Live video games and terrible language
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By John Carlin
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: May 15, 2008
If you don’t believe Halo 3—the video game has captured the world—the game will tell you. Dots on the screen show who’s playing and where—and at any given time there at least hundreds of thousands playing—often against each other.
Among those who play is my own son, Tyler.
“I just play with random people around the world.”
And Nicholas Barber—a manager at the Roanoke Best Buy—one of the beta testers for video games—He plays them before the public can buy them.
“In the past, I’ve had XBOX I’ve had XBOX 360, PS 3 Sega Saturn, I mean I’ve played every game console known to man,” he said.
Video games have come a long way. It used to be you just used the controller to play against the game. Now you’ve got a headset. And you’re talking to the whole world—and listening to them.
The premise of Halo is basic. You are the shooter, trying to kill aliens. In the live version you don the headset and sign in. The game recognizes your skill level and in moments teams you with other players from who knows where.
“Occasionally someone will come in with like Spanish, French or some form of Asian language,” Tyler said.
But that’s not the language issue parents should be concerned about.
Standing in front of a game consol Barber gives us the low down. “Swearing. All the seven deadly words, and just about everything you can think of—I’ve heard come out of young childrens’ mouths.”
So we put it to the test, placing a microphone in Tyler’s headset. The conversation was x-rated from the first shot.
“Holy S*** Suck A**. He’s Terrible. If you’re that bad, you should quit
“Yeah! I’m F****** dead b/c their sniper sniped me -teammate says “no its b/c you F***** Suck”
“F*** You Joe, he was a Captain grade 3
In another clip, clearly a young child was among the players. His language as bad as thiers.
Said Barber, “I’ve seen as young as 7—maybe younger on XBOX live. Maybe younger. Seven? Yeah. Some of them are pretty bad, just like wow.”
Carlin: “What’s the reaction when there’s a kid in the game?”
Tyler: “A lot of people cuss them out...”
And the kids aren’t just hearing the bad talk—they’re speaking it. Racial slurs and homophobic comments as well.
“Just a lot of times they’ll say—Oh you’re gay. You’re being gay stop doing that,” said Barber.
If the shocking language has you re-thinking your kids activities—here’s some 10 on your side information.
You can’t go live until you get one of the cards. Each looks like plastic gift card and each one buys you a certain number of months of game-play.
If you don’t buy a “live” game card, you can’t get on “line” meaning your kids will just play against the computer. You can also take away the ether net cable so the game can’t be connected to the internet… Or leave it connected and… “just turn the headset off. Turn off all communications so they can’t actually hear team speak or anything.”
And of my own son?
We’ve already discussed much stricter rules for the XBOX.
Some churches and other groups have formed “clans” where players within the clan compete with one another and agree not to use foul language. If any is heard, you’re out. Here’s a link to one clan’s rules.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( KingHippp0 ) on May 16, 2008 at 7:56 pm
The parental controls and voice configuration settings will address every problem you’ve raised in the article. Except for the throngs of racist and homophobic video game players online.
Also, the game is rated M. I wouldn’t let my child play an M rated game. If I did allow it, I wouldn’t blame any foul language on the game, as it was clearly labelled for adults. Who bought the game? Who setup the Xbox live account?
Parents need to take responsibility for the technology they bring into the house. If you have HBO, your kids might find late night programs. But the V-chip technology is there to stop them from watching those shows, and it’s certainly built into the xbox to keep them from communicating with strangers over the internet, but the console is not configured that way when you unpack it. Like the V-chip, it must be properly configured to be of any use.
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Posted by ( Dragons_fayte ) on May 16, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I agree to an extent.
