Regulation of Violence in MMORPG

Regulation of Violence in MMORPG

Lim Poh Heng, Lu Dong Wen, Tan Huc Huey
Copyright: © 2012 |Pages: 19
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-147-4.ch028
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Abstract

This chapter looks at the MMORPG market, the impact of prolonged exposure to violent game content on children and reviews the current regulatory measures in Singapore. Complementary strategies, apart from legislation and censorship, empower all stakeholders to manage the risks while promoting the growth of the digital game industry in Singapore are recommended. It is hoped that the range of strategies will adequately ensure that children are protected while they develop the skills and capacity to make responsible choices. With the trend moving towards online distribution of game software, increasing household broadband access to the Internet and increasing connectivity via mobile devices, the extent and frequency with which the young are accessing and engaging with violent game content online in MMORPGs needs urgent attention from the authorities and society at large. Regulatory measures based on the film censorship model should be re-considered to address business models that leverage the ubiquitous outreach afforded by the Internet. The game industry, parents, and the society at large should be more participative in influencing the direction for game content development.
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Introduction

Based on IDA's statistics on Telecom Services, household broadband penetration for internet subscription has reached 99.9% in 2008. This would mean that children and teenagers in Singapore have easy and convenient access to media from multiple channels - television, Internet and mobile devices. 90% of young children (7 - 14 years) had accessed to the Internet over the last 12 months. It is notable that today’s youth are constantly tethered to the Web, playing online games, interacting via social networking sites such as Facebook and viewing video clips on YouTube.

According to the Straits Time article entitled “I Must, I Must Complete my Quest”, published on 12 August 2008, Singapore’s youth rank high on the online gaming scale. In April 2008, research company Synovate released the results of its yearly Asian youth survey, which ranked Singapore's teens third for time spent playing online games. They averaged 33 minutes daily, behind Thailand's teens (who averaged 39 minutes), and the Taiwanese (who spent 34 minutes). This brings to mind the potential for children and teenagers to be influenced by detrimental contents via the wide range of media services now available to them.

The question we have is how best to protect the young from violent content in MMORPGs which are currently the rage among gamers worldwide. This paper will explore the MMORPG market, the impact of prolonged exposure to violent game content on children and review current regulatory practices.

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