BisMan Parents, Are Video Games TOO Violent?

I'm going to make a guess that most people either weren't alive yet or don't remember when Pong came out. This was a simple video game released in the early 70s by Atari - about as basic as you could possibly get -  kind of like playing Ping Pong, except on your own TV screen. There were no violent undertows to this game at all. So if that's the last video game you have actually seen yourself, are you in for a huge surprise. You will be blown away by the graphics and just how real the games are to depicting everyday violence. My question to any parent here in Bismarck and Mandan, do you regulate what your children play? Do you just assume that it's JUST a video game that provides entertainment, and nothing more? I don't have any kids, but my first thought was that there has to be some kind of restrictions set aside by a video game store that prohibits a minor to buy a violent game. There is not.

Are video games rated? They certainly are - according to Slate An industry-funded group called the Entertainment Software Rating Board. The ESRB was founded in 1994 amid chatter that the government would start to regulate game makers. The ESRB suggests that retail stores limit sales of M-rated games to those 17 and older. 

Having played one of the controversial games myself - Grand Theft Auto V - I just assumed that there had to be some kind of State Law that minors could not buy this game unless an adult was present - I was wrong - I called the Rock 30 Games store in Bismarck and they told me that there is no such law. If you haven't paid attention to what games your kids play, take a couple of seconds to sit and watch, it may shock you for the sheer violence and language.