Target says that u must be 18 to buy M rated games

It's misunderstandings like this that make the current ESRB system such a joke. M is 17+ and AO is 18+, and yet because of that one year difference many locations refuse to stock AO games and treat M rated games as 18+... seriously, ESRB needs to better define the differences between ratings, hell, they need to overhaul the entire system. It's just stupid as is.

I'm all for restricting the sales of adult games to youth, sorry kids, but the way some games are rated makes no sense. I don't see anything wrong with Teens playing Halo for example, it's violent, sure, but no moreso than television or movies for that age. Meawhile parents who've seen games like Halo and say 'hey, that ain't so bad' then presume all M are the same and kids end up with games like Manhunt or The Suffering, which are games that really deserve the M rating and that kids shouldn't be playing at all.

It's just a screwy system that needs to be better defined.

You need to be 18 to buy M games. Thats what 17 and younger means.ThePhantomGamer

No, it's

"You need to be 17 to buy M rated games. That's what 17+ means"

He was 17, He was allowed to buy the game. Don't belive me? Heres ESRB's official site.

http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp

i love being canadian :) dante_123456

Same thing here in Australia - our highest game rating is M15+, and I rarely see stores even check the age of the kids purachasing the games.

[QUOTE="ThePhantomGamer"]You need to be 18 to buy M games. Thats what 17 and younger means.-Rail_Man-

No, it's

"You need to be 17 to buy M rated games. That's what 17+ means"

He was 17, He was allowed to buy the game. Don't belive me? Heres ESRB's official site.

http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp

Generally speaking, the age of majority is 18, so I can't blame Target for its 18 and up policy even though its policy is a year tougher than that of the ESRB. I recognize that picking a number and applying it to everyone is arbitrary and in some cases unfair(there are 14 year olds more mature than some 18 year olds) but 18 and up is a good rule of thumb. The parents of mature minors can just go to the store and pick up the game for them.

only geeks actually buy game lolFIghterFX

Only dumbasses go on videogame forums and tell people it's geeky to own a videogame.

I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I think the ESRB need more enforcing. It bothers me that a lot of people feel it is a joke. People have a lot more respect for the movie rating system, which raises the same issues. Yes, some teens are more mature than others, the ESRB does not prevent involved/informed parents from buying M rated games for their children that they feel are propriate, just like they are perfectly capable of buying or renting and R rated movie for their child. Stores make their rules so they can cover their own tails. If you smoke you get carded, why because they won't get caught selling to someone underage that looks younger.

[QUOTE="-Rail_Man-"]

[QUOTE="ThePhantomGamer"]You need to be 18 to buy M games. Thats what 17 and younger means.CarnageHeart

No, it's

"You need to be 17 to buy M rated games. That's what 17+ means"

He was 17, He was allowed to buy the game. Don't belive me? Heres ESRB's official site.

http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp

Generally speaking, the age of majority is 18, so I can't blame Target for its 18 and up policy even though its policy is a year tougher than that of the ESRB. I recognize that picking a number and applying it to everyone is arbitrary and in some cases unfair(there are 14 year olds more mature than some 18 year olds) but 18 and up is a good rule of thumb. The parents of mature minors can just go to the store and pick up the game for them.

You know Carnage, I could wrap my head around an 18 and up policy if they drop the "AO" rating and just had "M". As of right now, with retail stores also implementing their own age restrictions and the ESRB having theirs it just seems to me that setting a standard is all over the board and only causes more confusion. It all comes down to having too many people with their hand in the cookie jar, so to speak.

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"][QUOTE="-Rail_Man-"]

[QUOTE="ThePhantomGamer"]You need to be 18 to buy M games. Thats what 17 and younger means.juradai

No, it's

"You need to be 17 to buy M rated games. That's what 17+ means"

He was 17, He was allowed to buy the game. Don't belive me? Heres ESRB's official site.

http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp

Generally speaking, the age of majority is 18, so I can't blame Target for its 18 and up policy even though its policy is a year tougher than that of the ESRB. I recognize that picking a number and applying it to everyone is arbitrary and in some cases unfair(there are 14 year olds more mature than some 18 year olds) but 18 and up is a good rule of thumb. The parents of mature minors can just go to the store and pick up the game for them.

You know Carnage, I could wrap my head around an 18 and up policy if they drop the "AO" rating and just had "M". As of right now, with retail stores also implementing their own age restrictions and the ESRB having theirs it just seems to me that setting a standard is all over the board and only causes more confusion. It all comes down to having too many people with their hand in the cookie jar, so to speak.

That's true. Abolishing the AO rating makes a lot of sense.

You need to be 18 to buy M games. Thats what 17 and younger means.ThePhantomGamer

failure. It says must be 17 or older to buy M games.

[QUOTE="dante_123456"]i love being canadian :) Planeforger

Same thing here in Australia - our highest game rating is M15+, and I rarely see stores even check the age of the kids purachasing the games.

I wouldn't take the tradeoff of paying almost twice per game in Oz.