Best Buy Forbids You From Buying Assassin's Creed

[Yoda9864]

Yes, it isn't cigarettes and it isn't against the law. But it is store policy and to many stores, that is as good as law.

I still stand by my opinion that people need to avoid these situations by thinking ahead.

[Typhoid]

Originally Posted by Yoda9864

Yes, it isn't cigarettes and it isn't against the law. But it is store policy and to many stores, that is as good as law.

I still stand by my opinion that people need to avoid these situations by thinking ahead.

Store policy that someone of-age can't buy something they want just because they are accompanied by a minor?

I can see where they're coming from. But there's a difference between being skeptical of someone's motives, and being a flat-out unreasonable douche.

[Yoda9864]

Whatever, Best Buy is an evil corporation anyway.

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by Yoda9864

But it is store policy and to many stores, that is as good as law.

If my dad and I were shopping at Best Buy, and he was 21+ and I was young, and he was buying me an M-rated game and the store refused to sell it to him, you might be able to file a complaint under similar circumstances as discrimination because my dad is able to consent for me.

The store has a right to deny the sale to a minor, and technically they can deny the right to sell the game to anyone. They could choose not to sell games to black people one day. But that's just bad publicity.

Although Best Buy still is thriving and they have tons of bad publicity....

I agree with thatmariolover...this whole story does seem embellished. It probably wouldn't have taken much to talk this over with the manager, especially if there was a long line. I worked in retail for a year and a half and the goal is usually to make the customer happy. Still, Best Buy is a cesspool of corporate evil, so it's easy to take sides.

[thatmariolover]

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin

If my dad and I were shopping at Best Buy, and he was 21+ and I was young, and he was buying me an M-rated game and the store refused to sell it to him, you might be able to file a complaint under similar circumstances as discrimination because my dad is able to consent for me.

The store has a right to deny the sale to a minor, and technically they can deny the right to sell the game to anyone. They could choose not to sell games to black people one day. But that's just bad publicity.

Although Best Buy still is thriving and they have tons of bad publicity....

I agree with thatmariolover...this whole story does seem embellished. It probably wouldn't have taken much to talk this over with the manager, especially if there was a long line. I worked in retail for a year and a half and the goal is usually to make the customer happy. Still, Best Buy is a cesspool of corporate evil, so it's easy to take sides.

On the other hand, if the game was something like Manhunt and you were buying it for your kid (under age 13) I would try to slap your ass with a lawsuit if I had any proof.

This is such a great topic for debate. I really wish politicians would educate themselves and get involved in the discussion

[Bond]

Well... if Best Buy wants to abid by the ESRB reccomendations they are allowed to, but I think the issue here is Best Buy's selective enforcement of that policy. Best Buy is corporately owned, so it's not as if there are individual owners of each store, so a company wide policy on the sale of videogames should be enforced - not a different policy at each store. I mean, that is the point of chains, so that you know what to expect at one wherever you are.

This story may have been embellished, but I think it makes a point of a larger issue of those who work in sales jobs. They're young, or old, have little to no training in what they're doing, and really shouldn't be doing that job. Whenever I go to Best Buy, I spend more time trying to avoid the people there to "help me" than doing anything else. Of course, I am generalizing, and there are wonderful exceptions.

[Typhoid]

Originally Posted by thatmariolover

On the other hand, if the game was something like Manhunt and you were buying it for your kid (under age 13) I would try to slap your ass with a lawsuit if I had any proof.

This is such a great topic for debate. I really wish politicians would educate themselves and get involved in the discussion

The fun thing about discretion though, is that it's disctretional. If I want to buy Manhunt for my 13 year old because I know he knows it's just a game, and isn't stupid enough to confuse fantasy with reality and go out and try kill people with chainsaws, much like he didn't want to throw someone out of an Airlock after seeing various space movies - Who is anyone to deny me the fact that I think my son can handle a game/movie like that?

[thatmariolover]

Originally Posted by Typhoid

The fun thing about discretion though, is that it's disctretional. If I want to buy Manhunt for my 13 year old because I know he knows it's just a game, and isn't stupid enough to confuse fantasy with reality and go out and try kill people with chainsaws, much like he didn't want to throw someone out of an Airlock after seeing various space movies - Who is anyone to deny me the fact that I think my son can handle a game/movie like that?

Frankly, I think there's a time for Manhunt, and that age 13 is not it. Grand Theft Auto is one thing. There are missions, objectives, and exploration goals layered in with the possible harm you could do. But Manhunt is a disgusting murder simulator and honestly I don't even think it should have been released (but that's another topic altogether). Regardless, if you want to play it, I think 16 is more than young enough.

I know people here will disagree with me on censorship complaints, but I really think there needs to be an intervention at some point. And ManHunt is it for me - it pricked my comfort bubble.

[Typhoid]

The thing that bugs me, is who are they (the ESRB, or the people who make movie ratings, maybe it's the same people) to tell me how old my kids have to be before they watch something? Maturity isn't age-defined, and neither is confusion on fact and fiction, or reality vs. make-believe. I know a lot more 23 year-olds who will try something they see on TV, a game, or a movie, more than I do people under 18.

What bugs me about it, is as soon as they hit 18 - or whatever it may be - suddenly it's not an issue. At 15, they cannot figure out that it's just a movie or a game. Yet a mere 2 years later it doesn't matter at all.

The reason I think it's so silly is because they're just games and movies. The kids who actually do these things they see in the games or movies clearly haven't been brought up right, or just plain aren't right in the head - but that's another topic alltogether.

Basically, in my mind - it clearly comes down to parenting. If you've raised your kid right, he/she should know not to try dangerous things that they see on TV in any medium. The only reason it's such a big deal, is because the people who set these rules know nothing about anything relevant anymore. They're all older-than-middle aged people who grew up in the 60's when care-free-ness ran rampant. And they think it still does, so that leads to rules and regulations that serve no entire purpose at all - especially with a frickin' video game or movie.

Personally, I've never once had a problem with getting a game, or getting a movie. I've never had a problem with buying my nephew a game, or taking him to a movie, either. The only type of anything I can see this being enforced, and agreeing with it - is obviously porn. But hell, they'll get that at home for free when they're 12 anyways.

[thatmariolover]

Well, I think the bottom line is that there needs to be a ratings system. The way it's implemented right now is bad, but it needs to exist. I think that ratings need to be legally enforced on the purchaser. If a kid is constantly showing signs of violence and it's learned an adult allowed or facilitated them to play games like Manhunt, the blame needs to go back to the adults and not the game studios.

Warnings could go out with consoles that state that it is a parents legal obligation to configure the V-Chip functionality to their satisfaction before allowing a minor to use the system.