Well, yes and no to both questions.

In Australia, we are limited by an MA15+ system, which is ineffective as far as keeping under 15's away from violent, drug referenced or 'advlt' themed games - because parents etc don't take responsibility for what their kids get up to, on the whole. What it does do is limit the choice that advlts can have...which means we are treated as children, because the basic issue is that when it comes to video games the lawmakers generally consider gamers to be in the teens, which isn't borne out by the facts - with the average age of gamers being 28+.

Consequently, we are trying to run a canditate against the attorney general of my state (who is the relcacitrant politician holding up an effective national ratings system), and a few of us are taking screenshots of graphical or distasteful nature and emailing them to him, his staff and his church. I've also pointed out to him that under his laws, his 'advlt themed tastes' would not be acceptable in games under the ratings system that we have, and I've also emailed that to his 'happy man's' social group, just to let them know what he really thinks of them.

All that aside, there are links between video game violence and real world violence - but it's not what most people would think of. Games don't make people go out and murder other people, but what they can do is desensitise them to combat or violent type situations...this is supported by the fact that most western law enforcement and military agencies use some form of video training for their people - whether this ranges from very basic 'target identification' systems all the way through to full on 3D combat environments prior to deployments is immaterial. The fact that it is used is enough to validate the hypothesis.

The basic problem is that most people get the wrong end of the horse when they consider the problem - mass incident shooters don't become mass incident shooters because of video games, its just that most younger people play video games and therefore when the background of a mass incident shooter is examined they generally turn up video games. This also provides a good scapegoat rather than blaming the failure of parents/teachers/guardians/friends/neighbours to recognise or act on the indicators; or the mental health system; or the gun laws of the place concerned.

With a guzillion people in the world today, the incidence of mass incident shootings/murders is going to be higher than it was 50 years ago, that's just the nature of things.

Yes but does it matter I gave the $60 to my mom to get it for me and she did.

If looking from a 'it will cause kids to murder people'...... Religion incites more violence than this game.

I'm not too young to play Fallout 3, but I do consider the game to be very violent. It certainly earned its M rating.

Well.. game is R 18 here in NZ and im 17 but my Parents know im not gonna be an idiot and copy what I see in games.. been playing Violent games all my life(Doom when I was like.. 5)

But then again not all people my age are as mature as me.. Ratings are there for a reason.. No way i'd let anyone younger than 13 play the game.

When I want my 5 year old newphew to shut in I let him play GTA 4 on my PS3 if I am not on it. When I first got it at age 14 my parents got mad at all the cussing (yet they turn a blind eye when I kill hundreds of cops).
Well he does shut up. I can remember a funny story where he repeated some things..... Sounded like he was trying to hire is pre-school basketball coach as a hoker.....

Awkward...

Not anymore! Just turned 15 on the 15th of November. But before the Big Day I obviously was.
As for explicit? Yeah, sort of. It's got coarse language, quite some gore at points, and some themes.

yeah im "too young" just because im 15. its so stupid. you dont have to be 17 to understand how to play FO3 or know what the difference is between what is real and what is fake unless you like ten and under. So what? my cousin has been playing GTA since we were little and we are fine now. Ive never liked the ESRB. sure, i wouldnt play it around my baby cousins but they are only two and repeat everything. then again it would be funny to hear [Censored] psycho wastelander.

Hear, hear. Doesn't work anyway. Especially dislike the ratings for games. Sif I'm going to have my mum watch me play an MA15+ on my PSP or PC for an hour or so. Obviously exaggerating here, and speaking very literally, but still.

I'm 14, my copy is rated '18'. I have the English/American version (aka. 'uncut'). Even with 'Bloody Mess' perk, I don't think it is too gory or bloody at all.
The only people I think these games could be dangerous to, would be those who already have problems, eg. children with ADHD.

I'm not "underage" myself, but I upgraded to GOTY and gave my old copy to my sister... she's not playing it, but my 13 year old nephew is having fun with it.

He's pretty mature for 13... I think he can handle a bit of cartoon violence and profanity. So does my sister obviously.

