So I went with my uncle today to buy a PC game at Target, Left 4 Dead. He already had a copy and wanted another copy for his son, my cousin, and didn't want to wait for the next Steam deal. This under twenty something girl at the register said she couldn't sell it to us without seeing his ID. My uncle is WELL over 50... this is no doubt that this man doesn't even get carded for alcohol anymore in most locations. I just think this is ridiculous. I buy most of my games online, boxed and digi versions so I guess I have managed to avoid this.
That never happens in the UK that I've ever seen (I used to buy them from shops but I don't like the outside) and its legally enforced here.
I order games through the slow mail now since my internet connection isn't fast enough to download them.
I also like fondling the DVD boxes...
Good for her, that's exactly what she should be doing.
When I was younger I use to work at Target, and believe me, nobody wants to be the one asking someone clearly over the age limit to see ID. I don't remember what the policy was, but one of the things that comes along with being an adult is responsiblity, and a responsible adult has their ID! So just show it to them, because more than likely their manager is watching.
you're the missing th point Kickacrip. Sure it's not a big deal, but the point is that policies like that are stupid and we shouldnt have to be carded for osmething as trivial as a video game if we're clearly above the age.
Uk KickACrip.... this is not a law. This is a stupid Target policy. My uncle is 50+ years of age. There is no doubt this man is not under 18 years of age. There is no Mature Game police in this country. It's a stupid policy and it has gone too far.
Always happens to me at Walmart and Gamestop too, even though they bloody well KNOW I'm over 21 at Gamestop.
Is an employee following their store policy really such a shock to you? If a manager says to card everyone buying Mrated games, what do you expect her to do?
Anyway, this is one of those issues you worry about when you're underage. ID's become a part of life eventually, and you'll have to show it for lots of things besides alcohol/video games. For God sakes, even just as a student I have to wear my ID daily just to get around campus as well as onto clinical sites. It's just a part of life.
What a stupid subject for a dedicated thread.
The poor girl is doing her job, and it is no sweat off anyone's brow to show ID. The wallet is already out, after all.
No. This is an issue you worry about if you actually care about something more than yourself. That's part of life too. If you want to roll down and play dead everytime someone tells you to do so, go ahead. Maybe they'll teach you sometime later in school that sometimes you have to think for yourself.
Just FYI, I am certainly not the only one who thinks this is over the top. It's not even a LAW. http://consumerist.com/2010/02/target-wants-to-scan-your-id-when-you-buy-m-rated-games-say-no.html
Think for myself eh. On this issue, you know, there just seem to be more important things in life than whether or not company policies dictate I show someone an ID.
It's annoying, but it's hardly a bad policy. Too many people get by buying stuff they shouldn't be otherwise, because the tellers either don't know or don't care.
This is more of a reflection on a stupid society then the girl doing what she's told. The store has that policy to avoid bad press from puritanical types, not because they want to.
But he might have been the brother of Benjamin Button!!
Doesn't look like a cause worth arguing for...
Who buys games from Target? Unless they're on sale, it is far easier to purchase games elsewhere.
Anyone who gets huffy over being asked to show ID is an idiot. The recommendation is 'mature', which means an age-gate is approrpriate. Even if you look too old, checking still makes sense simply because some people look older (younger) than they really are, either naturally or through makeup. And if you do this voluntarily, you can avoid having the government stick it's nose in like it does in Australia and mandate what it does or doesnt' want. Which, in the case of Australia, results in really stupid rules that keep things from selling.
Now, anyone who gets huffy over having to have it scanned because of all the other information on there has a reasonable point. But that's an extension to the original concern.
I have nothing against people being carded for certain goods despite how I feel about many age restrictions in general. The guy with a full beard may well be only 17. However, if someone is clearly of age, as in this case where the man is over 50, what are you achieving except holding people up?
You're an idiot if you think you only "show" Target your ID. Target scans your ID pulling a lot more information than your birthdate. Like I said, you don't have to show your ID if you are 99 for alcohol, pretty ridiculous to require it for mature games. I am not talking 20, or even 30 here, this gentleman is well over 50, there is no question that he is not 17 or 18.
If you read my next line, you'll note that I split my argument into two parts. Scanning is out of line. Showing is not. No matter how old he appears to be.
If I look of age then I am. If you are not selling me poison then you don't need to know anything else.
I'm sure that would work in some alternate reality where you could always be sure.
