M-Rated Game Sales to Kids Down, Shows FTC Report

Kotaku examines a report drawn up the the Federal Trade Commission on 'inappropriate content' sales to children. The study (pdf) examined sales of M-Rated games, R-rated movie tickets, and explicit music to underage persons in the most extensive look at the topic since 2000. While it appears the games industry still has a way to go, the study shows that it's much harder than it was four years ago for a young person to buy an M-Rated game. "Video games showed the greatest improvement, dropping from 69 percent being able to make the purchase in 2003 to 42 percent in 2006. That's just three percent more than the number of underage children able to get into R-rated movies."

Comments

Re:Eh, it won't make a difference

[drinkypoo]

And it's really going to make a difference if a kid plays GTA? I know when I was growing up I watched a whole bunch of violet movies and it didn't "corrupt my moral fiber" or anything of the sort.

You are hardly an unbiased source on your moral fiber, and the plural of anecdote is not data.

Anyone who has watched kids get fired up by watching Power Rangers and run around kicking shit knows that media has an effect on children. Actually, anyone who has gone to see The Rice and the Ridiculous knows that it affects so-called adults, too, because people tend to be peelin' out like a mufucka after seeing that movie, or a film like it.

Finally, I think most of us accept that a video game (or other virtual reality experience) is valid training for real-life events. The 9/11 highjackers, for example, learned to fly through the use of a simulator. So referring to Grand Theft Auto as a thug-life simulator is not as unreasonable as a lot of us make it out to be.

So, by that line of reasoning, I entirely support the restriction of sales of violent games, movies, music, or what have you to persons over the age of 18. Why? Because parents are [ostensibly] responsible for what children do. Note that I do NOT support EVER treating a minor as an adult. You can't give someone responsibilities without rights. Respect works both ways, but fear only works in one.

Thus, it should fall to parents to decide if their children can handle that kind of media - because I truly believe that some can, and some can not. And because parents are supposed to be responsible for their children. I know responsibility is kind of an alien concept these days, but it's true.