Circuit City To Check IDs For 'Mature' Games

CitizenC writes: "This Associated Press story by way of Yahoo states that starting next month, Circuit City will no longer sell 'Mature' rated games to children under 17 years of age at its stores without a parent being around. They will also begin to check ID's for young people who purchase 'M' rated games." Please check your responsibility at the door and put this helmet on, too.

I want nudity!

[Anonymous Coward]

If they are gonna check my ID then I better see bare naked ladies when i get home!

Good

[Anonymous Coward]

Hopefully this will minimize the number of whiny kids playing multiplayer games.

Who buys computers from Circuit City anyways ??

[Archfeld]

Ever since the DIVX SNAFU, I have boy-cotted Circuit City. I can see no reason to stop now.

simple go around

[Travoltus]

Give someone over 18 the money to buy the game for ya. There is actually no law against this. (Yet.)
========================
63,000 bugs in the code, 63,000 bugs,
ya get 1 whacked with a service pack,

Re:Good

[pallex]

Well, assuming they actually bought them in the first place! Are www.HotWarez.ru or wherever going to ask for an ID too?

Re:Not so bad...

[rifter]

However, this is one more example of corporations or government taking AWAY the rights of parents to make their own decisions on how to raise their children. If oarents want their children not to play these games, they have the responsibility to monitor their activities and prevent them. This is just another case in which the decision is made for the parent beforehand, such that Circuit City is saying parents shouldn't let kids play these games so we are going to make sure they can't have them.

If you truly advocated parents taking responsibility for their children you are on teh wrong side of this argument; this is part of the drive to have the government and corporations take care of our children so we do not have to and have more time to work for them instead of spending it with our kids.

Re:Not so bad...

[dbolger]

...let me get this straight...you're saying that minors shouldn't be given the same rights and privileges as adults? How the hell did you come to /that/ decision? *Everybody*, regardless of age should be given the same rights and privaleges! The right to grow and develop freely just happens to be one of those rights and is to be enjoyed by adults and minors alike.

Re:Not so bad...

[ShaunC]

>Few sane people argue that minors should enjoy
>all the rights and privileges of adult citizens

Call me insane, but as long as we're trying them as adults for their crimes, they might as well be able to smoke cigarettes and see R-rated movies.

Shaun

Why just check IDs?

[human bean]

if most of these games are networked first person shooters, shouldn't they be checking egos instead?

Re:Not so bad...

[RareHeintz]

Did you read the article, or even the /. blurb at the top of the page? Since details seem to have escaped you, allow me to quote:

Circuit City will no longer sell 'Mature' rated games to children under 17 years of age at its stores

without a parent being around.

So, it sounds to me like Circuit City is cooperating with parents to provide the monitoring you seem to like. Exactly how you could interpret this as some sort of corporate statist paternalism is unclear; they are defaulting to not selling violent games to the kiddies, and explicitly allowing parents to override that default at will. I don't see where it disallows a parent from exercising any sort of right.

In the future: Read before posting.

OK,
- B
--

Re:Not so bad...

[RareHeintz]

Right... So toddlers should be allowed to drive cars? Thirteen-year-olds should have access to all the booze they want? Parents should have no hand in governing their children's media consumption?

That's nothing short of deranged. A child that was allowed to "grow and develop freely", entirely without the socializing influence of parents and other members of family and society would not be a civilized human, but an animal.

OK,
- B
--

Re:Not so bad...

[RareHeintz]

You're not insane; the current practice of trying children as adults is (though I'd support dropping the criminal definition of "adult" as low as 16 years of age).

However, treating children as adults in other inappropriate ways won't fix that. And the kids who want to mostly see R-rated flicks and smoke cigs anyway.

OK,
- B
--

Not so bad...

[RareHeintz]

I'm sure that game makers aren't thrilled about this, and I'm sure Circuit City can expect to get some serious flak or lose preferential wholesale pricing from major game distributors, but really, is this so awful?

Over and over on /., we keep hearing the classic argument against censorship "for the children": Parents should be the ones responsible for monitoring the media consumption of minors in the household. That would be a Good Thing. This helps make that happen. Even better, the government isn't involved.

How is this worse than carding people for an "R"-rated movie? Or carding those who buy cigs or booze? Few sane people argue that minors should enjoy all the rights and privileges of adult citizens, and this seems like a sane extension of that.

OK,
- B
--

Catch

[ez76]

Sources familiar with the policy note that ID checks will only be necessary for customers who opt not to purchase the companion $29.95 Extended Service Plan for their new game purchases.

On the upside...

[kypper]

Some of us straight-edges who don't smoke, drink, or buy porn can finally use our IDs!