Kotaku 
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Denver, 6:39 PM
Mon Nov 30
39 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/17/09
You would think that, but they're few and far between. I had one woman come into my store, had her 6 year old kid bring up GTA: San Andreas, tell me she didn't approve of the game but the kid has already played the game before so there's not much she can do, and then bought it and walked out. I shit you not.
Now maybe I missed something, but when I was a kid if I did something my parents didn't approve of they stopped me from doing it. Regardless of whether I had done it before. I used to play Mortal Kombat with my cousin when I was a kid (6-10), but my parents never let me own the game. They knew what was in it, didn't think it was appropriate, and wouldn't buy it for me.
Sure, I'd sneak playing it with my cousin when he came over or I was over at his house, all kids will sneak things, but that doesn't mean that as a parent you should just give up and let your kids play whatever they want.
She knew exactly what the game was about, but just let her kid walk all over her. It was pathetic. Tell the kid it's not appropriate and get him/her a different game.
As good an idea as this is, it will be wasted on most parents. Quite frankly, they don't care. They're 8 old year old brat brings up GTAIV, I read the list of things on the back of the box, tell them it's a game intended for adults and people with more maturity than an 8 year old, and they just wave they're hand at me, swipe their credit card, and then continue on their phone conversation.
I'm not saying all kids should be banned from playing M games. There's one father and son that comes in to the Gamestop I work at that are actually pretty cool. The kid is maybe twelve or so, but he loves shooters and plays games like Gears, L4D, and Halo fairly regularly. But from talking to him, you can also tell that he's mature enough to play those games and not be obnoxious. His dad is involved with what he plays and always asks about the ratings of games before buying. He's even brought a few back saying that they weren't appropriate for his son.
The gaming industry can do all it can to make information available for parents, but it's irrelevant when the parents can't be bothered. And the most annoying part is that the ones that pay the least attention will be the first to blame a game when something bad happens.
/rant
09/17/09
I used to blame the kids for wanting games their not old enough to play, but it's not really their fault. Kotaku even ran a study showing that kids, as is natural, want the games they're not supposed to have more than the games they can have. But why do they want those games? Because their parents let them play them, or they're exposed to other children who play them and they feel left out if they don't have them. My parents never let me anywhere near a Mature-rated game, and I never wanted one, even after watching my cousin play GTA:Vice City. It's all down to the parents and how informed they are.
/supporting rant
09/17/09
09/17/09
Or how about a sign that every retailer should have at their check-out counter to inform parents about the differences in ratings? Just a simple sign, how hard can that be? Enforce it by law to make sure retailers dont take it down to make room for the new Guitar Hero 9 poster.
09/17/09
09/17/09
Now I'm not saying it's not the parents job to know, it is, and I do know, but more because of years of growing up with it. I don't know how you train the people who buy the game while on the phone and the 9 year old brat pulling on your shirt telling you to shut up, etc.
09/17/09
I've noticed myself, not all toy companies use the same system to show the appropriate age of the toy. As a parent I look for that information and make my decision accordingly be it a bicycle, a bath toy, or an action figure.
I'd like to think that these parents buying the M rated games are the minority and would understand that it's not a one size fit's all industry. Unfortunately from my own experience these people aren't interested in advice unless it comes from Oprah or other such source.
09/17/09
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09/17/09
I prefer to drink muddy water than drinking any coffee made by Starbucks.
09/17/09
09/17/09
93% on parents Zoolandering it to find out where the ESRB info is.
09/17/09
Most parents when given a hand held will tell you how cool it is, shake it and then tell you go enjoy some pokeman.
06/10/09
The most important part, however, is that this is retroactive. Existing applications need to be updated, and if they aren't they'll be automatically rated as the most restrictive rating, 17+.
So yeah, problem solved without ESRB. They just want to make cash from the review fees but Apple is eschewing them.
What makes the iPhone/iPod an attractive platform is how easy it is to publish applications for it, and adding ESRB (or any other rating board) to the process would ruin it. I know I wouldn't publish anything if I had to deal with them.
06/10/09
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06/10/09
This generation is so spoiled, god damn.
06/10/09
I had to buy my own.
06/10/09
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03/06/09
Also only those who SAY they're against crime should get in trouble for it. After all, it's one thing to be a criminal, but hypocrites are the WORST.
03/06/09
I'm glad to see the president is taking a stand against these foolish game laws. Yes, I think kids shouldn't get ahold of M-rated games and R-rated movies (unless their parents approve of it), but this shouldn't be a government issue, it should be a social issue.
Simply put, ALL parents need to be responsible for their children's upbringing. Use the tools they have at their hands, and not pass the blame when things go awry.
03/06/09
03/06/09
Gamestop has a policy to not sell mature games to an underage audience. If a cashier forgets to card a customer when buying an M game, and that customer is underage, then Gamestop (or that cashier) is liable and can be fined, because they broke their policy.
Now, let's pretend EB Games is different than Gamestop. They have decided to not have a policy regarding selling M games. They sell an M game to an underaged customer, and....nothing happens. Because they have no policy, they've done nothing wrong in the eyes of this law.
So, if a store has a policy, and someone violates that policy, they get in trouble. If that same store decides to not have a policy, they can sell to whoever they want (minors buying M games) without consequence.
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03/06/09
K-A became E. Surprised to see a "modernized" version of the icon, though.
03/06/09
03/06/09
It's ridiculous because ESRB ratings for games aren't mandatory right now.
What retailers will do, is start selling games WITHOUT ESRB ratings on them, in order to avoid the fines associated with selling an M-Rated game to a minor.
03/06/09
Nah, they don't even need to do that. They can still sell ESRB rated games, as long as they don't have any sort of official policy requiring adherence to the ratings.
So yeah, it's a seriously fubar piece of legislation. But then again, what would you expect from something good ol' Jack had a hand in?
03/06/09
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03/06/09
@Ryan Van Riper: 'Cuz they don't have fast enough internet and actually buy pr0n? I kidd I kidd.