Really selling Mature games with proof of age is not that big a deal to me. Not allowing me to play a Mature game online (EA) on my son's xbox because I set it up under his name and age is rediculous. The xbox live is linked to my account. I should have the option to override that setting with EA.
Well, here's hoping the entire world system crashes and burns. Then the survivors shall build a new Humanity that doesn't need people to carry "Identification Papers" like this was Nazi Germany circa 1933. So many things in life today are built just to make governments and businesses more money. Just in order to get a car on the road today you need a mountain of paper work. Why? The whole thing can be simplified. If you can't prove that you could pay for the damages if you got into an accident, you shouldn't be able to buy a car. Why would I need the "ok" from my state government to be able to drive in the first place? You only need a "license" because someone else says you do and that "someone else" has the power to have you arrested if you don't do things "their way". Rediculous....
We should all long for a return to the days of "if you're old enough to reach the pedals you're old enough to drive". Same thing with drinking. If you're tall enough to walk up the bar you're old enough to drink. Why is the drinking age 21 while everything else is at 18? At 18 you can be forcibly Drafted into the Military and shipped off to a hell hole where you'll most likely get your head blown off, but no, you're not old enough to walk into a bar and get drunk, sorry. (and don't give me the excuse "they can drink on base", that's not the point). If someone is old enough to Die for your Country then you should be old enough to walk into a bar in that Country and get served.
The entire worlds current system of doing things is flawed from conception. All it does is complicate things and make the rich Richer while making the poor Poorer. When you think about it do we even need a monetary system? Because people want to get "Paid" and have more then their fellow human beings. We see life as a competition to out-do each other. To make more money, to have a better house, to have a better looking wife, so we can pass all that on to our children to doom them to being stuck in the same system that holds back all of Humanity.
I really wish things were like they were in "Star Trek". Not with the space ships and technology that fixes everything (though that would be nice too) but in the way that everyone works "To Better Humanity as a Whole" and not to better their standing among their peers or to further greedy ambitions. Sadly though the world is so steeped in it's current ways that they will never change until the people of the world are FORCED to change. Here's hoping that FORCE comes sooner and not later. Come on Apocalypse!!!! I'm routing for you!!!!
That was bizarre
As long as there are people buzzing about, we'll be arguing about something or other. I suppose.
Because, a car is a lethal weapon, and anyone who thinks otherwise is either a complete and utter moron, or has never seen a 'minor' accident. Actually, I'll go with the first. A ton or more of metal, designed to reach speeds of over sixty miles per hour, does a hell of a lot of damage to anything. While I don't know of any actual tests, I'm willing to bet that a car driven at 60 MPH into a tank will destroy the tank quite handily, assuming the tank lets it hit.
Cars are extremely dangerous, even with all the rules and regulations in place to try and reduce that. I can't emphasize that enough. A 30MPH collision has enough energy to kill four or five people, despite being a blunt force approach.
Actually, originally everything except the draft age was 21. That got dropped because of the argument 'if they're old enough to die for their country...' and the alcohol age hasn't caught up. And given the stupidity college students get into every year, I'd be temped to raise the alcohol age, not lower it!
I can tell you for a fact that only 20 or so years ago that the drinking age in the US was 18. I know this because my mom loves to tell the story of how she had her first legal drink at the bar she had been going to for years on her 18th birthday party, and how a year or two later she was grandfathered in when they changed the drinking age to 21.
However, stupidity is the main reason for the increase in alchohol age. Lawmakers figure increasing the age limit reduces the number of people who do stupid stuff while drunk. I find the argument to be bullshit, but hey, I don't make the laws.\
EDIT: And if you do some research you'll find the way that the government was able to put through such a law(one that should be handled by the states, and technically is) was by passing a different law that said any state with a drinking age under 21 gets 10% of its transportation funding cut, which is why no state dare reduce the drinking age.
I made the assumption you knew about Target's policy before siding with it. They don't just want to look at your ID, they scan it, and they tell they are required to scan it even those corporate says they can just enter the birthdate. What corporate doesn't tell you is the folks at the register don't actually know how to just enter the birthdate, they only know how to scan it. It wasn't my ID and his choice. I still think it's ridiculous, and I don't see any reason why they need to know your age, sex, weight, height, donor status, driving restrictions and endorsements, your address, photo and what year your record was created just to sell you a video game... all that information they can and probably do pull off that card (except maybe the photo).
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account
