New Zealand warns parents about illegally buying GTA IV
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ May 5th 2008 at 11:30AM }
GTA IV is rated R18 by the New Zealand government and it's illegal to make it available to anyone under that age. In New Zealand, even if it's their own kid, the adult could be jailed for 90 days or pay $10,000 fine; however, the law has never been enforced.
[Via GamePolitics]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
McWeen @ May 5th 2008 11:35AM
Won't somebody think of the children!
Mromson @ May 5th 2008 12:33PM
At first, I looked at the US Law to be completely idiotic (same goes for the US politicians). Then I looked at Australia and just fainted. Imbeciles the lot of em.
I remember playing GTA III when I was 12 years old (or around that) under my parents supervision, and I turned out OK. I knew that it was a bloody game, just like I knew that a TV Movie was simply a movie.
Dale @ May 5th 2008 1:59PM
New Zealand != Australia
They have their own Prime Minister (a woman!) and everything.
DiscoGhost @ May 5th 2008 3:57PM
@dale
THAT explains it! *mumble* Stupid women prime ministers always ruining everything *mumble*
Schmobu @ May 5th 2008 6:49PM
Helen clark is barely a women you should, her she is the ugliest Prime minister we have ever had, and I thought robert muldoon was ugly.
Oh yeah and I played GTA I II and III, and I completely understand that it was and is a video game, and if a parent wants their kids to play a violent video game, we shouldn't be able to stop them.
Stevo @ May 5th 2008 9:22PM
Yeah, @ Mromson
New Zealand is most definitely not Australia if thats what your implying. Have a look at Map - you'll see that they are separate countries. That's like saying the United States and Canada are the same country - people would be a little annoyed about that, don't you think?
A simple mistake I'm sure.
shevy @ May 5th 2008 11:38AM
We'll see this sort of stuff over here in the States come 2009.
"SAVE THE CHILDREN" they cry!
Jerk Face @ May 5th 2008 11:40AM
Yikes. That's a little stiff. I am all for parent education, but this may be a little too far. GTA IV really shouldn't be played by anyone but adults; I fully believe that. Way to impressionable at that time, and the things you can do in that game - while fun for adults - are not cool for kids. But jail time? I don't know.
Robert @ May 5th 2008 11:44AM
Jail time must be enforced at least if the parents do it again
copa @ May 5th 2008 11:54AM
Just out of curiosity, what do you think will be more deleterious to a child's long-term development?
Playing a violent videogame with foul language and sexual references?
Or having your mom sit in jail for 90 days, unable to work or care for you?
Jerk Face @ May 5th 2008 11:58AM
Exactly, copa. While I think some kind of penalty is okay, jail time can only hurt the kid worse.
Regardless, I think it really should be up to the parents. Just because I would never let my kids play a game like GTA at 14 years old doesn't mean that another parent might think its okay. Parent education is what is important - that way at least the parents know what they are buying their kids. And if they know what it is and if they are okay with it, then bully for them.
Chrysee @ May 5th 2008 12:20PM
It all depends on the individual child and parents (should) know best if their 14 year old is mature enough to handle it. Some 14 year olds definitely should not be playing M-rated games, some would be fine. I probably would have been fine playing GTA at 14 and my parents would have let me.. but I don't think I would have been that interested. I think New Zealand has the right idea, but it's maybe a little too stiff.
CB @ May 5th 2008 3:05PM
woah, that bold post came out of nowhere!
syrik zero @ May 5th 2008 11:45AM
That's nuckin' futs!
k04sm02 @ May 5th 2008 11:49AM
That's odd to me. Kiwis are so laid back compared to everyone else. Even the Aussies.
syrik zero @ May 5th 2008 12:26PM
Never compare Kiwis and Aussies! Kiwis will kick your ass
Rudolphe @ May 5th 2008 11:52AM
if someone wants to let thier 14 year old play GTA, then let them play. It's not the governments choice to decide.
arrrgh @ May 5th 2008 11:57AM
I mean that's been working so far right?
Kodros @ May 5th 2008 12:55PM
Yes, it has been working so far. There will always be bad parents and no amount of laws can change that.
Rudolphe @ May 5th 2008 1:09PM
Exactly..
madphilb @ May 5th 2008 1:51PM
That may be how you feel, but in that Country the law says otherwise.
aristokrat @ May 5th 2008 1:47PM
One law that could change it is charging and punishing parents for any laws their kid breaks after the first offense (until 18 or they disown the kid). There are so many juvenile repeat offenders, which is truly sad, but if both the kid and parent got 3 months in juve/jail, you better believe the parents would start whipping their kids into shape or legally declaring them wards of the state (of course that would mean a better foster/emancipated child program, but that's where all the hardcore complainers come in: they could be given something to do).
