FTC Study Shows Children Are Rarely Able to Get Access to M Rated Content

A new study conducted by the Federal Trade Commission has shown that just 13 percent of children under 18 were able to buy video games that were rated M for Mature, which is a significantly better number than the 20% that could do the same in 2009.

The study is based on the “secret shopper” technique and also shows that it's far harder for kids to get access to M rated video games than it is for them to obtain tickets and DVDs for movies that have been rated R or to hear music from CDs that had a “Parental Advisory” label.

The FTC study shows quite a bit of improvement over the situation from about ten years ago, when 86 percent of children were able to buy an M rated video games without any problems.

The retail chain that performed the worst in the secret shopper study was Wal Mart, where 20% of children were able to get content they should not be able to access.

Target and specialist retailer GameStop performed the best.

Michael Gallagher, who is the president and the chief executive officer of the Entertainment Software Association, stated, “The ESRB is the gold standard. Those who would criticize the industry’s commitments are either ignorant of facts or are actively pursuing a political agenda.”

Patricia Vance, the president of the ESRB, added, “We are extremely pleased to see the Federal Trade Commission confirm not only that the video game industry continues to have the highest rate of enforcement at retail, but that it continues to climb higher than before. The strong support that the ESRB ratings have enjoyed from retailers is crucial, underscoring their firm commitment to selling video games responsibly.”

Politicians and social analysts have long contended that video games that are rated M can be hurtful for kids and have pushed legislative measures that would limit their availability, saying that retailers do a bad job of policing themselves.