17% of 'GTA IV' Purchasers Were Under 17

Posted by Ty Colfax - Friday, August 15, 2008 10:47 AM

According to a Nielsen survey, 17 percent of Grand Theft Auto IV buyers were under 17. Among the 17 percent that were underaged, 61 percent bought it themselves and 39 percent had a friend or relative do it for them.

Rating games is becoming similar to rating movies. All it does is serve to placate conservatives and people who can't help but tell you how to live your life. No one at the point of purchase cares how old the customer is and the only people who want to enforce the laws are the out of touch fools that push them through.

So, what's the point? While it's obvious that these measures are doing nothing except generating press coverage for games, are they ever going to understand that ratings do nothing except anger intelligent, discerning customers who know what's best for themselves and for their kids.

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Tags: Grand Theft Auto IV, Other People's Misfortune, PC Gaming, PlayStation 3, Prostate Health, Videogames, Xbox 360

Comment(s)

Posted by Al_Coholic - Friday, August 15, 2008 10:54 AM

Well, I don't know about the rest of the world but in America you don't have to be 18 to buy a M-rated game.

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Posted by pwner_with_a_bwner - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:01 AM

M is for 17!!! Not 18. I am sick of people who think it is 18. Just like rated R movies, it is 17 not 18.

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Posted by sinister6972 - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:12 AM

"All it does is serve to placate conservatives and people who can't help but tell you how to live your life. No one at the point of purchase cares how old the customer is and the only people who want to enforce the laws are the out of touch fools that push them through."

Hey, hey!!! You should be lucky we gave you a wonderful and cherishable life the last 8 years........yeah, I'll just leave it like that, LOL!!!

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Posted by S2Ghost - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:13 AM

Obviously little kids (16 and younger) got the game just listen to the little farts on live its annoying as hell.

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Posted by onenar - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:13 AM

hes right M is for 17, so this doesn't really mean anything

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Posted by TylerColfax - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:28 AM

number situation fixed.

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Posted by kikook - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:38 AM

My dad bought it for me but my friend works at GS so he would of just let me have it no questions.

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Posted by tr00p3r - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:38 AM

my mother bought it for me. and im tired of getting b17ch3d at by a 10 year old on live.

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Posted by Smartguy81 - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:46 AM

WTH? Placate conservatives? Everyone in gov't likes to tell you how to live. Turn my thermostat higher and conserve more fuel by driving a smaller vehicle or car pooling. Everyone in Hollywood wants to tell me how to live. Sheryl Crow said that we should all wipe our behinds with using only one square of toilet paper. Hypocrisy all around. Ty Colfax you are a moron. Don't call out one group like that. Pull your head out of your whoever's as* and get out of the starf1_1cker media.

BTW, GTA is no worse than anything on broadcast tv.

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Posted by PukeFaceFatty - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:52 AM

Videogames being sold to minor's feels so old to discuss. Why dont we discuss something more interasting, like water.

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Posted by TheAngerSphere - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:53 AM

"BTW, GTA is no worse than anything on broadcast tv."

I've seen WAY worse stuff on broadcast T.V., and not just late night T.V. either.

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Posted by Tx_juggalo - Friday, August 15, 2008 11:58 AM

This evidence just further proves how corrupt our society is... I'm a gamer, with kids who game. So, it would be appreciated if they treated more seriously. I'm sure all you youngsters don't care what your parents think, and that is exactly why we have these rules in place.

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Posted by Sandrock323 - Friday, August 15, 2008 12:00 PM

Wow only 17%
I guess congress is going to have to come up with another excuse because the "protesting the youth of America" line is getting real old.

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Posted by Fabricio1 - Friday, August 15, 2008 12:03 PM

i expected that

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Posted by TheAngerSphere - Friday, August 15, 2008 12:09 PM

People need to lighten up. If you're so worked up about what your kid sees and hears, then fine, shelter your kids and cut them off from the world, but what happens when they grow up and you're not there? They would know nothing about the real world. Newsflash: The world is not a clean or safe place. My point of view is that it's the parent's job to prepare their children for the real world. I'm not saying do this by giving your 6 year old son GTA IV and telling them to have fun I'm just saying sheltering them so much is bad.

