I know I've been really sweet on Dead Space lately, but vids like this earn it. So what's the verdict here gang? There's a decapitation, and a de-legging, and a buncha bodies, and floating blood and gore, and a zombiefied Isaac. The worst part of this, for me, is the pained singing of the lullaby. Please, pairing bloody violence with a child's song? So overdone.

Granted, this is intense (for a trailer anyway) and I can't imagine it being shown on television. But why is this trailer a no-go for U.S. release, but OK for Europe?

Two Dead Space Trailers, One the ESRB Doesn't Want You to See
[Arstechnica]

Currently, there's a Wall-E minigame, printable paper dolls for My Fashion Studio, and instructions on how to draw LEGO Batman, on which I am sure we could all afford a lesson.

GameStop kicks off the site launch with an activity contest, where participants come up with an activity for GameSpot's kid-friendly activity book launching this winter. The winning activity gets featured in the book, and the winner also gets a $500 GameStop gift card. Kotaku readers who are parents, now is when you force your children to enter and totally help them cheat, and then buy $480 worth of games for yourself and then give the kid a used GBA title, or something.

I'm joking. Kinda.

[GameStop Playground]

GAMESTOP GIVES MORE POWER TO THE PLAYER…AND PARENTS….WITH LAUNCH OF ITS NEW GAMESTOP PLAYGROUND WEBSITE

Virtual Playground Features Interactive Games, Contests, and Gaming Tips for Parents

In an effort to provide more power to gamers – and their parents, GameStop, the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer, has launched the GameStop Playground, a virtual online playground of fun activities, videos, and mini-games for families to enjoy. In conjunction with its on-going "Respect the Ratings" efforts, the site also provides tools to help parents select appropriate games for their children, including shopping guides, gaming tips, ESRB ratings, and a list of recommended games for kids.

The GameStop Playground can be accessed online at: http://www.gamestop.com/playground,

where visitors are invited to try the WALL•E mini game, print out a template to make My Fashion Studio paper dolls, learn how to draw LEGO Batman, watch a Mario Kart video, and more. The site will be updated regularly to include new games, activities, contests, and helpful information.

To coincide with the launch of the site, GameStop Playground is currently hosting the "Build Your Own Activity Contest," which invites contestants come up with a cool and unique activity for the next issue of the GameStop activity book. The winner of the activity contest will receive a $500 GameStop gift card and have his/her activity featured in the book coming out this winter. Four runner-ups will each get $100 gift cards. All entries must be postmarked on or before Sept. 12, 2008. For complete rules, visit www.gamestop.com/playground/contest.

With more than 1,600 E-rated game titles to choose from, GameStop simplifies the game-selection process and gives power to the players. As the world's leading gaming specialty store, GameStop has the widest assortment of titles and an experienced staff to guide game selection for any ages.

Also making a rated appearance at ESRB.org is Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, the PlayStation 3 game that can't seem to keep its existence a secret. Surely, the title must be announced at E3 next week.

Finally, in other exciting news, Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium has been rated for a Wii release, meaning its Virtual Console appearance could be just months to a year away.

NY Senate Passes Video Game Bill 61-1 [GamePolitics]

ESRB Reins In Premature Game Leaks [Next-Gen]

While the Japanese continue to enjoy Yakuza 3, Americans are stuck with Yakuza 1. Don't even have Yakuza 2. Which came out in December 2006. But, hey, don't be so slum, chum. The ESRB have gone and classified it, which means it'll at least be out sometime. In the future. Which could be in six months, it could be while you toil the rest of your life away in an alien salt mine, who knows. The point is you can cross "if" off your speculation whiteboard, and circle "when" a little more furiously.

Yeah, we’re getting Yakuza 2 [Siliconera]

The original RBI Baseball, for those who aren't familiar with the title, was published for the NES by Tengen and was based on the Famicom baseball sim Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium. Sounds almost perfect for casual online multiplayer baseball fun, no?

In addition to those Hanabi Festival-caliber releases, Sega's platformer Alex Kid in Miracle World for the Sega Master System and Jaleco's City Connection for the NES were also rated as Wii VC candidates. In other words, everything you've been asking for from day one!

ESRB Game Ratings

Arizona Daily Star reporter Phil Villarreal received one of their emails this morning, asking if he'd be interesting in talking about GTA IV: Liberty City, a game with content "too deplorable and disgusting to describe in detail" which "appeal to the lowest common denominator by actually rewarding criminal activity and offering the gamer everything from a chance to drive drunk to the opportunity to solicit services from a prostitute."

Villarreal, a gamer himself, decided to take the PTC up on their offer and was not-so surprised to find that the council's copy of GTA IV seems to be slightly different from the one the rest of the world received. Among other additions to the PTC's copy of the game: You get points for drunk driving.

Hit up the full interview for all of the new PTC features.

You Get Points for Driving Drunk in this Game [Arizona Star]

ECA President Hal Halpin called the results, which improved significantly over 2007, "an extraordinary accomplishment," praising retailers' commitment to keep M-rated games out of kids' hands. "Perhaps most impressive is the incredible reversal in their failure rate over such a short period of time and with a comparatively new rating system," Halpin said.

