Kids Buying Games to Get Carded?

[Brevity]

Source (http://general.gamerfeed.com/gf/pr/4898/)

IEMA has teamed up with the nation's leading games retailers to prevent the sale of "M" games to children under 17...

The nation's leading computer and video game retailers, in conjunction with the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA), announced today a new initiative designed to prevent the sale of Mature- rated games to children under 17 years old and increase awareness of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) video game rating system. All merchants belonging to the association will now institute a national carding program and will implement an identification check process at the point of sale for games rated Mature by the ESRB.


Read the whole thing and see what you think.

[ShaDovV RyDer]

well that suks...my parents wouldnt let me neways without checking the game out...i cant get Counter Strike without my dad goin to a friends to look at it...which really suks...i guess me and my friends can go around gloomily envying older ppl...but wait a sec does that mean the WE cant buy these games but our parents can go in and get it for us???

[Peepers]

I had to buy GR:IT for my brother. The Wal-Mart clerk made me show ID and everything. Whoopage was with us too, and even though he's a year older than I, he had to show ID to get his copy. I think it's a little rediculous.

I think a Must be this tall to buy sign is a much better idea. :D

Seriously, just don't sell M-rated games to a kid who looks like he's in 2nd grade; I'm confident that most teenagers can handle the content of an M-rated game.


On a side note, I actually think that there should be another rating category between Teen and Mature because a lot of M-rated like Halo (which was originally rated T) don't even compare to the content in other M-rated games like GTA3.

[ShaDovV RyDer]

l they are not doing this because they think that us kids cant handle it...they r doin it cause they think that the kids of today r goin to grow up to be like big mafia dudes who walk into stores and shoot ppl cause they think they are playin a game or somthin...i mean as most of us no this war between parents and games has gone on for quite some time...it was bound to happen somtime just i was hopin not this soon...pce

[Peepers]

Originally posted by ShaDovV RyDer
l they are not doing this because they think that us kids cant handle it...

No, really?!? I thought they were doing it because the voices told them to!

[Voodoo_Vince]

This is the BEST thing that can happen to video games, because now Devolopers can push the envolope further , if kids HAVE to be carded then the blame for kids getting a Disturbning over the top violent game is on the Clerks who sell the games, So now we can have games with Full Frontal Nudity, over the top Violence , and Cussing like we have never seen in a video game on a Console, and if the Morality-Nazi's have a problem they go after the Game store Clerks ,,MUAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!!!

Of course you can always buy games underage like you buy Beer shoulder tap some Adult , and hide it from your parents , or have your cool cousin , yeah the guy with the Mullet and Camaro buy it for you ,

[Brevity]

I tell you its good to see some "kids" getting in on this thread. Gives ppl a better over all view of this. Thanks now its time for your naps. ^_^

Peepers I agree there should be another rating b/w T and M. It just makes since, b/c M is now such a blanket rating that it covers some games that it really shouldnt IMO.

[Kraft]

I am all for this carding business. If carding becomes manditory then the games the kids play will be totally dependant on them. No longer will the excuse 'my kid was playing a violent game and I didn't know' work for people that commit atrocious crimes and what not. Now if your kid shoots someone and blames it on GTA, its your own fault.

[JDHack0822]

I think that this could have both good and bad results. I like the idea that the preteen gamers are limited from getting certain games. Not because I think games cause violence or anything, but I don't think young kids need to be exposed to games like GTA. However, I think that there are too many games in the M category. Games like Halo and others shouldn't be unavailable to teenagers.

I can't wait until somebody trys to "Hey Mister" me to buy them a game. That will be the day :p

[ghost 009]

I dont mind it cause I always go to the store to buy them with my dad anyways.

[Addsy]

ummm i never knew this was happening, i get served all the time without getting asked for ID, are you sure they are coming down on underage people who buy games?

:huh: :huh: :huh:

[Variation-XBA]

ESRB is a suggestion, not a law.

I work at EB, and I dont card people, unless its you know, a 7 year old buying manhunt or something...

[Addsy]

lol yeah i get ya point.

isnt your EB taken over by Game yet, all the ones where we are have been made Game Stores

[Cryogenic Pyro]

The only way I support this is if there is a rating in between mature and teen, because some games, like halo(already been mentioned, I know) shouldn't be mature.

What they really should do is you have to take a specialized IQ test with questions like "If you see people killing in a game, do you go do it to other people because those people are doing it?" and whatever rating you get is the card you get, and the highest rated game you are allowed to purchase.

