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Credit Card Required To View 'M' Rated Information

Posted by Zonk on from the a-little-extreme dept.

John Callaham writes "Gamecloud has a special feature article titled 'Going Through The Age Gate'. Why are some downloads of game trailers and demos are now requiring that a person declare their age before accessing them?" Not only are some sites requiring you declare your age, Activision is requiring a credit card to view "M" rated game information. From the article: "Asking for a credit card number, even if that the message says it will not be charged, brings up some very serious questions. Why is Activision asking for credit card numbers to access product pages that promote 'M' rated games when the ESRB and every other publisher only use the required 'age gate'?"

6 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. Why? by American+AC+in+Paris · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Why is Activision asking for credit card numbers to access product pages that promote 'M' rated games when the ESRB and every other publisher only use the required 'age gate'?

    It's pretty obvious why they're doing this--this is classic Cover Your Ass.

    Sure, nobody has sued a game publisher over the good ol' fashioned trust system yet--but Activision really doesn't relish the thought of being that lucky test case. Hence, they've decided to close this particular avenue of litigation.

    A better question would be to ask whether or not Activision is overreacting to the percieved threat of a lawsuit.

    --

    Obliteracy: Words with explosions

    1. Re:Why? by NMerriam · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I had my first gold card when I was 16. I don't know why people think credit cards are an age verification -- banks aren't exactly shy about handing them out to anyone with a checking account.

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      Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
  2. Re:Question... by Holi · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Gee no parent ever gets there children credit cards in america. Age verification via credit card is not even close to fool proof.

    --
    Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
  3. Game-related? by diamondmagic · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wouldn't this belong under YRO?

    Microsoft passport requires this to access many first-party features, so it isn't somthing new. But the fact you do need to enter a credit card number is disturbing, not just detering people away from the game. Passport stores your number in a database after you enter it; would this?

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    Wonder what the public key field is for?
  4. Dumbest Marketing Move I've Ever Seen.... by telstar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I just checked out Activision's website ... that's just nuts. Requiring a credit card to access the content of Doom 3? They're only hurting themselves and their sales. I'd NEVER enter my credit card just to access content. Hell, I won't even register for many free websites just to read content that's blocked behind authentication.

    Worse yet, they request your credit card number in this small popup with pretty much no supporting text that's helpful in identifying that it's a popup coming from Activision. For all you know, it's a popup from some advertiser phishing for credit card numbers. From the titlebar, you can see that the page uses https, but that's about it. Dumb, dumb move for a company trying to promote their product.

  5. Re:Question... by nunchux · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Gee no parent ever gets there children credit cards in america. Age verification via credit card is not even close to fool proof.

    Really though, it might as well be consent. If a parent gives a teen a credit card the kid has either proven themself to be extremely trustworthy, or the parent's so rich or out of it he doesn't give a fuck what little Dylan/Dakota/Paris does. A 16-year old with a credit card can get in a lot more trouble than buying an M-rated game with 3-D models of boobs.