P.S. If your children have been in public school for any viable amount of time, chances are they already know all about everything GTA IV. I know I did.

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Posted by Blaze2021 - Friday, August 15, 2008 12:11 PM

I both do and dont care im sick of hearing annoying kid voices on mic BUT a select few are good at the game but i guess it doesnt really matter

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Posted by Shadow_B_jamin - Friday, August 15, 2008 12:26 PM

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Posted by ZombieMitch - Friday, August 15, 2008 12:40 PM

I'm 15 and had to have my dad buy it. But have I killed anyone recently? Have I jacked a car? No.

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Posted by WildfireFox - Friday, August 15, 2008 12:56 PM

Prove it neilson. It sounds like you're picking numbers out of the air.

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Posted by learnedfist - Friday, August 15, 2008 1:07 PM

Hillary Clinton is not a conservative. Joe Lieberman, John Kerry's vice presidential running mate for the Democratic Party, is not conservative, at least on social issues. Both have been staunch critics of mature video game content who favor regulation. If you think the push to censor or restict the distribution of such games is limited to the right wing of this country, you are mistaken. It's a bipartisan effort to undermine our freedom.

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Posted by backerman - Friday, August 15, 2008 1:13 PM

I've seen some idiot parents buying mature games to kids age 10 to 14. Don't blame the game companies, blame the parents or some stores who don't check ID.

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Posted by targetenemy - Friday, August 15, 2008 1:25 PM

im years old and ive already stolen a car, picked up a hooker in, boinked her in the mouth, then an her over.

after that i went drinking with my cousin and this was all befor this game came out

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Posted by deleted_5209E621-4C9F-4F09-955B-9EA117856F1D - Friday, August 15, 2008 1:26 PM

Yeah, I want to know where they get these numbers. Guesses until I hear otherwise.

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Posted by Zelahn - Friday, August 15, 2008 1:28 PM

Here's a story. I used to work as the assistant manager of a gamestop. It was around the time 50 Cent: Bulletproof hit the shelves. A woman (black for demographic purposes) comes in to my store with her 8 year old son. Asks for bulletproof. My job at the time was to inform parents about the ratings system, what they mean etc. So I did in a polite manner, to which she replied "Well, it don't matter. Games ain't nothin' anyway. No grown man plays video games."

I told her that studies show the average gamer in this country was between the ages of 24 - 36. Grown men with jobs and careers.

This woman didn't care about the ratings system. She wanted the convenience of a babysitter in DVD format. At large, parents don't care about what their kids are playing. Parents interests groups are full of extremists speaking for the minds of the completely apathetic.

This woman called the home office and had me fired.

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Posted by Reaper24683 - Friday, August 15, 2008 1:54 PM

i went to meijer to go buy soulcalibur 4. im 14,no worries...right? i take it to the cash registor and the lady says i need an adult with me. so i yell WTF in my mind and get my mom to buy me the game.what the hell. thats like sayin i need a parent to see meet the zohan which is pg-13. and yes i was pissed as hell.

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Posted by chizzace - Friday, August 15, 2008 1:59 PM

lmao at the baby

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Posted by cogadh - Friday, August 15, 2008 2:31 PM

"This woman called the home office and had me fired."

I find that very hard to believe. A person who doesn't care enough to use the ratings system when determining what to buy for their kids also doesn't care enough to get the guy who informed them about the ratings system fired. Not to mention, why would Gamestop fire someone for actually doing their job?

17% of GTA IV owners under the age of 17 is actually a very low number (if its even true). I would guess that the percentage of people under the age of 17 who bought any of the previous GTA games was much higher.

