14 DAY TRIAL // The Federal Trade Commission of the United States of America has recently published figures regarding the number of underage kids that are able to buy videogames not suited for their age. The FTC has conducted a study in which an "undercover shopper" aims to buy a videogame that is not suited for his age from a wide variety of outlets, including malls, hypermarkets and specialist stores. This is not the first time that the FTC undertakes such a study. The first of its kind was conducted in 2000, while another one is dated in 2005.
The most recent study found that, in 80% of the cases studied by the Commission, the sellers refused to offer games to children that they deemed were under the legal age. The figure is a vast improvement on the 58% rate of refuses that the 2005 "undercover shopper" study came up with. In the first such study, which dates back to 2000, only 16% of the kids were denied the possibility to buy a videogames not suited for their age.
In only 8 years, the videogame industry has become, as far as I can see, pretty capable of restricting sales and taking care of the sensibilities of the kids that want to play videogames. The recent numbers only serve to create a sense of trust in the way self-regulation works and will likely be used as arguments against any attempt by the states of the federal government to limit the sale of videogames through law.
Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB, stated that "Video game retailers have clearly stepped up their efforts to enforce their store policies, and they deserve recognition for these outstanding results. We commend and applaud retailers for their strong support of the ESRB ratings, and will continue working with them to help ensure that these levels of compliance are sustained, if not further increased."