Watchdog Group Gives Game Industry a 'C'
A national watchdog group that monitors the impact of media on minors gave the videogame industry a grade of "C" this year and also took parents and retailers to task for largely failing to keep Mature-rated games out of the hands of children.
The twelfth-annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card, issued by the National Institute on Media and the Family, docked the gaming industry for marketing adult games to children, which it called "a disgustingly familiar practice." The Institute also criticized Nintendo and Rockstar for producing a Manhunt 2-themed blood-splattered Wii; knocked game companies for failing to "disclose when games are stolen from their facilities and leaked onto the Internet;" and slammed developers Eidos and Rockstar, who it says "dredged the well of poor taste" with Kane & Lynch and Manhunt 2.
The group commended the Entertainment Software Ratings Board for its efforts to educate parents about the game rating system but urged the board to do much more to extend its reach and engage with government groups.
An interactive Harris Poll conducted by the Institute found that 52 percent of parents claim to use the ESRB rating system but that 72 percent know little or nothing about the rating system overall, and many could not identify the meanings of specific ratings like AO (Adults Only) and EC (Early Childhood).
To test the rate of mature game sales to minors, the Institute conducted a sting operation which found that underage, undercover shoppers were able to buy M-rated games nearly 50 percent of the time. That's an increase over the Institute's findings in 2006, according to the report.
In a statement, the ESRB today refuted the Institute's findings that parents are either unaware of or unsure of the videogame ratings system.
"In many significant ways, this year's NIMF Report Card contradicts recent Federal Trade Commission findings related to parents' awareness, use and satisfaction with ESRB ratings, as well as retailer support of the ratings," said ESRB president Patricia Vance. "In addition, NIMF exhibits a significant lack of understanding of and, as a result, grossly misrepresents the facts surrounding last month's hack into pirated versions of Manhunt 2, a game rated for ages 17 and older that carried prominent and explicit warnings to consumers about its violent content. At a time of year when parents are looking for helpful guidance about video games, this year's Report Card does little more than sow unwarranted doubt about effective tools like ESRB ratings"
A recent Federal Trade Commission study found that unaccompanied minors have been having less and less success buying M-rated games since 2000. According to the FTC, 85 percent of kids were able to buy such games in 2000 – that number decreased to 78 percent in 2001, 69 percent in 2003 and 42 percent in 2006.
The Institute's answer to what it sees as the problems of parental ignorance, apathy and confusion toward videogame ratings is to migrate toward a universal U.S. media rating system that would encompass games, music, film and television. Of the six recommendations included in the group's report, a universal ratings system is at the top.
"The advantage is, parents would have a clear understanding. Right now it's a big bowl of alphabet soup," said Institute spokesman Blois Olson in an interview with IGN. "Parents are deluged with these messages. It's one thing for TV shows, it's another for film – we're in an age where, in many homes, it's all one medium. If [media companies'] goal is convergence, than a universal ratings system is needed."
A universal media rating system has been suggested in the past, but individual media segments have remained steadfastly committed to their own systems. The Institute also called for a change to the ESRB's practice or rating games based solely on content playable by legal means. So if hackers can illegally gain access to mature content in a game, the ESRB should rate that game as Mature, according to the Institute.
"Ultimately, the market needs to decide, parents need to decide, and we need to have confidence that the system is going to work," said Olson.
This is the first year the Institute gave the overall videogame industry a separate rating. Last year, the group gave separate grades to console manufacturers (A), retailer policies (B), large retailer enforcement (A), specialty retailer enforcement (F), ratings education (B) and parental involvement (Incomplete).
This year, despite their apparent lack of understanding of videogame ratings, parents received a C, ratings education received a B-, the ESRB received a C+, and retailer rankings ranged from B to F.
Aside from its plea for a universal rating system, the Institute had no recommendations for the game industry as a whole, focusing its attention mainly on retailers, parents and consumers.
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