Local Retailers Put to the Test
According to an article in The Age, a sting involving a 14-year-old boy named Peter was carried out to determine whether local retailers actually enforce game ratings. Peter visited six Sydney retailers and attempted to get a game rated MA15+. The result: At least one store declined to sell the game, while the rest allowed him to purchase games with murder, mass shootings, stabbings, drug dealing, sexual violence, and child abduction. At the end of the day, Peter was shocked to see how easy it is for minors to obtain games, especially the ones unsuitable for them.
It is an offence to sell games rated MA15+ to anyone under 15 years old; so instead of the five retailers abiding to the law, they now face a $11,000 fine. If an R18+ rating for games was implemented, let’s see if retailers would be willing to ask anyone for identification if the law requires them to.
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Eddie says:
I’m sure that if we have an 18+ rating and games, they will ask for identity. If Video stores do it, then why wont Game stores. Also, we should conduct an experiment at Video stores now and see if they ask for ID for MA15+ movies… or we should go to a DVD store and try it out… HM!
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Justin says:
You’d find that retailers would abide by the law in cases of R18+ games, due to them being for adults only for a reason. MA15+ is considered suitable for minors, besides, the kid was -one- year younger than the limit, we live in a laid back country, usually anyway. Get over it.
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MEM says:
go and as a 14-15 year child to produce some form of ID, they may only have their school ID or nothing at all, further note there are places to purchase online (steam, D2D etc) tell them to ask for ID, anyone can say they are 15, its just easier online.
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Simon says:
not at all surprising, I bet if there were an adult with him at the time they probably wouldn’t have stepped in either. But an R18+ rating does carry a lot more weight than MA15+ so I guess Retailers might be more prone to enforcing it but they realy aren’t showing it very well – maybe the bigger game stores should do something to counter any uncertainty in that regard rather than just making petitions.
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Nick says:
Here’s the big flaw in The Age’s logic
YOU CAN’T A 15 YEAR OLD!
Seriously how are gaming retailers able to know whose 14 and whose 15 without actually asking “How old are you” and even that has major problems because 14/15 year olds lie.
But on the other hand you can prove if someone is 18 and over, if the R18+ rating was introduced presentation of an ID would be necessary.
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Bec says:
Nick, you’re a moron. I work at JB HI Fi and as far as I’m concerned if you don’t have your student ID, you’re not buying Borderlands. Or Inglourious Basterds. Truth is I was raised by slightly conservative parents, and it’s not that hard to wait till you’re 15 to play a game.
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Aaron says:
Bec has hit the nail on the head. Considering everyone has to go through school (unless they live in woop woop, in which case, how are they at a game shop without their parents in the first place?) and I don’t know of a school that doesn’t issue Student Cards without D.o.B, everyone should theoretically have a card proving their age one way or another.
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Ken says:
this is that unhead of asking for ID to purchase games, they do it in america all the time, i have friends who’re 21 and 23 and they still got asked to show ID to prove they were over 17 when they bought gears of war, R-18 works in the rest of the world, it will work here
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Devlin says:
Since I turned 12 i have been able to buy MA games without any questioning whatsoever as i have always been very tall and look a lot older than i am, i have only once been asked how old i was and that was at an eb games when purchising gta san andres and he didnt think to ask until after i had purchised it but then it was just a matter of getting my mum to say yes. It is the same for the movies and dvds though. R18+ rating would make it a lot harder for kids to get violent games so i dont see why they havent introduced it already.(oh by the way i am now over 15 and i didnt actually start playing realy violent games till i was 13 and even then my parents checked out the games first to make sure they believed they were suitable) and Aaron my school doesnt issue student cards