Rudolphe @ May 6th 2008 5:04PM
Well the law is ridiculous, just because it's law doesn't make it right. I dont need laws to tell me how to raise my children.
cduran01 @ May 5th 2008 11:52AM
GOOD!!!
Wish that was true here in the states too. I'm sick of parents letting their kids get their hands on adult material only to have it criticized, banned or severely censored because of harm to children.
Maverick Saturn @ May 5th 2008 12:19PM
But....but....what about teh porn?
Kodros @ May 5th 2008 12:51PM
Please leave the US right now.
RastamanD @ May 5th 2008 3:19PM
i know lest just keep all the kids underground in a facility and let them out when they are 18...should solve the problem
WiiFTW @ May 5th 2008 4:16PM
FYI, games being criticized is solely because of incompetent parental units. I'm fine when I play m-rated games, and I have for a number of years now. I keep my grades up and take honors classes and stuff. I'm fine because I have legitimate, useful parents. When you have impressionable kids (I was too old to really be impressionable when I played video games) with parents who don't care, that's where you get the complaining.
Robobagins @ May 5th 2008 12:01PM
That's a little heavy handed when it comes to the law.
JonFitt @ May 5th 2008 12:30PM
What about people buying booze for kids? Surely there should be legal penalties for that?
I say more laws against bad parenting. Perhaps then XBL will be less full of little twits.
vidGuy @ May 5th 2008 12:33PM
Alcohol has been scientifically proven to have adverse effects on motor skills and decision making and is therefore dangerous to children, adults, and society as a whole.
GTA, and video games in general, has no such adverse effect. Until it is scientifically proven, there's no reason the government should be regulating the medium's sale.
aristokrat @ May 5th 2008 1:51PM
Alcohol has also been proven to cause serious neurological development problems (as your brain isn't done developing until your early 20's), which is why it is illegal for kids to have it.
They don't understand the damage they would be doing and by doing the damage they will never be able to understand the damage they did. Ha!
John @ May 6th 2008 1:44AM
Yeah, that's why we have all those developmentally challenged people in every other fucking country in the world that allows them to drink right?
you sir are wrong.
Maverick Saturn @ May 5th 2008 12:20PM
Well its funny, more under 18s have GTA4 over here then over 18s :S
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ May 5th 2008 12:30PM
My mum let's me play GTA4.What right have you got to decide whetever I should play it or not?
JonFitt @ May 5th 2008 12:34PM
The law.
If the law says it's illegal for you to play it, then it's illegal. What your mother says makes no difference.
Of course it's not illegal in the US, so parents aren't breaking the law. Yet.
JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ May 5th 2008 12:43PM
Okay...so basically the government has a lot more power over me than my own mother.Christ, that's just like fucking Nazi German!
Ted @ May 5th 2008 1:02PM
Hey you don't help your case by using expletives.
I agree though, the law is indirectly made by citizens, so you can't just proclaim 'the law says so' as though that's final. A parent has every right to allow their kid to play a game like GTA. I'm 19 now, but when I was about 12 I remember played GTA 3. Do I swear? Very rarely. Am I violent? No.
If I was the type of kid that repeated everything I saw on TV and in videogames, my parents would have been aware that I was that kind of a kid, and would probably have been unlikely to allow me to play/watch those kind of things.
Come to think of it, when I was about 8 my parents didn't allow me to read Dragon Ball Z comics because they thought it was too violent. So clearly there was some element of judgement going on on their part. That's how it should be. Governments shouldn't be planning the parenthood of children to such a strong extent.
Dale @ May 5th 2008 2:05PM
Although there are many, many examples of the contrary, it is generally the case that a law is designed for the greater good of the people. It is believed that allowing minors access to material that promotes violence, sexuality and substance use is not for the greater good of the people.
While I do think this law goes too far, it is likely to make parents pay closer attention to the materials they purchase for their children. Less kids being exposed to these titles should in turn lead to less crimes being blamed on them and thus more relaxed censorship so the people who are old enough for them can enjoy them.
vidGuy @ May 5th 2008 12:31PM
Sounds like New Zealand is Soviet Russia and Big Brother wrapped up into one. Don't you love it when the government tells you how to raise your kid?
JonFitt @ May 5th 2008 12:35PM
Dang gubberment, tells me I cant's feed my baby moonshine an all!
vidGuy @ May 5th 2008 12:40PM
Wow, Jon, so are you going to compare video games to alcohol in reply to everyone's comment? It's not exactly a good argument you know.
