Toy's R Us to stop carrying M rated games

S

SlimJim0725

CAGiversary!
Feedback
15 (100%)
Like the title says, Toy's R Us is going to stop carrying M rated games. I have been informed of this by my section manager. I have no idea as to when this will take place, but i would start to keep an eye out for a clearance on M rated titles soon. He just got back from his vacation time and was informed of this himself. I would assume this will start the middle of this year to the beginning of next year, but like i said before, i have no other information than this right now.
 
bull-fuckin-shit they're doing this... wouldn't this result in a huge, huge, loss of sales? I realize that it's a store that targets kids, but heavy hitters like GTA, Halo and MGS not being sold at the store? I can't imagine that.

Now that I think about it, didn't they used to have a policy about not carrying M games?
 
Damn, I am hoping eventually getting Persona 3 when it is clearance there. Hopefully more developers wont start censoring games to get T rating.
 
[quote name='Chacrana']bull-fuckin-shit they're doing this... wouldn't this result in a huge, huge, loss of sales? I realize that it's a store that targets kids, but heavy hitters like GTA, Halo and MGS not being sold at the store? I can't imagine that.

Now that I think about it, didn't they used to have a policy about not carrying M games?[/quote]


Like most stores profit in the games section comes from selling accesories, so losing sales on high profile games won't hurt them so long as little jimmy still comes in to buy his new DS case and playstation 2 controller.
 
[quote name='62t'] Hopefully more developers wont start censoring games to get T rating.[/quote]

Hell I wish that would happen, half the time it seems the developers just throw in extra Violence, Sex or Language just to get the rating up. I would Frackin love it if they started censoring things down to T ratings.

But now as far as TRU goes I think this is a horrible mistake, I think they underestimate how many 8 year olds want to Play Halo and GTA.
 
Man TRU is doing bad enough. They will probably be out of business in the next 5 years; I give them 10 tops.

And I bought Killer 7 from them and various other M-rated games, this is a big mistake. Videogames are just about the only thing in that entire store that does not have a children-only demographic (unless you count complete fucking nerds buying action figures and the like, but they are comparatively rare). They'll be losing a lot of traffic from this, I wager.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Like most stores profit in the games section comes from selling accesories, so losing sales on high profile games won't hurt them so long as little jimmy still comes in to buy his new DS case and playstation 2 controller.[/QUOTE]

Yes, but don't most people buy accessories while there shopping for a game? Seems like this would still have a negative impact on their sales. However, I'm hoping it is true and they clearance out all M-rated games so I can get some deals. :)
 
Horrible decision. Just because it's a store for kids doesn't mean teens and adults don't shop there for games.

I can't understand a store like EB Kids (I don't even think they are around anymore) not carrying M Rated games since it was a division of EB but this makes no sense. Plus TRU like most stores had the system in place to alert the cashier and purchaser they were buying a M rated game so I don't see what the problem is.
 
[quote name='valor19']Yes, but don't most people buy accessories while there shopping for a game? Seems like this would still have a negative impact on their sales. However, I'm hoping it is true and they clearance out all M-rated games so I can get some deals. :)[/quote]

Not if they are going into the store to specifically buy 1 game, kids go into a place like TRU and buy whatever their parents will let them (regardless of release date and without much thought that it could be cheaper elsewhere) adults however frequently buy games because they're new or cheap.

I could easily see TRU realizing that adults don't actually buy lots of accessories and are more interested in games when they are new or discounted which means the store could actually be saving money by not carrying mature games. This of course assumes that adults are buying the majority of M games, not kids that come in with their parents.
 
[quote name='Chacrana']bull-fuckin-shit they're doing this... wouldn't this result in a huge, huge, loss of sales? I realize that it's a store that targets kids, but heavy hitters like GTA, Halo and MGS not being sold at the store? I can't imagine that.

