The Crazy S#IT People do over owning GTA V!

[AppleQueso]

Yup, that applies to MPAA ratings too. It's a guideline that the entire industry follows, but it's not at a legal thing.

There was that thing a while back where lawmakers wanted to basically give the ESRB legal authority, but that thankfully got struck down.

[Reprise]

Why is it different if a parent goes into a store to buy a bottle of alcohol and (stupidly, I know) makes the store aware that the alcohol is actually for their underage child? They'd refuse the adult the sale by law, so why would games be different?

Serious question BTW that has nothing to do with my own opinions. It's just I always thought it was illegal to sell a restricted game to an underage person, regardless of whether it's the parent buying it. I guess I was wrong?

[AppleQueso]

Why is it different if a parent goes into a store to buy a bottle of alcohol and (stupidly, I know) makes the store aware that the alcohol is actually for their underage child? They'd refuse the adult the sale by law, so why would games be different?

Because selling alcohol to minors is actually, you know, illegal. Selling M-rated games or R-rated movies to minors is not.

Serious question BTW that has nothing to do with my own opinions. It's just I always thought it was illegal to sell a restricted game to an underage person, regardless of whether it's the parent buying it. I guess I was wrong?

Yes, you were wrong.

[Reprise]

Then what's even the point of having the age ratings and doesn't that make the whole PG-12 rating pretty damn redundant, seeing as it may as well be PG-15 and PG-18 too then?

[AppleQueso]

Then what's even the point of having the age ratings and doesn't that make the whole PG-12 rating pretty damn redundant, seeing as it may as well be PG-15 and PG-18 too then?

So that parents can be informed about potentially objectionable content before they purchase a game or movie for their kid. You know, so the parents don't take it out on the publishers responsible for the games and movies in question.

[Ack]

Why is it different if a parent goes into a store to buy a bottle of alcohol and (stupidly, I know) makes the store aware that the alcohol is actually for their underage child? They'd refuse the adult the sale by law, so why would games be different?

Because selling alcohol to minors is actually, you know, illegal. Selling M-rated games or R-rated movies to minors is not.

Serious question BTW that has nothing to do with my own opinions. It's just I always thought it was illegal to sell a restricted game to an underage person, regardless of whether it's the parent buying it. I guess I was wrong?

Yes, you were wrong.

A bit more on this: first, no, selling an M-rated or AO-rated game to a child is not illegal. Nor is selling an R-rated film or NC-17-rated film to a child illegal. However, company policies generally dictate these should not be done, and as a result, clerks make sure to avoid this.

Why is this company policy? Companies are worried that customers would see them as uncaring or intentionally selling material that is "subversive" to minors, with the end result of customers taking their business elsewhere or generating protests, boycotts, and bad press. To prevent this, retailers often introduce policies to restrict sales on some items or outright ban them from their stores. Films rated NC-17 or video games rated AO are examples of these self-imposed policies banning particular materials: few major retailers stock these whatsoever.

As a result, the NC-17 and AO rating are effectively economic death sentences to a product. The thing is, these ratings are imposed by two organizations with no legal backing: the MPAA and the ESRB. Both groups keep their review processes relatively secretive. Both groups review materials based on the standards of their members and then offer a ratings decision along with censorship recommendations to implement if a changed rating is desired. Both groups tend to focus on sex being less desirable than violence, but their views have changed over time based on cultural values, public movements, and so forth (hence why the use of tobacco products can now rate you a higher rating in both: both boards oppose the use of tobacco products, so they use their ability to inflict censorship in artistic creations by giving higher ratings, thus reducing the potential customer base and therefore economic success).

Effectively the two groups operate as censors, and there have been times when individuals have attempted to instill them as government entities with the force of law, essentially hindering Freedom of Speech by hindering the availability of that speech to be successful. And both games and movies are big business, so companies will bend over backward to meet the censors' demands (it should be noted that Hollywood is much worse about this and has been doing it at least since the 1930s regarding censorship laws in Nazi Germany, the second largest film market of the time).

Now it should be noted, both groups are essentially voluntary. You do not have to submit a film or game to them. But retailers generally don't sell unrated games, and massmarket movie theaters don't show unrated films, so you pretty much have to do this to be successful.

[Hobie-wan]

and massmarket movie theaters don't show unrated films, so you pretty much have to do this to be successful.

And of course some videos are simply released as "unrated director's cut" after leaving the theater and nobody cares.

[oxymoron]

By law they have to tell the parent why the game is rated M and after that if he/she says it ok, then they HAVE to sell it.

There is no law requiring a video game retailer to inform a customer of a game's rating; there is no law prohibiting a video game retailer from selling a game rated M or AO to a minor; and other than basic anti-discrimination/public accomodation laws, there is no law requiring a video game retailer to sell an in-stock game to anyone.

Many video game retailers have policies to this effect, but those policies certainly do not have the force of law.

I thought it was a law. Now it makes more sense why my indie shop sells me M rated games and GS doesn't.

[Jmustang1968]

I also wanted to note, and atleast in Texas, it is legal for minors to consume alcohol under parental supervision.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Why is it different if a parent goes into a store to buy a bottle of alcohol and (stupidly, I know) makes the store aware that the alcohol is actually for their underage child? They'd refuse the adult the sale by law, so why would games be different?

There are first amendment (i.e., "freedom of speech") consideration whenever a legislature restricts the sale of books, movies, and video games. These considerations do not apply to the sale of alcohol and other products because no one would classify those products as "speech".

You can read more about the U.S. Supreme Court's recent "violent video games" opinion here.