No, I wouldn't let a 6-year old play RDR, or any M-rated game for that matter.

At six? No. 

No, I'd wait for around 12-13 for video games such as RDR.

i played Duke Nukem 3D for my childhood. I'm a perfectly fine gentleman right now. But of course, that depends on the person... that kid sounds pretty aggressive and violent to begin with.

" I was over at my friends house last night. He let his nephew play RDR. His nephew did nothing more than go on a continuous shooting spree in the game. And when it was time for him to go and stop playing it, all hell broke loose. He threw an insane temper, probably the craziest I have seen. He got irate.  Anyway, what effects do you think it could possibly do to him? "

Depends on the 6 year old, really. Some can handle it, some can't. 6 is still very young though, so i'd probably feel more comfortable with most kids that young if i waited a couple more years.  

I wouldn't, but if I were six that game would probably be extremely boring to me.  I just wanted to jump on mushroom dudes heads when I was six.

What's the point?  It's probably too complicated for him to really enjoy and has a lot of themes that to fully understand would require several mature conversations that would be out of his depth.  There are tons of non-great M rated games out there for a 6 year old to play, why not let him play those?

If I'm sitting there? Sure, why not? I mean, I was watching things like Terminator and Rambo with my dad since forever and I got an N64, and Goldeneye as my first game for it, for my 7th birthday.

Sure. There isn't anything specifically in the game that could absolutely cause undesirable results in a young child. But there could be things in the child's personality which would respond poorly to the content of the game. So the idea of allowing a child to play such a game is not completely absurd, but it would have to be taken on a case by case basis. However, in the specific situation the OP described, it would seem the damage has already been done to the child. And it is unlikely that RDR was the main contributing factor to the child's behavior.

" What's the point?  It's probably too complicated for him to really enjoy and has a lot of themes that to fully understand would require several mature conversations that would be out of his depth.  There are tons of non-great M rated games out there for a 6 year old to play, why not let him play those? "

" @Brendan said:

" What's the point?  It's probably too complicated for him to really enjoy and has a lot of themes that to fully understand would require several mature conversations that would be out of his depth.  There are tons of non-great M rated games out there for a 6 year old to play, why not let him play those? "

He didn't play any missions at all. He was very good at the game. He could shoot with ease, get into cover, turn on dead eye, and ride a horse wherever he wanted to. My friend must let him play the game a lot, because he sure knows what he's doing. "

I won't let my kids play games at all until they start kindergarten and then it will be very limited so they aren't addicted to it.

well it's probably not the best thing for kids, but i played Unreal gold and Quake when i was 4 and I turned out fine.

Nope.

I'm sure the little bastard was like that before he got a hold of RDR.

Yes.
 
Make sure he puts a tied woman on a train track. Theres an achievement for that.

Its not so much because he plays (violent) video games,but because he's six....all six year olds are brats.

If he/she had the attention span at that age to go exploring into the wilderness then maybe. On the other hand, those random missions (and encounters with ninja cougars) can get pretty violent and I probably would not want to take the chance exposing he/she to that at such an age.

Let them be kids and grow up playing something more positive.

they would not have big enough hands to hold the controller yet

Nope. 

No.  

" Supervised yes. Letting him ride around on the horse and exploring, but nothing more. "

Nope. As a rule of thumb, my kids will be allowed to play games one step above their age range (when they are Teens I'll let them play M-rated games), but obviously I'll take each child and each game on a case-by-case basis.

Yeah.

My 4 year old nephew plays it and acts the same way... kids are fucked.

No way. Have them play Mario. In fact, I'm gonna go play Mario.

" No way. Have them play Mario. In fact, I'm gonna go play Mario. "

Naw. I'm not worried about mental effects, but I wouldn't feel comfortable letting a child that can barely read (although I can't remember when I learned to read) play a game/watch a movie with the kind of subject matter that's going on in RDR. Maybe at 8 or 9, but 6 years old is really young.

Was this after watching the 18 rated film? Or before watching the porno movie?

" I was over at my friends house last night. He let his nephew play RDR. His nephew did nothing more than go on a continuous shooting spree in the game. And when it was time for him to go and stop playing it, all hell broke loose. He threw an insane temper, probably the craziest I have seen. He got irate.  Anyway, what effects do you think it could possibly do to him? "

" I would not let a six year old play any of the story missions or go into any of the towns. I might let him run around and explore on the horse. Maybe let him hunt a deer or two. I wouldn't let him skin the dear or anything. "

No, and any parent that does is fool.

Ehh, if you like your 6 year old swearing all the time and killing the local cattle, then go for it.

Anyone that does not actually understand the concept of death should not be playing a game where killing people or things is a goal. 

I played all the MKs when i was younger, (I was 6 when MK3 ultimate came out and played it all the time). Well, fast forward to now, where im almost 20, and I am watching the fatality videos getting hyped for this new MK, and I couldnt believe how much graphic stuff was in the game. I almost cringed watching it today, and completely forgot I saw all that stuff when I was 6. So no, I don't think it effected me at all, but I sill wouldnt feel good about letting a 6 year old see the same stuff I did when I was 6. I dont know what Im getting at, maybe my answer is, I wouldnt let him play RDR, but if you decide to, it will most definitely not affect him in my opinion. Keep it safe, just go with Mario.

Not at all. 

" yeah he's gonna turn into a cowboy and go and shoot bears and shit you better stop him. "

Yup. I played Nazi Zombies with a 6 year old "friend" of mine once.

I wouldn't let my kid stay up that late, but yeah I'd let him play the game. I used to have to sneak out into the living room at 1 am to play xbox, my kids needn't be sleep deprived.

I wouldn't let a child play RDR. Although it is 'harmless' fun, exposing someone so young so something so graphic can't be good for them. Especially if they're just going around shooting people.

My 11 year old brother made it through just fine but matbe that game's a little much for a 6 year old

I wouldn't

GOOD GOD NO. Dude, even if it was a 16 year old, I think it'd be pushing it...

I would not. There may be a few 'M' rated games I would let someone young play under supervision, but Red Dead Redemption is definitely not one of them. Besides, they wouldn't be able to appreciate most of its humor. They would only interpret the violence.