GameStop Cracks Down on Underage Game Sales 105
Via GamePolitics, which has commentary of its own on the situation, a report on the Destructoid site pointing out a new, harsher penalty for GameStop employees that sell M-Rated games to minors. To be blunt: they're fired. Not only that but their managers are fired too, for failing to keep an eye on them. This new policy was set down last week in a conference call, which also warned that 'secret shopper' sub-17-year-olds would be trying to keep game store employees on their toes. The article quotes statistics from the ESRB saying that the M-rated policy has, in the past, only been enforced 65% of the time. I would imagine this will work to fix that.
I blame the parents (Score:3, Interesting)
GameStop is probably introducing such harsh rules in order to cover their own rear ends when it comes to parents trying to punish the game stores for failing to, essentially, enforce a rule the parents fail to set.
Being so blindly mindful of the ESRB rating is in my opinion completely irresponsible from any parent's perspective, and I wish GameStop wouldn't respect it as much as they do.
Re:Manhunt 2 (Score:3, Interesting)
This might hurt the sales of Manhunt, but it won't have much effect on Gamestop.
Re:I blame the parents (Score:3, Interesting)
What a CRAZY idea!
Re:Manhunt 2 (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Manhunt 2 (Score:2, Interesting)
Most of the ancedotal stories I've heard from game store employees over the years is that when one of them TRIED to refuse a sale of a "M" game to a kid, said kid would get his enraged parent to come into the store and yell at the clerk and his manager for violating constitutional rights. Most stories ended with the parent storming out of the store, vowing never to return. Definitely not a red-letter day for customer service...
Besides, it's not as though Gamestop is the only way to obtain this game. Kids will learn pretty quick NOT to shop at Gamestop for M games - and they'll figure out pretty quickly a way around this restriction. After all, we have actual LAWS with PUNISHMENTS for selling cigarettes, alcohol or porn to minors and I don't know about you, but I had ready access to all of that - and this was before the internet.
Shyamalan (Score:2, Interesting)
Yay! Corporate infighting has a new weapon (Score:2, Interesting)