Retailers Turn Away 80% of Kids Trying to Buy M Rated Games

[GWarface]

It's Easier For Us Europeans, IMO
We Have 12, 16, And 18
I'm 14, And Growing A Beard, Which Makes It 10X Easier!!!

Aah, the wonders of facial hair... Stopped counting how many times that has helped me when i was younger...

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Woot!

Shame the parents can still, and will, buy it just to shut the kid up.

 

[Worgen]

I do think that the ESRB needs to implement a Color Coding System similar to the PEGI ratings in Europe. Say what you will about it but Parents are occasionally dense and distracted people and a simple "Green is for Kids, Yellow is For Teens, Orange is for Grown-Ups and Red is Porn (for lack of a better term)" might go a long way in identifying to parents whether or not their kid should be playing this game. PEGI uses it, Canadian Movie ratings use it, and as far as I'm concerned videogames should use it.

Educating Parents in the particulars of game ratings could help kill any future attempts to demonize game devs and sellers for overlooking their "duty" to consumers.

no, really parents have a good understanding of the system we have but the opponents of videogames dont care, they will use any method they can to demonize them and until either the game industry rolls over like the comics one did or the national view of games becomes more mature, they will keep yelling about it, fortinatly the national view of games is getting better simply because there are so many "gamers" now

 

[PrinceofPersia]

Oh look at that, now parents have no one to blame but themselves. Don't worry folks, I'm sure they will latch on to some other non story, like Dungeons and Dragons in the 70's and Pokemon in the 90's.

And if you're wondering, both my parents were incredibly strict when it came to what games I played when I was younger. My father was an avid PC gamer and was very knowledgeable on what games I should and should not be able to play. Hell I wasn't even allowed to play first person shooters or other violent games (T for Teen) until I was 15. In this day and age I feel proud that my parents watched out for what I played, even if I didn't understand it at the time.

Thank goodness more responsible parents! This is what is needed not the big brother approach by local and state governments. Mad props to your parents Hatchet90, could use more folks like them.

 

[GahzlyGriffon]

This just shows that spoiled kids moaning to mum to buy it are more the problem than actual kids ability to get it on his own.

 

[Irridium]

Over here I could have got Manhunt and San Andreas at 13 years old, I played my first 18 game at 12 and saw my first 18 film at 14.

Censorship laws are practically non-existant here.

And your streets aren't filled with murderous children raping everything? But, but the news said kids playing violent games would turn them into murderous rapists.

Was the news *gasp* wrong?!

Ive spent a good ammount of time in the USA, everytime I bought a mature game there I have been asked for ID and I am good way over 18 years. (it is very funny though to see somone react to a british driving licence, the look of panic on their face makes my day!)

To be honest I think the real issue (at least in the USA/UK) is parents buying mature games for their kids with no real knowlage of what they are buying them.

Agreed. Instead of spending all this damn money trying to ban the things, why not use that money to educate the public? Hell I do it all the time, letting parents know what each game contains.

 

[yundex]

Have any of the people whining about how bad a parent is for buying an M rated game for their child or sibling, played these types of games growing up? Can anyone explain why i'm a bad person for letting a sibling who lives with me play the same games I do? (7 btw) Currently finishing up assassin's creed, and I grew up playing these types of games myself. From doom, heritic, hexen and MK, to resident evil. I was playing those games when I was 8 ffs, and i've been gaming on the nes since I was 3. So, how should this have "harmed" me? And how will this "harm" her?

Maybe the people i'm directing this to, are just complaining about the parents who buy the games and whine about the content, but that isn't the vibe i'm getting.

 

[Lightslei]

Have any of the people whining about how bad a parent is for buying an M rated game for their child or sibling, played these types of games growing up? Can anyone explain why i'm a bad person for letting a sibling who lives with me play the same games I do? (7 btw) Currently finishing up assassin's creed, and I grew up playing these types of games myself. From doom, heritic, hexen and MK, to resident evil. I was playing those games when I was 8 ffs, and i've been gaming on the nes since I was 3. So, how should this have "harmed" me? And how will this "harm" her?

Maybe the people i'm directing this to, are just complaining about the parents who buy the games and whine about the content, but that isn't the vibe i'm getting.

I think you misunderstood most of this.

Parents are looking for the next thing to blame all of the world's troubles on, and this time it's video games. If they stopped getting pissed off about their kids playing the games they bought, we wouldn't even have this discussion.

 

[Talon Julius]

Yep. Pretty understandable. Hell, this summer I tried buying RDR from a gamestop only to be rejected, despite that the employee was my sister's best friend and was a close friend to the family.