Now that I think about it, didn't they used to have a policy about not carrying M games?[/QUOTE]

I disagree, and I have 77 very good reasons too. Looking over the top 100 selling games of 2006, only 23 of them are M rated. Of the top 20 selling games of 2006, only 2 are M rated (Gears of War and Oblivion). The video game industry and the movie industry share alot of things in common, including the marketing trends. While M rated games and R rated movies are the most talked about, E rated games and G rated movies make the most money. Toys R Us is not doing anything stupid, I wouldn't be surprised if M rated games were more often clearanced out then sold out there, it is not their demographic, and maybe by chance the retailer is taking a proactive step in limiting the integration of mature games into the younger populace. Maybe


Top 100 selling games of 2006
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?o...=view&id=4691&Itemid=34&limit=1&limitstart=15
 
[quote name='darthbudge']Hell I wish that would happen, half the time it seems the developers just throw in extra Violence, Sex or Language just to get the rating up. I would Frackin love it if they started censoring things down to T ratings.

But now as far as TRU goes I think this is a horrible mistake, I think they underestimate how many 8 year olds want to Play Halo and GTA.[/QUOTE]
I am referring to games where in US version has stuff cut from Japanese version. Most recent being the blood in Xenosaga 3
 
Keep in mind that information from a section manager at Toys'R'Us is about as reliable as U.S. intelligence before the Iraq war.

[quote name='dwhelan']I disagree, and I have 77 very good reasons too. Looking over the top 100 selling games of 2006, only 23 of them are M rated. Of the top 20 selling games of 2006, only 2 are M rated (Gears of War and Oblivion). The video game industry and the movie industry share alot of things in common, including the marketing trends. While M rated games and R rated movies are the most talked about, E rated games and G rated movies make the most money. Toys R Us is not doing anything stupid, I wouldn't be surprised if M rated games were more often clearanced out then sold out there, it is not their demographic, and maybe by chance the retailer is taking a proactive step in limiting the integration of mature games into the younger populace. Maybe


Top 100 selling games of 2006
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?o...=view&id=4691&Itemid=34&limit=1&limitstart=15[/QUOTE]
First, that data is comprised only of games released in 2006. Second, it's important to take that data into context. In 2006, of the 1,285 ratings given, only 8% received an "M" rating. Now, that data may or may not be skewed a bit because of an abundance of educational PC and Game Boy titles. Even so, proportionally, the percentage of "M" games sold at least matches or even exceeds the percentage of "M" games that occupy the population. It's not as if 50% of the market is comprised of mature titles but they only accounted for a quarter of sales.
 
my section manager and i agree that it will kill out many sales. they are bringing in tom-toms and zoombox's to cover that section, but this will kill out many of the sales of systems (PS3 and Xbox 360) since the main reason to get it there would be to get the game as well for convience. this means that halo 3 may not be carried this year which means no xbox 360 sales at TRU anymore really... GTA IV as well in October. anyways, i am hoping that there will end up being a clearance on all M rated games if they actually keep to their word on this one, but i would prefer them not and i keep my job back there. I don't play a lot of games under M ratings (i prefer shoot'em up games with blood, etc.), so what would be the point in me being there? anyways, if any other TRU employees have more info, please let us know, i hope i can find out more on this soon and let people know more as things continue on.

[quote name='Ugamer_X']Keep in mind that information from a section manager at Toys'R'Us is about as reliable as U.S. intelligence before the Iraq war.[/quote]

the store manager or assistant manager actually told him as soon as he came back from his vacation. not to say you are going to be wrong, i hope you will be right to tell you the truth. i was trying to put it out to fellow CAG'ers that this may end up happening (since i was told it would be) and to keep an eye out for these to start dropping prices or getting put straight to clearance. the majority of the game sales in our department are actually either M or E. Xbox 360 games being M and Nintendo Wii games being E. make what you will of my post, just putting my info out there since i usually don't find any deals myself, i wanted to find a way to contribute.
 
Honestly, did anyone who was going to buy Halo 3 or GTA IV think about going to Toys R Us to get it anyways? I've got some friends who are casual gamers and they don't even know TRU carries games at all - they'd rather go to Best Buy / Circuit City / Gamestop.

The only reason CAG is pissed about this is because it makes the buy 2 get 1 free sale a piece of shit now along with the clearances, and that's the only reason 95% of this site even stepped foot in there to buy a game.

