What are your thoughts ON Little Children playing Violent Ass Video Games?

I wouldn't let a kid that young play Grand Theft Auto, but I've played Halo with my nieces and nephews (aged at around 11-18) because I think Halo is a really soft M rated game (I never understood why it's a M rated series to begin with. Should be T, but that is going off topic)

Depends on the child. When I was 12 or 13 back then I watched my first slasher or horror movies and even I do not like these movies it is not something that made a different person. As long the child is intelligent enough to know that fantasy and reality are two different things I don't thing it will harm them at all.

Agreed. Ratings mean almost nothing to me. It's the content that I care about. There are loads of R rated movies that I would prefer kids to see over The Dark Knight, which was perhaps the most intense PG13 movie I've ever seen.

When I bought GTA 4 I noticed some pretty young kids there with their parents. I bought my copy, got home, turned on the in-game television, and there's Kat Williams talking about pussy. I'm betting that the parents were not anticipating that one.

But when it comes to the video above, anyone who is young enough to react like THAT to playing a new video game, probably isn't mature enough to be playing GTA.

Damn is he crying from happiness?

No I don't think they will become the next Dahmer, still, I think they should wait until they are reasonably mature and rational before they play those kinds of game. The kid in the video is clearly not that. But I think it's when they try to emulate the language and the attitude that make those kids insufferable, the violence is not the problem. Off course, it's all case to case and is really up to the parents to decide.

I think it's a questionable decision, and I wouldn't recommend someone allowing their kids to play M-rated videogames like GTA. I don't know this particular kid, but I see no reason why a parent would look at the game and think an 11 year old should play it. When you have a child, you see just how much things can influence them, and I personally encourage fellow parents who may not be as familiar with videogames to look into the content in the games they buy for their kids.

I don't think it should be illegal for people to possibly do this, as it really is a parental decision, but I'd say this is almost always an irresponsible parental decision that I would discourage.

Now, as bad as their decision may be, I am still more offended by the fact that they filmed this vertically. These are terrible parents.

With this game (GTA V), I don't think it depends on the child. With something like Halo or a relatively tame game, I think it's fine. But giving 11 year olds this game, which has full frontal nudity, drug use, and whatever else is just completely irresponsible. Sure, give a 15/16 year old this game, but not an 11 year old. There's a reason they give these things a rating.

Also let me say I have no problem with GTA V, I can't wait and it's gonna be great. What I can't stand is when games like this make the news, with people asking "should kids play this game?" Um, no shit, it says 18 right there on the box.

Yes

Indeed. The carelessness of parents like this makes things harder for older gamers who should be able to enjoy these kinds of games in peace, but instead, they get in the hands of kids and everyone goes wild to denounce them. Hopefully one day mature videogames will be treated more like mature movies, where parents actually understand that maybe they're not the best thing to have their kids experience just yet.

I would rather see my child nudity than violence. So I am fine with it as long it understands that this is a game.

@bigjeffrey: Oh yeah, off-topic, but what is your name over on Kotaku? You seem to mention them a lot; so, I was curious if you went by a different name there. I've gone for years, and I don't seem to remember a bigjeffrey there.

In my opinion it really depends on the game. I think that something like GTA really should be left for slightly older kids in their teens (like 13). Same with something like Gears or Call of Duty where you are just straight up murdering people. But then something like Halo or Resident Evil 6 (both of which I have played in co-op with my bro in grade school) I would find as ok because of how over the top and cartoony they are.

It is weird and really depends on the kid but for the really violent ass stuff I don't think they should be playing that shit. But all those terms are extremely subjective.

However these games will not make a child turn into a serial murderer, that is just dumb.

STOP the corruption of our younger generation. VOTE FOR ME and i will make sure our children under the age of 25 do not get to play violent/sexuial and any game with a dance beat!!. Come on people lets STOP this NOW.

HONESTLY I VOTED thanks obama, like i am gonna give a 7 year old GTA to play,thats just fucking wrong and the parents should be ashamed of themselves not bloody filming it like 'oh look how happy we have made our little precious boy; surely he will love us now..

I think it depends on the kid, but to be sure, I would play the game first and then decide if it's acceptable for my kid to play it or not. I think age doesn't necessarily has to do with a person's mind. I mean, there are kids who grew up earlier and adults who are still children.

I would NOT let a child play a game like this, no damn way. Some parents don't care though, at least until they're made aware of the content in the game. I did my part when I worked at Gamestop. I remember so many kids wanted to buy GTA 4, by themselves, it was funny. They would ask me, "Do you have Grand Theft Auto Eye Vee?" I would then ask for ID and they would just bolt from the store like if they were in trouble. Same thing with CoD. Some would be smarter and bring their parents, but then the parents would ask me about the content, and I had to be truthful and told them, and they would leave with no game. Oh, good times.

