(re: Software Ratings)
I’m not sure if this matters, because I could be in an outgroup (oh no! a statistics term! ^_^) but I’ve been playing Dungeons And Dragons since I was at least 7 years old. D&D is inherently violent and often very mature game, but it is still a game. I also remember playing Battle Chess, and staying up late at nights, swearing up and down that a knight was going to break into my room to chop off my arms and legs. As well, I grew up on both violent and non-violent games, but also on mature “adult-only” games. This includes Leisure Suit Larry for which I would actually ask my parents friends if they’d played and get hints or tips. I am still a “Disney-esque” person who abhores violence for anything less than protection. As I said, I may just be part of an outgroup, perhaps the group who had parents smack them silly when they were caught in Lefty’s Bar. XD
My personal belief has always been that it’s the parents responsibility to know what their children are doing when they do something. Period. If they don’t know what’s in the game, they need to do research and ask. (This is also the reason there are so many people getting ripped off buying computers. People fail to do any research on the subject and get …. …. …. well, let’s just go with ripped off. ^_~)
Sorry if this seems like a rant, but in reality, I’m very much torn between ratings. I’m not sure whether or not I like them. If they’re used for informing consumers of content, and only for that purpose, then I totally agree with it. However, it tends to be used in a “you must be this high to ride this ride” sense, so I tend to raise my voice a bit. 🙂