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A Decrease in M-Rated Sales to Kids

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the laudible dept.

hammersuit writes "GameDaily Biz reports on a new undercover FTC study. From the article: 'Forty-two percent of the secret shoppers - children between the ages of 13 and 16 - who attempted to buy an M-rated video game without a parent were able to purchase one. In the 2003 shop, 69 percent of the shoppers were able to buy one. National sellers were much more likely to restrict sales of M-rated games. Only 35 percent of the secret shoppers were able to purchase such games there. Regional or local sellers sold M-rated games to the shoppers more frequently - 63 percent of the time.'"

12 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. What does this have to do with anything? by Qzukk · · Score: 4, Funny

    What a useless study! Who cares about this M-Rated thing? How are the politicians supposed to use this information when they're trying to push their laws calling for bans of "violent" and "offensive" games to minors?

    We need a new study, counting the number of "violent" and "offensive" games sold to minors, where "violent" and "offensive" is properly defined... by taking the people selling the games to court over and over until the prosecution gets a jury that will agree that the game is violent or offensive!

    --
    If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
    1. Re:What does this have to do with anything? by hunterx11 · · Score: 4, Funny
      Nobody is attempting to BAN violent video games.

      I know Jack Thompson is a real nobody, but you don't always have to be so mean to him.

      --
      English is easier said than done.
    2. Re:What does this have to do with anything? by (A)*(B)!0_- · · Score: 5, Insightful
      "If the Video Game industry would actually do something about vendors who sold to minor there would be no reason for the Government to step in."
      Even if the ratings aren't enforced and retailers sell AO, M, or T games to children, I am not convinced the government has any place in legislating. You see, at the end of the day, the games are rated. Parents have the tools needed to determine what is appropriate content for their child. In expecting 100% of the stores to not sell to minors, you are furthering the expectation that many parents have that society is going to watch our for their kids. This expectation is part of the reason that so many parents do a rather poor job of raising their kids. The idea that their kids will be taken by the safeguards the government has put in place makes some parents believe they can just let their duties slide.

      Don't rely on the store to not sell games to your kids. Don't expect others to take care of raising and protecting your kids. Do it yourself.

  2. Um... by GundamFan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Anyone else see it as a good thing that the kids can't get these games without parental permission?

    I could care less what people do to rase there own kids but it should be there choice. If a kid can only buy an M-rated game with a parent present then it is no ones responsability but the parent.

    Selective parental apathy is the biggest "ill of scociety" in my opinion... if you don't care to control your childs purchaseing you don't get to try to get "violent" video games ban for the sake of your children.

    --
    I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
    Mark Twain
    1. Re:Um... by RingDev · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I had my first job at 13. And I am guessing my child will also get a job over his youthful summers. So you are suggesting that I should instill responsibility in my child by making them get a job, then taking any money they earn from them to prevent them from ever having the posibility to make a mistake with that money? That is hardly a way to raise a child. Children need to be free enough to make mistakes and learn from them while parent stand ready to guide and catch their child when they make a poor decision. If my child takes his money to a store I would prefer to know that the store is not selling my child violent video games. If I feel that my son is mature enough to handle playing violent video games, then I will buy the game with or for him. If I do not feel my son is mature enough to play violent video games then I will not buy the game, and if I find it on a PC in the house, I will remove it.

      Using your logic we should do away with the drinking, smoking restrictions, and are requirements for drivers licenses and porno. Because hey, if your parent(s) taught you right, your age wouldn't matter. Now tell me, how many 13 year olds would you hand the keys to your car to? Especially if they had a cig hanging off their lip and a 1/5th of tequila in a brown paper bag?

      -Rick

      -Rick

      --
      "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
    2. Re:Um... by G)-(ostly · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Soooo....

      It's society's responsibility to both employ your offspring as a responsible young adult... and restrict your same offspring as an irresponsible child when using his or her earned income to make entertainment decisions?

      That is the most absurd thing I have ever seen in my life.

      Using your logic we should do away with the drinking, smoking restrictions, and are requirements for drivers licenses and porno.