"Hey guys, I recorded my 8 year old son watching Hostel with me! He was crying so much! Must have loved it!" :D

I mean this is the stock answer but I think it varies from kid to kid, some are going to be ready for things at a certain age that others just aren't, although it's hard for me to imagine giving an 11 year old a game like GTA V. I think it's also very important for parents to understand the content of the games and the way it can affect kids, and more than that, to actually sit down and talk through a lot of these things with their children and discuss what they're seeing in the games. If they can't do that though, at least stick to the age labels, we've all encountered those kids in violent multiplayer games who seemed like they really shouldn't be there.

Depends entirely on the maturity of the child.

Man, I have absolutely no idea. I mean, I played violent games and watched R-rated movies when I was a kid, but I was always relatively mature. My mother knew I could handle it and wouldn't try to do Johnny Cage's fatality on any of the kids at school who picked on me. Much as I would've liked to.

But not every kid's the same, right? And I'm not a parent, but I bet it's hard to really know what your kid can handle.

And beyond all that, the graphical fidelity of a violent video game in 2013 is incredibly different from what it was when I was a kid. I'm no scientist, but I really do think there's a difference between watching two little cartoon men punch extra bones out of each other and a realistically-rendered angry man beating a prostitute to death with a baseball bat. I'm not sure what difference that makes to how a child perceives the violent act.

Depends entirely on the maturity of the child.

Yup its something that should be determined by the kid playing the game.

Yup its something that should be determined by the kid playing the game.

GTA isn't gory, it just contains adult themes. Honestly I think I'd be ok with my theoretical kid playing something like gears of war, but only if they're into it and frankly, it depends entirely on the personality and maturity of the child.

With stuff like GTA however, it's a bit different due to the content. Swearing, sex and drugs are a lot harder to explain and grasp than the insides of people coming out. Stupid modern culture vilifying sex and glorifying violence :(

Personally I think it's monstrously irresponsible to let a kid play games which make gun use seem super safe, easy, and tons of fun. Take them to a gun safety or hunter safety class first. If they aren't mature and responsible enough to safely handle a gun they probably aren't ready for games that more or less boil down to gun violence fairytales.

Ive been watching GTA V streams all weekend. There is some pretty disturbing stuff in the game. I dont think young minds are equipped to handle shit like that. Very much against it. I dont think there is any direct causality there between game and real violence but just on top of the violence the game just throws a lot of heavy themes at you sometimes. Absolutely not a game for kids.

From my experiences in school, it's fine for most, and really wrong for some. I believe to generalize is wrong. Saying no kid may play violent games because of the few that are fucked up already when going in, that's no solution. Prohibition is never a solution.

Prohibition is systemic ignorance of a challenge in need of active and constant engagement. It cannot be solved, only be met. That's why all prohibition is erroneous and irresponsible and dangerous and harmful.

Just raise your damn children right people. It's the most important thing you'll ever do, so you better do your best. Let everybody who wants to play the game play the game when they want to, but be present - engage the kid, learn what it thinks, set it straight through discussion, never stop engaging.

totally agree here. how many of you guys watched porn or horror slasher movies with 12 or 13. They will do i anyway and if not with you then somewhere else. You can not make sure thewill not see it but you can make sure that it is just fiction and a game.

There is no straight answer. I first played GTA 3 when I was 13ish and I had no idea what it was then. It depends on the kid and the parenting. If a game can influence a kid that much then somewhere along the line the parents screwed up but the kid has to bear the consequences.

I'm sure this topic has been covered to *death* on Giant Bomb, but I'll say it again:

I was playing games and watching violent media since I was... well, an exact age isn't exactly something I can remember, but let's put it this way - I was 7 years old when Doom was released, and surely playing it at the homes of friends and the basements of LAN shops (whatever the hell they were called) a couple of years after its release. My mom totally allowed me to purchase GTA 3 and I even showed hersome of the wanton destruction sections of it. The thing is, she trusted I was mature enough to put it into perspective. She was right. I don't really enjoy over-the-top and grotesque violence in video games. It makes me squeamish and I typically don't play a game where I know it's going to be an issue. And these days, I handle comic violence such as that seen in Saints Row IV and even have a laugh, but In reality, I'm a borderline peace-loving hippy without the weed.

Would I let my own children play them before... well, at least a more reasonable age of 14-16? Not willingly. Of course they'll figure out their own way of finding the stuff. Heck, they'll have access to porn a lot earlier than I did, as well. It'll be a struggle keeping it for when they're mature enough to handle it. But then, that's the key - there's no magical age where you do, and the ESRB is merely a broad suggestion for parents. The other key is that last word - parents. Being a parent. Try to be aware of what your children are doing. Make the call as to if they can handle it. Guide them into it, because surely they're going to be exposed to it at some point and you might as well be the one at the helm.

Pretty sure Kotatsu is some kind of table...

It depends on the kid, but I don't think anyone under 14 should play GTA.

Most kids are ready for most media at 14, though. By that point, if you haven't separated fiction from reality then something must be wrong.

Nonsense

I get most of my gaming news from Kotatsu.

