20 RESEARCH DUBIT Talk of the playground:


RESEARCH CARRIED out by youth research specialists, Dubit, shows that 50 per cent of children aged eight to 13 have played a game rated by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) as unsuitable for their age. Other findings show that Nintendo is winning the kiddie console war, but there is little demand for new consoles in 2012.


UNDERAGE GAMING When presented with a list of some of the most popular mature games, 30 per cent of eight to 13 year olds said they have played a Modern Warfare game and 29 per cent have played a game from the Grand Theft Auto series. Both games are known for their graphic violence and content rated unsuitable for children. 22 per cent of children have also played a game from the Assassin’s Creed series. Although Assassin’s Creed hasn’t had the same negative


MARCH 2012


press afforded to the previous two games, it has also been rated as ‘Mature’ (M) by the ESRB which deemed it unsuitable for children under 17.


These underage gamers aren’t being covert in their gaming. Most is


cent of 12 to 13 year olds claim to have purchased games in person rated older than they are. The Halo series sees a drop in appeal when children reach 12 and 13. Although it doesn’t have the same level of graphic violence found


50 per cent of eight to 13 year olds have played a game rated as unsuitable for their age. But 97 per cent of children and 98 per cent of parents have seen the game ratings on the boxes.


taking place with the parent’s knowledge, as 80 per cent of Modern Warfare players claim to have played the game in their own home. Of the children who own Mature games, 46 per cent of them said they were bought for them by their parents and seven per cent had bought the games themselves. 13 per


in military shooters like Modern Warfare and Battlefield (focusing on aliens not soldiers) it was still awarded a Mature rating from the ESRB (Halo Wars was rated Teen). A similar pattern is found with Gears of War, although despite being science fiction it does have bloody violence and is also rated as Mature.


GAME RATINGS Although they’re playing games deemed unsuitable for their age group, 97 per cent of children and 98 per cent of parents have seen game ratings on boxes. 74 per cent of those who had seen the rating marks knew that shops could get in trouble for selling them the games, while 20 per cent thought they were there to suggest what age of child may enjoy the game. Five per cent believed it was a difficulty rating. The numbers were marginally higher when the parents were asked the same questions.


NINTENDO LEADS THE WAY Of all the major console developers, Nintendo has done the most to position itself as a family console. So it should come as little surprise that an impressive 81 per cent of the children surveyed own a Wii, 76 per cent having a DS and 15 per cent a 3DS. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is the


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