This is the start of a weekly opinion piece set composed by me, Kater.
Today's topic is how easy it is to buy Teen/Mature reated games while being under the age of 18.
I am currently 16 years old and recently I bought The Orange Box for the PC. The game is rated Teen to Mature due to the fact that Half-Life 2, HL2: Episode 1, HL2: Episode 2, and Team Fortress 2 are all M, while Portal is T. Now, the problem is you can have probably anyone, of any age, go up and buy a Mature rated game. Not only do I believe this is increasing the level of anger in younger children, but it is also raising many complaints by parents. Namely parents who want stores to decide what their kid buys, taking the responsibility away from them.
The real issue is the parents. If they are so concerned they should be the ones who monitor what their kids are playing. Why should it be the stores responsibility to take care of their kids? Don't get me wrong, it's not right for the stores to be selling these games to underages kids, but it is just as much the fault of the parents for not paying attention.
In conclusion, I believe three steps can be taken:
1. Destroy all video games (Just kidding.)
2. Have the parents pay more attention (fat chance)
3. Enforce the ages for the ESRB (Electronic Software Ratings Board). They are there for a reason.
Thank you for reading and if you have any suggestions for next weeks article or future articles please e-mail me at
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