For gods sakes people are treating games like drugs and porn now. Hey you can only play painkiller and drink beer when you're 18 lol. I think that is a responsible act in part of the stores. What more do people want from the industry?
Well, if the system is working than we don't have to change something... in your case it obviously worked, so that's great. But we know that in many cases it doesn't. And even if it doesn't work I'm not saying that we necessarily have to change something. The problem is that the games industry is holding a "everything goes" mentality which is backed up by the "adult label".
I think I agree with you...I'm a little lost on your point here but I think you mean the rating industry right? Like how in the US violence is ok but nudity is a big no no and in the UK nudity is ok but violence is a big no no. In my opinion I think UK got it right. What would freak a kid out more, seeing in graphic detail somebody getting their head blown off or a naked lady? If somebody says naked lady..then there is something wrong with that individual and seek medical help immediatly
Hey, you explained it much better than I did!
LMAO...nice little underhanded shot at me
I love the way you put it "majority of grown ups with a certain cognitive complexity prefer the real thing to the virtual one." Man that is good...you get in two shots for the price of one. Implying I'm neither grown up or intelligent. Well, I wasn't talking about sex now was I, kiddo. I also prefer the real deal there
but I am also not ashamed about liking the female form in all of its glory. I think you are quite mistaken with the number of people who enjoy what you consider childish or just for young adults. Go to Japan and see how many different comics they have for all ages, not just kids. Also, check out the download stats on nude mods or even that The Witcher already has a nude patch and the toolset isn't even out yet(didn't know about that nude patch, gotta login to The Witcher forum more often)
I'm sorry... my intention was not to offend you. I only said that a majority of grown up prefers one thing over the other. That does not mean that something is wrong with the minority. And I used the term "cognitive complexity" because it sums up several factors wich might play a role in such a process. That does not mean that people who like something different are stupid or anything of that sort. But it's a simple truth that not everyone who is 18 (or even older... mid 20s, mid 30s, etc) has an adult mind set. Again, I don't want to disqualify people here... there is nothing bad with having a "childish" mind... I think that it can be very refreshing at times.
I have to admit that I have almost no experience with sexuality in games. I researched violence in the media for 2 years at university, it never even crossed my mind that nudity could be an interesting field as well. That might have to do with the fact that in Germany, where I live, nudity and sexuality in the media is not a big thing. Violence however is heatedly discussed...
So, I'm only guessing here. You might be right that I am wrong when it comes to sexuality in video games. I just worked from the following assumption: How much of a factor is sexuality (or nudity, etc.) in the process of buying a game? If it is a factor that plays a big role then games with such elements should usually sell more copies than other games... but I'm not sure if that's true. But as I said, my experience there is limited. Probably there are quite a few intervening variables, for example that there market is dominated by the USA, the quality of games, etc.
The more I read what you say, the more I like it
I think we are quibbling over little issues. I'm for the free market and you think that the developers should be held somewhat responsible. The problem is when do you draw the line. People aren't dumb, they can decide for themselves and if the developer pushes it too far, just watch how fast that developer goes out of business. Manhunter and Manhunter 2 comes to mind. Those are pieces of garbage that I won’t buy. I don’t think it did very well in sales either, but I could be wrong since I don’t give a rat’s behind about it. Will I cry wolf and say that it shouldn’t be made or even sold? No, let “grown ups” decide for themselves.
Anyways, I like what you say about too much violence and having a problem with it because that is what I think too. But in the end the parents and people will decide what they and their children play or not play.
Very true... and I really can only agree to what you wrote there. But again, I'm not so much aiming at changing the system from the outside. I just wanted to show that there is a certain hypocrisy involved on both sides. Let me give you an example:
In Germany there is a big discussion going on if something like media induced violence exists or not. A lot of conservative politicans consider video games (and other media) the devil's work and of course the media are responsible if a teenager takes his father's gun and shoots his classmates. On the other hand you have quite a few gamers (a lot of them organized in initivatives nowadays) who will tell you that something like media effects, especially media induced violence does not exist, that games are just fantasy and not the real world, etc. Usually these gamers work together with the gaming industry. Now, I don't want to discuss if or if not media induced violence does exist - let's just say there are a lot of controverse studies... in fact the topic is extremly complex. What I want to show is the ironic hypocrisy that is involved in the relationship between these gamers and the gaming industry. For years now the gaming industry has tried to widen the boundaries of how much violence you can show in video games (mutilation of dead bodies, etc.)... I would call that a natural process, since violence in video games is attractive to certain audiences. We know violent games usually sell quite well (if the quality of the game is ok). The ironic thing is that by pushing the boundaries the gaming industry inevitably provokes a conservative backlash that goes way beyond what is reasonable. The result will be that society will in fact begin to include rather harmless games (like "The Witcher") in a discussion which does not even concern them. In Germany, for example, World of Warcraft was for a brief time mixed up with the "violence in media" discussion (and let's face it - in terms of violence it really cannot get any more harmless than WoW).
So what many gamers don't see is that the gaming industry is at least partly responsible for the ongoing discussion. It is exactely the gaming industry's attitude that "in games everything should be allowed" that so to speak backs up the argumentation of more conservative forces in society.