Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Game Industry Gets High Marks For Age Enforcement Of M-Rated Games
Though the game industry has frequently come under criticism by watchdog groups and politicians, a Federal Trade Commission study released today praised the industry's efforts of enforcing restrictions on ESRB M-rated games at retail outlets.
The study was conducted by using "secret shoppers" hired by the FTC to see if stores would sell M-rated games to children under 17. The results of the study were impressive: 87 percent of all attempted purchases of ESRB M-rated titles by secret shoppers under 17 were turned away by store employees.
According to the LA Times, over 64 percent of children trying to buy stickered music were successful, 38 percent of those trying to buy R-rated DVDs were successful, and 33 percent of those trying to buy a ticket to an R-rated movie at a theater were successful. This is contrast to the mere 13 percent success rate underage buyers of M-rated video games experienced.
This is the best showing by the game industry to date, and demonstrates much better results than the other entertainment industries that were a part of the study, including music with explicit lyrics stickers, R-rated movie tickets, and R-rated and unrated DVDs.
Entertainment Software Association president Michael Gallagher said, “The ESRB is the gold standard. Our self-regulatory system works and this FTC report validates it as being the best in the entertainment industry. We have an unparalleled commitment to working with parents, retailers, and stakeholders, and will continue to help ensure that this remarkable level of enforcement remains high.”
Hopefully studies like this will help temper efforts to censor the sale of video games by legislative means.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
