My EB Games was not IDing for GTA 4 *at all*

N

Nephlabobo

CAGiversary!
Bought mine at the EB Games in Oshawa. I know for a fact they sold it to underage gamers because the guy beside me was 16 - his 17th bday was two months away.

Anybody get denied?
 
They must have (wrongly) assumed that anyone at a midnight launch was of age to be there to buy it. Around here we have curfew laws anyway. (I think minors are supposed to be home by 12am).
 
I'd report it. Some people might think it's a shitty thing to do, but with all the controversy and effort to actually enforce ratings, it's pretty awful that they wouldn't. Maybe someone who's almost 17 would be fine, but I wouldn't want a 13 year old playing GTA4 (IE like if I had a son).

www.tellgamestop.com :)
 
I wouldn't report it, don't want to get anyone in trouble and it's the kids parents responsibility to enforce that sort of crap.
 
Report it. If I were a parent (wait, I am) ...if my child were old enough to independently go out and buy their own stuff, I'd want to be aware of what they were buying. Of course, by the age of 16/17 they should be mature enough to handle GTAIV.
 
Were there people under 16 there? I'm curious as to how kids who can't drive are getting over to EB at midnight. I personally don't see anything wrong with 16 year olds buying it. I personally have been playing M-rated games since I was 6 and I got GTA3 when I was 13.
 
[quote name='PenguinMaster']Were there people under 16 there? I'm curious as to how kids who can't drive are getting over to EB at midnight. I personally don't see anything wrong with 16 year olds buying it. I personally have been playing M-rated games since I was 6 and I got GTA3 when I was 13.[/quote]

Wasn't at midnight - was this morning at 8am.
 
[quote name='johnnypark']I'd report it. Some people might think it's a shitty thing to do, but with all the controversy and effort to actually enforce ratings, it's pretty awful that they wouldn't. Maybe someone who's almost 17 would be fine, but I wouldn't want a 13 year old playing GTA4 (IE like if I had a son).

www.tellgamestop.com :)[/quote]

Agreed. I'd have been on the phone immediately after I left.
 
I think it was funny in the IGN review it said like most multiplayer games its best enjoyed drunk (or something to that extent). i wonder if reviews need to have a ratings level. No 13 year old should read that review and be like, damn! i need to drink so i can truly enjoy this game.
 
[quote name='johnnypark']I'd report it. Some people might think it's a shitty thing to do, but with all the controversy and effort to actually enforce ratings, it's pretty awful that they wouldn't. Maybe someone who's almost 17 would be fine, but I wouldn't want a 13 year old playing GTA4 (IE like if I had a son).

www.tellgamestop.com :)[/quote]


+1
 
Seeing as game ratings are intended to guide parents and are not the bases of a legal requirement I see no reason to complain. I was shocked when I went in yesterday and a mother was placing a GTA IV preorder for her 13 yr old son but I don't believe that retail employees should be in charge of imposing moral values on people.

If you don't want your kid playing the game then don't let them buy it and if they do then take it away from them. I told my parents not to buy the game for my younger (13yr old) brother because it's definitely inappropriate for his age but if he were to scrounge up the $63 to buy it himself i sure wouldn't be pissed at the retail employee.
 
You shouldn't report the store. You should report their parents for letting their kids be there at midnight. It was a school night after all. I know my daughter won't be anywhere but home at midnight of any school night. Well, at least until she's old enough to work and then that's the ONLY reason she'll be out that late.

You guys are acting like you never played a M rated game, saw a rated R movie, or listened to an album with explicit lyrics before the age of 17. Is it still that big of a deal?
 
Just hope Jack Thompson doesn't hear about this. ;)

IMO, they should card people because I do believe in not selling M-rated games to those under the age of 17, but that's just me. If parents are okay with it, then it's cool.
 
At the GS I went to they carded you when you prepaid and carded everyone when they picked up the game. The cops did show up around midnight so I guess they really didn't have a choice. Cops were on the prowl for minors I guess.
 
Personally I wish they wouldn't sell M-rated games to underage kids. Not that their should be any law on the books, but that the retailers and the industry would self regulate on this issue to make sure some very restrictive law doesn't come into practice.
 
[quote name='robobagins']Personally I wish they wouldn't sell M-rated games to underage kids. Not that their should be any law on the books, but that the retailers and the industry would self regulate on this issue to make sure some very restrictive law doesn't come into practice.[/QUOTE]

I agree 100%.

I like the stores whose registers prompt for ID with M rated games. I like this idea because I cant tell you how many times I have had a parent/grandparent come in to buy their kid an M rated game and when I explain the ESRB logo they are in shock. Of course the child forgot to mention that small part.

The bulk of these issues are still bad parenting. I myself bought GTA4 last night and have two small children. They will NOT be watching me play this game. Not because of the violence but because I dont want them repeating what they hear.
 
