A new bill on the video game ratings was introduced yesterday into the House of Representatives. Lee Terry and Jim Matheson presented the Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act which would force retailers to demand identification when selling Mature-rated games.

"Many young children are walking into stores and are able to buy or rent these games without their parents even knowing about it. Many retailers have tried to develop voluntary policies to make sure mature games do not end up in the hands of young kids, but we need to do more to protect our children," said Representative Lee Terry, according to Wired.

Jim Matheson also expressed his firm belief in the benefit of such a bill, claiming that as a parent, he fully understands the need to shield children from playing M-rated games.

The M-rated games are generally considered appropriate for people over 17 and present the Entertainment Software Rating Board's parental advisory: "may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content and/or strong language."

Over the past few years, there have been a series of attempts in several states to adopt such laws but they were all dismissed as unconstitutional.

Whether the new bill will pass or not will be decided in the near future and will surely affect one way or another the industry.

The Federal Trade Commission released yesterday the results of an undercover study, conducted in order to find out the number of children allowed to buy M-rated video games. On average, only 20 percent were able to complete a purchase, which is not necessarily an alarming number.