FTC praises video game industry on prohibiting sales to minors

08 Dec 09 00:11 by Randomus in category Game Consoles

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) praised the video game industry for being the most reliable at turning down underage consumers from purchasing inappropriate content from stores.

In the FTC’s “Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children” report, the video game industry was compared to the music and movie industries. The FTC sent decoys into stores to purchase video games, music and movies.

During the investigation, 80% of the time decoys were unsuccessful in purchasing rated M video games, but were denied 50% of the time when buying a rated R DVD, and just 30% when  purchasing an explicit CD.

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“It will be particularly important to address the challenges presented by emerging technologies — such as  mobile gaming — that are quickly changing the ways that children access entertainment,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz noted in a statement.

In the future, the FTC hopes to see Hollywood and the music industry attempt to better educate parents regarding the content their children purchase.  Movie studios also must make it easier for parents to understand that unrated movies can have bonus features, additional scenes, bloopers, and alternate endings, which could be deemed inappropriate for kids.

“The unrated movie DVDs are not only accepted in the marketplace, but they’re proliferating,” said Keith Fentonmiller, co-author of the FTC’s report.

The FTC may recommend changes, but the movie industry isn’t forced to make any significant changes it doesn’t want to make.

Since moving to California, I’ve been carded almost every time while purchasing a video game, but have never been carded while purchasing a DVD or CD.   However, I’m still carded each time I go to see a rated R movie, even though most people would argue I look older than the required age to get into a movie theater without a parent or guardian.

1 Comments on FTC praises video game industry on prohibiting sales to minors

NBR
Posts: 1377
Posted on: 10 Dec 09 23:37
me personally i would not really care if some 15-ish year old bought a game like 'Grand Theft Auto' type game simply because at that age they seen everything someone that's considered a adult has seen, pretty much. but i could understand not selling to someone who was like 12 or so but even then if they THAT DETERMINED to get it, odds are they will get it one way or another. lol (because i remember when i was that age myself back around 1991-1992-ish. i am 30 now.)

so that, 'FTC praises video game industry on prohibiting sales to minors' thing is just to make it look good on the surface to the public and parents out there.

Quote:
During the investigation, 80% of the time decoys were unsuccessful in purchasing rated M video games, but were denied 50% of the time when buying a rated R DVD, and just 30% when purchasing an explicit CD.
"explicit audio CD's" would be the least of my concerns when it comes to kids (say 12-13+ years old or so) buying them simply because it's just words and it's inevitable that kids are going to hear them at one point or another. so while i would not sell a explicit audio CD to a kid kid (say 10ish or younger, but do kids at this age even buy em nowadays?) i would probably not care once there around 13ish years old myself partially because that was around the age i first started listening to that sort of stuff and at that age there not a little kid anymore to the point it won't be the end of the world for em to hear that stuff. plus at 13 i am sure today's kids have more than heard enough swear words etc.

Quote:
Since moving to California, I’ve been carded almost every time while purchasing a video game, but have never been carded while purchasing a DVD or CD.
which ill bet has something to with all those politicians 'claiming' violent video games turn kids into killer etc *roles eyes*... as i think is total BS is when politicians claim violent video games turn kids into monsters simply because if a kid kills another person in the first place they have serious issues to begin with where if they played a violent video game or not, odds are at one point or another would have snapped anyways and killed someone. because the vast vast majority of people can play violent video games and be perfectly fine so why penalize us for someone a extremely small minority does.
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FTC praises video game industry on prohibiting sales to minors

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