Do parents really care about game ratings?

The BBC has released an article on the subject of parent's views of game ratings, with the summary that a majority of parents don't care about game ratings. The article brings evidence that the ratings system isn't the problem, it's the awareness of the games purchaser that needs to be addressed. You could have a ratings system that requires fingerprint identification, voice print id and a 30 second lecture by the nearest concerned game shop attendent, but it still wouldn't stop a parent that doesn't care or doesn't know why a game is rated above their child's age. The article even suggests that rating games 18+ can make the game more appealing, and therefore more children ask mom or dad to go and buy it for them. The study that the article is based upon won't be light reading for anyone involved in the creation or marketing of violent games.

Obviously the question now is; what does the game industry do about it? My opinion is that the solution lies in moving gaming (in particular violent gaming) into a more mainstream arena so adults have some idea of what their kids are drawn to. The ironic solution may be to get more adults to play violent games!

]Via GameGeek]