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“I think it’s stupid. It’s unfair, and they should let us buy it. Come on and let me buy it.”
The lines you just read are part of dialogues I've had with 10-year-olds. Yes, actual 10-year-olds who expect an adult to sell them (and you already know what I'm talking about) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. In fact, I have encountered six kids and teenagers ranging from eight to 15, all of them mad and upset because they can’t buy this game. Throughout this whole year of M-rated releases, MW3 is the title they complain most about not being able to buy. They hate that their parents or grandparents have to buy it for them. Even though we tell them why the game is M-rated, guardians tend to overlook the contents.
Why does this happen? Kids hate being left out of things. Why is it good for Activision? Profit is profit. I assume we all know that, but when you experience the aforementioned conversation over and over again, you tend to get worn out.
I thought mature games were for a mature audience. Why is a release like Modern Warfare 3 all the rage for underage kids?
I believe the younger demographic has not come to a logical understanding about video games yet. Just because something is M-rated doesn’t make it fun. Just because it's a shooter doesn’t make it fun. The problem with M-rated FPS titles is that they bring an immature side out of people. You end up hearing colorful language coming from the tykes (and adults themselves) when playing against them online. It's not the games' fault. It’s the parents who believe that their children should be able to have access to such content, so they can keep up with their friends.
Another kid, who had to be eight, actually came into the store and pointed to a mature game and said he wanted to buy it. I knew this was going to be crazy, yet I still had to ask him where his parents were. He told me they were in the car.
Now take a moment and think if you would allow this.
This, my friends, is why I think M-rated game sales need to be re-evaluated. The problem is that we cannot control the situation.
Modern Warfare has become the Mortal Kombat of today’s youth.
This cycle won’t end, and I believe it will go downhill from here. I don’t blame Activision at all. They made a great product. I just think many of their fans are not at a level to understand it…age-wise that is.