Not everyone that buys Halo knows what Bungie is...We want to convert Halo fans into Bungie fans and so we'll take them with us when we do the next game.

"We want to convert Halo fans into Bungie fans" [CVG]

"With two sons of my own, I know about the tough decisions parents face today about the media they allow into their homes," said Lt. Governor Carney. "The simple fact is that there's no substitute for parental involvement, so it's important that parents play an active role in choosing games for their children. The ESRB ratings help parents ensure that they are bringing home suitable games for their families."

DELAWARE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR JOHN CARNEY AND REPRESENTATIVE HELENE KEELEY LAUNCH PSA CAMPAIGN ON VIDEO GAME RATINGS

New Ads Explain and Encourage Parents to Use ESRB Ratings to Choose Age-Appropriate Games for their Families

WILMINGTON, DE - Delaware Lieutenant Governor John Carney and State Representative Helene Keeley were joined today by Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) president Patricia E. Vance to announce the launch of a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign to explain video game ratings to parents and encourage that they use them when buying games for their children. The campaign is comprised of radio PSAs as well as billboards (images attached) and mall kiosk displays that were previewed for the news media at a press conference this morning, where Carney and Keeley underscored the need for parents to be involved and informed with the video games their children play.

"With two sons of my own, I know about the tough decisions parents face today about the media they allow into their homes," said Lt. Governor Carney. "The simple fact is that there's no substitute for parental involvement, so it's important that parents play an active role in choosing games for their children. The ESRB ratings help parents ensure that they are bringing home suitable games for their families."

"The ESRB ratings are an effective and informative resource that allows parents to decide if the video game their child wants is appropriate, and parents should be sure to check the rating each time they consider a game for their child so they know they're choosing one that's right for their age," added Rep. Keeley. "I'm proud to be participating in the effort to educate parents in our state about the tools at their disposal so they can make informed decisions."
The radio PSAs have been distributed to stations statewide, and will begin airing in the coming weeks. The print PSAs will be appearing throughout the state over the course of December and January.

"Just like movies and TV shows, video games are created for a diverse audience of all ages," said ESRB president Patricia Vance. "That is why it is so important that parents remember to check the rating when purchasing games for their children. I'm pleased to be joining Lt. Governor Carney and Rep. Keeley in announcing this effort to reach out to Delaware's parents and educate them about the ratings."

The ESRB video game ratings employ a two-part system. As seen in the illustration below, rating symbols on the front of virtually every game package sold at retail provide an age recommendation, such as EC (Early Childhood 3+), E (Everyone 6+), E10+ (Everyone 10 and up), T (Teen 13+) and M (Mature 17+). On the back of each package, next to the rating, are content descriptors that provide information about what's in the game that may have triggered the rating, or may be of interest or concern to parents.

Since its inception in 1994, the ESRB ratings have become a trusted resource for parents when choosing computer and video games. In April of this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report1 which found that nine in ten parents are aware of the ESRB ratings, 87% expressed satisfaction, and nearly three quarters use them regularly when choosing games for their children.

"While many parents are aware of the ratings, and are making sensible game purchase decisions as a result, there is always more that can and should be done," concluded Vance. "We hope that these ads will help arm parents with the information they need to make the right choices about the video games they deem appropriate for their children and families."

A complete list of ratings, content descriptors and their definitions can be found on the ESRB website at www.esrb.org. More information about ESRB PSA initiatives is available at http://www.esrb.org/about/psa.jsp.

Apparently, for third parties Second Life is "as bad as it gets." Daly explains: "Second Life is not very good for third parties because Linden doesn't work with [them]; they're very hands-off as much as they can, and then its our de facto role to come in and know the tools, know the landscape and then develop with whatever we have. You can't get any further than the way it should be than a platform where you have no real contact with the developers of the platform. It's very democratic, but for actual third-party developers, it's not the most efficient way to go."

With advertising become ever more common in virtual worlds, both of the Second Life and the with-an-actual-purpose variety, it's interesting to see what new forms of ad agencies are cropping up to market stuff, stuff, and more stuff in the market segment that a lot of brick-and-mortar companies are making a play for.

Q & A: Metaversatility's Matt Daly Talks Virtual Branding Design [Worlds In Motion]

Dean Takahashi points out that the new branding for Games for windows is starting to roll out today.

All of the games hitting 7,500 retailers or so will have the same sort of look to them, much like what you see with console games.

The Games for Windows logo on a title also means the game will support wide-screen displays, 64-bit versions of Windows and the Xbox 360 game controller for the PC and can be launched from within Windows Media Center. The games will also have to meet guidelines for easier installation, improved reliability and support certain Vista features like the Games Explorer and Parental Controls.

Dean also points out that The Official Games for Windows magazine hits this month as well. Brian Crecente

Mirosoft Kicks Off Games for Windows Logo [SJMN]

Anderson Analytics has conducted psychological research via text mining software to gauge the subconscious response to brands like Xbox and PlayStation (but not necessarily the consoles themselves). Their findings?

...there were significant differences between boys who saw Playstation images and Xbox images. Boys who saw Xbox pictures were higher on power motivation than boys who saw Playstation images. Boys in the Xbox group also scored higher on self-confidence than participants in the Playstation group. In addition to these differences between Playstation and Xbox, the images of these game consoles affected boys in different ways. For boys in the Xbox group seeing the ad increased levels of distrust. This increase was not seen in the Playstation group.

Wow. Thanks a lot, Microsoft. I hold you directly responsible for helping to raise a new generation of cocky jerks. Michael McWhertor

Xbox or Nintendo , Barbie or Bratz , a New Study Confirms that it Really Does Pay to Advertise [via Gamespot]