Malygris said:
It'd be easy to glance at the survey and come away with the impression that an awful lot of kids will soon be playing videogames they shouldn't be anywhere near, but there's a big difference between wanting something and actually getting it, or even expecting it. I wanted things when I was that age that I knew I had virtually no chance of getting (mostly the attention of girls); it's a natural part of being young.
Honestly, it's pretty reasonable to assume a good chunk of these kids will be getting MWII. I hang out around the local game shops during my spare time (with friends working at Game Stop and Game Crazy) and in both shops parents are constantly buying M-Rated titles for their 'pre-teen' male children.
My buddies try to warn the parents, but one of the following (usually) happens (most to least common):
1.) The parent doesn't speak English, and as such doesn't understand period.
2.) The parent sort-of speaks English, but is entirely unfamiliar with the ESRB ratings and ignores the employee.
3.) The parent is aware of the ratings, but doesn't care.
4.) The
parent asks the child if they think they're sure they should be playing this. (I swear to god, this happens).
5.) The parent puts the game back and drags their screaming brat out of the store.
Admittedly, this is in a community where 43% of the community is 'Latino', and roughly 53% 'White' according to a 2005 survey, so the language issue is probably a southern-half-of-the-US problem. All the same, kids are still getting their hands on M-rated games more often than most want to admit, because it doesn't reflect well on the gaming community (albeit its not really so much employees and more of parents not paying attention to their kids).
Personally, I was playing HALO, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, and Grand Theft Auto III (admittedly, with all the media hype I had to sneak GTA past my parents), before I'd turned 18.