EASTC0AST_GH05T
Member
Good job OP, I won't even play it if my nieces or nephews are present.
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I stopped a kid from getting GTA V
- Thread starter TheDanger
- Start date
BossLackey
Gold Member
I used to work at GameStop, and I can't tell you how many times I did this exact thing. Mom's that are right about to buy GTAV for their little sons having zero idea what's in it. The game is named after a felony, so that might give you some insight.
fuck you for bringing this up seriously, it's not related to this topic and you don't know the details. She was 15 when I started dating her, we are not together anymore now, I'm 3 years older.
Silent_Ocarina
Member
You did the right thing. She's the one who made the decision, you just gave relevant and accurate information. I do wonder whether or not I would let my kids play games like that, though. I played Vice City when I was younger and thought it was really fun.
Square2015
Member
Would we be having this same discussion if he were twelve?
I feel you handled that situation very well. She asked for your opinion on whether it was appropriate for her son to play the game and perhaps more wisely, you allowed her to make the decision while making her aware of the contents of the game. You gave her the facts you knew that would be potentially of concern to a parent, and let her make the decision.
I also understand why you would feel bad for that kid as well. I think most of us here were that 8 year old at some point and in some respect, it can feel like you're letting your younger self down in a way. But in this case, I think it's appropriate to show maturity and attempt to help the parent make an informed decision on a purchase. Whether the child finds another way to play the game is besides the point.
I also understand why you would feel bad for that kid as well. I think most of us here were that 8 year old at some point and in some respect, it can feel like you're letting your younger self down in a way. But in this case, I think it's appropriate to show maturity and attempt to help the parent make an informed decision on a purchase. Whether the child finds another way to play the game is besides the point.
EASTC0AST_GH05T
Member
Trevor would turn any kid out lol, he would keep a 8 year olds mind blown and fill it with so many questions that can't all be answered.
JigglesBunny
Banned
Anyone who vaguely remembers my GameStop story knows that I think you did the right thing.
Kabuki Waq
Member
Its not even the pedestrian killing the storyline is not for an 8 year old.
That has happened to me twice this last year for GTA V. Once when a grandmother was about to buy her 12 year old grandson a game at the mall and I was "hmpf that game is very violent, I wouldnt buy that for him."
She immidiately thanked me and went to Disney Infinity section.
My father was about to buy it as well for my half-brother that is 20 years younger then me. Im in my 30s... I told him about the torture scene and that was enough.
At OP, you did the right thing for sure.
I have to add that I have the PS3, PS4 and PC version.
So I think Ive done my part anyways.
She immidiately thanked me and went to Disney Infinity section.
My father was about to buy it as well for my half-brother that is 20 years younger then me. Im in my 30s... I told him about the torture scene and that was enough.
At OP, you did the right thing for sure.
I have to add that I have the PS3, PS4 and PC version.
So I think Ive done my part anyways.You did the right thing.
True, it probably wouldn't have affected him (parents be crazy) but he could have gotten in trouble by his mom whenever she would catch him playing it.
Also, it isn't like you are the child's parent. THEY should have looked up more about the game and not asked a stranger. I mean, you weren't even a freaking employee lol.
So nah, there is no reason to feel bad. You could have lied to her and you shouldn't feel bad. That wasn't your business in which she tried to bring you into.
True, it probably wouldn't have affected him (parents be crazy) but he could have gotten in trouble by his mom whenever she would catch him playing it.
Also, it isn't like you are the child's parent. THEY should have looked up more about the game and not asked a stranger. I mean, you weren't even a freaking employee lol.
So nah, there is no reason to feel bad. You could have lied to her and you shouldn't feel bad. That wasn't your business in which she tried to bring you into.
BluePigGanon
Member
Oh brother.
It's the parent's call to make, not his (or yours). The violence or sex in GTAV is actually irrelevant - his mom gets to decide what her son is exposed to. She gets to decide if he's allowed to have videogames at all.
It's baffling to me some would argue this guy should lie to an adult parent asking a reasonable adult parent question to "help out" a friggin 4th grader.
I would have done the same thing too.
My niece (11 years old at the time) wanted me to get her GTA IV for christmas one year, thinking that I'd be the "cool" uncle who wouldn't bat an eye lid. I of course told her no as she wasn't old enough, just in the same way I probably wouldn't let her watch Reservoir Dogs or some other violent film at that time. Nothing against violent forms of entertainment (most of which I really enjoy), but 11 years old is IMHO too young for that stuff.
Edit
I made up for it by chipping in to get her a PS4 for her 16th, with GTA V. Knowing her as I do I don't think the 2 year difference between 16 and 18 really matters as she is perfectly aware it's a video game.
My niece (11 years old at the time) wanted me to get her GTA IV for christmas one year, thinking that I'd be the "cool" uncle who wouldn't bat an eye lid. I of course told her no as she wasn't old enough, just in the same way I probably wouldn't let her watch Reservoir Dogs or some other violent film at that time. Nothing against violent forms of entertainment (most of which I really enjoy), but 11 years old is IMHO too young for that stuff.
Edit
I made up for it by chipping in to get her a PS4 for her 16th, with GTA V. Knowing her as I do I don't think the 2 year difference between 16 and 18 really matters as she is perfectly aware it's a video game.
