EU Calls for Videogame Killswitch

[lost]

From the "didn't do enough background research" department comes word of a declaration by an internal EU committee that videogames should feature a "red button" to allow parents to switch them off.

Parents should have a "red button" to disable a game they feel is inappropriate for their child, says the EP Internal Market Committee. The aim is not to demonise games, which have a broadly beneficial effect on the mental development of children, but to help parents choose suitable content for their offspring.

Video games do not only have a recreational value. They can also be used for educational and medical purposes, stresses a report by Toine Manders (ALDE, NL) adopted by the Internal Market Committee on Wednesday. However, not all games are suited to all age groups and the possibility of harmful effects on the minds of children cannot be ruled out. To help parents choose, MEPs would like to see more public awareness of the content of video games, parental control options and instruments such as the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) age rating system.

More right here. (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/063-48809-040-02-07-911-20090209IPR48788-09-02-2009-2009-false/default_sv.htm) Thanks to VoodooExtreme. (http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/44695/European-Union-Wants-Big-Red-Button-To-Disable-Games)

I heard some crazy chap invented a thing called the "power button".

[Darcydian]

I hear a-lot of houses burn down in euro-town because of the lack of a red button on their ovens.

[Darcydian]

I did not intend to Dr Seuss my last post.....

[Bushido]

I thought the red button was a self destruct sequence.

[Apushmataha]

A big red button isn't necessary. My parents found it equally effective to take the power cable away.

[LilBunnyFuFu]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/Hearoh/300px-Bookpleasedontpush.jpg
I win.

[Madhatter45]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/Hearoh/300px-Bookpleasedontpush.jpg
I win.

I see your Grover and raise you a Stimpy.

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq171/Nightmareclay/stimpy.jpg

[Reanimated]

I heard some crazy chap invented a thing called the "power button".





It's crazy! I also heard that consoles now have parental controls that will allow parents to set the game ratings that kids are allowed to play.

INSANE!





Can't we just kill all politicians?

[Johan]

Can't we just kill all politicians?

Well...technically, I believe they are already the undead. You'd need a high-level character with some serious armor and weaponry to get it done. :D

[TeeCakes]

Hold on now, guys, perhaps this is just an ingenious way to circumvent the ratings system and sell mature games to minors once again like the Golden Age of gaming!

With the fabled "red button", it's no longer Capcom's fault if some kid gets crazy ideas of shooting up their neighborhood from playing a few rounds of Resident Evil 5, it's those damn parents who didn't employ proper button-pushing protocol!

Members of the committee are particularly worried about on-line games, which are easy to download onto a PC or a mobile phone, making parental control harder. Until PEGI on-line is up and running, the report proposes fitting consoles, computers or other game devices with a "red button" to give parents the chance to disable a game or control access at certain times.

I don't see how any Jack Thompson-wannabe will have a snowball's chance in hell at suing any game company in the future with these babies installed on a console/PC/handheld. Anti-gaming activists can no longer use the "what about the kids?!?!" argument-- if you want to censor your kids, get the damn button.

Sure, the rating system should've been more than enough to satisfy over-protective parents, but... well I'll just say "FOX News" and leave it at that.

[privatedonut21]

I see your Grover and raise you a Stimpy.

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq171/Nightmareclay/stimpy.jpg
This is the exact thing I thought of when they said red button.

"Stimpy I want you to guard the History Eraser Button."
"But what does it do Ren?"
"That's just it, we don't know. Maaaaybe something good, maaaaybe something bad."

Announcer's voice:
"Can Cadet Stimpy keep from pressing the button? The big, shiny, candy-like button. Will he resist the urge to push the button? Can he resist the urge to push the button?"

[Virtuoso]

I cast level 5 face palm.

[privatedonut21]

Okay, so remembering this made me have to go back and find the video and the exact quote, so for your viewing enjoyment:

Ren & Stimpy: The History Eraser Button (http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1153869/history_eraser_button_ren_and_stimpy/#)

"Oh, how long can trusty Cadet Stimpy hold out? How can he possibly resist the diabolical urge to push the button that could erase his very existence? Will his tortured mind give in to it's uncontrollable desires? Can he withstand the temptation to push the button, that even now, beckons him ever closer? Will he succumb to the maddening urge to eradicate history, at the mere push of a single button? The beautiful shiny button. The jolly candy-like button. Will he hold out, folks? Can he hold out?"

[Madhatter45]

Okay, so remembering this made me have to go back and find the video and the exact quote, so for your viewing enjoyment:

Ren & Stimpy: The History Eraser Button (http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1153869/history_eraser_button_ren_and_stimpy/#)

"Oh, how long can trusty Cadet Stimpy hold out? How can he possibly resist the diabolical urge to push the button that could erase his very existence? Will his tortured mind give in to it's uncontrollable desires? Can he withstand the temptation to push the button, that even now, beckons him ever closer? Will he succumb to the maddening urge to eradicate history, at the mere push of a single button? The beautiful shiny button. The jolly candy-like button. Will he hold out, folks? Can he hold out?"

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq171/Nightmareclay/announcer.png

[lost]

Hold on now, guys, perhaps this is just an ingenious way to circumvent the ratings system and sell mature games to minors once again like the Golden Age of gaming!

