GameStop VP Gives Hope For AO Sales
By Shawn on Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 9:32 AM PST In Gamer Life, Games, Games Industry
Adult gamers have all but given up on being recognized as a consumer group as far as major retailers. Most companies have flatly refused to give shelf space to AO games. However there is change in the wind as more people recognize that video games aren’t just for kids.
GameStop VP Bob McKenzie recently spoke with Gamasutra about the ESRB and AO ratings and Manhunt 2. When asked whether GameStop would have considered selling Manhunt 2 with an AO rating, McKenzie had this to say:
I think that it is an opportunity that we would have to look at on a case-by-case. In this situation, I’m glad that they went back, reworked it, and it will be M rated. I can’t say that we would have supported it at AO, and I can’t say that we won’t.
Is the ESRB effective for the consumer as a rating tool?
Being a parent myself, and having kids now that are coming of the age, I believe that it is the responsibility of the consumer. But I believe that it is our responsibility as an industry and as a retailer to educate the consumer that there are choices. That these things do mean something; for every game that is rated M, there is a reason that it is. We have put systems in place for any consumers who purchase M rated games, it prompts for an ID.
Although presently console manufacturers don’t support AO games, times are changing. Would GameStop sell AO titles?
We see the opportunity, and we like it. Again, for me, I am glad that it’s there. You don’t know all of the games, and their reasons, whether it’s language or violence or nudity within the game, they all have their points for being. And again, as a parent, that is where the consumer needs to know. ‘OK, here are the choices, and do I really want my son or my daughter playing it. Is that OK?’ Obviously it is if the parent buys it for them in the store. We won’t sell it to anyone under 17.
via Gamasutra
people seem to forget that we are supposed to live in a free society…or at least working towards the concept of freedom. We do not need the government over-regulating us. It starts with video games and goes to much scarier places. I say simply rate the game and check IDs. At that point it becomes the parent’s responsibility.
The concept of personal accountability has really been lost in this world recently. There’s always something other than an individual to blame it seems.
I agree with William. In this day everyone is looking for something else to blame. If you get bad grades you have a learning disorder, if you’re overweight you have a weight disorder. If your kids are watching movies, visiting websites or playing video games they shouldn’t, well then it’s not that you’re a bad parent, it’s the government or the industry that’s at fault!
Parents, take control of your children and your households and stop blaming others for your poor parenting.
The concept of personal accountability hasn’t been lost recently. It’s been lost for at least a decade now.
There are a couple of issues here. I agree that parents should raise their own children instead of expecting the rest of us to do it for them. But the cry of “it’s for the chillun” is a smoke screen. The real issue is that too many people feel that if something offends them, it shouldn’t be available to anyone, which is really the idea of enforcing one person’s belief system on another. Kind of like telling a foreign country that they are going to be a democratic society whether they like it or not. Gee, when it happens on that scale, is it a wonder that it shows up on these much smaller scale issues?
As for the title of the article, I don’t think he’s giving hope at all. His statement of “I can’t say that we would have supported it at AO, and I can’t say that we won’t.” is designed to appease both sides of the fence without making a commitment to either.