According to the BBC, a study presented at the ELSPA International Game Summit by the Swiss research firm Modulum says that although parents are aware of age ratings, they don't really care if their Little Jimmy or Jane plays a game intended for an older audience. Instead, they're more concerned with how much time the little nippers play them.
Once again, this reflects a mis-judged perception of contemporary games culture by the "outside" world. From the article:
"Most parents think their child is mature enough so that these games will not influence them," Modulum researcher Jurgen Freund told a games conference....
Mr Freund suggested that the problem was that parents felt disconnected from the world of video games and so showed little interest in this aspect of their children's lives.
So what are the options? Terrify them with Manhunt and thereby scare parents off entirely or show them shots of Super Mario Bros and perpetuate the notion that games are just for kiddies?
I'm sure the powers that be are working on this conundrum right now (there was that meeting between the government, BBFC, ELSPA and TIGA late last year), but any bright ideas are welcome on this forum.
Edit: For the sake of completeness, here are the current age ratings symbols and descriptors in the UK, Europe and the US. If anyone has info pertaining to other territories, please email!
USA ESRB
