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It’s easy for kids in US to buy adult-rated video-games8 December, 2007 The rating system for video-game, which restricts the sale of violent games to minors, is not applied properly in the United States, says a survey. In the United States, teenagers can easily buy violent video-games in stores, the National Institute on Media and the Family, an influential family and media group, has said in its annual survey. It was founds that 55% of retailers effectively banned the sale of mature – or, M-rated – video-games to children under 17. Minors were able to buy an M-rated video-game nearly 50% of the time, the survey revealed. The National Institute on Media and the Family’s survey for 2007 showed that 12-year-old buyers could buy M-rated video games like Grand Theft Auto or Scarface were able to buy them half the time, and 15-year-olds could buy them two-thirds of the time. One of the reasons for the lax ratings enforcement was the age of the clerk, with older clerks being more compliant with store policies than younger clerks, the study said, adding: “In conclusion, this year’s rating enforcement survey is discouraging. Any parent who is paying attention cannot help but question the credibility of a ratings system employed by an industry that seems more eager to circumvent it.” The survey, which comprised 58 sting operations conducted in August 2007, of 1,360 children found that 86% of minors play video-games in their homes in the United States. And, 72% of parents generally know little or nothing about the rating system, and many cannot identify the meanings of specific ratings such as AO (Adults Only) and EC (Early Childhood). The survey also found that video-games were the source of arguments in 38% of families between parents and children about the time spent playing. Games for popular gaming consoles like Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s PlayStation 3 are voluntarily submitted to the Entertainment Software Rating Board, the video-game industry’s self-regulatory body. The Entertainment Software Rating Board then rates the games for age-appropriateness and provides content information. The Entertainment Software Rating Board has identified 32 content descriptions, including comic mischief, tobacco reference, sexual violence, and animated blood. These descriptions are listed along with the rating on game packaging.
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