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500,000-ish copies of Grand Theft Auto IV sold to unsupervised kids?
According to the Nielsen Company (yes, the same folks who have determined that American Idol and Dancing with the Stars are as good as TV gets), at least 17 percent of the people who bought Grand Theft Auto IV were under the age of 16. This in itself isn't notable, since they might have bought it with the full approval of a parent or guardian. After all, an M-rating should have no bearing on whether or not a child is allowed to buy a game, so long as it's with parental consent.
But what's interesting is that of those 17%, over half (61%) purchased the game unsupervised. That means 1 in 10 copies of GTAIV was "improperly" sold. Let's do the math. That's 850,000 of the 8.5 million copies sold as of Take Two's second quarter 2008 fiscal reports. My math is probably suspect since I think the 8.5 million figure is worldwide sales, whereas the Nielsen percentage is for the US. So I'm just going to be lop off 350,000 (unlike The Nielsen Company, I don't get paid to be precise with numbers) for a nicely rounded assertion that half a million sales of Grand Theft Auto IV should have been headed off at the register.
Of course, you have to buy into the Nielsen methodology, which in this case draws from a relatively small sample of 6000 folks. But if Nielsen is good enough for billions of dollars of television advertising, it's good enough for to get on a soapbox. There's an overview of the report at Gamespot and more details on the numbers at Eurogamer.
This is pretty pathetic. And if Maryland is at all representative of the rest of the country, I have a pretty good idea who the culprits are. So next time you pick up a game from Wal-Mart, Target, or Circuit City, consider a sharp word or two to some managerial type person for their lax policies about minors and ESRB ratings.
Okay, that's it for my soapbox moralizing for the day. Since I'm well over 17, I'm now going to go run over some Liberty City pedestrians.
By Greg at 11:38 AM ON 08/14/08
Parents in the U.S. want everyone to parent their children, well, except themselves. Stores are about moving merchandise, I don't want them to try to parent my kids. If my seven-year-old wants to play GTAIV and has cash, I don't want some minimum-wage barely legal moralist with an apron telling him he can't.
By kentdog at 6:15 PM ON 08/14/08
That's the great thing about America. Even if most of us don't want this kind of policing of our purchases, at least one person probably does, and if they make enough noise, the powers that be will bow down to them. They buckle, like a belt. By the way, I've just gotten to the "Prison Break" mission of GTA4 and it's kicking my butt, right in the ass. Any tips on that?
By Danny at 5:44 AM ON 08/15/08
I bought my copy at a midnight sale at Wal-Mart, and they carded everyone, even with the long line.
At least...I'm pretty sure they did. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I almost certainly remember having to pull out my ID in addition to my credit card (I'm 21, and I look a bit older than that).
By Weebork at 7:25 PM ON 08/15/08
I don't like it anymore than most of us that this happens, but to put a bright side to it, it could be worse. I'll bet that most of the parents who did buy the game for their kids probably knew how bad the game is, but bought it anyway. For the life of me I don't understand why they would do so. Why they would buy such a game for their teenager (or worse, younger).
Some friends and I went to see that Tropic Thunder movie. It's rated R for a very good reason. After the show, a father and son were leaving the theater in front of me. The boy was no older that 15. That father is an idiot.
On a different note, what I found most amusing about this game, and I think there was a posting about this on this site, in the game you can kill people, sell drugs, steal cars, become a total kingpin, get a lap dance, all this not-so-legal stuff, but showing nipples on topless women is not allowed! Huh?
By Greg at 7:55 AM ON 08/18/08
Parents shelter their children too much. The best time for them to see all aspects of the world, even those some consider dark or bad, is when they are young and have a parent or guardian around to answer questions. And there is no such thing as too young.
I'm all for voluntary rating systems that let people know what they may be getting into. Everyone has their own comfort zone and should not be forced into something they don't like. So as a guide in general for people, rating systems are good.
But when a rating system becomes the basis for law and censorship, that's a bad thing. That's more government control of the private lives of people. That's one group forcing one brand of morality on the rest. That should be scary for everyone. Maybe you agree on this particular brand of morality, but what if the next one you strongly oppose?
I'd let my kids see any movie or play any video game or read any book because I'm going to be with them. And I know that if I don't they'll have to experience this stuff alone at some point or with another influence with them that doesn't give them the same kind of advice that I might. It gets uncomfortable at times, but parenting isn't about being comfortable, it's about teaching your kids how to survive in life.
Greg:
Parents shelter their children too much. The best time for them to see all aspects of the world, even those some co...More »