      Ah, yes. The ol' slashdot analogy. Despite the fact that drinking and smoking both cause chronic, potentially fatal diseases, and that driving before being fully equipped is a good way to get killed, or kill other people, go ahead and compare that to, for example, watching a cartoon zombie eat people which, to the best of my knowledge, can't cause any liver diseases or cancer, or run over the neighbor's dog.

      As far as porn, that's just puritan nonsense. I don't care if your kid buys porn. Like the rest of the responsibility you're trying to shirk, I shouldn't be the one that has to enforce that rule. Don't want your kid to buy porn or Stubbs? Tell him or her that. Don't trust them to listen to you? Then the kid's not responsible enough to hold a job anyway, so don't let them have one.

      --
      From now on, I buy only Intel.
  3. What about movies? by faloi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Have they done a similar study for movies? My contention has been that actors and actresses tend to put a lot of money in politicians pockets, so that branch of the entertainment industry gets a free ride. I'd like to know if underage people are able to get into R-rated movies and/or buy parental warning lyrics-labeled CD's with the same frequency. As far as I know, movie theaters tend to do some checking but buying CD's is a free-for all.

    --
    "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." -Albert Einstein
  4. what are these kids complaining about... by smaerd · · Score: 3, Funny

    ..why, when I was their age we didn't have no 'Hot Coffee' or Grand Theft Auto 3: San Andreas! All we had was pixelated blood and gore in Wolfenstein3D and we LIKED IT! They should stop hollerin' about wantin' M-Rated games and do what kids are supposed to do: Download pr0n off of the internet!

  5. The funny thing is: by Kingrames · · Score: 3, Funny

    Children are not stupid.

    The word will get around as to what retailers will sell them what games. 42% just means that there's a hole. And anything short of pure dictatorshp won't stop it.

    Any legislation that prohibits sales of games to minors fails completely at its goal. Which is, of course, to prevent them from playing those games.

    Still, I'd expect political doublespeak out the wazoo for a while, saying that they've been "wonderfully successful" at getting mature games out of the hands of children, and that there's "work still to be done."

    I hereby copyright those phrases. Any politician using them must immediately resign and pay me an amount of money equal to all of the money they will ever earn (and have earned) in their entire lifetime, plus one Mexican peso.

    --
    If you can read this, I forgot to post anonymously.
  6. I'm still waiting for this interview by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Funny

    Actually it's the only reason I watch evening news on some of the lower-quality channels.

    When they're doing their "reports" about parents who don't know jack about their kids playing violent games...

    Reporter: Do you know where your son is?
    Mother: Yeah, in his room.
    Reporter: And what he's doing there?
    Mother: According to the noise, I'd say he's playing Splinter Cell?
    Reporter: And do you know what's going on in this game?
    Mother: Yeah, sure.
    Reporter: And you don't consider this bad?
    Mother: I consider it being better than him doing it for real so you got some hot topic for your evening news.

    Unfortunately, we'll never see this interview aired.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  7. Re:Phew! by G)-(ostly · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'll bet your comment would be really relevant in a world where the goal of this behavior was to "cure all of society's ills" versus "study the effect at the retail level of game ratings".

    But don't let common sense get in the way of a good sound bite. It's much more important that you sound clever than actually say something smart.

    --
    From now on, I buy only Intel.
  8. Ratings don't matter by Daggon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Personally I think the whole ratings concept is based in stupidity and missinformation. Children over the age of 6(possibly even younger) are able to discern reality from fantasy. Exposing them to violent material isn't going to magically change them into monsters. I watched R rated films when I was 10, played Doom when I was 13, played all kinds of violent games in my high school years, even saw a lot of porn on the internet. Now, I have a job, pay my taxes, and help the old lady down the hall carry in her groceries. Violent media did not make me into a monster. Why? Because my parents loved me and cared for me. Its that simple, neglect will screw a kid up a million times more than any piece of violent media ever will.

    The religious fundementalists in the world just want you to be afraid of things they don't approve of, thats why ratings exist. It has nothing to do with protecting anyone, just another way to control you.