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Parents Disengage As Children Play in Hyper-Violent Virtual Worlds

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

Aug. 10--A 14-year-old girl wearing a long pink T-shirt walked into video game store Friendly Fire, laughing with two boys who were around her age. At the counter, she looked down at the list of video games. "San Andreas," she said, referring to the most popular and controversial game in the country.

Never mind that the game is rated "AO" for adults only. That is only a suggestion, and it is up to the clerk behind the counter to decide who can play it.

A few minutes later, the girl sat down on a sofa and grabbed the controller.

Her first move: Steal a vehicle.

If she wants to win, she'll probably have to steal more, shoot rivals and even kill police.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one of the most violent games around.

But some think that it just got worse.

With some codes from the Internet and a $20 device, San Andreas gamers, using an Xbox or PlayStation II, can now gain access to a sex scene embedded in the game.

The news has reopened the debate over how games are rated, and underscored the knowledge gap between parents and their kids.

Once the sex scene was revealed, an investigation ensued and the game's "M" for mature rating was changed to "AO" for adults only.

Retailers pulled games from their shelves.

Modified versions without sexual content had to be created.

It cost the game's maker, Take-Two Interactive Inc., millions.

But is that enough? Some lawmakers and watchdog groups say no.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., is talking about introducing legislation that would fine retailers for selling "M"-rated games to people under 17.

Illinois lawmakers passed a bill earlier this summer forbidding retailers to sell games with sexual content or human-on-human violence.

But that law is being disputed by the game industry as unconstitutional. Similar regulations in other states have failed that test.

Judges have ruled that games deserve the same free speech rights as books, movies and music.

Take the insight of 21-year-old Jon Sponamore. He has played almost every game at Game X Change, where he works.

He says the hubbub about the sex scene misses the point. Violence is the issue, he says.

"On some games, you can decapitate somebody 20 to 30 different ways. That's a lot more explicit" than a game that shows partial nudity, he said. Nudity is "something you can see on a PG-13."

He points out that modifications to computer games have dodged the spotlight of the media and politicians.

Modifications, or "mods," are created by third-party designers.

Often they add new levels or different weapons to existing games. But sometimes they use nudity to spice up a game.

Web sites reviewed by The Eagle promise "mods" that allow gamers to choose any anatomical parts for characters in The Sims, a popular game rated "T" for teen.

With the downloads, gamers can even watch the characters have sex.

"People didn't get mad at that," Sponamore said.

The Federal Trade Commission conducts regular studies on how retailers enforce voluntary ratings in the movie, music and gaming industries.

In 2003, 83 percent of teenage secret shoppers were able to buy music with explicit content labels. "R"-rated DVDs were sold to 81 percent of the teenage shoppers.

And 69 percent of the teens were sold "M"-rated games.

"I think that the video game industry is held to a different standard," said Patricia Vance, president of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

Parents agree with the ESRB ratings 83 percent of the time, a study by Peter D. Hart Research Associates showed.

"Parents are using the system and making decisions for themselves," Vance said. "They may not be making the same decisions that I would or you would, but it's their decision to make."

When Christina White shops for games with her kids, she looks at the game ratings before buying.

The labels are clear, she said. Her kids know the rules.

"If you're beating people up for absolutely no reason, there's no reason to have the game," she said.

But, she concedes, not everyone is so cautious.

"There's parents that don't care," she said. "They really don't."

Through the years, several studies have shown a link between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior.

A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2000 found that violent video games may be more harmful than violent television and movies because they are interactive and require the player to identify with the aggressor.

Little has been published on how interactive sex games might affect gamers.

But teens who watch a lot of television with sexual content are more likely to initiate intercourse in the following year, according to a study of 1,792 12- to 17-year-olds conducted by the Rand Corp., a nonprofit research group.

Ryan Loder can see a broader problem from his store, Friendly Fire, where the girl in the long pink T-shirt sits playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Kids come in without parents. They leave without parents.

People drop their kids off at the store and call them on cell phones before they pick them up.

Perhaps they don't know that any kid can play any game -- although Loder won't let young kids play some titles with graphic content.

Maybe parents trust retailers to make sure their kids don't play certain games.

Or perhaps they think the line between fantasy and reality is clear.

Do they need to worry?

"I think they need to worry about all aspects of what their kids are exposed to," Loder said. "I don't think games are going down a different path than the rest of society."

After playing for about 15 minutes, the girl in the pink T-shirt has had her fill flipping cars and stealing new ones.

She sets the controller down, checks out at the counter and walks back out to reality.

-----

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

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Source: The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.)

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