Black Ops 3 - Age Rating

tim68

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chatting to friends today at a coffee shop and one mentioned she had just ordered the above game for her 8 year old son, I tried to point out that this game has an 18 year old rating and I was politely brushed off, I was polite about it then she accused me of interferring lol
 
I meant to post this in the PS4 forum, could a kind moderater move it over for me please thanks
 
It's shocking but so many people don't seem to care.
 
One of the reasons I dont play COD games much now is the pre pubescent offencive chat......mostly from the adults .
 
I was more referring to the oblivious parents who happily ignore the age ratings then blame video games when the child goes crazy
 
I remeber watching aliens when I was really young and having nightmares about that film. Had a few as an adult as it happens. Perhaps a deep scarring. Still my top movie of all time though :)

Just hope my 20 month old isn't too scarred from watching walking dead with me......


Tbh 8 is a bit too young for an 18 anything but I know when my little one is a teenager I'll probably do as I my parents did and allow certain stuff. Will take it as a case by case thing. I don't judge too much on that kind of stuff as who am I to tell someone how to be a parent.
 
Personally I tend to take age ratings as a guide rather than an absolute, although IMHO 8 is too young for COD.

As a parent you have to take responsibility for knowing your child, monitoring their behaviour and recognising when something is too much.

I was OK with my son playing COD at 12/13, although I always monitored his behaviour online and limited his time with it.

The bigger debate was GTA.
 
I wouldn't judge someone who makes an informed decision, it's the parents who couldn't care less and wouldn't know what their little darlings are playing that annoy me.

Ive probably been over protective with my kids on that sort of thing. Ive no problem watching marvel films etc with them but the oldest is off to secondary school next year so probably time for me to loosen the reigns a bit.

I don't mind them shooting robots or things that explode, personally at 8 and 10 I don't think they need to see blood or violence. While they are happy with minecraft ill enjoy there innocence as long as possible.
 
Personally I tend to take age ratings as a guide rather than an absolute, although IMHO 8 is too young for COD.

As a parent you have to take responsibility for knowing your child, monitoring their behaviour and recognising when something is too much.

I was OK with my son playing COD at 12/13, although I always monitored his behaviour online and limited his time with it.

The bigger debate was GTA.

Totally agree - the rating is a rough guide IMO and needs to be used in conjunction with a bit of common sense and discretion.

Letting an 8 year old play a "violent" game with an 18 rating is just downright bad parenting really.
 
Ive never had to look into this ( dont have younglings ). Is there an option to age restrict games on consoles ?
 
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Ive never hsd to look into this ( dont have younglings ). Is there an option to age restrict games on consoles ?

Set up their account with their correct dob. They won't thank you for it though ;)
 
Set up their account with their correct dob. They won't thank you for it though ;)

Maybe not and i was young once and wanted to watch 18 cert films but the content in 18 rated games is way above what a film can show. We try to protect children from the internet and parents can do the same with games. if they wish to do so.
 
Games have player agency, you are not just watching violence but actually undertaking it. I'm no prude, but never in a million years would I let my or any other eight year old play COD. Disgraceful parenting and tantamount to abuse.
 
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8 is too young for that game. My lad is nearly 15 and he's only been allowed to play local games with his mates over the past 12-18 months. Not that he does. He's more interested in fifa.
 
Sadly I've dealt with too many young people who've comiited very serious crimes. Whilst Im unsure there is any direct link between violence in video games, although to young, partially developed minds, who knows. But there is most certainly a correlation between anti social behaviour and don't give a fudge parenting, such as using TVs and games consoles as babysitters with little or no moderation or explanation of right and wrong.
 
Games are rated within strict guidelines. Even so these don't take into account any long term psychological damage that COULD be imparted from the immersive nature of video games when compared to movies (for example). I was unmoderated as a child because computer games (and to an extent movies) were completely alien to my parents. Whilst I don't consider myself to be too unbalanced I can see that if I were vulnerable to such influences then the things I did whilst growing up could have been way more significant. It's also worth noting that games with an 18 rating attract an "adult" audience (I wish you could capitalise quotes.). This means that the online experience means that you're primarily interacting with teenagers trying to prove their adulthood online. This isn't a world that an 8 year old is equipped for and has got to be the least constructive way I can think of for that ages group to spend their time. That is ******* **** parenting.

