Our entire generation has been raised on video games. From Atari, to ColecoVision, to the golden age of Nintendo and into the current system wars, video games have been a part of our lives.

Or, at least, my life. I still remember my brother getting that Nintendo Entertainment System for his birthday and being changed forever. My mom had to scrape me off the couch like a burned pancake just to see the sun once in a while.

My, how far video games have come. Mario used to be nothing more than a red block with a head and legs running across a scrolling, flat world. Now, we have games with computer-rendered 3-D characters that inhabit worlds we wish we could live in.

And in that change, something else happened. The kids, like me, who got hooked on games when they were 10, started to grow up. Those flying turtles and mushrooms started to feel a bit dated. Our appetites grew, and more games emerged. Violent games.

And we ate them up. Oh man, if I could take back all the hours I played “Doom 2” and “Quake,” I’d have time to write a novel. Not only were adults getting into these games, but a whole generation of kids and teenagers got a taste of blasting hordes of demons and monsters across a brick wall.

But now, blood doesn’t look like a few red pixels. Blood looks real. Play games like “Halo 2” or “Resident Evil 4” and tell me that blood gushing from severed limbs and bullet holes doesn’t look like you could slip in it.

I guess Washington is just catching on to this. The video game rating system, put on games about a decade ago, is about to get overhauled. Certain people want new ratings and restrictions on the more “adult” games.

This can’t be a bad thing. The ratings will help concerned parents stay up to date on games they could never remember by themselves. Also, it would protect children from harsh violence that…

Wait a second.

Sorry — my 12-year-old self just kicked me in the balls. Ouch.

Well, now that I am old enough to not care any more about these ratings, it’s so much easier to support them. But, of course, 10 years ago, I had a different opinion. And that kid is pissed at me.

He’s calling me a hypocritical prick. Someone who forgot where he came from. A real grade-A, first-class asshole. It makes sense to call me these things — he really likes his games.

And really, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I hated being treated like a child when I was one. All this extra regulation and government interference really got my blood boiling. I mean, why shouldn’t I have the right to choose?

Times have moved on, though — that image of me being a mature and sophisticated teenager is vanishing fast. I was a kid, and my primary concerns were games, food and staying up late. Knowing now all the things I went through, there are definitely some things I would change.

So I have to say sorry to my 12-year-old self on this. Yeah, I’m being a jerk and annoying him. But knowing how much of my time was spent on video games, and knowing how much a rating system can help parents, I have to compromise and turn my back to the child in me.

Christ, I’m getting old.