Xbox Living

Here’s an interesting article written by author Stephen King in his Entertainment Weekly column. King has taken a stand against the media and some politicians on the frequently-debated issue of video game violence, describing Massachusetts’ proposed ratings legislature as “lunacy”.

“What makes me crazy is when politicians take it upon themselves to play surrogate parents. The results of that are usually disastrous. Not to mention undemocratic.”

King’s stand is mostly against the double-standard that legislators and media outlets seem to have on the industry. That is, video games seem to get into trouble for far less than films do.  He points out that the proposed bill itself creates a different standard for games:

“[The bill] means, by the way, that a 17-year-old who can get in to see Hostel: Part II would be forbidden by law from buying (or renting, one supposes) the violent but less graphic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.”

King also suggests that the danger posed by any violently-motivating quality of video games is far less than the U.S. lack of adequate gun control.

I’ve been saying it all along: the responsibility lies on parents to uh, y’know — parent. Considering how most DVD players, cable boxes and video game consoles have parental controls these days — shouldn’t concerned parents actually use them?