 

[yundex]

Have any of the people whining about how bad a parent is for buying an M rated game for their child or sibling, played these types of games growing up? Can anyone explain why i'm a bad person for letting a sibling who lives with me play the same games I do? (7 btw) Currently finishing up assassin's creed, and I grew up playing these types of games myself. From doom, heritic, hexen and MK, to resident evil. I was playing those games when I was 8 ffs, and i've been gaming on the nes since I was 3. So, how should this have "harmed" me? And how will this "harm" her?

Maybe the people i'm directing this to, are just complaining about the parents who buy the games and whine about the content, but that isn't the vibe i'm getting.

I think you misunderstood most of this.

Parents are looking for the next thing to blame all of the world's troubles on, and this time it's video games. If they stopped getting pissed off about their kids playing the games they bought, we wouldn't even have this discussion.

That's what I was thinking at first, hence my last sentence. But it seems like some people(nubrain for example) are implying something else.

 

[Thedayrecker]

Won't affect way to much. A lot of kids have their parents buy games

any parents that some idea on how to raise a decent human being would never buy a m rated game for a kid.

but then again....

Alright I'm calling major bs on your statement. I played the first GTA and I couldn't have been older than 9. Now, 8 years later, I hate violence. It just disgusts me.

Sure, I still play the occasional "violent" game, but I don't plot the killing of my classmates, because I played violent videogames when I was 8.

Granted you shouldn't give a 5 year old Resident Evil (I waited until I was 7), and you should make sure your child is mature enough to handle the content, but the idea that "buying your kid GTA, will turn them into an axe murderer," is ridiculous.

 

[PrinceofPersia]

Over here I could have got Manhunt and San Andreas at 13 years old, I played my first 18 game at 12 and saw my first 18 film at 14.

Censorship laws are practically non-existant here.

And your streets aren't filled with murderous children raping everything? But, but the news said kids playing violent games would turn them into murderous rapists.

Was the news *gasp* wrong?!

Ive spent a good ammount of time in the USA, everytime I bought a mature game there I have been asked for ID and I am good way over 18 years. (it is very funny though to see somone react to a british driving licence, the look of panic on their face makes my day!)

To be honest I think the real issue (at least in the USA/UK) is parents buying mature games for their kids with no real knowlage of what they are buying them.

Agreed. Instead of spending all this damn money trying to ban the things, why not use that money to educate the public? Hell I do it all the time, letting parents know what each game contains.

IF it was FOX news it is always wrong, if it was CNN they are ignorant and need to go back to school, if it was The Daily Show or the Colbert Report then it was just for fun and you really shouldn't take it seriously.

As far as spending money goes it's the quick and easy path to ban something rather then educate the public about it.

 

[Kukakkau]

While that's true it is understandable since there are kids who look older than then are and working in a game shop you really don't want to have to check every customers age day in and day out.

Im sorry, but that is just a retarded thing to say. These people get paid to check IDs all day. Im sure bus drivers dont "want" to check tickets all day, and a secretary doesnt "want" to spend all day awnsering calls and typing. But a job is a job.

Although, I can only second you on the doubts about the numbers. Mhhh....

Not really I know there are a LOT of bus drivers and shop workers who will have doubts about people's ages but can't be bothered checking (Still able to use young person's bus card even though it's almost 2 years expired). It is their job to, but I know a lot of occasions where workers will just skip the age check to get the sale/admission done. In fact a lot of bus drivers don't even look at what you pay them so they can get their shift over with

When I bought my 360 (was 16) the guy (looking really fed up) offered me Gears of War as part of the bundle without asking for my age or any ID. It was only after I said I didn't want that game that another guy in the shop asked me my age to find a game to replace that one.

It is a big part of their job but there are people who would rather just get things out the way quickly so they can relax.

 

[ph0b0s123]

I say this every time this topic comes up and now sound like a broken record. But why pick just on video games.

This research shows that if any media needs a law to protect children, as it's voluntary system is worse than video games, it is movies. But of course you will never hear this come out of the current Califonian governor's mouth. I wonder why.

If people want to move away from a voluntary to mandatory system for games and movies, I would support that. As long as the same level of violence in a video game get the same age rating it would if in a movie (which is not what is proposed).

Until then my position will always be that this is not about protecting children but about picking on the games industry, by a torch and pitch fork waving mob.

 

[A random person]

Won't affect way to much. A lot of kids have their parents buy games

any parents that some idea on how to raise a decent human being would never buy a m rated game for a kid.

I beg to differ: kids who could handle M-rated games in elementary school aren't exactly rare, and a lot of the dickishness of some of them is probably more bragging about being able to play M-rated games than the games themselves (case in point: several kids I knew back then, some who were and were not dicks about it).