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Posted by robev - Friday, August 15, 2008 2:53 PM

I was at EBGames and they refused to sell a M rated game to a guy who was 16, and his friend was 17 with him and just bought a M rated game for himself. When they found out they were friends they wouldn't let the 17 year old buy it for the 16 year old =p

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Posted by vismortis - Friday, August 15, 2008 3:24 PM

there is not one law that hasnt been over turnd enforcing the ESRB the stores have rules but thats it now laws i dont even know if the Movie ratings is a law or somethign that everyone does but that one might actualy be a law ( stupid one) but a law none the less

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Posted by whiteboi15 - Friday, August 15, 2008 3:46 PM

i'm 15 an gave my dad the money to buy gta4 for me. if they have a ratings system and enforce it like buying alcohol or smokes, then they should also have an orsomething that shows that a minor's parents dont care if their kid buys certain things like movies and games that are rated M or R.
Blockbuster had a thing where when signing up for a membership, there was a box to check that said, My child can buy M rated games and R rated movies.
and it was no hassle for me

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Posted by Zelahn - Friday, August 15, 2008 4:05 PM

@ cogadh

The way that retail works is that in the eyes of the home office, a customer is always right, especially if associates and management couldn't keep her from calling the home office and satisfy her in the store. She cared enough to have me fired, not entirely because I was doing my job, but also because of the fact that I defended gaming, it's merit and the fact that adults do play games.

Gamestop itself is now enforcing the ratings system with the threat of termination. Go into a gamestop and ask a manager. Any gamestop associate caught selling an M rated game to a minor without parental consent is terminated, immediately.

The funny thing is, that now Gamestop employs secret shoppers that are minors to make sure the system is being upheld. More gamestop employees get fired because of secret shoppers who are minors, than for actually selling M rated games to minors who aren't spies for the company.

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Posted by Crowation - Friday, August 15, 2008 4:21 PM

Here is the problem, all these ratings where put in place so that children couldnt play games that may cause or may not cause violent behaviors. Has anyone ever done a poll for kids who played violent video games to prevent violent behaviors? Im 24 now, but my parents never regulated what games I played when I was younger, and im not saying that im a model for all kids to look up to, but I remember coming home from a long day at school and playing Doom and GTA to relax!

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Posted by Crowation - Friday, August 15, 2008 4:24 PM

Bottem line, kids who act violently after playing violent video games, where messed up in the head way before the played the game.

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Posted by Crowation - Friday, August 15, 2008 4:30 PM

Bottem line, kids who act violently after playing violent video games, where messed up in the head way before the played the game.

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Posted by UsefulPlayer1 - Friday, August 15, 2008 4:33 PM

Only 17% eh? I guess those rating really are working. Did anyone really expect more? I think 17% is a hell of a good job, more then I would expect anyway.

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Posted by galvan - Friday, August 15, 2008 4:54 PM

this so lame who cares why dont they do serveys on all the other vilonet games they all ways have to tall about GTA4...i beat if we had to kill some alien or monsters insted of humans they would talk about GTA4 that much....

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Posted by Bluehunt - Saturday, August 16, 2008 3:30 AM

17% may not seem like much, but considering how many copies the game has sold, it's a very high number. So, even though it's a small percentage, it's still a high amount of people.

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Posted by Thundercracker - Saturday, August 16, 2008 9:57 AM

under 17 huh? husker???? staychisel???? who bought you gta4?

@smartguy

im definitely not a conservative, i live my life based on this philosophy:

you can do what you want as long as you dont hurt other people....i dont care if you die of alcohol poisoning, just dont get it a car, get it?

see, im fiscally conservative, i dont think welfare should be a thing people can lean on for YEARS, but some people need it. Especially with the economy so bad. Conservatives want to tell people how to live their lives and what games and tv to watch. I think Mr colfax is just opposed to that idea, as am i

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Posted by Thundercracker - Saturday, August 16, 2008 10:00 AM

i understand the conservative point of view, just dont tell me what the hell to do or how to behave or whats good, or whos going to heaven or what god is or that your beliefs are better than mine...base it on fact or observation, as opposed to opinion or blind ignorant faith
(aka religion)

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Posted by The_Black_Italian - Sunday, August 17, 2008 2:12 PM

I'm 14 and you don't see me jacking cars and running over prostitutes.

Games relax my anger. Beside most of those ppl who did some idiotic stunt blamed gta simply cause they're too scared to blame themselves.

Last time i checked games don't CONTROL you.

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Posted by jeh - Monday, August 18, 2008 9:53 AM

Only 17%? really.
Well im 19, so as long as a 13 year old doesn't torch my house after playing the game... i dont really care.

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