This wouldn't solve all problems, because I know people who are 17+ who shouldn't even be playing teen games, and people who are 11-13 who should be able to play mature games with no question.

[xboxman_1]

For a school "muckraking" project, we went around to local department stores video-taping ourselves, buying M-Rated games w/o being carded. The video is hilarious though. Wish I could upload it...:(

EDIT: We got a 100% on the project :D

[Addsy]

wow yeah that would b cool if you could upload it lol

i bet i am on there

*hides behind desk*

[Xorg]

Well this would suck for me, I usually like to go to the mall with my friends and buy my games there since my parents wont be there to stop me, but then it doesnt really matter that much eb games never said anything against it, I bought vice city there for pc and the guy just told me to not get him in trouble. :D
the only time I got told something was when I went to gamestop to buy hitman 2 and the guy told my dad what it was rated M for. :eek:

[Addsy]

lol what did he do, did he not let u buy it?

i have no trouble buying games, i am 15 coming up 16 and i can get served for 18's no problem, they just say the same thing to me as they do you if they question me at all, they just say dont tell anyone :p

[mitch2025]

i dont buy M rated games anyway, i have my sister buy them for me :D

[Addsy]

hehe good job. if i have trouble buying games i just set my 5ft"2 mum onto them and she soon sweet talks them into givn me it.

im so happy to have such a cool mum :D

[SPAWNFORGE.COM]

Good. The ratings are pointless without some kind of enforcement.

[Xorg]

Originally posted by Addsy
lol what did he do, did he not let u buy it?


I still got it, I just told him that the partial nudity was because you can take the guys clothes and put them on for a disguise... later on I figured out about the mission with the hookers in it

[Addsy]

lmao yeah the stripping people naked and putting their clothes on is soo cool, yeah.....the hooker mission lol...

taking peoples clothes off is especially fun in the jaccuzi mission where u get to see that fat guy in the jaccuzi and shoot him, or better still strangle him with wire :D :rofl:

[skorp]

Originally posted by Voodoo_Vince
This is the BEST thing that can happen to video games, because now Devolopers can push the envolope further , if kids HAVE to be carded then the blame for kids getting a Disturbning over the top violent game is on the Clerks who sell the games, So now we can have games with Full Frontal Nudity, over the top Violence , and Cussing like we have never seen in a video game on a Console, and if the Morality-Nazi's have a problem they go after the Game store Clerks ,,MUAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!!!

Of course you can always buy games underage like you buy Beer shoulder tap some Adult , and hide it from your parents , or have your cool cousin , yeah the guy with the Mullet and Camaro buy it for you ,



hahaha... I like that!:cheers:

[SPAWNFORGE.COM]

I was gonna say the same thing, but I didn't feel like doing all the typing. :)

[Addsy]

yeah me neither my wrists are absaloutly killing from all this typing and so is my brain from all this thinking :(

oh well its ok coz they get to rest in my bed now so ill c ya all some other time coz it is 4:30am

nite nite :cheers:

[monster1234]

Good. Maybe now video games will stop getting blamed for everything bad that happens in the world.

[Discretion]

The parent is bound to catch the child playing the game sooner or later. They shouldn't blame us. Personally, I think if we can supply an ID that shows we are in high school we should be able to buy it. I think being a high school student should be enough to buy M games. I don't see why we need to be half way done with high school before we can buy an M rated game. I am glad my brother is 17, because I will be 16 on Feb 17th... I am High School, and a valid High School ID should be good enough DANGIT!

[memphissheik]

1. It's my most favorite part of the day, because I know I'm doing my job at Gamestop.

2. They're not doing it to frustrate you or anybody else. They're doin it because they're getting sued.

You wanna blame somebody...blame the people that shoot people and then turn around and say a video game told them to do it.

[Addsy]

yeah some things these days get blamed for murders and stuff like that. Its stupid, the person should know what they are doing and shouldnt sew game companies just because their life is screwed up.

[HellHawk]

The rating systems is all bullcrap, i think that i can HANDLE a mature game, i see R movies all the time, i mean i play vice city, uh oh! now im gonna go hijack a ferrari and pick up hookers.....

