Age restriction?

I just got back from the store. Finally picked up a copy of the pre-order. I was reading the fine print on the back of the box, just to make sure my rather old and moldy computer can still meet the minimum requirements. (I do, barely. Fail the recommended specs miserably )

As I was reading this bolded line caught my eye. "Children under the age of 13 are not permitted to play". I thought that was interesting. I see kids around 8 or 9 years old in the game every night. And a bunch of players that just act like they're 8 or 9. We have 2 10 year olds that I know of in my guild. Granted, both of them are heavily supervised by their parents when they are online. (Yes, I know this for a fact. Daddy's in the guild too.)

Is this new, or have all the games come with that restriction? Yes, I know the games are rated T for Teen, but that's never stopped a younger child from playing if his parents buy the game for him. I've always thought the T rating was equivalent to a PG movie. Kids are allowed into PG and PG13 movies without parents.

Why have a restriction that is absolutely unenforcable? I can understand saying "This game is not recommended for children under 13", and I'd have to agree with that recommendation, but that's different from saying they cannot play the game.

Why would we want immature players joining anyway?
There already enough kids drawing dicks on the mini-map, spamming stupidities, thinking they are a naruto ninja in ab, insulting each other, etc etc.

this is the first time ive noticed it.

<goes and checks boxes>
they have all got the 12 ang restriction symblol on them, but the GW:EN one is the only one with actual wording on it.

it does seem unenforcable. ive seen kinds who couldn't have been over 10 buying it, and with some of the maturity levels of some players there has to be lots of younger kids playing, with their own or with characters other peoples accounts.

Well, without getting too preachy, back in our day (ppl older than 30) our parents actually did try to raise us properly. What would make that enforceable is the fact that most 12 year olds and under cannot walk into a store and buy a 30 dollar game themselves, generally a parent would be the one buying the item. It is the assumption of A-net that the parent would look at what they were buying their child and see the warning and say no to the child. But, as is the case most often these days, the parent could probably give a crap less, since they believe it is t.v. and the computers responibility to raise their child for them, so when they see what their child is actually doing and seeing and being exposed to while playing the game and decide to sue A-net, A-net can say "Hey, you lousy parent, you bought him/her the game and it says on the box 'Children under the age of 13 are not permitted to play.', you lousy parent."

Nah, Teen = 13 years of age to buy. They'd like it if you were at least 13 years of age to play, but we know what doesn't happen.

They just get their parents to buy them. It's just like how my mom got me Doom, Duke Nukem 3d and Blood when I was 9 years old.

Because of COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), a law that was passed about 10 years or so ago. I very closely monitored the lobbying and passage of the law because I was (and still am) very concerned about the danger of online predators.

In short, as long as the internet content provider posts such limitation as you've cited, they are not responsible for any violations of children's online privacy that occur in their content... the responsibility lies solely with the parents. Disney sites and other providers of children's content, however, have a very strict set of legal requirements to which they must adhere to protect the children using their sites from predators. Under the COPPA law, a child is defined as anyone under the age of 13.

technically you are supposed to be 18 to agree to the EULA anyway.... but eh *shrug*

QFT. I wish more parents were looking over the shoulders of their children while they're in the game. I think many of them would be absolutely shocked. Unfortunately, most couldn't care less.

However, I have to disagree that the warning is there to prevent parents from buying the game for their kids. This game is rated Teen and most parents will see that and assume it's ok. The age restriction is in the fine print on the back and mostly likely would not be noticed at all by most buyers.

Heck, the box has "GAME NOT INCLUDED!!!!! PRE-ORDER ONLY!!" plastered all over the front of it, yet I see questions almost daily on the forums from illiterate idiots who said they just bought the game and are demanding their money back because they can't access the new areas and missions.

Not an expert but I would assume A-net puts it in for more of a legality issue. If there is a loop hole someone will sue. Like the Mc Donald’s “coffee” Law suit so many years ago. My kid was exposed to a scum out there on GW. This is not right I am suing. The law probably states the child at the age of 13 is capable of determining something is inappropriate or not. Any lawyers out there to confirm ?

At the age of 7 I started playing Mortal Kombat 2 >.> my parents didnt give a crap about the age restriction. Just to give you an idea how parents really care when it comes to video games and young children

Yeah my parents didn’t care either when I was playing “Pong”……….Boy I am getting old………….

Hi Painbringer...

You're right. It's about a law... about the collection of information from children. Please see my post above. And here's a link to the full text of the law, COPPA -> http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/coppa1.htm. I suppose it would be helpful in a law suit that they (GW) posted a disclaimer, but as long as they did, I think it unlikely that any attorney would even take on such a suit.

There are other COPPA disclaimers that sites use for protection as well. One needs only google for 'COPPA disclaimer' to see pages and pages of them... and all of them necessarily stressing the age of 13.

Who cares? Anet can't check your age or anything, its only there to save them from potential legal trouble.