Now you have the Ultra powerfull X-Box and PS2 and man have we come along way since the 8-bit NES! yeah you got grand theft auto and now one of the big deals is N.A.R.C. which allows players to take drugs like crack and weed for game enhancing effects.

I took you down memmory lane to get to my point. Video games aren't kid stuff anymore. Yes, I'll be the first one to tell you there violent and there is more sexuality being displayed. But look at the facts, the game playing public has grown up. The people who played the 8-bit Nintendos are now in their 20's or so. Obviosly our tastes have matured. You have all these parents and activists out there bitching about how our children shouldn't play games like GTA. Yup, you're right they shouldn't so don't buy them for your ten year old then, and get pissed off when you ask him how his day was and he says he just spent the afternoon picking up hoes and then beating them up and takeing them money back in GTA. The ratings system was etablished by the ESRB a few years ago and I must say it's accurate and informative. And now sellers have posters and flyers all over the place explaining them. And even if you go to the right resller (Eb Games for life!!!) they'll be happy to assist you with any concerns or questions.

For those groups who think that games should not include violent matter alltogether need to awake up. We're adults making the decision to buy the games so we have the right to buy it.
This problem isn't going away anytime soon, graphics will get better and cheaper. Some people already have a hard time telling the diffrence between a real football telecast and John Madden football. The key here is simple, Knowledge. Parents, stay informed about the games your kids want. Do research and ask questions. I think one of the craziest things I've seen is when GTA San Andreas was first released I went to my local EB Games to wait in line with everyone else.
A few people in front of me was this lady who looked older but I paid her no mind. There was this little kid sitting to the side of the line and I figured it was just some dudes little brother and he got stuck waiting with him. Nope, it was the ladies kid! Couldn't have been more then 10 years old, she was waiting to get a copy of GTA for him! Come on people! Would I let my 10 year old play GTA? probably not, the old lady would kill me! But the point is that I know whats going on.

I'll sum up this rant I'll put a spin on an old phrase, "Don't hate the game...hate the playa".