I like to use the "Saving Private Ryan" test. That film is rated 15, and the first 15 mins contain more guts and swearing that you ever need to experience ( great film by the way ! ). My 12 year old joined me when I was watching it one night and left the room pretty quickly saying it was "just wrong".

SO if you're happy sitting watching that sort of thing with your 8 year old, then I guess you should fill your boots and let natural selection sort it out.
 
Games are rated within strict guidelines. Even so these don't take into account any long term psychological damage that COULD be imparted from the immersive nature of video games when compared to movies (for example). I was unmoderated as a child because computer games (and to an extent movies) were completely alien to my parents. Whilst I don't consider myself to be too unbalanced I can see that if I were vulnerable to such influences then the things I did whilst growing up could have been way more significant. It's also worth noting that games with an 18 rating attract an "adult" audience (I wish you could capitalise quotes.). This means that the online experience means that you're primarily interacting with teenagers trying to prove their adulthood online. This isn't a world that an 8 year old is equipped for and has got to be the least constructive way I can think of for that ages group to spend their time. That is ******* **** parenting.

I like to use the "Saving Private Ryan" test. That film is rated 15, and the first 15 mins contain more guts and swearing that you ever need to experience ( great film by the way ! ). My 12 year old joined me when I was watching it one night and left the room pretty quickly saying it was "just wrong".

SO if you're happy sitting watching that sort of thing with your 8 year old, then I guess you should fill your boots and let natural selection sort it out.

I believe the Saving Private Ryan test pales in comparison to any parent letting any young impressional mind play the likes of GTAV . I love the game BTW and have double dipoed but you are not just watching a film here . Same with COD as MP is almost full of teens or younger , I'm no prude but some parents need to get a grip and as another poster mentioned not let a game become a form of babysitting.
 
Games are not films. Sounds obvious and it is. Films can be disturbing and clearly age ratings need to apply to them, but they are passive experiences, where as games are a very active experience. My son is 9 and to be fair, I do allow him to play COD with his friends online (with the gore etc. turned off). I play a campaign through and then make a call as to whether he can play that. Playing the first level of the Blops3 campaign was enough to tell me that it was clearly not appropriate (with the torture scenes etc.).

His friends at school (some who are just 7 or 8) play GTA5 online and he's constantly begging me to let him play it, as he feels left out. I can understand how he feels like that, but he's way too young to be playing that and I have flat out refused. I can't believe that some parents will let their kids play GTAV at 7 or 8. For me, my son would have to be at least mid teens (14/15) before I would let him play the likes of GTA5. It is a fine balance as I don't want to stop him having fun with his mates and I do feel that games can bring a lot of benefits as well, but some games are just not appropriate for his age and as a parent I have a responsibility for making those calls.

I certainly don't feel that the "Daily Mail, ban evil video games" view is helpful, but at the same time, neither is just turning a blind eye to the influence games can have on young developing minds.

Now, what will be really interesting will be the impact Virtual Reality will have when it hits the masses next year! Should keep the Daily Mail in front pages for a good few years that!
 
My son is 14 and I have allowed him to play GTA.

I already had the game so couldn't refuse to buy it, but there was a lot of begging on his part. I eventually relented realising that I had exposure to much worse at his age but made him have a rather uncomfortable conversation with me about the main themes. I also sat with him as he played initially to giveme an opportunity to discuss if need be.

However, I soon realised that he didn't approach the game like I would and that all he really wanted to do was play online with his mates. I ended up being a little jealous of how good a laugh they were having doing the heists.
 
Set up their account with their correct dob. They won't thank you for it though ;)

If the kids accounts are sub-accounts of your master account then the PS4 won't stop them playing 18 rated games. The age rating allowed can be set for each console but applies to all accounts.
 
If the kids accounts are sub-accounts of your master account then the PS4 won't stop them playing 18 rated games. The age rating allowed can be set for each console but applies to all accounts.

But using a real age will stop them playing online. This has been a pain, especially for EA games needing Origin. A PEGI 7 game will stop a 12 year old playing online because Origin age limit is 13!
 

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