Kerri-Leigh linked to this blog post over on her LiveJournal. I did some checking and found the image is actually relatively old… relatively meaning it was reported on Kotaku and other sites nearly a year ago.
In a way, I’m not really surprised. In the time I’ve worked over at Mortal Kombat Online, I’ve heard plenty of stories about kids who started playing Mortal Kombat games when they were around four years old. Not that I would ever approve, mind… of course, I was 18 when Mortal Kombat first hit arcades. Still, Mortal Kombat (outside of most of the games, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe excepted) has been aimed at a kid audience, with movies, costumes, a cartoon show, toys, etc. The Grand Theft Auto series has NEVER been aimed at a kid audience, and in its own way this horrifies me more, as Grand Theft Auto is more true-to-life than Mortal Kombat. (I’ve seen far more thugs out there on the streets than undead ninjas or thunder gods.)
I don’t know. All I can say is that I look at a picture like this and hope to God that this isn’t an indication of where our society is headed. Unfortunately, the cynic in me believes it is.
http://www.gamegrep.com/news/13045-boy_accidently_kills_himself_trying_to_imitate_halo/
It’s a total indication. Though, it’s not the gaming industry’s fault. They do their best to keep M-rated games out of the hands of children… The distributors don’t, as they rarely ‘card’ anyone for mature games anymore, but that’s an entirely different issue…
IMO, it’s parents (like the one who bought that tacky cake) who are to blame. :\
My 4th birthday cake had a picture of a Ninja Turtle on it… And it was THE BOMB! :P
– CK