I'm against it. By the time you make it to high school, you should be old enough to understand that violence has consequences. Even real-world play violence can cause unforeseen and unintended distress. Young children don't understand this. I don't accept that it depends on the maturity of the child because their maturity, their sense of right and wrong, is still in development. I am not saying that one game is going to turn a prospective Nobel laureate into a serial killer, but I believe that continuous and unfiltered exposure to graphically violent media can desensitize children to suffering and create a warped world-view. If we say that it is the parents' responsibility and not the government's to restrict mature games from children, then we should encourage parents to be proactive with that responsibility.

I'll be the hypocrite that wouldn't allow a kid to play or watch me play a game like GTA, yet played these games when I was their age.

Entirely depends on how they are raised, and if they are mature enough to distinguish the difference between fantasy and reality.

I remember playing Wolfenstein 3D when I was 10 because my dad brought it home and wanted to see it. He sat there with me while I was killing pixelated nazi's left and right. I knew it was fantasy.

It's no different than violent movies or books.

Halo 2 came when I was in grade school. My dad was so excited for it that he ordered the game online, something he hasn't done since. We had father son co-op and it was great. Before Halo, Resident Evil was the most violent game we had, and it terrified me. I guess then he was just testing me to see how I'd react to Halo, but it was pretty tame. On the other hand,my older cousin had GTA and my dad had seen him play it, so he never let me go near it.I only ever remember him, jokingly , telling me to not pick up the swearing habits in Stranger's Wrath. We also had a talk about gun violence early on(dad worked for security and had to wear a gun) so I guess he did the right thing?

So echoing others,I don't think young kids should play certain games. I actually thought it was good that Gamestop read the contents to parents, but I haven't seen that happen in a while and there are a billion other places to get video games.

Halo 2 came when I was in grade school. My dad was so excited for it that he ordered the game online, something he hasn't done since. We had father son co-op and it was great. Before Halo, Resident Evil was the most violent game we had, and it terrified me. I guess then he was just testing me to see how I'd react to Halo, but it was pretty tame. On the other hand,my older cousin had GTA and my dad had seen him play it, so he never let me go near it.I only ever remember him, jokingly , telling me to not pick up the swearing habits in Stranger's Wrath. We also had a talk about gun violence early on(dad worked for security and had to wear a gun) so I guess he did the right thing?

So echoing others,I don't think young kids should play certain games. I actually thought it was good that Gamestop read the contents to parents, but I haven't seen that happen in a while and there are a billion other places to get video games.

I don't know. I'm not a parent or doctor. What do doctors say?

I played Duke Nukem when I was 10, the GTA 3 while a freshman in junior highschool and a host of other violent games I shouldn't have been able to play. I was raised by attentive parents and I turned out fine. That being said I wouldn't let my kids play violent games. Yea I'm a hypocrite but still.

It's only the ridiculously popular games that have this issue and for those it is largely horrifying; albeit GTA is much better than Call of Duty; at least there's some grounded sense of reality in GTA as opposed to just nonstop senseless killing and XBLA/PSN racism (senseless killing is a choice in GTA but isn't forced upon you).

I played my first GTA when I was....7? And I never actually owned it, it was my uncles. I turned out fine! I think...

I played my first GTA when I was....7? And I never actually owned it, it was my uncles. I turned out fine! I think...

EDIT: Also, the kid is too casual to make it to the later missions of the game. Just like I was.

Parents shouldn't be buying M-rated games for kids under 14, period. At that age, kids can be impressionable and desensitized to the violence, sex, whatever. Now if your kid is in his high school years, that depends on the maturity of the kid and whether he's got behavioral issues or a history of violence. I wouldn't keep violent video games from good kids.

But that 11 year old... he should have to wait. That's some questionable parenting there.

Depends on the content. I played Vice City when I was nine and despite the violence and drug references (which I was too young to understand) it was mostly pretty safe. However, GTA (and almost every other Rockstar game) has evolved into this really adult experience that I don't know if I'd feel alright with allowing a kid to play.

It is something determined by the age of the child, but personally I have never met an 11 year old who was mature enough to be playing a game like GTA. I don't think it is going to turn anyone into a twisted murderer and there are definitely way worse games and movies. However there is too much adult humour around sex, drugs and violence that a child would and should not have to understand.

Let children grow up and be children would be my advice. At least wait til 14-15 before introducing them to games like this. There is so much good kids literature, film and experiences to be had that they don't need to be playing adult video games.

In the end though parenting standards are far more important than any media the child consumes.

It is something determined by the age of the child, but personally I have never met an 11 year old who was mature enough to be playing a game like GTA. I don't think it is going to turn anyone into a twisted murderer and there are definitely way worse games and movies. However there is too much adult humour around sex, drugs and violence that a child would and should not have to understand.

Let children grow up and be children would be my advice. At least wait til 14-15 before introducing them to games like this. There is so much good kids literature, film and experiences to be had that they don't need to be playing adult video games.

In the end though parenting standards are far more important than any media the child consumes.

I have no opinion, I bought Manhunt when it came out, I was 14/15 and i turned out ok.

I mean.. I've killed a few clowns with plastic bags but nothing too bad.