This makes sense, because TRU targets kids and well, kids shouldn't be buying M rated games to begin with. I mean, I really can't imagine an 8 year old buying Fatal Frame 3... every time I went into TRU, they were mostly selling kids games, and apparently, kids games sell extemely well. Kinda boggled my mind how a store that is tailored to children sold games not meant for children... how they kept the DVD stuff kid friendly yet you could get a game about ripping someone's head off. It was kind of an odd situation.

Yea, they will miss out on Halo 3 sales, but who the fuck was going to buy Halo 3 at TRU anyways? Maybe as like a last resort if the other 10 better chains were out of stock.

We can all play armchair CEO's here but TRU has probably crunched a shitload of numbers and won't lose nearly as much as anyone thinks, and at the same time they will be getting tons of positive free publicity for doing this, as parents will be like "Hey, TRU only carries kid friendly games, I'll let my kid buy games from there instead of Gamestop!".
 
Toys R Us sells kids movies, but not "R" Rated movies. I hope this is the first step in the videogame industry breaking out of the "Toy" stereotype. Videogame ratings and proper enforcement are a GOOD thing, although I am scared that publishers will stay away from M rated games if too many retailers follow Toys R Us' lead.
 
The only problem I see with this is that other retailers may follow suit, and that could lead to publishers editing and censoring games in order to not get the dreaded M rating, which means having to go into the back of the game store, in that little room seperated by a curtain, in order to purchase M rated games. Trenchcoat and sunglasses optional. ;)
 
[quote name='Puffa469']The only problem I see with this is that other retailers may follow suit, and that could lead to publishers editing and censoring games in order to not get the dreaded M rating, which means having to go into the back of the game store, in that little room seperated by a curtain, in order to purchase M rated games. Trenchcoat and sunglasses optional. ;)[/QUOTE]

Other retailers aren't tailored for children so I don't see anyone else following suit. Best Buy / Circuit City / EB / GS have no reason to do this, they will just start carding.
 
[quote name='hufferstl']Toys R Us sells kids movies, but not "R" Rated movies. I hope this is the first step in the videogame industry breaking out of the "Toy" stereotype. Videogame ratings and proper enforcement are a GOOD thing, although I am scared that publishers will stay away from M rated games if too many retailers follow Toys R Us' lead.[/QUOTE]

Well, who legitimately will follow Toys R Us's lead here? I could see Walmart doing it (though, they already pick and choose games to carry based on content). The other major players (Gamestop, Best Buy, Target) all happily sell R rated movies, I don't see any of them folding to video games. FYE isn't going anywhere either.

I am interested to think this through. Even though M rated games aren't huge sellers, you still get those handful of games that are massive sellers. You can't tell me that Toys R Us has trouble unloading their Halo's, GTA's etc. Plus, if I'm going to buy an accessory, I will likely get them wherever I'm buying my game that day, all prices being similar. So, not carrying certain games will have some impact on sales (though it could be more of an image. I don't shop at Toys R Us without a big sale, but I'm sure some gamers do, and will they continue to if they can't find all the games they want there?).
 
That makes no sense.

they're not going to miss out on the chance to sell everyone Halo and GTA, as well as the respective guides and accessories for those games. They'd lose a lot of cash and a decent chunk of their market.
 
It's not a big deal for TRU to so this, IMO. If Wal-Mart follows this trend, however, start shaking in your booties, motherfuckers, and watch the industry capitulate.
 
Do you think developers might start producing "edited versions" of certain games? I don't mean outright censorship, I mean producing a toned-down version of a game in addition to the mature version. So Toys R Us would get shipments of the T-rated version of Halo 3, whereas most other places would get the M-rated version (and maybe just a few copies of the edited version). It would be kind of like how the edited music CDs are handled at Wal Mart.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']every time I went into TRU, they were mostly selling kids games, and apparently, kids games sell extemely well. Kinda boggled my mind how a store that is tailored to children sold games not meant for children... how they kept the DVD stuff kid friendly yet you could get a game about ripping someone's head off. It was kind of an odd situation.[/quote]

Wait, your local TRU's only had kid friendly DVDs? The one I work at (well, kind of still do) had all the greats, Constantine and Sin City being the most notable of the selection.

