24 Jun 2011, 11:30 AM
(20 Jun 2011 18:19 PM)SuicideZ UK Wrote: [ -> ]
So if your out and about and stores are selling this product to people under 18 . . . Then they cant.
Again, I'm going to have to argue the case here.
Microsoft Points are not covered by the BBFC because (as you already stated) they're just points. Sure they're branded as Black Ops points and no doubt that is what they'll be used for, but ultimately what's in the box is not covered by the certificate.
The certificate on the box would relate to the DLC that it's promoting, but nothing more. If what you were buying was a CODE for the DLC, then sure, the 18 cert would be relevant. But it's not. You could just as easily use those points on Banjo Kazooie. It's up to Microsoft to police that side of things at the time of downloading, but that's an impossible thing to do without parent's cooperation.
Blockbuster's (or whoever it was) reaction sounds very Copy & Paste. They will get countless complaints along these lines, some legitimate, some not and the stock response will always be the same. They're covering their backs because ultimately the law is happy enough that a business or individual has tried to comply with the law. Mistakes happen and so long as steps are taken to make sure it never happens again then it's all good. It's when illegal sales are consistently taking place with no identifiable training or steps in place to prevent reoccurrence that action is taken.
They may well have sent an email down to staff to request that they don't sell this product to under 18s to show some responsibility, but they're not legally bound to do so.