If there is ever evidence that video games harm society or cause any ill effects, I will be all for regulating their sale. Until then, it's the same as the government telling you that you can't read 1984, can't kiss your girlfriend in public, and can't burn the state flag in protest. It's oppression and you are just a sheep for accepting it.
JonFitt @ May 5th 2008 12:50PM
I respect NZ's right to decide that certain video games are adult in nature and aren't suitable for children. Just as movies are restricted in many places.
I resent the idiotic "they can't tell me what I do with mah kids" that gets trotted out, because the government can and does, alcohol being a case in point, also education. The fact is that rules restricting movies and video games get stopped due to first admendment concerns not due to any "parent's rights".
vidGuy @ May 5th 2008 1:05PM
In the US, the state can only tell you how to parent in two situations: parens patriae, in which the parents are considered neglectful or ill fit so that government has to take over for the child's safety, or when there is a legal interest, such as when alcohol or drugs cause adverse effects to society. While there are no "parent's rights", there is the belief that all adults should be free from government interference unless there is a significant interest otherwise.
While it is legit for games to be restricted from being sold to minors, any adult should be able to purchase any legal material for any purpose.
Ted @ May 5th 2008 1:14PM
JonFitt
Actually, alcohol is not a case in point. Parents can exercise judgement over whether their kids drink alcohol, especially at home (whether they can have wine/beer with dinner, whether they can have champagne at new year, something stronger with christmas dinner or whatever).
In terms of education, parents also have a huge amount of freedom for that, from home schooling, to public schools, to private schools, to military schools etc. Parents can mould their kids through what they do about their education. Not to mention extra-curricular stuff. Sure the gov't says they all have to go to school, but that doesn't have any bearing on the argument for parents to be able to choose what kind of games they buy their kids.
The point is: we're not beeing short-sighted by arguing for parent's rights. It is far more widespread than you assert. And I find it amusing that you characterize us all as red-necks for making this argument ("can't tell me what I do with mah kids") because that is very far from the truth. In fact, I live in London which makes it especially amusing that you pull that one out.
JonFitt @ May 5th 2008 2:48PM
Living in the UK you're more likely to be subject to an equivalent law sometime soon. There is already the £5,000 & up to 6 months imprisonment for the "supplier" of age restricted content, and it's not a huge leap to imagine that the government who fines parents for their child's anti-social behaviour (essentially fining them for bad parenting) would consider fining parents who ignore ratings.
Especially in light of the current reports indicating that a large percentage of parents know what the ratings mean and ignore them.
The sooner adult games are kept out of children's hands the better. Then I can enjoy mature content without having it plastered all over the news as the great corrupter of society.
But while parents continue to ignore the ratings perpetuate the idea that games like GTA4 are made for children. They are not.
Maybe your son or daughter is 16 and is fine with slapping ho's all day and night, but maybe that's just tough. Maybe they will just have to wait until they're older so that society is free to express adult themes through video games without worrying that the people watching it may not have the mental capacity to deal with it.
Then they can run over cops and rob liquor stores in college. All virtually I hope.
John @ May 6th 2008 2:46AM
Wow jon, I can't wait to live in the nanny-state cradle to grave fairyland you want.
Brandon @ May 5th 2008 12:44PM
Strange that doesn't actually say the parent was buying it for the kid, just that the kid was there. I always have my kids with me when I am out buying stuff, OMG, even when I am buying alcohol for my wife and I. I MUST be buying it for the kids since they are with me. And I do take my kids with me when I am buying adult rated games. I have this cool thing I do and I will tell you about the revolutionary method I use for free. It is called talking...I use "words" to explain to my children the difference between the games I buy for them and the game I buy for Daddy. By using this method and also NOT letting them play Daddy's game I ensure that they understand what is good for them and not good for them as children. I call this entire package, " parenting". Its fun when you try. Learn more about parenting in your local libary. GO JOE!!
The Purveyor of Justice @ May 5th 2008 12:47PM
Personally, I don't think this game has any business being in the hands of minors; but that's up to the parent. Not me, and certainly not Big Brother. Go cram it up where the sun don't shine, friggn tyrannical !#%(^&#!^!&^$!(*
ThornedVenom (Harley Quinn Defense Force) @ May 5th 2008 1:04PM
I am for the fact that stores can't sell R18 games directly to minors, but I'm also for informing parents about the game's actual content who're willing to buy it for their children.
Why? Because ultimately, I think that it runs down to the parent's decision for raising children: if they think their child is mature enough for such games, then let it be. However, I'm against parents who're just off to buy that game for their children just because their 14-year-old said so, without fully knowing the game's content.
We should enforce awareness instead of encouraging emprisonment, and ultimately, the decision for letting minors play GTA should belong to the parents.