Sears Xbox 360 commercial has underage kid loving M-rated games

It's a problem because the ESRB is having enough problems as it is. They need to convince Washington that they're capable of enforcing their rating systems in retail chains. Now, Sears airs an ad where a clearly underaged kid says he plays two M-rated games, and got them from Sears. It doesn't matter if the kid is mature-enough to play them without getting "the wrong idea." What matters is that Sears looks like they're essentially ignoring the ratings system, which in turn makes the ESRB look bad, which in turn is bad for the industry as a whole.

(PS: next Sears commercial? "Hello I'm a Sears." "And I'm a Best Buy." Brilliance!) -sj

maybe hes a midgit?

Can you please say LIKE anymore times?

I don't know if anyone mentioned it yet, but it isn't illegal for a kid to play an M rated game (or mention on for that matter). It is perfectly legal for a parent to buy Halo 2 for their kid.

I don't see why everyone is making it out to be some kind of shot in the foot comercial when it was just an annoying one...

You know the thing that stood out more than Halo and Halo2 was one little word:

addicted

Not sure who thinks that aiming a commercial at mom and having a kid say "I was addicted to that game" is a good idea.

That's where the commercial is going to blow up for the parents (assuming they don't know/care about ESRB ratings, which most won't know).

It is utterly shocking to me how many people commenting in this blog think it is *illegal* for someone under 17 to play an M-rated game.

It is not illegal. People are going to read these comments from people and think it is illegal. People are probably making the correlation between video game ratings, and movie ratings, and even porn was brought up. There completely different standards and while it may seem like they can be compared in concept, they aren’t in execution.

I'm suprised to hear people saying that Halo's not that bad of an M-rated game, that it's "just shooting aliens". I might agree if we're talking multiplayer (where the other players are known to the parents or otherwise somehow controlled). But, the thing I found "mature" about the single-player game was the realistic soldiers fighting alongside of you, screaming in pain as they get shot and killed. It gave _me_ nightmares and I was 29 at the time.

That touchscreen Tele-Video game looks awsome.

I saw this commercial, or one that sounds just like it, last night during LOST. I couldn't imagine what they were thinking having a kid on there talking about those games like that.

JameyT,

I noticed the word "addicted" too. I don't know if primetime audiences will be thrilled at getting their kids addicted to videogames.

ESRB rating is just a guideline for parents, not a law. It is not illegal to allow a minor to play an M-rated game. If a parent buys an M-rated game for a teenager that is their choice to make. I'm not sure I even understand why Halo is M-rated, seems stupid that it gets lumped in with all the gory adult-themed games. The kid never says he went into Sears and bought the Halo games for himself. And honestly who cares if he did, we need to get away from this precedent that video games are dangerous. People are acting like the kid said he likes to do drugs, cause he mentioned he plays Halo. I know if I was his age there is no way I would be missing out on games like GTA and Halo. I don't care what laws you pass or how hard you try to convince my parents that Halo is a tool of the devil, I would be playing and I would be better for it. Video games are not dangerous for kids.

HOLY CRAP! I saw this last night as I was going to bed and said to myself. I bet that makes Joystiq tomorrow.

Not only is not illegal for a kid to play Halo, it's legal for him to buy it even without parental supervision. Those are the kinds of laws Congress is trying to pass. They are not "banning" M rated games, they want to make it the law to follow the "no sales to minors with parental approval" policy, that most stores already have. Most stores like Gamestop and probably Sears have a rule about getting parental permission to sell an M rated game to someone under 17, but it's not illegal. My brother who works at Gamecrazy will often sell an M rated game to a teenager, because they are not so strict there. But if it's something like GTA he'd probably want them to be a little older. I do feel like Halo is tame for a rated M game, and I was suprised when someone said that they thought the single player was worse. In the single player, you are usually shooting aliens so all you see is aliens fall down with a little green glob. It's not till multiplayer where you start shooting Spartans and blood comes out. Still I don't think this sci-fi game is much worse than Star Wars.

#27:

"The kid may be underage, but that doesn't mean his parents can't buy it for him. Maybe he has the ideal parents who watch the games that they buy him and then inform him that it's all fake and that he shouldn't take Halo to mean "go shoot up your school"."

I was unaware such parents existed! (also fixed) I'd follow up with a comment, but there's no point.

Well if it's a moral absolute that kids can't play violent videogames, why don't we just let the laws pass? Are we against censorship merely because of the principle of the matter? I think we, as gamers, are giving too much responsibility to the ESRB. Their sole purpose is to inform people about the content for games so that people can, based on their moral values, decide if a game might not be right for them. Bottom line: Games aren't alcohol, there is no such thing as an "underage" gamer.

Eugh, I KNEW somebody would bring up his age (I did too immediately after watching the commercial, but still)! Halo and Halo 2 is RECOMMENDED for Ages 17+. That doesn't mean he's illegally playing it.

Besides, I'd rather my kid play Halo than GTA.

Parents definitely should get the say in what their kids watch and play.

Not the ESRB. And not anybody else.

I'm glad that Sears spit in the face of the ESRB and I hope more people do the same. The claims made by the anti-videogame crowd are completely baseless and utter nonsense. Their arguments are flawed and irrational, and anyone putting them forward as serious points of discussion should be summarily dismissed.

IMO GTA games would be rated R if they were rated by the same guidelines that are in place for movies, Halo and Halo 2 would be PG-13. I think that's one of the flaws in the current ratings system. When my little cousins are at my house, I don't hesitate to let them play Halo. GTA - I make their parents give permission.