Parents Often Ignore Game Ratings, Say Grand Theft Childhood Authors

That example I posted was to illustrate the fact that no matter how obvious and simplistic a system and no matter how prevalent the explanations of that system (every hotel room, every entrance to the beach, many beach front restaurants, ever emergency vehicle, etc.), people will still manage to screw it up, either through apathy or group stupidity.

After seeing the PEGI system in action, I can't really think of any reason people would want to choose anything else (well, aside from using a system more in line with other entertainment ratings systems Joe Consumer is familiar with, like MPAA ratings). I do like the ESRB content descriptors, but obviously making things wordy (kinda like the MPAA ratings do now) is too much for people to handle when it comes to unfamiliar territory, so the PEGI pictograms would work quite nicely. Plus, age-based ratings!

"I’ve never really understood what was so confusing about the ratings. What information is it exactly that parents 'want and value' from ratings? A simple yes or no answer to 'should I let my kid play this game?'?"
Actually, ya, that is what most stupid people want. They refuse to listen to any sort of reason or logic until you answer their irrational and illogical yes or not question, and then proceed to ignore you anyway. Follow this link for one examples of that! http://www.somethingawful.com/d/comedy-goldmine/retarded-customer-questi...
Just scroll down to the one with the emoticons for the speakers.

Ratings are for other people's kids, not "our little mature genius angel."

Honestly, this doesn't surprise me. I had one guy, grown man, ask me how to fill out a check and how to spell thirty a couple days ago.

I can relate to everyone's employee stories. Last summer, I worked at the GameStop in the mall. One day, a mom walks in with her son (couldn't be older than 12) and she brought to me Conker: Live and Reloaded. I told her its rated "M" and stuff and I swear on my life she asked me where it said that. I pointed it out to her...hell, I even showed her the extra warning (if anyone purchased that gme, you would know what I'm talking about). Alas, she didnt care because she thought her son -who looked 12 mind you- was mature enough to handle this...all the while he is jumping up and down trying to get her attention. reluctantly, I sold her the game.

today's parents=FAIL

Oh, excuse me. I meant to say ignorant.

This is why I hate the idea this country has fostered that every kid is unique and special. We are not all snowflakes. We are all part of a society, cogs in a machine that must interact with one another.

I, for one, welcome the Zombie Invasion.

@WarOtter

But at the same time, we are not made equal, and competition is healthy. Not PC bullcrap that tells us that no one should be left behind. How do you respond to that?

@WarOtter & JustChris -

One philosophy closes the divide and the other opens it wider...

Balance is the ideal, which means we need people with both philosophies ;)

@ mogbert

My thoughts exactly

If you've ever worked in a toy store, you'll understand that every parent thinks their child is mature for their age, and a genius. They think their 10 year old is plenty mature to play GTA (and some may be, but not all of them). Then there is the "they play it at their friends house" excuse, which to me sounds like a talk should be had with the friends parents instead of just surrendering as if it were inevitable.

"Almost all of the parents we spoke with agreed with the age categories of the ESRB ratings - but for other people’s children, not for their own."

This is the piece of news I find most interesting "...but for other people's children, not for their own". It's almost as saying, yeah the ESRB ratings are good, but not good enough for my standards. Leave that to people that are not as cool as me- I mean, my neighbors.

I think this mess would have been all sorted out if The ESRB used the MPAA's ratings. If they did, they'd be no differences, and they'd get away from loads of flack, lickety split.

Problem is, the MMPA are bunch of sue happy douches.

I say good.

there has never been convincing evidence that violent media has an effect on children or anyone else (except the mentally deranged). so let the kids play GTA and Call of Duty and No More Heroes. better that than they play shit with a lower age rating.

@Mogbert

It's lazy, but the parents that know "R" in movies probably do because they grew up into movie ratings (just like we grew up into ESRB ratings). The quote that lays it out is "Several had M and T ratings confused…" I'm personally not sure how you can confuse them, and wish they said more... but, I do wonder what excuses for lazy would be if the ratings were more like other countries and had numbers next to them like "M17+" (with numbers being as big as letters, cause they are there right above the letters).

I'm not saying it needs to happen... but what would change, would they come up with more excuses to be lazy or would they applaud the industry for being proactive (doubtful, they'd probably just be more lazy)

You know, on this "parents don't play games" thing: I'm not sure if all of them can.

