Mad at “Mad World”, group says Wii should be carnage-free

The upcoming Mad World shows the very act of releasing a Mature-rated game on the Wii may be cause for controversy. The disruptive system may be held up to stricter standards by watchdog groups.

Nintendo weighed in on the issue with common sense, which never stopped a good flap over violent games. “Wii appeals to a wide range of audiences from children and teenagers to adult and senior citizens, anyone from 5—95. As such, there is a wide range of content for all ages and tastes available,” a company spokesperson told the Daily Mail. “Mad World will be suitably age rated through the appropriate legal channels and thus only available to an audience above the age rating it is given.”

It is pretty much a given that once a system is out there, once developers start developing games, they can pretty much do whatever the market will allow. Keeping an entire system free from violent games, while an admirable goal, is well nigh impossible unless you can control which games get developed. I’d bet that Nintendo itself isn’t going to release a hyper-violent game anytime, but third party developers will makes games that they think are marketable. Games don’t get made unless someone somewhere thinks they can sell a few (million) copies.

Violent games are part of the gaming landscape, it’s up to parents and people of influence in the lives of young people to be mindful of what gets fed into the minds of those in their charge. I am continually shocked at parents who bring their *young* kids to hyper-violent films or who allow them to play shooters and other violent games. Apparently, the adage “You reap what you sow” still hasn’t sunk in yet.

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