Why are age ratings on videogames so often ignored?

Even the harmless sandboxer,Minecraft, has been a scapegoat for school-related violence.

you gotta be this tall… Everyone is perfectly familiar with the various age ratings on movies, whichever countrys rating system it may be.

Take music, for example.

This often manifests these days in poorly researched and unfair news stories and tabloid coverage.

But some people are not.

Whats worse, theres often a worrying amount of cursing and bullying going on between these immature players.

Why is this relevant here?

Well, would these kids be using such foul language if parents were present?

So, because some choose not to understand or show an interest in the media, ratings are ignored.

The information is there, but for some reason, many parents chose to ignore it.

Peer-pressure affects parents too.

This is hardly an excuse, though.

Sure, children do apply a lot of pressure on parents, we all know that.

Its hard to say no, but its good parenting to do so.

With that game purchase you allowed, all for an easy life.

Simply put, younger children shouldnt really be seeing the kinds of things that happen in adult games.

Chain stores like Game will often refuse to sell games to under-age customers, as its a company rule.

This often leads to games finding their way into the hands of a younger audience.

This is not a sweeping statement, though, Im certainly not saying all indie stores are untrustworthy.

Of course not, but it does happen.

Then theres the Internet and on-demand game services.

Grandma wont know whatSaints Row IVis, will she?

After all, thats what you played when you were into games, right?

Theres a reason official ratings boards slap age ratings on games, just as they do with movies.

For arguments sake, though, what if you do let your kids watch adult movies?

When it comes to gaming, however, few would sit there and watch their children play games.

Movies may be considered important to keep tabs on, but games are not as noteworthy, it seems.

Thats quite a difference.

Make no mistake, games are big business.

Seriously enough that they have age ratings, which are there to help with purchasing decisions.