Should the Government Regulate Games?

A survey released today by Hill & Knowlton finds 60 percent of adult Americans agreeing that the government should regulate the sale of mature videogames. A small majority of respondents (51 percent) said the government should regulate mature media in general. This would seem to reveal that adults are more worried about videogames than they are other media such as movies or music.

Of those surveyed with children in their household, 54 percent believe violent or mature content will affect a child's behavior.

Survey respondents who identify as gamers are split on whether or not the government should regulate violent content in games, with 44 percent saying yes to regulation and 47 percent saying no. As to whether or not the sale of M-rated games should be regulated, 55 percent said yes.

"While the industry is reinventing itself by broadening the content and the category, society still tends to view gamers as one-dimensional," said Joe Paluska, Director, Hill & Knowlton's Worldwide Technology Practice. "The industry's reputation centers on mature content due to the sensational nature of the content and subsequent publicity. As a result, our survey suggests that there's an appetite for more government oversight even among the maturing Atari Generation who now have children."

The survey was conducted between September 17 and 19, 2007, and polled 1,147 adults.

Update:
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has released a statement to GameDaily condemning Hill & Knowlton's survey. There is apparently more to this study than the researcher is letting on. Hill & Knowlton originally contacted the ESA with the results last summer as part of some sort of business proposal. The data released today is incomplete, the ESA says.

Here follows the complete statement from the ESA:

"Today, Hill & Knowlton released the findings of research it conducted on the American public's views about the computer and video game industry. According to the agency's findings, a majority of respondents believe that the government should regulate the sale of mature content video games.


We understand that parents have concerns about mature content getting into the hands of children and we are working to help make sure that does not happen. To achieve this important goal, the ESA strongly supports a variety of efforts aimed at educating parents and retailers and allowing them to control mature content. We support the ESRB, which is the nation's leading rating system working to educate and empower parents with game information. We have also worked within the industry to ensure that password protected, robust parental controls are included in all new video game consoles sold. In addition, we work with retailers to encourage the enforcement of policies that prohibit the sale of mature games to minors.

The research released today was conducted by Hill & Knowlton for a proposal the agency made to the ESA this summer, but only a portion of it was released publicly now. Hill & Knowlton's decision to release these findings was both unprofessional and unethical and its timing is questionable. The research was done this summer and only performed in an effort to help Hill & Knowlton win our business. In addition, the release of only part of the findings paints an inaccurate picture of the entertainment software industry. The other research conducted by agency but not released showed:

More than two-thirds of 18-34 year olds currently play video games

Less than 1 in 5 Americans think playing video games is a negative way to spend time with friends and family

More than half of families think that video games are a positive way to spend time together

Educational video games are perceived to provide more learning than TV or DVDs"

http://uk.psp.ign.com/articles/839/839793p1.html

no the govt should not regulate sale of games.

they should mind their own business.

1,147....... 1,147 people voted, right?

What's 1,147 in terms of statistics? It's pretty damn small.

If they want to say that over 50% of people who voted pro government regulation I'd suggest a total number of votes a little larger than 1,147.

The gov (well, a government agency) should classify games as it does films, it just shouldn't have the power to ban them (except for kiddy porn or snuff I guess).

I have no problem with something like manhunt getting an R or even an X rating (so long as X material is legal in that area). If there are 'adult' stores selling 'adult' games to adults then what right does the gov have to interfere?

Sure some kids will get ahold of them if they really want to, but its better than banning something just because its not suitable for 10 year olds.

“Here is my final point. About drugs, about alcohol, about pornography and smoking and everything else. What business is it of yours what I do, read, buy, see, say, think, who I ****, what I take into my body - as long as I do not harm another human being on this planet?” - Bill Hicks

simple answer to the question in the title, NO! they "regulate" enough things, look how they all turned out. immigration, education, the NHS, prisons. hmm, if they regulate more things, then more things are going to mess up

In the 90's the government made a free to download mature shooter for the pc based on the military experience right? It seems odd that they would be the ones wanting to regulate things...

Parents. You dont want little 13 year old Timmy to play Manhunt 2? Watch your freaking kid and dont let him buy it.

ICE: Because government sponsored violence conducted by the army is A-OK, no matter how severe the lack of evidence is for the action or how poor the outcome. Kids need to learn that at an early age. :)

Goto get those killing juices flowing and correctly directed young you see, they really the need new recruits.

They can placate a few wowsers over videogame violence a lot easier than they can reduce their need for more soldiers.

I really dislike that game purely because they made and released it with the sole intention of making the army more appealing to young people.
Games, however violent, are still just about shooting dots on a screen. Doing anything like that in real life is certainly not appealing to me and I don't think the government should be purposely blurring the line between fantasy and reality for their own benefit.