On topic, I'm not surprised, game stores always seemed to be pretty adamant about ID's.

 

[Scrythe]

A nice gentle poke in the ribs to the asshat parents who have no fucking idea how to raise their children, and start begging the government to do it for them.

As for this bit

It's hard to know to know whether these figures will really make all that much difference, as it's a little too easy to talk around them. They certainly show that minors usually can't buy M rated games themselves, but they don't do anything to stop the idea that parents don't understand ESRB ratings and will buy M rated games for their kids.

That would probably never be fixed. As long as people buy cigarettes, alcohol, and firearms for minors the same will happen with videogames and movies.

We also can't help the delusional and misguided individuals who think all of the above examples are interchangable, but eh. Old ways die hard I suppose.

Speaking of which, does Jack Thompson have a blog? I would love to read that.

 

[SelectivelyEvil13]

the number of underage shoppers turned away when they attempted to buy M rated games until it hit 80% in 2007, where it has remained ever since.

I wonder what game could have changed this and kept it this way?

OT: All they need is a BIG RED LABEL saying "18+" like they do in England. Then it's all fine!

Calumon: I wonder if they wanted a microphone with that game? :S

Ha ha! That's exactly what I was thinking about.

Now my question is, do those retailers turn that 80% of kids away from most M rated games until Call of Duty or Halo come out? With the high population of bilious brats online, either they're buying it at the store who are letting those titles slip under the radar OR [duh duh duh] It's the parents!

So if the irresponsible parents are going to blame video games for destroying Western civilization as we know it, they ought to look in the damn mirror when they buy little Timmy Grand Theft Auto for doing his math homework.

 

[Sephiwind]

What I find sad is that there are only 6 normal rating for the ESRB, and only 4 of them are generally used. After 16 years you would think that parents would get it by now. When it comes down to it parents are generally just to lazy to be bothered with learning the rating system.

 

[magnuslion]

TBH, 80% is WAY to little. 20% can get games they shouldnt be able to? Thats shocking.

It is, however, no argument for the banning of violent games. The violent games arent the problem, its the salesmen. When a shop sells an underage dude beer, its the shop that gets the law on its nuts. Should be the same thing here.

It is not anyone, including the shop employees/owners, job to police peoples brats. either be a parent or do not have kids damnit! the rest of us do not want to have to pick up the slack!!

Ok, a lot of people seem to be getting pissed at my comment. So its kinda unfair to pick out yours and reply to it, but I am sure as hell not gonna go through the work to quote everyone. Anyway, this is to everyone, not just you.

What a lot of you are saying is that salesmen just dont feel like doing there job, and that them not doing there job is perfectly fine. WTH? Am I really such an asshole for expecting a guy to do his job? I mean, apart from the fact that lasy salesmen in game stores is only gonna reflect badly on us, the gamers, and give people another reason to hate video games, all I am saying is these guys are getting payed to do whatever they are told to do - checking IDs is no exception. And sorry to break it too you, but if the hardest and most tiring thing you have to do at your workplace is check IDs, I want your job.

Of course it shouldnt be a shopkeepers/salesmens job to look after parents children. Just like its not a teachers job to raise children. But that just simply isnt an excuse! Does that mean we should sell kids pornographic magazines and drugs too leave the parents to sort them out when they come home stoned? Fuck no! But its the same logic you are using.

A greater part of the escapist community is all to quick to point out when something is against the law. Its just stupid to pretend this is something else.

A lot of the critizism for my statement just adds up too "Its not my/there job to police peoples kids, and do you now how hard it is to read a date?". Sorry, but that just isnt good enough.

Not really I know there are a LOT of bus drivers and shop workers who will have doubts about people's ages but can't be bothered checking (Still able to use young person's bus card even though it's almost 2 years expired). It is their job to, but I know a lot of occasions where workers will just skip the age check to get the sale/admission done. In fact a lot of bus drivers don't even look at what you pay them so they can get their shift over with

...Your point being? Some people arent doing there job right, so why should anyone else?

I am no supporter of "fascist" policies when it comes to employment. But some of you are acting like complete idiots.

This is not about fascism. It is about the governement making itself responsible for kids, and letting parents off the hook. this is how freedoms, guaranteed us in the Bill of Rights, end up getting taken away. Because some harlot who should never have had kids buys her worthless offspring a violent video game, and then blames the industry. as an american, I have had enough of these people, both the irresponsible breeders and the government that thinks it needs to regulate everything so that little timmy tardpants will not see a violent game and have his mind "warped".