Almost 50% of minors buying M rated games

via Games Industry


A survey has found that almost 50 per cent of minors in the US have been able to buy games rated M for Mature from retailers.

The study found that of over 60 stores nationwide, 46 per cent sold M rated games to consumers under the age of 18, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The survey was carried out by the East County Youth Coalition and the National Institute on Media and Family.

The findings back-up a report from the NIMF last year, which also found that half of retailers willingly sold adult games to a young audience.

This week, US senators began to put pressure on ESRB ratings, calling for a review of the system.

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Originally Posted by Shrygue

via Games Industry


A survey has found that almost 50 per cent of minors in the US have been able to buy games rated M for Mature from retailers.

The study found that of over 60 stores nationwide, 46 per cent sold M rated games to consumers under the age of 18, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The survey was carried out by the East County Youth Coalition and the National Institute on Media and Family.

The findings back-up a report from the NIMF last year, which also found that half of retailers willingly sold adult games to a young audience.

This week, US senators began to put pressure on ESRB ratings, calling for a review of the system.

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i'm not surprised the report was from san diego.

they weren't real strict here about age / ratings till about 2005, it was/is still easy to do after that though.

doesn't matter to me! i'm almost 19 now

Lol

why does it even matter why they sell the M games to minors or not.
theyll get them some way or another.
and i bet there is nothing in the game they havent seen before. either that, or the game doesnt even need to be rated M.

the M rating is for 17 and up. a 17 year old is a minor and is still allowed to purchase the game. idk why this study doesnt take into account this obvious fact. and im sure the percent would be lower.

and who's fault is this
*cough*
*the stores*

lol reminds me of the time I brought GTA liberty city stories for the PS2 in my local HMV store no questions were I asked just handed him the money and walked out.

Of course, the stores want to sell more and more games.

I used to buy M rated games by myself up until around 2002-2003 when Illinois made a state law requiring you to be 17 to buy M rated games. Now, my parents just buy the games for me and they don't really care. I remember they bought me Duke Nukem 64 for Christmas when I was 6 and they bought me Mortal Kombat for the Genesis when I was about 4. It won't matter soon because I turn 17 next February.

that doesn't suprise me at all

lol why does this matter at all tis just a game it aint like is going to scar somebody lol

hmm I'm 15 and can buy any game in my country legally (Australia)

Why are they reviewing the ESRB!? I'm still confused by this. I mean isn't it the store who is selling the game? The ESRB just rates the thing. How is it their fault if people buy the games they shouldn't? Sometimes I don't understand how the senate are so stupid. And I also noticed that they said 18. I don't see any problem here anyway, how many of these are scarred by this, or messed up? Doubt any of them. :rolleyes:

Every Gamestore here requires you to have someone 18 or older with you. It gets more then annoying.

why are they pressuring the ERSB rating system instead of the stores? I'm really confused.

I'm not surprised by this the shops just want to make a profit however they can