As most of you know I am unlike you........I have sex with a human female and do not live in my moms basement. That said I need your expert advice on some video game shit! I got a PS3 last fall. My son will be 10 in May and all his friends play video games. He comes home from there houses wanting me to get him games like Modern Warfare and Call of Duty. I got Call of Duty from one of those used game stores and tried it out. Seems pretty violent, but I was wondering if playing every now and then was OK for him. He probably plays on the PS3 three times a week. Also, what about the online play? Is there anything I should be worried about it?
Unless you realize that your son gets carried away with things, I don't think it's a bad thing. The bad stories you hear are all about the kids pretending like the game is real life. As long as he is fully aware that it's a game and he still knows what's right and what's wrong I think it's fine.
Do they have microphone headsets for PS3? If they do, I would recommend you not let your son talk on them or hear what people say. I've heard everything on Xbox live and he'll hear the "n word" and the homosexual slur that starts with an "f" a lot. As well as every other curse word.
If a game is M-rated, meaning 17+, which I think the COD games are, don't buy it for your ten year old. Else, supervise his play and make sure he can handle it. Anyone who buys an M-rated game for their child has no right to complain about content. It's clearly labeled, like an R-rated movie.
I let my boys (8 & 11) play the Halo and Call of Duty games in moderation. I let them play online, but dont let them chat/talk to people that they arent "friends" with. I dont let them add people as "friends" unless they know them and they have to ask me first. We havent noticed any issues caused from them playing these games. If we do, they know they'll get the games taken away from them.
Thanks you guys for the info. He really is squared away and I have talked to him about how games are just that, and not real. BeerBoy, I think that is a good idea. I think I would only let him add his friends I know.
HCP, I would really have you and your wife sit and watch him whenever he plays for say the first two weeks. Like VanillaGorilla said, online gaming can be a rather racist crowd. I tend to think the FPS (first person shooter) games are the worst about it. VG is exactly right about the language. It is seriously N***** this and F***** that. Remember being a kid trying to talk shit? It's the worst of that almost all the time. Maybe a simple solution as well, is whenever you or your wife have chores to do, bills or something like that idk, you be in the same room with him. That said, 10 still seems a bit young for those games.
Good point, I have no experience with this and I don't want him hearing that kind of stuff. I told him if we do this it will be when I am there. I set up the account and he doesn't know my password. I want him to be able to do stuff his friends are, but I don't want him in that setting.
I play on PC and I've seen "family friendly" servers, so maybe you could find a few like minded servers to play on. Not sure if PS3 works the same way as PC though.
Do not let him use a mic. Not only will he hear the most ridiculous shit, but the second he would talk he would get picked on for having a high-pitched voice because he's only 10. I've seen it a million times.
is there a way to turn off being able to listen to these guys? I was not planning on getting him a mic and headsets anyway.
Get ModNation Racers or Little Big Planet, both are 10 year old friendly. Though, if you've ever let your kid watch R-rated movies, then probably no need to restrict the video games necessarily.
There are a shitload of games that are kid friendly. Does he like racing games? All of those are appropriate. I wasn't allowed to even play WWE games until I was 15 but my parents were strict with that sort of thing when I was growing up.
I dont have a PS3 but found this online. On Xbox you can turn it off for everyone.. edit looks like you can http://www.ehow.com/how_7816830_turn-off-voice-chat-ps3.html
Yeah I think turning off the communication would be the best thing. And only letting him play when you or your wife are there is a great idea for at least a while.