Id report it. Its stuff like that, that gets this shit into the hands of kids that dont need to be getting it and god knows the parents that dont watch wtf their kids are doing will be the first in line to bitch about the content of games etc etc and make things worse for responsible gamers.
 
[quote name='necrojustice']This is obviously a must play game, but not for someone under 17 imo...and apparently many other's opinion.[/QUOTE]

yea, with you there, its also one of those games you dont want to see a young kid watch you play because its then "ooh, can i play it?" then whatever ensues
 
[quote name='anomynous']So?

It's a game, and you think that a 16 year old buying the game is horrible? The rating should be 16+ anyway[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I always thought the rating should be more like 15 or 16+. Really what's the big deal? "A sixteen year old playing a game rated 17+? Next thing you know people under 18 will be looking at porn!"
 
[quote name='rainking187']Yeah, I always thought the rating should be more like 15 or 16+. Really what's the big deal? "A sixteen year old playing a game rated 17+? Next thing you know people under 18 will be looking at porn!"[/quote]
Wait, people under 18 don't watch pron??!!?!?!
 
[quote name='DX']I agree 100%.

I like the stores whose registers prompt for ID with M rated games. I like this idea because I cant tell you how many times I have had a parent/grandparent come in to buy their kid an M rated game and when I explain the ESRB logo they are in shock. Of course the child forgot to mention that small part.

The bulk of these issues are still bad parenting. I myself bought GTA4 last night and have two small children. They will NOT be watching me play this game. Not because of the violence but because I dont want them repeating what they hear.[/quote]

Same here. That's the reason I bought mine at midnight, so I'd be able to play it right away. Had I waited to get it until this morning, I would have had to wait until Rachael goes to bed to start it up.

I was able to get a few hours in, and now I'm waiting until bedtime to start it up again. But my reason isn't so much the violence, but the language. She's just now getting to the talking stages, and all we'd need is for her to spout an f-bomb at her birthday party.

But back on topic, Gamestop should have carded. I'd report it. But it should also be on the parents for letting their kid go out that late.
 
I don't think it's that big of a deal. That may be because I'm 14 - but I play Metal Gear Solid and Grand Theft Auto and thoroughly enjoy it without thinking I'm a gangster/soldier. I'm old enough to know not to go dropping f-bombs in front of adults (not that I swear for the most part when adults aren't around anyway), and it's not like I don't hear this stuff every day in school. The violence is one thing, but as long as you don't have your head not up in space I don't see a problem with it (unless you're excessively playing violent games, that can take a toll on people). And the sexual content? Lol. GTA is milder than a lot of sitcoms.

I think that parents and adults overreact incredibly on these kind of things. There is a severe ignorance and prejudice revolving around games, and parents seem to think that if there kids play violent games they'll instantly gain 200 pounds, drop out of high school, and then go shoot people in school. Video games are the movies of today. Apparently watching hours and hours of T.V. is okay by a parent because they grew up on that, but playing video games is a lesser-activity (even though it is better for your mind in a lot more ways than movies).
 
16 is probably a more reasonable rating, but the rating is what it is and nothing will change that. They should card, but the only reason they should card is so the games industry doesn't get more heat for selling mature rated games, especially from the store that is supposedly the pinnacle of where gamers buy their games and a store that is dedicated to games and is a major player in the games industry. The last thing the games industry needs is more bad publicity.
 
I was playing this game earlier and thought to myself, "this is some fucked up shit". As a parent, my kid would never get to play it untill 18.
 
I would report it. I hate going into gamestop and they are offering preorders of GTA and Metal Gear Solid to 10-12 year olds. This drives me bat shit crazy. Those kids are there by themselves (which is bad parenting) because the borders is right next to gamestop. I am not a parent yet but hope to be one on day and I would not want some guy offering my kid GTA. I love the game and I would probably get it for them if they were 16 but I have seen the preorder shit to little kids to much. Parents need to watch what there kids are playing but fi we do not want certain games banned like in other countries. Retailers need to go by the rating system. Even if game industry wants to be a respected media like books, music , or movies. They need to follow the rating system. Then there would be less shocked parents because the kid would not be able to take the game home in the first place. Then instead of going after the people who created the games, they can go after the retailer that sold it to there kid. Sorry for my long windedness, these issues really push my buttons.
 
Good for them. ESRB regulations are a joke and voluntary. Report them, and they'll just pin it on some 16 year old sales clerk.

The best course of actions would to not let the Jack Thompsons have any say at all. You think they want to stop at preventing children from having "violent" video games? Keep kidding yourself -- they're fighting a cultural war for the extreme fundamentalist right wing.
 
The only way for a "voluntary" system like the ESRB ratings to work--and keep meddlesome dogooders/controllers like Jack Thompson and Hillary Clinton (it's not just the 'extreme fundamentalist right wing" who wants to tell you how to raise your kids, don't forget "it Takes a Village" and the PMRC)--is for the participants to do what they say they will do. (Personally as a gamer and a parent, I would have no problem with stores being fined by the state for selling M games to underage kids).
Anyway, I bought the SE today at Circuit City--and I got carded. I'm 35.

