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INVESTIGATIVE REPORT!!!
Do ESRB Standards Work??
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The game "Narc" has been attacked by critics since its release. In the game, you play a police officer; however, a much heralded "feature" of the game is the user's usage of drugs such as Crack, Marijuana, and Ecstasy. The usage of these drugs actually make the player stronger, and give him skills such as extra speed and accuracy. |
With this illegal gameplay and the nature of the language used in the game, the game easily earned its "M" rating, meaning that the game is suggested for use of those 17 years and older.
However, without strict enforcement of these guidelines, the Ratings Board is powerless. The enforcement is left to local retailers. Are these retailers doing their duty?
In order to find out, we sent a young looking 15-year old informant to 4 Local Merchants. First up were GAMESTOP and EB GAMES, both whom specialize in videogames. Next was the most popular Electronics/Appliance retailer in America, BEST BUY. Finally, we went to another store you may have heard of...WAL-Mart.
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Our first "target" was the Gamestop store. Our Spy, let's call him "Greg," walked into the store with a fresh 20 dollar bill in hand. He was ready to buy his "M" rated game and go home, pop it in, and smoke some virtual Crack. |
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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! Greg walks out minutes later with his very own copy of NARC, but as an added bonus, the friendly Gamestop employee asked him if he wished to reserve 2 more "M" rated Media Darling Games-- "DOOM 3" and "Grand Theft Auto-San Andreas." Now he could wash down the Virtual Crack by mowing down Virtual Prostitutes. THANKS GAMESTOP!!! |
The next stop was at the Gamestop counterpart, EBGames. We sent Greg in.... |
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And after he is unable to produce an ID proving he is of age, he leaves the store empty handed. Heartbroken, he walks right around the corner to... |
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Best Buy. Judging from the yellow bag.... |
SUCCESS!
At one of largest retailers of videogames, BEST BUY, a 15year old guy buys an explicit M-rated Game. Will the same thing happen at the world's largest retailer??? Read On. |
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A company that rakes in billions of dollars a year would probably let a minor buying adult material just slip through the cracks, right? Not Quite. One employee dutifully opened up the display case and readied the game for purchase... ...UNTIL... Another civic-minded employee ran in and stopped the sale unless Greg could provide ID. Of course he couldn't.
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Thus ends our investigational report. Our covert operative succeeded 2 out of 4 times. Batting .500--Not a bad average. Additionally, if it wasn't for the exceptional hearing of a Wal-Mart employee, Greg would have succeeded a majority of the time. Oh well, 2 games are good enough, and Greg goes home to play some Mature rated games and thumb his nose at the US Senate. He sure looks happy.
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FIN.