federal-trade-commission posts

Retailers in the US continue to be strong at enforcing the ESRB ratings when approached by children without a parent, according to the newest "secret shopper" survey by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC sent a number of children, aged 13 to 16, to stores to see if they could purchase games not suited for the game's rating. The results show that only 13 percent of those underaged teenagers were sold M-rated games by retailers, down from an already pretty low 20 percent from the last FTC survey.

By contrast, a whopping 64 percent of underaged teenagers were able to purchase music with its Parental Advisory label in the secret shopper survey. 38 percent of underaged teens were able to purchase R-rated DVDs while 47 percent of them were able to purchase unrated DVD movies. Finally 33 percent of kids were able to buy a ticket to an R-rated film in movie theaters.

For the past several years the US Government's Federal Trade Commission has been issuing reports on how the entertainment industry markets its products to children. Today the FTC issued its latest report and for the game industry the results are mostly positive.

The FTC's report stated that it found a "high degree of compliance with the video game industry's marketing and advertising rules" and also says that enforcement of the ESRB ratings system at the retail level is high, saying that sales of M-rated games to kids have an "average denial rate of 80 percent." However, the FTC also says that the game industry does "allow game marketers to advertise on many television shows and Web sites popular with children." Furthermore the organization says that content descriptions for games should be on the front of the game box along with the actual rating (content descriptions can be found on the back of most game boxes).

The ESRB issued its own press release in response to the FTC report. While it made no mention of the report's recommendations for content descriptions on the front of game boxes, the ESRB states it will "continue to work diligently to empower parents with the ability to make informed decisions about the computer and video games they deem appropriate for their families and ensure that those games are marketed responsibly."

A major hurdle has been passed in any kind of merger between Electronic Arts and Take Two Interactive. In a note on their web site, the Federal Trade Commission has stated that after looking at the possible deal to see if it violated any anti-trust laws it has concluded that "no additional action by the Commission is warranted at this time" and they now consider the matter closed..

EA let its formerly hostile takeover bid for Take Two expire earlier this week but now the two publishers are in talks to perhaps have some joint operations. Take Two has agreed to meet with EA to give them some confidential info about their financial numbers and future plans.

[Via Joystiq]

Now things are getting interesting. Remember how Electronic Arts announced they would hold off on their bid to merge with Take Two Interactive while the Federal Trade Commission conducts an investigation on said deal? Well apparently Take Two doesn't want to play ball. According to a story in Reuters the FTC issued a subpoena to Take Two asking for documents in their investigation of the merger proposal. The problem? Take Two has refused to comply with the subpoena.

Now the The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will hold a hearing on June 24 to see if Take Two should be compelled to respond to the FTC's subpoena. The big question is: what, if anything, is Take Two trying to hide from the FTC? Stay tuned.

The drama of Electronic Arts' desire to acquire Take-Two Interactive continues to unfold. Take-Two initially told EA that it would wait until after Grand Theft Auto IV's release to enter into serious acquisition talks. Today, GameIndustry.biz reports that EA "has filed a form with the SEC in which it agrees not to consummate the acquisition of Take-Two until the FTC [Federal Trade Commission] has closed its investigation or until 45 days have elapsed from the time that the company 'substantially complied' with the FTC's request for information."

EA's offer expires on June 16. Since GTA IV's release, Take-Two has not shifted its stance in any capacity, though the company is slated to release its earnings tomorrow, June 5.