One of the biggest divides in the gaming space isn’t necessarily the one between players and the developers/publishers who make the titles they try to enjoy. Instead, it’s often been a battle between kids and young teenagers…and the parents that watch over them. Yeah, there have been numerous times in kids’/teens’ lives when parents have told them to “go outside” instead of playing video games or “do homework” instead of doing another level in a game. And then, there are those parents who refuse to let their children play games like the upcoming GTA 6. Yet, kids have gotten creative over the years to get around that.
So, various publishers and even console makers have gone out of their way at times to make it easier for parents to “gauge” what their kids play. Over on the PlayStation Blog, the publisher revealed a new “family app” that parents can use to not only monitor what their kids are playing, but literally restrict how long they can play:
“PlayStation Family app is a new experience to help parents set up and manage their children’s gaming experience on PlayStation – straight from their supported mobile device. The app includes a number of new customizable features for parents to manage their children’s playtime, including an activity report, more visibility into what their children are playing, and approving extra playtime requests – all at the tap of a finger.”
Does that sound a little invasive? Yeah, pretty much, and the kids who have parents that use this app aren’t going to be happy with it, especially when their “playtime limit” happens to be when they’re in the middle of an epic gaming session and they aren’t near a save point. Not that parents care about such things, of course. Nor Sony, apparently:
“We’re excited to bring an easy way for parents to manage their children’s gaming directly from their mobile devices. This is just the beginning with our new mobile app – we’ll plan to continue adding enhancements to PlayStation Family app to evolve the experience over time. We hope you’ll enjoy it and we look forward to your feedback.”
While GTA 6 wasn’t directly mentioned in the blog, it’s clear that this app is meant to ensure that kids aren’t “playing games they shouldn’t,” and Rockstar’s upcoming title does fit that metric.
The franchise has been infamous with parents, teachers, and “advocates against video games” for years, and has led to many heated debates. This will only be the next step in that “battle.”
