Poll: Buying games for teenagers

[300lb. Samoan]

OK, so this is my story: I was walking out of a store in Westerville near the GameStop and a kid leans out his car window and says "hey mister, can you buy a game for us?" I asked him which one and he said "Red Dead Redemption". Since RDR is a great game, and not the most despicable one these kids will see in their entire lives, I said sure. I lied right to the guy at the counter, something I am not proud of. But like I told the kids, my birthday is coming up and soon I'll be playing this game myself, I don't see why they should be denied just because they're underage. Is what I did wrong?

FAQ:
Q: How old are these kids?
A: I didn't ask. They appeared to be at least 15, one had to be 16 since they were driving.

Q: Why couldn't/wouldn't their parents buy them the game?
A: I didn't ask. My first thought was to help a fellow gamer in need, now I am considering the moral and ethical implications of my actions.

Q: Would you do the same thing if they asked for alcohol or cigarettes?
A: No. Those cause bodily harm and are restricted for what I find to be good reasons.

Q: What about firearms or drugs?
A: Seriously? Hell no! I'm not a complete nihilist...

Q: Isn't it illegal to buy games for minors?
A: No. Multiple users have posted noting that in the U.S. it is not illegal to purchase games for minors, it is only a recommendation backed up by our ESRB ratings that is strictly enforced at many retail establishments. However, this is not the case in the U.K. and other areas unknown to me. Feel free to voice your opinion relevant to the codes and standards of your area.

Aaaaaannnnnnnnd... GO!

 

[Plurralbles]

Don't.


Um, I'm not going to say it but... that's as bad as buying them tobacco.

really, though the game won't kill them...

 

[300lb. Samoan]

really, though the game won't kill them...

That's my thoughts on it. I'd never buy cigs or booze for kids because it causes them bodily harm. But this site reported the other day that studies show teenagers to be unaffected by video game violence, so I thought "meh - why not?"

Also, why the hell can't I edit the poll responses! I SCREWED UP!

 

[Deleted]

A kid once asked me to do thise but I ran off with his money. his friends almost got me but I had $40 in the end.

OP you now know what to do next time.

 

[CoverYourHead]

How old were they? Are we talking 14-year-olds or 16-year-olds? If the former then it probably wasn't smart, if the latter then I see no real problem.

 

[DividedUnity]

As someone who has walked into game on several occasions with a fake id to buy 18+ games I really can't judge. I'd do it to as long as it wasn't manhunt or anything.

 

[Pielikey]

If they can't convince their parents that they're mature enough to play a mature-rated game then they probably aren't.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

This is exactly the kind of thing that means we can't be a self-regulating industry and gives anti-gaming lobbies ammunition.

Good point, but this kind of rule-breaking is a factor in all regulated industries. Like I said before, it could have been tobacco or alcohol I was purchasing for them - those industries thrive in spite of abuse by minors and cause bodily harm in the process. This doesn't make what I did a good thing, but it won't be the end of the industry either.

Also, I can't add replies to the poll. I wish I could... is there anything and admin could do to let me change the options? I don't feel like making another thread, this one will do at least for discussion's sake.

 

[Enigmers]

If they can't convince their parents that they're mature enough to play a mature-rated game then they probably aren't.

Their parents might be closed-minded ignorant pricks, that's something completely out of the kids' control.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

I'd do it to as long as it wasn't manhunt or anything.

I told them specifically that if they had asked for a shitty game I wouldn't have wasted my time. Not that Manhunt is shitty, but there's no way in hell I would have bought any thing like that for them. I told them shitty, I meant inappropriate... kinda. Red Dead isn't exactly after-school Pokemon-type stuff.

 

[RanD00M]

No it wasn't.I feel that what you did was an act of kindness.You your time away to help someone you don't know to acquire something that they otherwise wouldn't have gotten.
Fuck the ESBR,and all that "Rating" bullshit.Let the kids get the violent video games,and let them enjoy themselves.

 

[Thaius]

Sorry, but yeah. That wasn't okay.

Regardless of any ethical ideas behind it, much of our defense against those who think that games must be regulated because of their effect on children rests on the fact that minors cannot buy M-rated games. What you did circumvented one of the most potent defenses we have against government regulation of games. This example could effectively be used to show that the system is impotent, and twisted to mean that games must be more strictly regulated.

Regardless of whether it's okay for underage children to play M-rated games without their guardians' permission (which it's not), what you did is bad for the industry itself. I don't mean to be unkind, I'm just saying it like it is. Sorry.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

Their parents might be closed-minded ignorant pricks, that's something completely out of the kids' control.

This. The kids were pretty young, about 15ish I'd guess. Still, I was playing Doom and MK when I was 9 and it didn't fuck me up any worse than these kids looked. They had said that they had done this before, but it was to sell games and apparently some old woman was perfectly willing to go in there and get paid for a stack of games for these kids.

 

[the_tramp]

I tend to not because I'm selfish and not getting anything out of it for sticking my neck out on the line.

 

[Zeromaeus]

I don't see a problem with it.
Of course, my moral compass is stuck in the Bermuda Triangle right now so...

 

[Gigaguy64]

To me it was wrong.

If someone needs a Guardian to buy it for them any you are NOT the guardian of said person, you have just broken the law/Store Policy.

Doesn't matter how mature they are or how tame the game is compared to other games.

I don't think your a horrible person for doing it but, you still broke the law/Store Policy.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

:snip:

I appreciate the directness, your point is absolutely true.

No it wasn't.I feel that what you did was an act of kindness.You your time away to help someone you don't know to acquire something that they otherwise wouldn't have gotten.

That's how I felt about it.
[/quote]Fuck the ESBR,and all that "Rating" bullshit.Let the kids get the violent video games,and let them enjoy themselves.[/quote]
This is not so much how I feel.