The modern video and computer games that are purchased from a store are not done so buy most younger children and teenagers. Actually, 60 percent of all gamers are above the age of 18, and are usually the older siblings and parents in the younger child’s household. Now, there is a wide selection of video games in different genres; there is something for everyone.

A lot of them are age appropriate for children, or are considered to be family friendly, but there are just as many that are for mature players and adults. Of course, there are rules and regulations in place that call for age warnings to be clearly printed on the game’s box. Store owners and clerks are required by law to only sell these types of games to children and adults who meet the minimum legal age for each rating. 

And, if the owner or clerk is unsure that the customer’s age is at least 16, or 18 in some cases, then they must ask that customer to produce identification. If they are underage, the game cannot be sold; unfortunately, store clerks many times will not check the customer’s age for video games, computers games, video, and movies.And, there are other ways for minor children to procure these violent games that are not recommended for their age group.

Many times adults will buy them for the younger set, and 83 percent of the time it is their own parents. There is usually one of three reasons this even happens. First of all, most parents do not even know that certain video and computer games have age restrictions on them. When they go into a store, they are probably not going to be asked for identification; they are clearly older than 18.

Often, they do not even peruse the game’s box; they just grab it, pay for it, and go. Also, children are experts in the art of persistence. They know exactly what buttons to push to wear their parents down enough for them to give in to their demands. One justification heard from parents: "my son’s friend Johnny got this game for Christmas, and my son has already played it before anyway, so I will go ahead at get it. "The last reason is that parents have no idea of the depths and graphical details of violence and mature content that are found in modern video and computer games.

The last time many parents played video games were in the 1980’s. Graphics have come a long way in the past 25 to 30 years, and now the quality resembles more of what you would see in movie theatres and televisions, as opposed to something drawn in a comic strip. This is why it is important for parents to research, review, and monitor the games their kids are playing; however, this does not happen in the majority of households. The levels of mature content found in today’s video games are never going to change or become unavailable. It is just unrealistic to even consider.

So, it is crucial for parents to treat video games as they would treat driving privileges and underage drinking-with a critical, watchful eye. If the majority of the 83% of parents would refrain from buying these types of games for their children, the gaming industry would certainly take notice and bring about changes and reforms. So, until that day comes, change must begin in the home. It is up to the parents.