Comment Re:No Problem (Score 1) 164
Yes, this is a reason to get upset. Granted, ratings are nothing new, but that is hardly a reason for accepting them. And they probably are useful for parents, but that is not the point.
The point is that these would be ratings made by the government, which, at least in my opinion, is an infringement on the freedom of speech. These ratings would give the government the power to say what games they would like their citizens to play, and what kind of games they approve.
It would be a completely different matter if the ratings were made by the gaming industry itself, or by a private company, for example. If this were the case, everybody would be able to choose whether they want to use the ratings or not, and whose ratings to use. If the government controls things, this freedom of choice is lost.
I know this kind of matter is of no great importance in the grand scheme of things - Canada is not going to turn into a totalitarian state if British Columbia starts rating video games. The country I live in, Finland, rates the movies (which is in a sense the same thing as rating games) shown here, and we still are quite a free country. But this system of rating games would still be a loss of liberty, and should therefore be resisted.
The point is that these would be ratings made by the government, which, at least in my opinion, is an infringement on the freedom of speech. These ratings would give the government the power to say what games they would like their citizens to play, and what kind of games they approve.
It would be a completely different matter if the ratings were made by the gaming industry itself, or by a private company, for example. If this were the case, everybody would be able to choose whether they want to use the ratings or not, and whose ratings to use. If the government controls things, this freedom of choice is lost.
I know this kind of matter is of no great importance in the grand scheme of things - Canada is not going to turn into a totalitarian state if British Columbia starts rating video games. The country I live in, Finland, rates the movies (which is in a sense the same thing as rating games) shown here, and we still are quite a free country. But this system of rating games would still be a loss of liberty, and should therefore be resisted.
