Thank you for stating the obvious

A started my web browser this morning to be greeted with a news report on the BBC website. Titled 'Youths 'Buy violent games online'', it goes into detail about an investigation carried out by WHOTS, Welsh Head of trading standards into looking into which retailers sell games, classed by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) as 18 certificates.

Now personally, I know well and good the result of the survey, without even reading it.   I did obviously, and it found that in over 44 purchases, 38 of them were accepted. They had a group of volunteers aged 12-16 who had to try and buy games through postal orders. The games bought ranged from Manhunt 2 (the press's favourite, if not the reviewers), Hitman, The Godfather and of course GTA IV.

For a fact I know that people can very easily buy games off the net, and not be questioned about age or anything. Another factor that also comes into account is that at the end of the day, there is no human operating or controlling these systems and knowing who buys what compared to going into a shop. Meaning that if anyone should be controlling it, it should the parents.

But because the majority of parents are completely oblivious to the fact they have  game ratings for a reason, they are happy to get them in stores, nevermind off the Internet. At the moment I buy nearly all games off the Internet, using my ingenious method of using Google to find the cheapest one, and probably only buying them off it once. That has meant I've ended up with the odd American copy, but it sure was cheap.

But, before I get off-topic, I think that although it is breaking the law, something needs to be done to stop parents blatantly buying games for their children, no matter what age they are, if the game is classed as a 18 for example. But I still believe that some under 18's have no reason NOT playing these games. Quite a good proportion of us teenagers are not hanging round on street corners with a bottle of white lightning and  spliff, and have avoided the major influence into doing these things, other people. Playing Hitman may make me think 'Yeah this is cool' but at the same time what I am really saying is 'Yeah this is a cool role I'm playing'

Overall then, this survey has proven to a great many people, absolutely nothing. This goes on in the same way on a Saturday afternoon you seem Dads out with their kids in GAME, buying the GTA collection because the characters on the front looked 'cartoony'.