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ID Required to Purchase Games
CsiDano writes "The Ontario goverment has finally taken action and made a tangible move to make it harder for kids to acquire violent video games by requiring an ID to be presented with all game purchases." From the article: "Normally, only feature films would carry an R rating in Ontario. But Consumer Minister Jim Watson says it's time game retailers played by the same rules. They'll face penalties for letting kids under the age of 18 access adult games. Ontario is not alone in its crackdown. Manitoba and Nova Scotia have also taken steps to make it harder for minors to access violent video games."
Just you wait, some hapless worker at a games store will be at the business end of an Angry parent with a screaming kid who wants to buy Halo 2 with a note from mom or dad saying "Please let Billy buy this game." I had this issue once as well. A kid wanted to rent a game, I said no. He left, called his mother who then called the store saying it was alright that he get this game (M rated game, lots of fun and violence etc.) I told her no, that wasn't acceptable. She freaks out on me till I ask her if she calls the corner store to let her son buy her smokes? Or does she call the liquor store to let her son buy her booze? It was fun, but till the parents realize what is going on, we'll see.
The ESRB also, I just remembered, has their own method of dishing out fines as well, though in their case, it's to publishers who misuse the ESRB rating system. As a few examples:
If a publisher advertises a T, M, or AO game to another market - i.e. if they show GTA as composed mainly of crackers and sunshine, where you can drive around a lush city environment and interact with many diverse persons, as a wonderful learning experience for kids, it's a $10,000 fine every time. If it is shown they WILLFULLY do so (i.e. if they should have obviously known they were violating the rule), it's ANOTHER $10,000. That being said, this fine would encompass the entire marketing campaign, not every individual ad. Fair enough.
Less-major-but-major infractions include not displaying a rating icon, displaying a rating icon that has not been officially assigned, failing to disclose content ('thanks for the T rating, but I forgot to mention our game has graphic nudity') face corrective action on the first infraction within a 12-month period (starting on the date of the first infraction), then a $5000 fine, then a $10,000 fine.
So for anyone who is going to say 'yeah, but who says publishers are going to follow the ESRB guidelines?' or 'but what if they lie?' - penalties can be had. Eventually, they could face a situation where the ESRB refuses to rate their games.
Either way, if a game's packaging violated the ESRB guidelines (if it lied, was incorrect, or was missing the rating, for example), and judging from the other issues that arose at EB, I would imagine most retailers wouldn't display or sell the product until they got replacement product or packaging. It's big stuff.
According to this Operation ID page: a passport ($90), a Canadian citizenship card ($75), or a LCBO BYID card ($20) are valid ID in Ontario (the site deals with buying tobacco, but the same ID is probably valid for buying games).
You can get a G1 (beginner's) driver's license for $125, even if you don't drive. You just have to pass two fairly trivial 10-question multiple-choice tests (for example, one of the questions showed a blank red octagon and asked what the sign meant). It expires after 5 years, but I think it remains valid as photo ID after that.