The Parents Television Council, parodied by WWE with its Right to Censor stable back in the day, says that 19 percent of kids between the ages of 12 and 16 are able to buy M-rated video games at stores. Shock!
The study—well, more like exercise—found that 21 out of 109 stores, including K-Mart, Wal-Mart, GameStop, and Toys R Us, sold M-rated games to these kids.
Only Toys R Us and GameStop stopped every single minor from buying M-rated games.
This, of course, means that the video game industry’s stance that, oh, we can regulate ourselves, doesn’t exactly ring true.
Because buying an M-rated video game is the worst thing that a 14-year-old has to do with.
I will say: there didn’t seem to be such a stigma attached to buying M-rated gamers when I was a youngster. There was never the sense, “Ooh, I’m playing an M-rated game, how scandalous.”
I also don’t recall having any problems buying those games.
It’s safe to say I’m not robbing banks or hijacking cars as a result of playing Mortal Kombat or Turok or anything.