Teenagers...

[DprDJeff]

Okay, so I'm at the mall doing some shopping. Diapered of course, but that has nothing to do with this story. These two teenagers walk up to me and ask if I can go into GameStop and help them purchase a video game rated Mature. One of them even has his mother on the phone to tell me that it's okay with her and she simply didn't realize they would need an adult or she would have come with them. So I oblige and help them buy the game...

When I was 16(20 years ago), we would convince adults to buy us beer, not video games. LOL

[tris]

Look on the brightside -- at least all the kids want is a video game. They're not asking you to buy them booze and cigarettes. If you ask me, the mom isn't a very good mom, and certainly one to be okay with her kids asking a random guy to help them purchase something they shouldn't have definitely doesn't earn her any merit.

The kids are all the same, the difference is in the parents, and sadly, it's not for better.

[DprDJeff]

I would have to disagree about their mother. It's too easy to get a Mature rating on video games these days and a 16 year old kid is more than mature enough to play 95% of the Mature rated games out there. As long as the parents are available to answer the kid's questions about content, it's all good.

As for asking a random guy... they were both 16 and together they could easily kick my ass if I wanted to hurt them. We aren't talking about 12 year olds here. They're young MEN and only a couple months away from being able to buy the game without my assistance.

[diaperpt]

And not that this is a big moral issue, but did you wonder at all which of their friends was on the phone under the guise of being the mother?

[DailyDi]

I've always looked younger than I am and it always amazed me that I could buy cigs and booze no problem, but I get carded at the bingo hall every time!

As to the O.P: I think it was nice of you to help since you had the mom's permission. The whole game rating thing is a little stupid to me.

[himfan]

Wow, in my days of illegality, we just had ID.

That and we went places that wouldn't care.

lol yeah I used to do the same thing when I was younger just go to a stores that didn't care or I would use my friends ID.

[Dubious]

any rating is crap

if i wanna drink beer at 15, why not just let me?

[DprDJeff]

I've always looked younger than I am and it always amazed me that I could buy cigs and booze no problem, but I get carded at the bingo hall every time!

As to the O.P: I think it was nice of you to help since you had the mom's permission. The whole game rating thing is a little stupid to me.

I've always looked older than I am. Was great when I was a teenager... sucks now that I'm in my 30s.

Mature rating on video games requires you be 17, not 18. Even without his mother on the phone I would have helped out. He showed me his ID showing he would be 17 at the end of July. Three weeks is not going to suddenly make him mature enough to handle that game. lol

[collegeguy2514]

i remember being 13 with some friends, we tried to get some guy to buy us a Parental Advisory cd at a music store. the manager saw and threw us all out.

[Codymoogle]

I think the "protect the children!" mentality has gone overboard...protecting kids from drugs/alcohol, sure...but video games? Or explicit lyrics in songs? Maturity doesn't always have to do with chronological age. I've seen 16 year olds that are mature beyond their years, and I've seen 50 year olds acting like young children (not that there's anything wrong with that of course ).

~ moogle

[acemanner]

As one who has just gotten past the video game age of consent (17 lol) I have found the ratings system to be fundamentally flawwed. First off , the image that the media has given off has turned every M rated game , in the parents eyes, into GTA. This causes alo of very fun games , Halo, call of duty to name a few to be missed and passed off to crappier games marketed to children. The M rating is too broad in my oppinion to be effective. But at the same time , the AO rating is basically a ban. Any game with this rating is practically impossible to get as no major chain will stock the game. Overall the rating system need a major revamp. Because really , do you need the same maturity level with Halo as you do GTA? I think not.

But my biggest problem with the ratings system is how it never changed for the better. I'll give an example.

When Elder Scrolls:Oblivion came out , it was rated teen. Then someone made a nude patch for the PC version. Keep in mind the patch is a 3rd party mod for the game. Then the A-Holes at the ESRB decided to not only change the rating of the pc version but also the UNMODDABLE console versions too!. this kept me from getting the game for like 5 months! I'm sorry but 3rd party mods should not effect the rating of the game.

But really , sence everyone is different and at different maturity levels , so there has to be a starndard system. unfortuneatly , this also means that the more mature people without lawyer parents get screwed.

theres my rant for the day.

[toddmdl]

I don't see the big deal. It's just an M-rated game, it's not like it's going to hurt them anyway. I played M-rated games for years before I turned 17 or 18 whatever the age really is. It's a stupid policy they have. It's similar to not allowing kids to drink when they're 18. They're both going to play M-rated games before they're allowed to and they're going to drink before they're allowed to and there's nothing to stop it. They should just take both policies off the books and just let the kids have what they want.

[AutieAB]

How do you know it was really the kid's mother?

[DprDJeff]

How do you know it was really the kid's mother?

It would have to have been a very elaborate setup if it wasn't. He showed me his cell phone, scrolled through his contact list to the entry titled "Parents" and pressed dial. He had it set to speaker, so I could hear. He called her Mom and asked her to tell me it was alright to buy him the game. So, in my mind, it was either really his mother or an elaborate enough setup that I figured he deserved the game.

[beallucanb]

I remember buying beer for younger guys who helped me in my garage, back then it was no big deal, but today if they ever got caught drunk or with the beer they would put you in jail and take everything you have.

Things sure were different , no drunk driving laws the police actully helped you if you were too drunk to drive and if they tought you were OK they would just follow you home to make sure you got there safely.

You can have your technology give me the way things used to be.

[Sophie ♥]

...I remember buying M games when i was 12...

This system is newer. It's also bogus. Forcing children to talk to strangers... pshaw...

-Sophie

[rusty pins]

I feel sorry for the kids! Paying all that money for a "mature" vidio game! What are kids thinking these days? They should save their money and swipe their dad's playboys and penthouses instead for a better time!

[BabyBat]

I feel sorry for the kids! Paying all that money for a "mature" vidio game! What are kids thinking these days? They should save their money and swipe their dad's playboys and penthouses instead for a better time!

Hehe... when I was a teenager I saved my money for diapers

[timmyc]

I feel sorry for the kids! Paying all that money for a "mature" vidio game! What are kids thinking these days? They should save their money and swipe their dad's playboys and penthouses instead for a better time!

Why? Naked girl pics are easily accessible on the internet now.

Whenever you make something illegal, that's when people want it. I think the drinking age should be put back to 18. Let the college kids have their fun, by the time they are 21 the novelty will mostly have worn off. I think pot should be legalized. I think their is a mystique about being told you can't have something. Hmmmm maybe like post potty training diapers.

[DprDJeff]

Whenever you make something illegal, that's when people want it. I think the drinking age should be put back to 18. Let the college kids have their fun, by the time they are 21 the novelty will mostly have worn off. I think pot should be legalized. I think their is a mystique about being told you can't have something. Hmmmm maybe like post potty training diapers.

Very true. Statistics show that alcohol related deaths went up when the drinking age was raised to 21. Most likely caused by pre-21s driving out of their way to avoid getting caught with alcohol, instead of the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Also, it's pretty messed up that at 18 you can lay down your life for your country, but you can't legally drink alcohol...