Diablo 3 Lead Designer: Gore OK for Kids
Diablo III lead designer Jay Wilson says that the game's over-gratuitous gore is OK for his 9-year-old daughter.
It's hard not jumping on a soap box in regards to gaming violence, children, and the ESRB ratings. But when Blizzard's Jay Wilson says that he allows his 9-year-old daughter to (presumably) play M-rated titles, and publically admits it, the soap box begs for a few preaching feet. Wired actually stumbled across Wilson's wife and daughter at BlizzCon while they played Diablo III, then later tracked down Wilson himself and grilled the lead designer about his daughter and what she plays.
So what was his answer? Basically, Diablo III isn't quite as personal as games with guns or first-person shooters with violence. He boils it down to choice: is the game suitable for the child despite the ESRB rating plastered on the box? Ultimately, he hits the nail on the head: games children play depends on the final verdict of (hopefully) educated parents. A T-rated game for one child may be suitable for one, but not for another of the same age group.
"Well, I feel like for every parent you have to make a choice about what kind of content is appropriate for your child and at what age," he told Wired. "At a certain age, I wouldn’t have let her play a game like Diablo because of the violence. And honestly, I paused before letting her play."
According to Wilson, as a developer, it's hard not to share his work with his daughter, especially when she wants to see the progress on his latest project. "I don’t really want to deprive her of that," he said, adding that he knows his daughter well enough to know if she would have any problem handling certain content.
"To do my official company line, too, one of the things we intend to do is add parental controls so that every parent can make their own choice about what’s appropriate for their kids," he said.
On the other hand, don't expect Diablo III to appeal to a wider, general audience. "Diablo is our Mature-rated series, and it’s important for us that it be that. It’s our goal, and that’s where we want it to be."

Diablo III lead designer: Gore OK for HIS kid.
Other parents may object, but they better not object to the developer. If you don't want your kid playing it, don't let them get the game.
Diablo III lead designer: Gore OK for HIS kid.
Other parents may object, but they better not object to the developer. If you don't want your kid playing it, don't let them get the game.
In response to your question, because there are a whole lot of overzealous idiots out there (you have heard of Jack Thompson???) who don't agree with the rational point you have made. And to some extent, parents don't pay enough attention to what their kids play to make a decision of any kind. Go into any game store and sit there for an hour, you will see this first hand. Common sense does exist but I think that it's in short supply.
I've never had any violence issues (except for minor fights as kid, that are inevitable), and guess why? because of my education. My father told me to never hit a girl in my life because the day I do that I won't be a man anymore and I never did it even when I was a child playing with children, my father told me not to mess up with the wrong people and never do what they do, and I listened, because I had great respect for him all my life ...
So, its' not the games, it's the education, a good childhood and nice parents that determine how you act on violence, not the games ...
But dismemberment and intentionally causing physical pain is perfectly fine for the tweens ...
Actually I have a problem with your son "playing" Crysis. Can't play tech demos!
I'll consider it to have a real effect on violent dispositions when people in games and the blood etc looks real and not more comical to me at least, parents don't want their kids to be violet consider talking to your freakin kid and playing games with him instead of leaving them in their room with a computer or something for 9 hours a day.
I'm not crazy, am I?
Haven't killed anyone due to the extremely violent games I've played since I was 5 (duck hunt!).
I also haven't raped anyone due to sexual content (hot coffe anyone?) or straight up porn (saw my first playboy when I was about 5).
HOWEVER...
Some people are quite impressionable...