With the fabled "red button", it's no longer Capcom's fault if some kid gets crazy ideas of shooting up their neighborhood from playing a few rounds of Resident Evil 5, it's those damn parents who didn't employ proper button-pushing protocol!



I don't see how any Jack Thompson-wannabe will have a snowball's chance in hell at suing any game company in the future with these babies installed on a console/PC/handheld. Anti-gaming activists can no longer use the "what about the kids?!?!" argument-- if you want to censor your kids, get the damn button.

Sure, the rating system should've been more than enough to satisfy over-protective parents, but... well I'll just say "FOX News" and leave it at that.

You make an excellent point. Bravo sir.

[Apex]

A big red button isn't necessary. My parents found it equally effective to take the power cable away.

Thats exactly what my gf's family do to her younger brother when hes banned!

[Kolreth]

Could someone let Teecakes know that the PS3, Wii and 360, plus Vista, have parental controls already built in? Kthnxbye.

[Chimpbot]

From the "didn't do enough background research" department comes word of a declaration by an internal EU committee that videogames should feature a "red button" to allow parents to switch them off.[/I]

God forbid parents do a little research ir use a little judgement before they go out and buy Gorefist Blood-Slaughter 9000 for their little five-year-old.

We don't need another power button on consoles. We need parents to actually be accountable for their children.

[Sammael]

The scariest part of al of this is to think how much time was most likely wasted by elected officials to come up with something that there is no use for and no reason to discuss in the first place.

Oh, wait. They do that all day anyway.

[ResistanceAddict]

With the fabled "red button", it's no longer Capcom's fault if some kid gets crazy ideas of shooting up their neighborhood from playing a few rounds of Resident Evil 5, it's those damn parents who didn't employ proper button-pushing protocol!


Absolute win. Just like it's not Capcom's fault NOW because it's those damn parents who don't check ratings or be better parents to their children.

But when it comes down to it, that bad parenting thing has a fine line. I know parents who don't care if their 10 year-olds watch porno because "They have to see it sometime. What difference does it make if it's now or later?"

[Demo_Boy]

Games have a red button. It is called the Eject button.

[Chimpbot]

Games have a red button. It is called the Eject button.

I have a red button, too. It's attached to the self-destruct device my parents had installed in me when I was an infant.

My parents were dicks.

[Planetbuster]

My god, what a bunch of idiots.....power cables, power button, and the eject button already exist.......wtf more do they want. What a waste of oxygen this group is to waste time debating this.....off with their heads I say.

[Evil_SPanKY]

A big red button isn't necessary. My parents found it equally effective to take the power cable away.

Or the keyboard. I had that yanked more than once growing up, with no spares.

[Bumbuliuz]

Such a bad idea

[trip1eX]

Just paint the power button red?

I'm going to sell a little red-paint kit for each console. And make millions!!!!!

[trip1eX]

Or I'll market a $7 power strip as a $40 videogame killswitch. :P

[zeonxavier]

Maybe we need to install a large red button on every politician. When they try to do something moronic, they get jolted. I'd sign up to go supervise the button in a heartbeat.

[Agnostic]

Let's just kill the children and get this over with.

[Chimpbot]

Maybe we need to install a large red button on every politician. When they try to do something moronic, they get jolted. I'd sign up to go supervise the button in a heartbeat.

You could just place one of those old bobbing ducks near the button. Instead of pantomiming drinking out of a cup, it shocks the politicians. No supervision required!
Eventually, your arm would get tired from pressing the button. The duck never tires. Never.

[TeeCakes]

My god, what a bunch of idiots.....power cables, power button, and the eject button already exist.......wtf more do they want. What a waste of oxygen this group is to waste time debating this.....off with their heads I say.

Like I said a page ago, there's already enough measures today for responsible parents to protect their kids from any perceived 'threat' from violent/suggestive videogames. Ratings, parental controls, turning off the damn TV/computer, etc., but idiots like Jack Thompson and other scapegoat-seeking fools feel the need to find some kind of societal flaw in things to explain things like drug abuse, rape, and murder.

If slapping some red button on gives them one less reason to blame society's ills on video games, then sign me up.

[DigiTekh]

Games have a red button. It is called the Eject button.

this is why i still play Steel Battalion, the shiny glowing red button

sad they are looking for the "easy" button for parenting - too many staples commercials

[Virtuoso]

I have a red ring..... :(

[ResistanceAddict]

Let's just kill the children and get this over with.

LOL! I almost fell backwards.

[im.thatoneguy]

It's called a universal remote.

the Xbox has an IR port on it. Just program a button to the XBox's power command and presto! Done!

Or you can program it to the Xbox Button. Then you can pause and hide the game at once without shutting it off.

Or you can also program it to turn off the TV. Or you can program a button to mute the home theater system.

[Anenome]

This isn't actually about games. It's about politicians riding an issue, trying to look like they're doing something and gaming has become their scapegoat. It's the modus operandi as Jack Thompson, make some noise to call attention to yourself. Politicians do shit just to look like they're doing shit. It doesn't help anyone, but it serves the purpose of the politicians reelection campaign.