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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV is out today, but what does the M-rating mean?
How much do you know about the video games rating system and how it’s enforced?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The uber-popular Grand Theft Auto IV video game is available today for PlayStation 3 and X-Box 360, and industry experts are expecting it to sell more than 9 million copies in the first week. Will you teenager be one of the buyers?
The game, in which players race cars, steal cars, kill people, and rob people among other things, is rated an M by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.
An M means that the game is not recommended for anyone under 17. According to the Ratings Board, “Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language.” (Check out the Entertainment Software Rating Board’s Web site. It is very enlightening.)
Unlike movie ratings the video game ratings are not enforceable. They are merely recommendations to consumers as to what is appropriate for certain age groups.
However, some stores, such as Best Buy, have created their own policy that it will not sell M games to anyone under age.
Jevon Kinloch, a customer assistance supervisor with Best Buy at its Edgewood store, explained that just like when you go to buy alcohol, their cash registers require you to type in a birth date to be able to buy the game. If a teen is under age, his parents will have to buy the game for him.
Kinloch, who has seen the new game, says it has some new violent weapons and some curse words they weren’t able to get away with before.
The good news is the description of what each rating means is on the games so parents don’t have to memorize the categories.
How familiar are you with what the ratings mean on video games? Will your local video game store sell Grand Theft Auto IV to your under-age teen? Will you buy it for your teen? Should the software ratings be enforced like R-rated movies?
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