It is a parents job to watch there child and set a good environment, its not the game company’s, its not the people on the other side of the headset (they are out to have a good time, they paid for the rights to use the network, and they will, if they act vulgar and you don’t like it report there accounts,)
So limit the account, don’t let them get on Xbox live, and don’t let the find the world around them thats your choice, but , keep this in mind, i would rather have my kids in the house doing this then out in a group of other kids that i don’t know and don’t trust.
p.s. my mom let me play all of the violent games i wanted, i was not allowed to swear in the house(as long as she wasn’t around she didn’t care) and i have to say, i think I’m doing really well, i going to college, paying my way, enjoying my life friends and family, and never once have i ever yelled at a officer, hit a person, or had thoughts of mass murder, genocide, or suicide.
so before people like JT, try and tell you violence in video games is “BAD for them” think this, would i rather know they are doing it in a game, and know thats its wrong, or have them want to try it in real life without ever knowing the repercussions.
I say better they do it in front of you in a game, so you can tell them or show them whats right and whats not, then let them go out into the world naive and insecure
(thats it for my daily rant)(also I don’t proof read)
-kk-
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Posted by ( Kfoster ) on May 16, 2008 at 4:11 pm
@ gcpolsen
You and I agree wholeheartedly, I also sent an E-mail to Mr. Carlin today with the same concerns. Every parent needs to be better informed of what their kids are doing and playing. On the other hand as a parent I understand the sentiment of its no worse then TV 99% of the time thats true but it’s still not a “get of parenting free card”.
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Posted by ( gcpolsen ) on May 16, 2008 at 1:42 pm
As the owner of a game store, I can tell you that we do our best to inform parents of what to expect from the M-rated games that their kids are trying to buy. The surprising thing is that, even in the case of children under ten, we have had fewer than 15 parents balk at the content in the last 5 years. The usual line is either “They will just play it at a friends house anyway” or “It’s no worse than what they watch on TV.” Maybe it is because I don’t have children, but to me those both sound like indicators of other parenting issues.
I believe that parents have an obligation to their children to either play the game beforehand, play it with them or, in the case of single-player games at least observe. I agree that Halo 3 is mild in the scheme of things, but it shares a rating with some games that have content that I don’t think that I am old enough to see!
Use the parental controls. The Xbox 360’s are some of, if not the, best in the business. Also, pay not attention to the reporter behind the curtain, Xbox Live is accessible straight from the console, without buying those cards. All you need is a valid credit card and perhaps a Windows Live ID. He probably just missed the button labeled “Join Xbox Live.” All the cards are are a pre-payment option.
I won’t make any character judgements on Mr. Carlin, but there is a real problem with the mainstream media jumping in on the sensationalist bandwagon without doing their homework and educating themselves on the subject of the story before they run it.
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Posted by ( Kfoster ) on May 16, 2008 at 11:30 am
@ FinzUp
I agree with you on everything, but one thing. Halo is rated M but every online game has a disclaimer that the online play is not rated and from the ESRB: “Online-enabled games carry the notice “Online Interactions Not Rated by the ESRB.” This notice warns those who intend to play the game online about possible exposure to chat (text, audio, video) or other types of user-generated content (e.g., maps, skins) that have not been considered in the ESRB rating assignment.”
On that note Halo is not that bad granted it is an M game, but I think his son can understand the difference between killing aliens and real
violence.
However I will take notice that WSLS still left out alot of facts about XBOX LIVE.
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Posted by ( FinzUp ) on May 16, 2008 at 8:51 am
When it comes to video games, parents have to be vigilant just as much as they are when giving them access to a computer. Parents must KNOW what these systems can do and how to configure them propertly.
With respect to Halo 3:
1. It is rated M for mature. Content is rated for ages 17+. I do not think Carlin’s son was old enough-- so, if John Carlin is so concerned, why is he letting him play it?
2. Parental Controls—The Xbox 360 has parental controls which parents can use as a tool to control what their childer can or cannot play.
3. Configuration—Best thing to do is to configure communication to those only on your friends list. By doing this, you will not hear the random banter that occurs.
I own several consoles and I have two children who play the xbox 360. I am involved in purchasing their games, establishing their friends list, and determining which games they can play online. All it takes is a little education and being a responsible parent.
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