PlayStation 2 price drop confirmed for Australia

Lahiru: Things are certainly different from when we were that age, for sure, but children themselves aren't... in the sense that in their first few years, they are simply innocence incarnate... unsullied and unsoiled (figuratively speaking). Blank templates, if you will.

Take a friend of mine... At a young age, his father let him watch movies like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Evil Dead and the Exorcist. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy... but he has, well, let's say "problems." He has an unnatural fascination with gory movies, he's emotionally stunted, and he still has nightmares, even at his age (he's the same age as me, about 27).

This is what annoys me so much about censorship, because the government seems to be obsessed with banning or restricting the sale of any movie or game with any sexual content because kids could get hold of it, but seem to have no problems with a kid playing Silent Hill. That's screwed up. I personally don't care if my 3-year old sees some pixellated nipples on a TV screen... hell, he got a pretty good close-up of REAL breasts a year or two back before we got him onto solids. Sex and nudity are a natural part of life - "capping bitches" isn't.

It's hard to describe exactly how sensitive kids are, and how seriously they take things. For example, I let him play Virtua Fighter the other day... He was playing 2 player by himself, kicking and punching the other character. I left him alone for a few minutes, and he came running out to me, almost in tears, and visibly shaken. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, until I realised that he'd started a new game, in arcade mode, and when the other character started punching BACK, he got the fright of his life!

I still believe games are an important educational tool for kids, and I can't help be amazed at how well he does in games (even complicated ones) with a little practice. They're amazing creatures, children... you can set them any task, any challenge, and they'll figure it out.

Or, y'know, throw the controller on the floor and start stomping around the room demanding ice cream.

One of those.