As for this news of M rated games getting the axe, I cannot confirm it. I only work at TRu one day a week now and really don't get the big news anymore. Hell, I just found out a few days ago the store manager is leaving on Friday for another store.
 
I don't know if it's that easy. It may highlight a return to "blood codes" and the like :)lol:).

There would be a great deal of confusion because some M-rated games could have content edited to reflect "T" and "M" versions of the game, while others thrive on realistic violence (there's no possibility, IMO, of a T-rated GTA, or a T-rated God of War).

What would be more likely is for game producers to tone down all the content of their titles - consistency and pleasing Wal-Mart is vastly more important than "artistic integrity." The latter doesn't turn into dollars, unfortunately.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']Other retailers aren't tailored for children so I don't see anyone else following suit. Best Buy / Circuit City / EB / GS have no reason to do this, they will just start carding.[/QUOTE]

Well, Wal-Mart has a family friendly image... so if they were to start a shitstorm over M-rated games like this, then yeah, I can see stuff getting censored. They are the biggest retailer after all.
 
I really wish there was another rating between T and M, because the M rating is far too inclusive. It's kind of silly that the original Mortal Kombat has the same rating as modern-day GTA titles.

I think a lot of parents assume that the the content of an M-rated game is similar to that of an R-rated movie, but that is only true for a relatively small percentage of M-rated games.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']I don't know if it's that easy. It may highlight a return to "blood codes" and the like :)lol:).

There would be a great deal of confusion because some M-rated games could have content edited to reflect "T" and "M" versions of the game, while others thrive on realistic violence (there's no possibility, IMO, of a T-rated GTA, or a T-rated God of War).

What would be more likely is for game producers to tone down all the content of their titles - consistency and pleasing Wal-Mart is vastly more important than "artistic integrity." The latter doesn't turn into dollars, unfortunately.[/quote]

Change the blood from red to green and bingo, Teen rating. Hey it worked for that Xbox 360 game featuring giant ants.

As far as Wal-Mart censoring titles, they already do this on a case-by-case basis. Many retailers will not carry AO games, but I highly doubt that Wal-Mart would stop selling M-rated games, unless there is substantial public outcry about it (Manhunt 2?).
 
[quote name='sp00ge']I only work at TRU one day a week now and really don't get the big news anymore.[/QUOTE]

I work 5 days this week, surprised that no one has informed me about this. I'll have to ask one of my managers closing tonight about this.

Really lame decision if it is indeed true.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']There would be a great deal of confusion because some M-rated games could have content edited to reflect "T" and "M" versions of the game, while others thrive on realistic violence (there's no possibility, IMO, of a T-rated GTA, or a T-rated God of War). [/QUOTE]

Heh, I got a chuckle out of the ad for God of War II in the latest EGM with a RP in the bottom corner and some sort of ultra-violent tag line on the ad. Although I do realize they can't just say it's rated M before it actually gets that rating from the ESRB.
 
[quote name='BustaUppa']Do you think developers might start producing "edited versions" of certain games? I don't mean outright censorship, I mean producing a toned-down version of a game in addition to the mature version. So Toys R Us would get shipments of the T-rated version of Halo 3, whereas most other places would get the M-rated version (and maybe just a few copies of the edited version). It would be kind of like how the edited music CDs are handled at Wal Mart.[/QUOTE]

Some game featuring a Playboy model tried that 10 years ago. There was a T version and a M version. I don't know how well it sold though
 
like i have said before, i am not sure as to when this will take place... more than likely after halo 3 (which will still be a great seller at almost any place that carries games). the TRU i work at is either selling a ds/wii game or a M rated game mainly. the will be next to no sales on the next-gen consoles (PS3 or Xbox 360) systems, accessories, or games if TRU does stop carrying M titles. the top-sellers for the 360 (Gears of War and Rainbow Six) right now have M ratings. the only one that actually sells for the PS3 mainly is M rated (Resistance). i personally can't see many people buying a video game system from a store without getting a game with it and without a top-selling title being available, that just doesn't work out too well.
 
