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Korea blocks late night/long play for youthApril 13th, 2010 |
Spotted this via an article at CNet; the Korea Herald reports on new measures instituted by the government there for underage gamers. The measures are aimed at fighting game addiction.
According to the ministry, underaged users will be forced out of gaming sessions when online access automatically shuts down as soon as the clock strikes midnight.
The policy also includes a “slowdown” system in which internet connection speeds will be stifled dramatically if underaged users are logged on for a lengthy period of time.
The rules are going to apply to 19 games accounting for 79% of the Korean online game market. But interestingly, Lineage is excluded, though Maple Story isn’t… apparently the issue of which games are on the list is the source of some controversy.
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I don’t think its quite an attempt to “rule by fear” to say that video games do have detrimental effects on physical and mental health when it is abused. I don’t think it too invasive to have some basic ground rules or some way to impose safety limits on behaviors.
OSHA says wear hearing protection and limit exposure time in loud environments. Is it “rule by fear” for them to highlight the dangers of permanent hearing damage or is it responsible education?
I could be just as rhetorical and start talking about the inherent greed required to place revenue ahead of consumer health.
Moralistic crusaders are rarely in the mainstream; they’re almost always a fringe reaction against the mainstream. They may whip up a hysterical period of repression (usually centered on the “what about the children” trope), during which the most interesting and innovative work in that particular medium goes ‘underground’.
But you can’t rule by fear for any extended period of time — eventually people notice that the medium in question is no more dangerous than any of the previous mediums that we were warned about, the ‘underground’ artists get gallery shows or tributes at Wolf Trap, and the crusaders move on to whatever new medium they can make a quick buck out of demonizing.
There’s nothing about the current crop of crusaders that differentiates them in any substantial way from the Fredric Werthams and Carrie Nations of yore.
this is not about “moralistic crusaders” -or faux protecting children types… that type of crazyness is already past— this is now a pretty middle of the road movement.
we had decades of tobacco companies and alcohol companies marketing with cartoon characters at high school audiences…
when the market over reaches beyond the public good- values – , the public reacts…
wall street, banks, and health insurance companies are feeling the reaction as well. sometimes its that simplistic and as they say “populist”
Broadcast TV had common practices that grew over decade or two as it became the dominant media, . Console Video games brought on ratings as well after a decade… so there really is no surprise that the networked immerssive media all you gamerz “laud” as powerful and changing” at conferences and paid for junkets, now has a public/civic backdraft of attention.
surprise.
Could it happen in America? It has, repeatedly. We have no shortage of moralistic crusaders on a mission to PROTECT THE CHILDREN from the evil seductive sway of the threat du jour: penny dreadfuls, ragtime, bloomers, billiards, talkies, jazz, comics, rock and roll, or videogames. Whenever the crusaders sway a critical mass of the public to their particular brand of paranoia, there ensues some form of regulation, if not government censorship then ‘voluntary’ industry censorship imposed on threat of mandatory rules.
Korea’s approach is interesting because it seeks to control play time as well as content. It would be difficult to enforce such targeted restrictions in America (where underage users are pretty much on the honor system); if the Crusaders hit critical mass, I would expect them to seek control of all online content regardless of the age of the user.
I wonder if Starcraft is on the list.
Think this could ever happen in America? (serious question.)