GameStop Employee here. I could've told you the same thing from being on the front lines.

It's a daily occurrence for a parent and their young child to walk up to my register and hand me a copy of any GTA and I have to resist the urge to scream at them about it. When I'm lucky, or convincing enough, or whatever, the parents will actually react to what I have told them about it being rated M and that it has drugs, sex, and violence in it and tell their kids no, who will then whine and complain that they play it all the time or that they play it at a friend's house.
The worst transactions, though, are the ones where, after reading the ESRB descriptors, the parents laugh and shrug it off, saying that it's no big deal and he already plays games like that. Those transactions make me want to scream.
Additionally, I've had transactions where the parent balks at the idea of their child playing one GTA game, puts the box back, and comes back with another GTA. Parental ignorance doesn't describe it in some of these situations. It's flat out parental idiocy.

@ChrowX

I've been in that spot. I made it a habit to read off all of the descriptors on the back of the box to parents. This rarely made any difference.

Once myself and another manager (who didn't think we should even be selling the game) actively had to not sell a copy of GTA3 to a woman whose son (maybe 12) was telling her it was perfectly okay, and that he had played it at a friend's house. Her kid swore he was mature enough to play it... as he started crying. She actually did not buy the game. It was not something our district manager would have approved of, but we felt it to be a moral victory. If you're not mature enough to not cry about it, you're probably not mature enough to be playing it, that was our thought anyway.

All that said, I do kind of expect my mother would have allowed me to play it, as I played Doom and Leisure Suit Larry when i was young.

"Never under estimate the stupidity of people." Something I live by and something proven here whenever He-who-must-not-be-named posts.

The biggest problem is that most adults know video games as what they had when they were kids. They see it as Super Mario, Duck Hunt, Sonic the Hedgehog, even Pacman. The market has evolved, just like cartoons did, just like films did, so things have changed dramatically since the early 80's. What it comes down to is that parents don't bother learning what something is before handing it to their over-privillaged 9 year old. Just like they don't say no to going to McDonald's daily, or no that the kid shouldn't spend 4 hours a day glued to the TV, they don't say no to the kid when they ask from Condemned 2.

Did the parents also confuse "age 17+" with "age 13+" and think that "17" was some sort of video game speak for "13," seriously there is no excuse for being confused with those things, they throw on enough info that an illiterate should be able to figure it out.

@pinworm
America: Because why blame yourself when there’s other people

more like..

America: Why admit I made a mistake when I can say "no one warned me about it even if it's plain obvious" and shove the blame on someone else?


Seriously... Hot coffee is HOT (why ese would they call it HOT coffee?), you don't need to be a rocket scientist or a member of ANON to know it. You just need a WORKING BRAIN and COMMON SENSE!

@ Void Munashii

Yeah, I wouldn't write off every district (or whatever level) manager as thinking like that, but every company (I work for Gamestop part time as a manager as well as my "real" job) has those that will put the dollar over ethics. But I'm 100% with you about stopping the sale. Sadly, if the mother had pushed it instead of changing her mind, I would have done it though because it's not my right to tell her what her kids can and can not play just like it's not the government or anyone elses to tell me about mine. I have 3 children of my own and will, upon MY decision and inspection of a game as a parent, fudge the age requirements for some games for my 7 year old son. Usually just to allow play on some T rated games, or even to join in a LAN party for Halo 2 or 3 because while there is shooting, I teach him that this is a game and that everyone is just playing around. As a 7 year old, he will get excited from time to time, and I just curb him back a bit and explain whatever he is viewing incorrectly. It's not that hard to do..I really don't understand why some parents just fudge it all up in the first place.

ratings...giant as labels on the box so easy to read a retarded donkey with one eye can see it printed on the box..

some/most parents/Hillary are plain dumb and retarded enough to not see the damn labels.

Just like Tipper Gore before her, Hillary and all those pansies were the ones responsible for the label on the videogames...regarding it to smoking...

damn thats the woman i want see lead my country /sarcasm

So... they ignore the ratings but, "[expressed] frustration that they weren’t able to get the information they wanted and valued from the ratings…"

The heck 0_o ???