It's D-Day today...

And yes, some parenting is really in order here. Even if you don't know about video games at all, it's not that hard to look at the box, look at that ERSB rating, and ask someone what that means. Even some store retailers put up guides on what the ratings mean.

And if that kid bypasses that system, you still have parental controls or... just taking the game away from them lol.

But that right there is a big issue. For that to work, we have to assume the parents are *surprised gasp* good parents. Now, I'm not a parent (hell, I'm still in college), but I feel justified in saying at least this much: parents should NOT give in to every little whine and "BUT I WANT IT" that comes out of their kids. That's the issue with the ESRB. Parents buying games for their kids regardless of warnings, and then if they try to take the game away after the fact the kid screams and cries until he/she gets what he/she wants, which is the game back. I've seen too many parents (2 years as a cashier in high school) who get their kids exactly what they want with no question, and that kind of enabling is making the kids spoiled. Which is not good.

As for the legislation that this topic is actually about, one of my friend was mentioning this the other day, and it really does sound like a terrible idea. He basically cited the same things you did, John, only not all of them. Mainly the "setting a precedent" thing. If they decide they can regulate games as they see fit, what's to stop them from moving on to other things? Movies? TV in general? The INTERNET?

People need to stop blaming their kids' problems on outside sources, because from what I've seen, it almost always comes from the parents.