Around 17 per cent of gamers that bought GTA IV in America were under age, according to research by Nielsen.

Gamedaily.com reports that those buying the game under age ranged from age seven to 16, while “61 per cent of these younger gamers indicated that they purchased the M-rated game themselves, with 39 per cent of the young gamers responding that someone else bought the game for them.”

It continues: “Parents/guardians were pegged as the biggest facilitators for getting the controversial game into the hands of these young respondents, garnering 80 per cent of the response. Friends, siblings and other relatives rounded out the other 20% of the response.”

The report also states that Microsoft’s exclusive DLC for GTA IV was a major factor in 25 per cent of purchasers’ decision to buy the Xbox 360 version of the game, while 64 per cent said that they simply prefer the Xbox 360 over the PS3.