[quote name='BustaUppa']Do you think developers might start producing "edited versions" of certain games? I don't mean outright censorship, I mean producing a toned-down version of a game in addition to the mature version. So Toys R Us would get shipments of the T-rated version of Halo 3, whereas most other places would get the M-rated version (and maybe just a few copies of the edited version). It would be kind of like how the edited music CDs are handled at Wal Mart.[/quote]

That's an interesting though. Although development costs for games are already quite high, so would developers/publishers really want to jack up the costs more just to remove some questionable material? I would think not.

Then again, if developers plan for this sort of thing way in advance, it could probably cut down costs and make it a little more feasible.

I certainly can't see it happening for games that are already on the market.


Also, I also believe that TRU is making a mistake. Instead of not selling M rated games, start carding or something similar. Don't lock yourself out of the entire market. Idiots.
 
[quote name='CitizenB']I guess TRU hates making money. It won't be to long before even Christmas sales can't help them and they finally tank.[/QUOTE]

M rated games are the minority so they won't be losing much money at all. Besides they don't make much off of the games anyway unless someone buys all the extra stuff with it.
 
i dont think this is too big of a deal. i dont think that toys r us has a very large share of the video game market, and i bet that video games are a big part of toys r us' profits.
 
This is probably YMMV, as I can't imagine TRU doing this nation wide. They really can't afford it, Toys R Us just isn't what it used to be.
 
i was told toy's r us as a whole will be doing this. the tru i work at sells more M rated on every console but nintendo, but i honestly can't tell you how true this ends up being. it is possible they change their minds, it is also possible this is true and only start carrying T rated games and lower. i just work there and i am only repeating what i was told.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']Man TRU is doing bad enough. They will probably be out of business in the next 5 years; I give them 10 tops.

And I bought Killer 7 from them and various other M-rated games, this is a big mistake. Videogames are just about the only thing in that entire store that does not have a children-only demographic (unless you count complete fucking nerds buying action figures and the like, but they are comparatively rare). They'll be losing a lot of traffic from this, I wager.[/QUOTE]

yeah this is a really bad move. If they do this, then yeah it's one more step twards the grave.
 
[quote name='hack']Also, I also believe that TRU is making a mistake. Instead of not selling M rated games, start carding or something similar. Don't lock yourself out of the entire market. Idiots.[/QUOTE]I was carded back when I bought Doom 3 on clearance. Not sure if that's like a chain-wide policy or if the lady was just being weird. Also it may be worth noting that it was an elderly cashier that carded me, whereas I was never carded for other M-rated games (RE4, Fatal Frame II) when the cashiers appeared to be relatively young. This makes me think that they've had a carding policy in place, but the enforcement just varies widely. As another CAG posted, they may want to absolve themselves of any liability since they know they'll have cashiers who don't enforce the policy.
 
[quote name='Ugamer_X']Keep in mind that information from a section manager at Toys'R'Us is about as reliable as U.S. intelligence before the Iraq war.


First, that data is comprised only of games released in 2006. Second, it's important to take that data into context. In 2006, of the 1,285 ratings given, only 8% received an "M" rating. Now, that data may or may not be skewed a bit because of an abundance of educational PC and Game Boy titles. Even so, proportionally, the percentage of "M" games sold at least matches or even exceeds the percentage of "M" games that occupy the population. It's not as if 50% of the market is comprised of mature titles but they only accounted for a quarter of sales.[/QUOTE]

CLASSIC OVERTHINKING...
Just because you can bring up numbers, doesn't mean you're intelligent...
True you can go and throw around numbers and percentages and think it means anything, but in terms of SALES, which is what matters here, these numbers are useless, they mean nothing...
Bottom line is, they lose a percentage of sales if they don't carry M rated games, but that number doesn't change just because there were less M rated games in the market, nothing changes the sales number...
So unless you're using numbers to prove some kind of upheaval in M rated games being released, then you aren't saying anything relevant to the conversation...
-Goatman
 