[Addsy]

yeah thats true, i played Vice City to death and it doesnt make me wanna go out and shoot someone or chainsaw them into little pieces. The rating systems should really get sorted out

[DRunKeN.LegEnD]

lmao i did my english essay on vice city and how it dont make ppl want to go and kill people. if you saw scream would u wanna go and knife some1. NO.

ppl that like games to ppl actually being violent are fools.

ive payed vice city and dont want to shoot steal and beat the fsck out of some random person in the streets, although bill gates or michael jackson might temp me to a violent outrage of death and killing.

have a nice day now :p

[DRunKeN.LegEnD]

why am i replying to my own post. oh well i just am hehe haha woot. sorry that was a bit random.

err,.. bye

[Addsy]

yes..................

anyway....back to reality...

[MikeMan91389]

Originally posted by DRunKeN.LegEnD
why am i replying to my own post. oh well i just am hehe haha woot. sorry that was a bit random.
err,.. bye



Originally posted by Addsy

yes..................

anyway....back to reality...[/B]

Wow, more Spam.... seriously??!?!?!?


Anyways, that camaro bit was funny... Mullets look cool/funny.

On topic: I think it is a good idea, tho i will be under the age, my parents will understand that its a VIDEO GAME and buy it for me :)

[DIGITAL]

Originally posted by Voodoo_Vince
This is the BEST thing that can happen to video games, because now Devolopers can push the envolope further , if kids HAVE to be carded then the blame for kids getting a Disturbning over the top violent game is on the Clerks who sell the games, So now we can have games with Full Frontal Nudity, over the top Violence , and Cussing like we have never seen in a video game on a Console, and if the Morality-Nazi's have a problem they go after the Game store Clerks ,,MUAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH!!!

Of course you can always buy games underage like you buy Beer shoulder tap some Adult , and hide it from your parents , or have your cool cousin , yeah the guy with the Mullet and Camaro buy it for you , im with you on this one ,im glad games are pushing the envolope futher ,an i use to hate shoulder tapping,half the time the guys would try to steal my money,now i got my little brother an his friends asking me to buy them beer:D

[MikeMan91389]

Originally posted by DIGITAL
im with you on this one ,im glad games are pushing the envolope futher ,an i use to hate shoulder tapping,half the time the guys would try to steal my money,now i got my little brother an his friends asking me to buy them beer:D

hmm... u didnt give him the beer did u... hahahahahah

[Spaztic]

I got carded for a R-rated movie at Wal-Mart the other day! I don't think it is a bad thing.....but I am 22?!

[OC Noob]

I saw I guy get carded at EB and they wouldn't sell to him because he didn't have an ID. I didn't see which game it was though. Maybe it was an exceptionally bad game like Manhunt.

[Slowride]

They card kids for R movies, and we all know that many many many games are more "damaging" or at the very least more graphic and interactive than movies. I don't mind them carding at all. Doesn't effect me at all either...

[ColdStone]

I don't think its a bad idea. More or less the parent whould know what kinda game their kid plays anyways. Besides its also to protect the retailers and game makers from getting sued by parents who like to use the old gimik," The game made my kid do it".

[JDJDJD]

Originally posted by Brevity
Source (http://general.gamerfeed.com/gf/pr/4898/)


Read the whole thing and see what you think.

welcome to the year 2000

[Ugunnalose]

my bro will just pick them up for me

[SpArTaN_21]

man carding people is so ***, kids are still going to play the M rated games no matter what, so whats the point, if the store wont let the kid buy it, he/she will just ask there mom or dad or other famil members to get it for them.

[Torlough]

Originally posted by ShaDovV RyDer
well that suks...my parents wouldnt let me neways without checking the game out...i cant get Counter Strike without my dad goin to a friends to look at it...which really suks...i guess me and my friends can go around gloomily envying older ppl...but wait a sec does that mean the WE cant buy these games but our parents can go in and get it for us???

And that is why you get carded it's like an R movie. Unless you would like video games banned al together?

[Cryogenic Pyro]

I guess I'm the only one with parents who know they have a child mature enough to play M rated games? Hell, my Dad even bought me an 18-A movie for christmas last year.

The process for me buying a game is quite simple. I ask my Mom to drive me to EBGames, I then show her the game I want, she looks it over so she knows what the game is about, and I tell her the rest. I proceed to buy the game, and go home and play it. As long as she knows there isn't hardcore sex in the game, she really doesn't care, because she knows I'm mature enough to distinguish aliens from the postman.

I was about 7 or 8 when I went to the store with my mom and bought Diablo. The clerk was like "Are you sure you want to let your child play this? It's rated M." She's like "Yes."