Parents do need to involve themselves. However, they also don't, can't and shouldn't watch their kids (older kids) every second of every day, and if they educate themselves as to the ratings, and hear "We the industry support you as the parent", that parent wants to know the store won't sell the M-rated game to his 12 year old kid; if the voluntary method isn't enough, that's how the politicians get involved.

I did watch TV as a kid, and played video games (my first all nighter was Defender on the 2600). But I also stayed out till ten at night sometimes running around playing with the kids in the neighbourhood, so it balanced out. Kids--and adults--definitely lead a more sedentary life nowadays, and video games are a part of that (though not the only, nor necessarily the main, part).

I don't think it's bad parenting, necessarily--I think it's mostly ignorant parenting. Which is not the same thing, and ignorant in this case does not necessarily have a negative connotation. Many parents above, say, 35 or 40, still think of video games as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, which are a far cry from GTA.

Anyway, I got it today, and the "tone" of the game appeals to me a lot more than GTA III did. I like the fact that Niko isn't a straight out bad guy (so far), and while it's violent, the rampant language and sexual comments are much more obvious to me (though I haven't encountered any actual sexual content yet). Definitely a "after the kid goes to bed" game.....like Bioshock, Crackdown, and many other games I have that I don't want him experiencing. When he gets older, but still under the M limit, if there's a game that I think is suitable for him despite being M, I'll gladly buy it for him and play with him.
 
If you report it, you'll get that employee fired. I've had to let go one of my good employees because he was too busy checking out this girl's rack to check her ID. That dumb bastard.

Also, could somebody explain to me the logic that says somebody who's 16 years and 11 months isn't mature enough for this, but if they just turned 17 they are?
 
Oh wow.

As if some 12 year old couldn't pay some guy outside to get it for him. Underage kids will get these games no matter what. I know I've been playing GTA games since I was like 10-11, and it probably has fucked me up, but w/e. I haven't killed anyone.
 
A few comments:

1) I *personally* wouldn't have reported the store. I believe in personal responsibility so that if a kid got a game that their parent did not want them to have, it is up to the parent to do the 'parenting'. I have no idea if the kid was mature enough etc., so I'll leave it to the people best in position to know: the parents.

2) I can understand, though, why someone would report the store. After all, it *is* against GS policy to sell without proof of age, so the store did break (their own) rules.
 
they sold to a minor, end of story. the ratings are there for a reason. its upto you OP, whether or not to report the incident or not. but if i witnessed that i would probably report them.
 
The same logic that says someone age 20 and 11 months can't buy a beer, but waiting 30 days and he's suddenly magically mature enough to be able to handle it (a proposition mostly proved wrong by any visit to a college bar).
If you're checking out a girl's rack, you'd *better* card her--make sure she's not like 12.

Of course kids can get these games anyway, just like they can get tobacco/alcohol even though that's illegal, just like people can murder even though that's illegal. That doesn't mean there shouldn't be obstacles/disincentives to those acts. Again, especially if the industry is using "stay off our back, we are handling it ourselves" as an argument.
 
Wow. You guys have really gotten old. I'm sure none of you have ever driven while a "little" buzzed, had sex with a drunk girl, or smoked a little weed. You all are so high and mighty that you feel that you have to report a store for selling a M-rated videogame but are you all saints? Give me a break.
 
Here's the problem. When stuff like this happens, it gives ammo to the anti-game policies that we so loath. It allows politicians to get up on their soapbox and scream, "Kids are buying this game. We need to regulate this industry," completely ignoring the system that is in place, now.
 
What have Jack Thompson and the rest of the game haters really done? Is GTAIV less violent than its predecessors? Did anyone have any problem buying the game? No. For all of Jack Thompson's rants, he's accomplished nothing. You guys get your panties in a bunch about that asshole but he does nothing but stir the pot and scare gamers into thinking their "rights" are going to be trampled on.

The same thing happened when 2 Live Crew and NWA started out. Are rap lyrics any less vulgar? Is it harder to buy a rap or metal album? No.
 
[quote name='reibeatall']Also, could somebody explain to me the logic that says somebody who's 16 years and 11 months isn't mature enough for this, but if they just turned 17 they are?[/quote]

You've got to draw the line somewhere.

My GameStop was carding yesterday when I went to pick it up.
 
I was in a Gamestop yesterday and the Store Manager was getting bitched out from the District manager because they were not carding people for the game...

They should be careful that could rack up some fines
 
I work at Gamestop, I wasn't working the midnight launch but I was working yesterday when a lot of people were picking up their preorders. We were specifically told to card every single person that was picking up their game, for two reasons- to make sure people weren't under age, and to make sure people were picking up their own preorders. A lot of people were scamming in the area and "picking up for their friends."
 
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