An undercover investigation found that many stores aren't adhering to ESRB rating policies.
The San Diego East County Youth Coalition, in conjunction with the National Institute on Media and Family and other youth-oriented organizations, has found that 46% of stores involved in an undercover investigation sold M-rated video games to minors.
The two-month study found that despite ESRB recommendations and widespread game retailer policies dictating that no game rated M for Mature be sold to minors under the age of 17, almost half of the more than 60 stores checked did so anyway. The study found that children as young as seven years old could walk in to a store and purchase an M-rated game without issue.
As a result of these findings, the Youth Coalition and other groups have called on stores to take action. They want store employees to be trained on the ratings system, better display the ESRB ratings in-store, and keep mature-themed games separate from more tame games, among other things.