Peter Suciu

Ratings Redux: FTC Study Reveals 20 Percent of Minors Able to Purchase M-Rated Games
May 13, 2008

Minors are having a harder time buying M-rated games. That’s the findings from a recently published study conducted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In a nationwide undercover shop of movie theaters and movie, music and video game retailers, the FTC found that only about 20 percent of 13- to 16-year olds were able to purchase mature-rated games.

This is a major improvement from past surveys and down from 42 percent in 2006. It is also worth noting that CD and DVD retailers need a bit more improvement, as nearly half were able to purchase R-rated and unrated moves, as well as CDs with the “Parents Advisory Label.” In fact it is also worth adding that the unrated movie DVDs sometimes contain content that would otherwise earn an NC-17 rating.

Of course the Electronic Software Ratings Board (ESRB) wasted no time to praise the efforts. Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB, stated: “Video game retailers have clearly stepped up their efforts to enforce their store policies, and they deserve recognition for these outstanding results. We commend and applaud retailers for their strong support of the ESRB ratings, and will continue working with them to help ensure that these levels of compliance are sustained if not further increased.”

This is good news. Retailers are doing their part after all. But there is still a way to go, especially since 20 percent of underage gamers were still able to purchase M-rated games. That is one in five, and while an improvement over just a few years, no one would be happy to hear one in five convicted felons could purchase a gun, or one in five 17-year-olds could buy a case of beer. And if either of these comparisons seems too harsh, consider that the shoppers in the survey were as young as 13 years old!

The survey still doesn’t address the issue of whether parents are even paying attention to the ratings. This is an issue that I write about frequently — and for which I take a fair share of heat from gamers. I’m not pro-censorship, but I don’t think the “anything goes” attitude that many developers have is good for the business either.

The survey also doesn’t take into account why undercover shoppers were able to purchase M-rated games. Was it a case of younger store clerks disregarding the rules? Or was it a case again of the game ratings being confusing? In the past I’ve suggested a revision of the game ratings, and thinking about it maybe it is time for a change.

Since the introduction of the ESRB videogame ratings in 1992, these have been expanded and now include content descriptors. Maybe the solution is to keep the descriptors but revise the ratings. Having followed this topic I suggest the following ratings revisions to make it easier for both parents and retailers alike.

First, drop the letters. This is more confusing than airline letter coding. “E”, “M” and “T” might be simple enough, but it is still confusing. Is it so hard to spell out what we mean the intended audience to be for these titles? How about the following:

• Family — Drop the “F” and just use the word “Family.” This would be games including the likes of SimCity, Mario, Wii Sports and Need for Speed. These are games that the whole family can play.
• Teen — This is the one rating I would keep but I would suggest that most game developers should strive to make Teen rated games, the same way PG and PG-13 movies are aimed at the masses to get that a teen audience. Teen-rated games would include simulations and strategy games such as Age of Empires as well as adventure games such as Dungeon Siege and Halo. The latter two were rated M because of blood, but should we be concerned because we see a dead monster or alien bleed? Come on, these games are no more violent than movies such as “Lord of the Rings” or “Harry Potter”!
• Adult — Not “AO” as in “Adults Only,” but that would be the point. Retailers won’t carry AO titles because it is seen as porn. So instead of saying “M” for “Mature” let’s try to convince retailers that these games aren’t pornographic but they are still intended for an adult audience. In the early days many retailers said they wouldn’t carry M-rated games, but can you imagine anyone turning down Grand Theft Auto V? I think not. Parents could see that the game says “Adult” and the cashier at the store could see that it says “Adult.”

These would be very simple solution, but nothing is ever so simple in the world of video games.

Posted by Peter Suciu on May 13, 2008 | Comments (0)