I am 17, which is technically too young to play. However, in the UK, certifications on games currently mean nothing. Apparently, when the law on certifications was first passed twenty five years ago, it wasn't filed with the European Commission. Ergo, no matter what the certification is, it doesn't matter. Although most retailers have agreed to follow the ratings system until the law is refiled after being amended, which will probably happen within the next few weeks.

bunch of young puppies around here... Im 58 and have been playing games since pong. Ill keep playing games till arthritus and bad spelling freeze up my hands ... but carpal tunnel and arthritus do make things a bit harder.. but Im too old to care and too stuborn to quit playing and still my spelling get worse and worse.

It's rated 18 in Finland and I bought it 5 months before reaching that age. So, I say that I'm not too young to play it.
And no, I never felt this game was explicit. Pixel blood does not bother me, let alone real blood.

No one. It was pre-emptive just in case someone wanted to disagree.

I'n not too young to play (25) but I know my FO3 Character is.
All 17 year old characters be banned from the game!

:lmao:

You see, this is the only problem I have with games and people of my fellow age group. The way it makes them view life and the world around them. Effecting them to consider life as simply a game.

Now I understand that this is somewhat natural, and is part of the male competitive spirit, which is affected by both nature and nurture. But to consider such things with such a viewpoint is not necessarily good for anyone.

America is the most individualistic country in the world. "The do what you want, who really cares, as long as your not a psychopath (except the narcissistic type) its fine by me", mentality is common.

Life is a little bit more serious then a game. Video games may take the appearance of life and activate your neurological activity associated with experience and goal fulfillment, but it is not life. There are laws in life, commonality amongst all things is observable, but its much more complicated and less clean cut then a video game.

Its just another place for all to emulate, another stimulus. Much like football, except more consuming in time.

We've all grown up with violence and six common in are world, its seen on screen, in movies and the news. Its gotten to the point where six year old's could play fallout and not be bothered at all by the cursing, six and violence. In fact, they would think its common.

It also depends on the state/county/city/region. Some areas have local laws regulating the sales of M-rated games to individuals under 17.

As a former retail peon, the assumption was always made that it was not in our best interest to sell an M-rated game to someone under 17. I always took a more 'inform the parents' approach, which pissed off a number of kids who were going to be getting their games until Mommy discovered the details that Junior had left out when explaining the gameplay. XD

As far as the content of FO3, I find it a bit cheesy myself. Some of the drug and sixual references would make me leery of providing the game to a younger child but those wouldn't be my main issue. The themes of corporate experiments on unsuspecting civilians and the genocide planned by the remaining leaders of the USA worry me a bit more when considering an appropriate age (hell, I'm 24 and both ideas were very unnerving).

I very much feel it's up to the parent to determine what is appropriate for their kids; ESRB ratings are just 'guidelines' but are needed because with so many games out there, parent's can't keep up on them all.

Is this game explicit? of cource! Heads poping like a ripe melon would cause most people to vomit if they saw it in real life. It is a game, but it is also extreamly violent, thats one of the reasons i love it though! lol

im 16, and yes I find it very explicit (I'm not a fan of gore)

17, so yes I can. Rated 15+ here in Australia

the game isnt even explicit unless you get bloody mess the only ything thats bad is the swearing, there is no sixual content in the game other than they use the word "[censored]"

Honestly no the grand theft auto series is way more explicit. And no I'm not too young to be playing fallout 3. I've been playing shoot em up games since I was 13 so I think all this OMG DEEZ KEEDZ DEEZ DAEZ R GONNAZ BL0WZ DA SCH00LZ CUZ ER PLAYING VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES is stupid. Oh and the OP Its 17+ in the united states, its just the same as getting carded for smokes (18+) or gambling (21+).

I'm actually proud of how little porm and "ugly stuff" that you'll find in Fallout3. I think Bethesda went out of their way to keep this stuff out, and as such my 13 year old daughter plays - She says that she doesn't find anything in Fallout3 that she doesn't see on TV, and sometimes TV is alot worse.