So anyways I was in line at Walmart back around the time GTA4 hit... In front of me there was this kid who was trying to buy the game... Well needless to say the cashier actually did their job and told the kid that she could not sell it to him... Well boy throws fit at register, cashier won't budge... He starts his little tantrum... Cashier takes the game and puts it behind the counter and tells the next person in line to come up... Kid gets pissed and pulls out his brand new smart phone and called someone... (by this time I was kinda curious so I let a few random people in front of me so I could see how this would end... yeah I was nosy but whatever) About a minute later his mother showed up... Kid cries to his mom about how the woman won't sell him his game... Mother gets pissed, grabs kid and cuts in line demanding that the woman gives her kid the game... Cashier explains to the mother that the boy is not old enough to buy the game and she can not sell it to him... Mother gets even more pissed and whips out her ID... Well I'm old enough so just sell me the damn game already... So the cashier pulls out the game and rings it up...
In this time the mother starts talking about video games and how they are making todays children so violent and they are the major problem with the behavior in kids ...
Now this is the part that leads to me not being able to keep my mouth shut... I chime up with "As a gamer I have to highly disagree with your statement madam... Video games do not make children violent... Bad parents who don't take the time to check to see what exactly their children are playing is the problem..."
She rounds on me... "Excuse me! Who are you to judge me..."
"I'm not judging I'm just pointing out the fact that you can not blame games that are rated for adults as the cause in children's bad behavior... These games are rated for adults for a reason and it is the parents fault for not paying more attention to their kids activities... Do you even know WHAT your kid is trying to buy?"
"Yeah I know exactly what my son is getting, he said it is a basic racing game... "
I can't control myself at this point I bust out laughing...
"What is so funny!"
"You actually believe he is getting a simple racing game... Lady the name of the game is Grand THEFT Auto... Hello the name of the game is a bloody crime for crying out loud... You steal cars, commit crimes for bigger criminals, run from the cops, kill people just for the heck of it and the icing on the cake is all the prostitues and what not that you can have sex with."
She looks shocked, turns to her son... "Is this true?" He looks her right in the eye "No mom I'm getting a totally different game not what she is describing."
At this point like two other people in line hears what is going on... Before I can say anything else some guy behind me jumps in "Lady if you believe that then you are the dumbest person I have ever seen" then another guy adds in "Trust me miss I just got that game yesterday and I agree with everything the lady has said and if you do let your child get this game he is going to be seeing everything the lady here has mentioned and much more."
At this point she tells the cashier that she doesn't want the game and grabs her kid and drags him out of the store giving him all kinds of hell for lying to her... As he is leaving the store he turns to all of us and tells us that we all suck.
Now with all this being said since the newest GTA hit this past week I've done seen at least three kids trying to buy GTAV and I've basically told each and every parent I've seen with said children exactly what they were getting for their children. Two didn't get the game and the third said he knew what he was getting his kid but thanked me for the heads up.
Now personally I have no issues with kids playing these kind of games IF the parents know WHAT they are getting their kid. Now if parents know that their children are playing this and are cool with it then whatever it is their child and their choice but when I hear a kid tell their parents that it is just a racing game (or whatever bs lie they are selling their parents to get this game) I can't just keep my mouth shut : /
Now honestly I know people will say I should mind my own business and let these kids play what they want but honestly I believe that parents have a right to know what their children are playing. I'm not going to lie, part of the reason I do this is simply due to the fact that I am getting sick and tired of hearing parents blaming the gaming companies for their kids behavior.
So basically I am going to end this little rant or whatever of mine with this...
If any parents out there happen to be reading this... If someone refuses to sell your child a game, question why they did this first before blowing up at the person who refused your child! Odds are they have a good reason and odds are the game is way worse than what your child may have told you. So please check the game out for yourself first, whether it be by asking around in the store or reading about it online before you buy it. Also please stop blaming the game makers for you child's behavior... Games do have ratings (for more info please check out http://www.esrb.org) These rating work much like movie ratings so please check the rating of the game your child is looking at before you buy!
~Nonna
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