PTC Metro New Orleans Chapter Finds Area Retailers Perfect in Checking Minors’ IDs

All Local Retailers Following Age Restrictions

New Orleans (July 25, 2008) – The Metro New Orleans Chapter of the Parents Television Council™ (PTC) released the results of its local Secret Shopper Campaign, which revealed that none of the stores it visited violated their own internal policies of not selling adult games to minors. Nationally PTC chapters found that video game retailers sold Mature-rated video games to minors 36% of the time. In Louisiana, however, all five stores visited followed the age restrictions and would not allow a minor to purchase adult entertainment.

“New Orleans comes out on top! I am definitely very proud of Louisiana for being the only state to have a perfect record in our study. Each of the 15 other states had significant failures and these companies need to follow the lead of their counterparts here and start taking their role in protecting our youth more seriously. Adult games with sexual scenes and acts and extreme violence that the player doesn’t just watch, but participates in should never be near a child. Similar to age restrictions on alcohol, tobacco, pornography and other products that are potentially harmful to children, parents deserve a reasonable expectation that age restrictions for adult entertainment products will be enforced at the retail level,” said Metro New Orleans Chapter Director Debbie Hopkins.

In June of 2008, the Metro New Orleans Chapter of the PTC conducted five Secret Shopper visits in Mandeville and Covington as part of over 100 Secret Shopper visits by chapters nationwide. PTC chapters sent children between 11 to 16 years of age to attempt to purchase M-rated video games, which are classified by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) as inappropriate for anyone under the age of 17. Chapters in 16 different states conducted Secret Shopper stings and only Louisiana had a perfect record.

The retailers visited have company policies that require that video games not be sold to people outside of the ESRB assigned age classification. The children were told to enter the chosen store, find an M-rated game and attempt to purchase it with cash. They were instructed to never lie or misrepresent themselves during the process. When games were purchased, the adult who had waited outside the store would return with the game and ask for a refund.

Further details on the results of the national campaign are available upon request or at www.parentstv.org. More details on which stores were visited both locally and nationally are available at www.parentstv.org/gr/metroneworleans.

► Click here to read the full national results.

To speak with a representative from the Parents Television Council, please contact Gavin McKiernan at (213) 403-1300 ext. 2866.

The Parents Television Council™ (www.parentstv.org®) is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence and profanity on television and in other media. This national grassroots organization has more than 1.3 million members across the United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters, networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and negative messages targeted to children. The PTC also works with elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex, violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices for their own families.