BC Scraps Mandatory Video Game Ratings

antarctican writes: "In their first intelligent move, the new government of British Columbia has scrapped the mandatory video game rating system which was brought into effect last year. At last some sanity in this attempt to rid youth of these e-v-i-l influences.... *smirk* We can only hope others in positions of authority come to their senses too." But we must protect the children!

Re:Do they matter?

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe buying video games under age was akin to buying Tobacco or Alchohol while under 18.

Don't be so quick to applaud

[twilight30]

I live in Vancouver. There are a number of facts behind the rating system that were never (to my knowledge) publicised. I was curious as I bought the Linux port of SoF a week after the ban was 'implemented', so I asked a clerk at EB some questions. The answers surprised me.

• 1. The RCMP in a Vancouver suburb were called in on the basis of a single parental complaint.
  
• 2. They confiscated copies of SoF at EB, only one of many videogame retailers in the province.
  
• 3. Copies of the unexpurgated version were readily available post-ban at Future Shop (recently purchased by BestBuy) and other retailers in the province, without restriction. For the sake of argument, if you think of this as akin to 'jazz' mags -- put at levels where younger children could not access -- this did not occur. Anywhere. I saw copies at several stores myself, easily accessible by youngsters, unstickered. It was only in the last two months or so that I personally noticed any difference.
  
• 4. As the reference below should indicate, the newly-elected provincial Liberal government during its time on the Opposition benches openly supported the NDP ban on violent videogames at the time.
  
• 5. As reported in today's local papers, several parental watchdog-type groups are up in arms over this change. You can expect the Liberals to waffle a bit on this issue. I apologise in advance as I don't have the URL to verify this.
  
• 6. Most significantly, at no point ever was the Linux port of the game affected, for understandable (economic) reasons. I personally attribute this to ignorance as getting Linux game ports is pretty difficult, though not impossible.
  

• 
  
  More info on the change available here [canada.com] -- forgive the reference, I'm feeling lazy (The Vancouver Province is a tabloid rag).

Re:BC Liberals

[shatteredpottery]

Yes. The BC Liberals are brilliant. So brilliant that my company has now lost our three senior (and good) programmers to companies in Washington and Oregon, and we can't find replacements (at rates we can afford, and we pay well). Back to that in a moment.

The Liberals didn't drop the rating system because they're fair-minded and principled. Rather, they view implementing it as an unnecessary nuisance of an expense. Their only moral standard is a "$", and if you take the time to observe, you'll note that they are mostly interested in the $ in their own pockets.

So, why are our coders leaving? Because they want their kids to have a good education, and they want to have health care they can count on. These guys won't get paid as well, but they've grown tired of seeing the "capitalist" U.S. fund public services in a sensible and adequate manner. A manner which is considerably more lavish than what "socialist" BC does. At the same time, they're seeing the Liberals, in a few short months, gutting what's left of the BC public services.

Washington and Oregon aren't Utopia, but they are stealing BC nurses, teachers and skilled workers by the thousands.

Amazing that no one in BC remembers what Gordon Campbell did when he was mayor of Vancouver. Oh well, as Mr. Churchill said, "people usually get exactly the kind of government they deserve"!

Re:BC Liberals

[Anonymous Coward]

The BC liberals should have been called the "BC Alliance Liberal" party. They are so far out on the right wing that Stocky calls Gordie every other night for advice. Since implementing their stupid tax cuts (which have done ZILCH for the economy, clearly) what have we got? We've got enormous cuts to education, health care, and other social services and a massive deficit (and growing ever more massive every day, when we can get honest numbers out of those lying cheats). And what has Campbell done about the illegal/protectionist American policies that are killing our forestry industry? Again, NOTHING. Instead of going forward with energy cutbacks to put the Americans back in line, he just sits there and does nothing.