Sales of Video Games to Underaged not Recorded

So, the UK video game industry wants tax breaks, while the government holds up sales of games to minors as an obstacle; even going so far as to suggest that a report is put together - at some public expense - looking into child safety.

Both the UK industry and the government agree that proper ratings and retail responsibility are high on the agenda.

It may come as a surprise, therefore, that the government has absolutely no idea if games are in fact being sold inappropriately. Even more confusing (we say that lightly), neither is the government able to distinguish between games, videos and DVDs sold to under-age kids; nor if anybody has been convicted, the value of the fines, or the length served.

How do we know? Simple, UK Labour government minister (and member for Gelding... sorry, Gedling) Vernon Coaker, told opposition Tory MP David Ruffley.

Here's the exchange:

David Ruffley: "...how many offences of retailers selling video games or DVDs to underage customers were recorded in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997; how many (a) cautions and (b) fines were issued to such retailers in each year; and what the average fine imposed was in each year."

Vernon Coaker: "Information on the number of recorded offences of retailers selling video games or DVDs to underage customers is not collected centrally. This is a summary offence and is not included in the police recorded crime statistics."

Coaker does, however, manage to get some Ministry of Justice figures from 1997 to 2006 that detail "the number of police cautions issued, the number of fines imposed and the average fine". These, however, are a combination of both DVD and video game sales. Therefore, we have absolutely no real idea whether few instances of video game mis-selling are being lumped in with dodgy DVD sales.

It would appear that the UK industry can be beaten with a stick of unauditable length and brutality.

^{Source: They Work for You}