"Respect Ratings" - Gamestop

[wraggster]

US retailer Gamestop has taken out a full-page advert in USA Today to highlight its ongoing commitment to stopping minors buying games about slaughtering hookers and that.

"We Gamestop, as well as other retailers, have already stepped up with ESRB to regulate ourselves," spokesperson Clive Olivera told Eurogamer this afternoon.

"That's what this is all about. We wanted to bump it up and let the public know, especially consumers, that it is something we actually take quite seriously."

The advert features Gamestop president Steve Morgan peering strangely out from under a gigantic "Respect The Ratings" slogan, which is joined on the page by cubes with ominous ESRB ratings stamped on them.

Hello slightly weird Steve Morgan.
Unlike the BBFC ratings in the UK, which are enforced by law, the ESRB system is used primarily as a guideline to highlight the content of a game; it isn't actually against the law to sell a Mature 17+ game to a minor in America.

"I think we can always do better," Olivera continued. "One mature-rated game sold to a minor is one too many. It's our goal to provide as much education as we can, not only to our employees but to consumers in general."

And hence RespectTheRatings.com was born, to help parents get a grip on the crazy world of videogames. Instead of, you know, shouting at them and being completely insane, like certain specific opponents to violent videogames.

"There is an audience for every game, just like there is a system for every consumer out there," Olivera added. "Gamestop is looking at providing as much information as possible so people can make an informed choice."

Which leaves only one question, really: what on earth is happening with Steve Morgan's face?

via eurogamer

[kcajblue]

it doesnt matter what gamestop thinks.
trying to stop minors from buying is just going to make them want the game more.
and they will find a way to get the game anyway so why would it matter.

[mastersho]

it doesnt matter what gamestop thinks.
trying to stop minors from buying is just going to make them want the game more.
and they will find a way to get the game anyway so why would it matter.

Yup you speak the true. i was that way when BMX XXX come out......

[-=me=-]

Too bad half the parents i know dont care. i have known 12 year olds with gta, and their parents ply it with them.

[kcajblue]

Too bad half the parents i know dont care. i have known 12 year olds with gta, and their parents ply it with them.

i know. my uncle is like that.
he lets his son play games like that when he was like 9 years old.

[Lotusguy]

Please don`t take away my hooker slaughtering games, they stop me from really going out & doing it. LOL...
I mean as if thats the biggest problem faced by todays youth, they`re not even being protected from violent porn they only have to type a swear word into google and they get it all. Real life English cities are more ghettoized than GTA, soft sentencing has seen violent crimes soar, happy slap videos show them its funny to assault a random bystander (the more defenceless the better apparently), Heroin is rife, as is any other drug for that matter, crack is on the rise too. community spirit at street level is all but dead.... You know what i think we should do???? stop naughty video games Bah-haha-haha that ought to do the trick! (Woooo that was an awsome rant lol)

[Aryn]

With all due respect to those who want to crack down on violent video games, keeping violent games out of a child's hands will not make any difference, they will still be watching plenty of things on TV that depict violence as being cool and/or funny and therefore end up forming the same opinions about violence in general.

What really needs to be done is getting the parents involved in playing games with their sons and daughters and being there to answer questions or explain why the stuff done in video games should never be done in real life, that is a far healthier approach than trying to shelter children and teenagers from all forms of violent content and also helps parents to earn more respect from their children.

On a side note, I know that this is a bit off topic but there are more serious video game related issues that exist and should be tackled by these anti-violent game lobbyists instead, like people getting addicted to a video game and letting it take over their lives. I am not saying that strong addiction is an attended side effect with some games but this is a serious issue and is at least as bad as addiction to gambling.

[Lotusguy]

Yup. Im with Aryn on that one, they need good parenting, then they can make an informed choice about what they play, what they do and why.

[Triv1um]

Yeah its like..

Say a young person is sitting at a table, and there is a pot of jam on the table.

And the mom says 'now dont open that jar'

The kid is gonna open it.