The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday a nationwide undercover shopping survey last year found that fewer mature-rated video games were being sold to unaccompanied children.
The results come as many state and federal lawmakers — who claim that the industry's self-rating system lacks adequate retail enforcement — are pushing for laws that would ban the sale of violent or sexually explicit video games to minors.
The FTC said that 42 percent of its undercover shoppers — who were children between the ages of 13 and 16 — were able to buy an M-rated game last year. That is down from 69 percent in 2003.
Currently, it is up to retailers whether or not to sell M-rated games to minors. M-rated games contain content deemed appropriate for people aged 17 and up by the Entertainment Software Rating Board.
National retailers were more likely to restrict sales of M-rated games than were local retailers, the survey found.
Only 35 percent of the FTC's shoppers were able to purchase M-rated games at such stores, while regional or local retailers sold M-rated games to the shoppers 63 percent of the time, the FTC said.
Hal Halpin, president of the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association, said the improving results show that retailers are self-regulating when it comes to restricting sales of M-rated games to minors.
"With the industry responding in such a visible and proactive fashion, it is clear that legislative efforts are simply not required," Halpin said.
U.S. video game industry, whose revenue rivals Hollywood box office sales, is at the center of a political and cultural war over racy and violent content in some titles.
The battle flared last summer, when game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. was forced to pull its blockbuster "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" game from store shelves following the discovery of sex scenes that could be unlocked and viewed with a downloaded program. The urban-action title was already under fire for its violent content.