Shadowhaxor
Member
You did the right thing, as a person and a gamer. 8 year old's should not be playing that game, at all. It's bad enough they can go on YouTube and see that shit.
Technically, if someone isn't upholding the law, thankfully there are people that will step in and help. It's rated for a reason.
Technically, if someone isn't upholding the law, thankfully there are people that will step in and help. It's rated for a reason.
dispensergoinup
Member
No big deal, the kid will probably play it over at his friend's house.
My favorite game when I was 10 was gta 3, I played for hours without doing one mission and just murdering people all night. Is not understanding reality from video games as easy as I thought? I mastered this at 4 while playing doom as a toddler, I feel like kids are smarter than people give them credit for.
KiefbladeMaster
Member
Same thing happened to me as a kid when trying to get Vice City. I ended up with Kingdom Hearts instead which ended up being even better for me.
This is the part that's scary to me. Some people are actually willing to lie to a genuinely concerned parent in order to further the interests of a random 8-year-old. It comes off as some creepy child predator shit.
Petrae
Member
Oh, yeah. I've been on the receiving end of Self-Righteous Parent. It's not fun, for sure. One parent did that to me as she bought GTA IV for her 9 year-old. Then she returned the game the next day, apologizing for her outburst; she was shocked that a game like that could even exist (or so she said).
I just head this shit off now, and explain up-front that sharing knowledge about the ESRB rating system is part of the job before reading the content descriptors. Far fewer Self-Righteous Parent outbursts, but still lots of parents buying these games or their grade-school children anyway.
Schweinehund
Member
I would have just said the ratings are accurate on the box.
In the long run, having an involved and caring parent is likely going to go a lot further toward happiness for this kid than the temporary gratification of playing a violent game.
You consider getting a virtual blowjob worse than actively killing virtual inocent people? This is an American thing right?
I really don't get this about the US, the first season of The Walking Dead had a fucking TV14 rating, they were showing ripping intestines out of zombies and smearing them on themselves, but they couldn't say fuck or show a nipple, I mean how ridiculous is that shit?
I'm from Austria and we have the German FSK on the movies and shows, it's exactly the other way around here, stuff like Walking Dead has an FSK 18 rating and stuff like American Pie has a 12 rating which is perfectly reasonable imo.
You know I see a lot of posts of people saying they we're pretty young when they played M-rated games but what I'm wondering is how those people came about owning those games.
I never asked my parents to buy me these types of games like the kid in the OP's post, I just borrowed them from friends or my older brother who bought them.
How did everyone else get their hands on them?
I never asked my parents to buy me these types of games like the kid in the OP's post, I just borrowed them from friends or my older brother who bought them.
How did everyone else get their hands on them?
Amentallica
Unconfirmed Member
You didn't intervene and stop the child from getting the game. You delivered a quick explanation of what transpires in the game and the parent made the decision to not buy it, so you're fine.
I was gifted a lot of violent games because the people who gifted them didn't think twice about the content. I can't recall having had any trouble getting any game I wanted when I was younger until God of War came out, which was at just the right age that I was able to go the store with a friend and not an older sibling or parent. I was totally rejected the purchase by a Gamestop employee, but a stranger just outside the store went in and bought it for both me and my friend.
I was gifted a lot of violent games because the people who gifted them didn't think twice about the content. I can't recall having had any trouble getting any game I wanted when I was younger until God of War came out, which was at just the right age that I was able to go the store with a friend and not an older sibling or parent. I was totally rejected the purchase by a Gamestop employee, but a stranger just outside the store went in and bought it for both me and my friend.
Theanine3D
Member
The mother asked him. Morality and authority are completely irrelevant. All he did was answer a question truthfully after being prompted about it. lol
To the bolded - at 8 years old? I'll reiterate that I think you've entirely forgotten what it's like to be 8 years old or your experiences as a child and around children diverge so severely from mine that we're unlikely to find common ground.
I really don't think exposing children to inappropriate imagery and then trying to roll it back with an explanation is healthy, not until the child is old enough to understand the human context behind sex and violence. Which isn't 8 years old.
One of many things about American culture which is mind-blowingly absurd. The Janet Jackson nipple slip being the shark-jump moment.
GTA 3 and GTA V are different. You'd let a kid watch 'Shane' but probably not 'Django Unchained.' The levels of language and violence are completely different despite being in the same genre.
Rentals, i could rent whatever i wanted on my own with my own money, sometimes my dad would see me and my brothers play things like mortal kombat 2 and just mention he was displeased with us wasting our time playing such [content wise] garbage.
Honestly, other than MK i can't remember ever playing anything else that wasn't appropiate.
Bluekaveli
Member
You need to be locked in a cell with the ugliest nastiest character from the Elder Scrolls. I was playing GTA at 9 and turned out to be a star citizen. Now you may have influenced that child to be a sociopath. You need to find that kid and apologize. Also buy them a copy of Vice City so they can play a real GTA game. I'm embarrassed to be posting on the same forum as you 😳
BluenoseGames
Member
I don't think being asked relates to what I talk about. I also don't think he answered truthfully; if anything he used a double standard imo.
Bluekaveli
Member
BluePigGanon
Member
I wish someone had intervened when I bought MGS4, and I was 33 at the time.
Unbound By Death
Member
Good man