Legal Niches

AU Paper Runs Game Retailer Rating Sting

By pete_gallagher

Australia's Sun-Herald recently conducted a field test to determine local retailers adherence to videogame ratings.

The sting used a 14-year old boy named Peter (pictured), who was ‘described as looking even 'younger than his age.' Peter ended up visiting six brick and mortar stores in which he attempted to purchase an MA15+ rated game. While the exact stores visited were not disclosed, it appears the focus of the investigation was more on department or chain stores rather than videogame-only retailers.

In any case, five of the six stores sold the boy a game rated outside of his age range. Peter remarked that he was 'shocked how easy it ended up being' to purchase the games.

Groups on both sides of the R18+ rating debate used the sting to support their view on the subject.

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Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on March 15, 2010 (boomark / email).