Contradicting my other post, I guess it really doesn't matter if we get carded. We always have other means of getting the games. Most of us, anyway.

EDIT: This post is in no way meant to offend anyone by saying my parents are better than yours, it is just showing that if you show your parents that you are mature enough to handle the game, they'll let you play it.

[Salmonaitor]

Using the excuse, "kids will play "M Rated" games anyway, so why card them?" is lame. People will buy drugs, and commit murder even though there are laws against it. Laws are there to hold the fibre of society together. Get your parents to buy you games if they approve of them, they're the ones who should know you best. The ESRB is there for a reason, it would be irresponsible if it weren't. The idea of the law is not to keep it out of the hands of children, it's to help parents make an informed decision as to what their kids are playing and watching. Are there games that are rated too harshly? Maybe, but it should be up to the parent to decide. That's my 2 cents anyway.

[StudioAlex]

If the industry really wants to increase parent's awareness they should scrap their current system and use the MPAA system. I think parents would find rating like PG-13 and R much easier to recognize and interpret.

As for the argument that kids will find ways to play M rated games, so what's the point? This puts the responsiblity firmly on parents, where it should have always been. That's the point.

[Brevity]

My wife teaches 7th grade math right now. And the one thing we see more and more (I think its about the same as its always been), is perants that just dont give a rats ass. For example she had to call this one mother about her son and when she called the mother w/o even knowing what it was all about (like was this a call to say he was hurt, sick, troubled, or in trouble) she said if this is about John Doe then you will need to call his grandma that is where he lives and she takes care of him. My wife was shocked at the lack of care of this mother. Turns out go figure that this boy is a really bad one (IMO being bad to get attention b/c he feels unloved), and the call was regarding a fight.

I was the product of a mother that did not give a flying flip where I was, what I did, why or any of that, which is why I could not live with her and had to eventually have a foster family. So I know what its all about. There are alot of ppl like even ppl I know that are **** as perants and dont care one ioda about their kids so ya they would buy them whatever and not care, if they buy them stuff at all. For those ppl this card thing is just a problem b/c it means that if Jr. wants something really bad and they are hounding them about it now they got to get off their ass and go out and get it them selves.

[Salmonaitor]

Carding is still worthwhile, because it adds another layer of security against kids buying games that aren't suitable for their age group. StudioAlex is right, that the parents have the ultimate responsibility as to what their kids are consuming. It's impossible as a parent to know everything that your child is doing, but hopefully, we can communicate enough with our children and bring them up with enough good sense to know that some silly video game isn't going to mess with their heads.

[LINKINPARK8591]

Originally posted by Salmonaitor
Carding is still worthwhile, because it adds another layer of security against kids buying games that aren't suitable for their age group. StudioAlex is right, that the parents have the ultimate responsibility as to what their kids are consuming. It's impossible as a parent to know everything that your child is doing, but hopefully, we can communicate enough with our children and bring them up with enough good sense to know that some silly video game isn't going to mess with their heads. I AGREE there needs to be another layer of sercurity, as for myself my parents use to buy games for me when i was underage but they would first find out about what the game was dealing with etc... but now i get what i want due to my age. but i've seen so many kids that have been able to get game which are not for their age group:argue1:

[ColdStone]

I totally agree. Its funny ya know. When we are kids we think we know everything and we want the latest game or see the latest movie. Then when we get older and look at younger kids getting the latest game or going to R rate films we ask our selves, "What are they thinking?" or "Where are their folks?"

Funny how life is. But I totalyy agree with and support the carding idea.

[ShaDovV RyDer]

i support carding and i dont...its like Brevity said "some parents dont give a rats *** about their kids"...i went to ths kids house for a meeting within my church...he was about 6 or 7 and he was playin metal gear solid on his ps2...i was like whoa his parents care about him a whole lot...i mean c'mon a 6 year old doesnt need to be playin games like that and not to mention he told me his favorite kind of games r FPS's...there is no way he is mature enough to play these games...thats y i agree with it.

now i dont agree with it because number 1 im only 13 and wont be able to get most of these games when my parents were just starting to let me...even tho they usually come along they may get the wrong idea about the game since i need a card that says im 17+...also this is a bad idea for game makers because a game with just the slightest bit of gore nowadays is rated M...with that said they wont make near as much money now...

all in all its an ok idea as long as the whole industry doesnt die because of it...pce