[quote name='goatindaruffness']CLASSIC OVERTHINKING...
Just because you can bring up numbers, doesn't mean you're intelligent...
True you can go and throw around numbers and percentages and think it means anything, but in terms of SALES, which is what matters here, these numbers are useless, they mean nothing...
Bottom line is, they lose a percentage of sales if they don't carry M rated games, but that number doesn't change just because there were less M rated games in the market, nothing changes the sales number...
So unless you're using numbers to prove some kind of upheaval in M rated games being released, then you aren't saying anything relevant to the conversation...
-Goatman[/QUOTE]

Indeed. More than anything else, it creates doubt in the consumer's mind. As a gamer, I'll be more hesitant to get a new/hard to find game ar TRU. I'm an adult, and I don't pay attention to ratings (that'll change once I become a parent, of course, but I digress).

Moreover, the ESRB ratings put a *wide* variety of games into "M" territory. Is Virtua Fighter 5 "M"? Maybe. It could be "T". I don't know. What I do know is that, as long as I don't need to pay attention to ratings (buying for myself), I won't. What this translates into is that I can't be certain that TRU will have game x if I want to pick it up at or near launch. OTOH, gamestop/eb will have it. I hate to have to resort to them, but reliability is reliability, and TRU just threw that out the window.

Will it affect their sales negatively? I sincerely doubt it will do so positively, since it appears that this is a policy change in reaction to no major public outcry - there's no orchestrated boycott or outrage that TRU sells these games, so there aren't any people (I would guess) holding back their toy dollar; as a result, they don't stand to gain much through this policy. Nevertheless, if their sales of "M" rated games are negligible, and the profit margin on new game sales slim, they might lose nothing at all.

One scenario I can see benefiting TRU is the increase in shelf space. Each time TRU has a massive clearance (good for us CAGs), it's coupled with a need to reorganize the games section and rotate the stock. Out with the old and in with the new. If they have fewer titles occupying space on the shelf, they will less frequently find that they need to clearance things out in order to create space for the new stock. On the flipside, they'll miss out on the sales hoopla from Halo 3 and GTAIV.
 
It's also hard to quantify the amount of positive PR that TRU may get (or think they will get) from this move. Yes, hard-core gamers may no longer shop there, but as others have pointed out it would be a "safer" place for parents to take their kids to shop for games--and that is TRU's main customer base.

Note that "safer" here also applies to gutless parents who don't want to tell their kid they can't buy GTA. Instead the parents just tell the kid that the store is out. I don't know until what age this ploy will work (with the playground grapevine and all), but I saw a parent buying GTA for an 8-year-old at GS/EB even after the employee mentioned the content to the parent. His response was that it was the older version with worse graphics so it would be ok for his son. :roll:
 
Has anyone else who works at TRU confirmed this?

Not to say that I don't believe the OP. I talked to my store director today and he knew nothing about the news. He's one to constantly check company/store emails too.

This would be huge news, every TRU would've gotten an email about it. Unless, it's not 100% confirmed yet.
 
This would be a good idea for TRU to do. I'm against censorship but a store that caters to children should have done this when the game rating system came out. TRU doesn't sale "R" rated movies why should they sale "M" rated games.

As a CAG this sucks but TRU is a toy store. "Where a kid can be a kid."
 
[quote name='Roufuss']Kinda boggled my mind how a store that is tailored to children sold games not meant for children... how they kept the DVD stuff kid friendly yet you could get a game about ripping someone's head off. It was kind of an odd situation.

[/quote]

Quoted for ultimate truth.

I was rather suprised a couple of years ago when I was able to buy God of War from Kay-Bees. Ratings aside, it would be like having Pokemon DVDs in one aisle at KB and American Pie in another.

Wal-Mart won't follow the trend BTW. I mean, they sell R-rated movies and actual guns and it would be asinine for them to not sell M-Rated games.

And guys, I seriously doubt TRU is making tons of cash on new games anyway. It is common knowledge that used games is where real money is at. I don't care how many Halo 2s you sell, when you have 50%-90% green tag sales in which you move a lot of merchandise at a loss, M games aren't going to make up that difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top