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Editorials and Features

This Toy is Rated M for Mature   Article by: MrCHUPON

Editorial: This Toy is Rated M for Mature [Written 2007-09-05]

The toys n' joys stigma is likely the reason why, for the longest time, controversial content in videogames has had parents up in arms and - consequentially - politicians from both sides of the fence tying up nooses and throwing them in the general direction of our consoles. Preface: Reprinted with permission from Richard Windsor of videogame blog Aeropause.com, this editorial was written by me on August 16th, 2007, specifically for Aeropause's Bioshock Blogger for a Day competition. I was lucky enough to have been chosen by them as the winning article. You can find the original Aeropause printing, dated August 24th, 2007, here. The contest rules stated that the entry could not have been published anywhere else, and I'd like to express my gratitude to Richard and the rest of Aeropause for allowing me to reprint the article here despite this. Please show them some love and take a gander at their site. This Toy is Rated 'M' for Mature Years ago, I was in a videogame store being asked questions about Nintendo’s then-new Gamecube: what games were coming out for it, how much it was, and what I thought of it. The easy answer - and the one I gave - was that it would likely have great titles from Nintendo itself, definitely worth owning the system for, but that he should also keep the Playstation 2 in mind where third parties were concerned since at that point the Xbox was unproven. "I guess," he said, "but it looks like a toy... stupid and kiddyish." My reply was blunt: "So? That's what these pretty much are - toys." It played games, for chrissakes. What was so stupid about it looking like a toy? In hindsight, that insistence was a mistake on multiple levels. First there's the notion that game creation is art, and arguably, artistic creations shouldn't be "devalued" to the status of "toy." Then there's the growing trend of seeing games as, if you'll pardon the oxymoron, serious entertainment - not just family playtime fun. The one that may affect us the most as consumers - and that continually threatens to invalidate the previous items on this list - is the stigma of videogames as a toy-like endeavor versus "controversial" content. You probably haven't heard too much disgust, outrage, and cries for legal action against the film “Hostel II,” which features an unapologetic castration scene. What about music? Even after Tipper Gore slapped Parental Advisory stickers on CD jewel cases, you'd likely have to do some extensive Googling to find any cries for government control over Raekwon the Chef's rap record, “The Lex Diamond Story,” which features a song called "Pablow Escablow." That's right: it's about cocaine. Yet, sex and violence in videogames has been such a hot-button issue ever since “Mortal Kombat” - and it's only getting worse. This toys n' joys stigma is likely the reason why, for the longest time, controversial content in videogames has had parents up in arms and - consequentially - politicians from both sides of the fence tying up nooses and throwing them in the general direction of our consoles. According to them, videogames are mere playthings, comparable to Legos and Barbie Dolls. It's our real-world version of the cigarette-smoking baby doll from the “Family Guy” television episode "Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington" - as a toy, the videogame is targeted towards our children, and therefore mass panic must ensue when content of objectionable nature finds its way into the medium. “Won't you - Mr. Government – think of our children?” Well, who's thinking of the rest of us over the age of eighteen? As mature adults, are we not allowed to appreciate the evocative nature of epic adventures and storytellers' messages tinged with interactive elements? Should an entire medium be demonized because the game “Bioshock” may expose little Jack and Thomas to a monstrous enemy who literally plunges a vicious drill straight through your avatar's abdomen, even though the game’s violence - and complex, Randian themes - are clearly aimed at those mature enough to appreciate it? Why can't we consider “Manhunt” - by all rights a disturbing and brutal experience - a look into the mind of the deranged; a look into the barrel-scraping bottom of society; and an interpretive and literal challenge to our limits and tolerance, instead of a health-hazardous toy that should be recalled and banned? Perhaps we need change in nomenclature. The word "game" could be as harmful as "toy" with regards to the medium's ability to grow freely. As much as I personally enjoy the "game" aspects over any other - give me a game with a terrible story but revolutionary gameplay, and I won't hesitate to give it a perfect score - the move by Sony to mold the Playstation brand into one of home theater entertainment and not just games was one that can only help build a more "mature" perception of videogames as a whole. It was a move that I, as a young, self-proclaimed (and know-nothing) "gaming purist", scoffed at because "game systems should be about games, maaan." But as much as this convergence trend is Sony (Blu-Ray), Microsoft (downloadable digital video) and Nintendo's (News and Weather Channels) Trojan horse into the domination of our living rooms and subsequently our wallets, we can also hope that it will help shake off the improper notion that "them dang vidjagames" are toys for the kids.

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