Here at buttonmashing.com we are fighting the good fight for video games. We try to get the word out about the positive aspects of gaming while we refute spurious claims that violent video games are bad for kids. Last month I wrote a little piece about the topic of violent video games, quoting a couple articles that had some empirical evidence that refutes the claims by the anti-gaming cadre (definition 2a). Little did I know that it would actually have tangible results.
Last week, “Bloody Vamp Man” left me a comment, thanking me for the information and the graphs. Why? I’ll let his comment speak for itself:
Bloody Vamp Man
Comment by Bloody Vamp Man | 2005/09/07 at 13:24:06 | eThx for backing up the video game community. we needed some proof that the video games didnt cause violence. because of your graphs my mom is buying me games like resident evil 4 now. i apreciate your time being spent on this site thx.
;.;Bloody vamp dude
While I am a little nervous about his nick name, (Bloody Vamp Man/Dude doesn’t exactly conjure up happy, non-gory thoughts) I’m glad he is doing his homework and his mom has an open mind. Thanks to WP’s commenting system, I know where his comment originated from. I don’t know what grade Bloody Vamp Dude is in but I do know he’s still in school somewhere. So he is probably 15 or 16 years old and he wants to get his Resident Evil 4 on. I think RE4 is okay for that age. I wouldn’t have a problem with my older teenagers playing a game like RE4. I guess the graphs I used from the articles convinced his mom that video games of the violent/gory variety were okay. Good on ya, BVM.
I just hope his mom also does her homework, too. She could start by checking out some reviews of RE4 to determine if it’s okay for her boy. A good place to start would be Gamer Dad’s review. Gamer Dad does a good job of reviewing games with kids in mind.
This works both ways. I’m glad kids are proactive in the defense of their hobby and I’m glad parents can have an open mind. Neverthless, parents need to be informed. As much as I enjoy BM.com I still recognize I am just one voice in the overwhelming interweb. I hope parents are interested in their kids hobbies enough to know what their kids are doing. That includes making the tough call when to say “No, you’re not ready for that game/movie/book/whatever.” Being a parent I can say it isn’t easy saying no, but once and a while it needs to be done. But it’s easier when you’re informed.
And I’m glad to help.
Leave a Reply