The Federal Trade Commission, in recent testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, testified that while progress has been made in terms of M-rated games and their advertising towards minors, “there remain a number of concerns relating to video games and how they are marketed.” The testimony also stated that more work must be done in self-regulation of the industry, including better restriction of advertising to minors, and retail-level ESRB rating enforcement. Undercover operations at the retail level have continued; the latest operation whose results were released in March indicated that while the number of minors able to purchase M-rated games dropped, 42 percent of the shoppers were able to purchase an M-rated game.

The latest report underscores the need for better education, in both the retail channel and for parents, and hopefully, the ESRB’s ongoing campaign will improve things in the future. Without improvement, the video game industry may be targeted for further regulation.