"This is truly a vindication for video game merchants who have been falsely damned by anti-game advocates and special interest groups, who now don't have a leg to stand on. Our congratulations and thanks are extended to these retailers, who, above music and movie merchants, have proven their word, empowered parents and shown a commitment to corporate social responsibility."

The FTC survey, and Halpin's comments, come just on the heels of a bill in the U.S. House that would levy $5,000 fines for retailers who sell adult games to kids. The proposed legislation is similar to bills in states such as Oklahoma, Illinois and California, that were all ultimately ruled unconstitutional in 2007.

The survey, which also looked at R-rated movies, DVDs and "Parental Advisory"-labeled music, found that video games had the best enforcement rate.

The FTC also broke out its statistics by retailer. GameStop topped the list with a 94 percent enforcement rate, while Hollywood Video came in last with 60 percent enforcement.

The FTC announced its results just as Republican representative Lee Terry and Democratic representative Jim Matheson introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that seeks to reinforce Entertainment Software Ratings Board ratings at retail with $5000 fines for violators.

According to the FTC's study, ratings enforcement at retail has increased steadily since 2000, when 80% of its undercover shoppers successfully purchased M-rated games.

The ESRB conducts its own secret-shopper studies using the same surveyors as the FTC. Its most recent survey in November 2007 found 76 percent compliance with store policies.

"Video game retailers have clearly stepped up their efforts to enforce their store policies, and they deserve recognition for these outstanding results," said ESRB president Patricia Vance, in a statement released today. "We commend and applaud retailers for their strong support of the ESRB ratings, and will continue working with them to help ensure that these levels of compliance are sustained if not further increased."

Undercover Shoppers Find it's Increasingly Difficult for Children to Buy M-Rated Games [Federal Trade Commission

Retailers would be hit with a $5000 civil fine should they be found in violation of the act. Similar legislation has been attempted in Massachusetts, New York, Louisiana, California and beyond to hilarious, ruled as unconstitutional result.

Terry argued for the bill, saying that "In some games high scores are often earned by players who commit ‘virtual’ murder, assault and rape." Ah yes, the old "virtual rape" fantasy game. Glad to see this fiction still being tossed around by our elected officials.

Bill targets teen gamers [Variety - thanks, Carlos!]

Nonprofit advocacy group the Parents' Television Council takes their position on enforcement beyond just demanding legal consequences for retailers who sell M-rated games to kids under the age of 17. The council wants games like GTA IV locked up behind store counters, like cigarettes, tobacco and porn.

Gavin McKiernan, national grassroots director for the council, has never played a GTA game and does not dispute the right of mature adults to have access to it.

"The PTC thinks that there's room in our society for adult products, be they video games, movies, magazines, guns, whatever you want," he said. "But scientific research has shown and common sense tells you also that until [as children] we reach a certain stage, your mind and body are still growing and things have a different effect on you than they do as an adult and you don't have the perspectives to make the best decision."

"I know I was a blithering idiot when I was 16, and most people were," he said.

McKiernan believes that violent media actually causes harm to young people, pointing to studies from the University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Michigan State University, and the University of Oklahoma Medical School, among others, that appear to demonstrate a correlation between exposure to violent games and "aggressive" brain activity in adolescents.

"All of these correlations are the basis for preventative medicine... and the need for preventative steps to be taken, and the medical community accepts that on the whole," he said. "The potential for harm has been proven over and over again."

Video games like GTA IV are evaluated by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and assigned a rating that indicates the age group for which it is - or isn't - appropriate. And these games are intended for adults, not kids. The Entertainment Software Association's data finds that the average video game player is age 35, and the average video game purchaser is 40 years old.

"If you go into your Wal Mart, the guns are not marketed at eye level to children," McKiernan says. "They are not promoted widely and broadly as something everyone should be heading over to the gun aisle to pick up... But the stores are not treating these games as adult products."

And the ESRB's voluntary regulations are not enough, he said. "Parents can punish their kids for drinking when they're 15, but we still have laws to keep alcohol out of kids hands to help the parents because they can't be everywhere at every time."

"Specifically with GTA, there is no legal ramification for selling this game to children," McKiernan said. "We ask that stores not promote it to the wider audience, to children, and that it be treated like any other adult product, like an adult magazine, that is kept behind counters and not at the sight line and within reach."

Dan Hewitt, the Entertainment Software Association's senior director of communications, said that the laws the Council hopes for have been found unconstitutional over and over again, at every instance.

Nonetheless, McKiernan is frustrated that the ESRB advocates a responsible use of its rating system without lobbying for adoption of these laws, and he feels industry groups like the Entertainment Software Association should be on the front lines of this battle. "It seems hypocritical, from our viewpoint," he said. "These rules should become law and that would increase the enforcement of them... voluntary things tend to meet with varying levels of success."

"An unconstitutional law that repeatedly gets thrown out by the courts is not an effective way to empower parents," said the association's Hewitt, who still feels the most effective regulatory methods involve a collaboration between parents and family advocacy groups to inform themselves, such as the efforts made through ongoing partnership between the Parent-Teacher Association and the ESRB.

"And it's setting up a parameter by which games are being treated differently than other First Amendment-protected material. Treating games differently than books, magazines and movies goes against the First Amendment. You can't codify the ratings system; you can't give it the rule of law, because then you're giving the power of government away to a private entity."

So according to Hewitt, information and communication is still the best way to protect kids from material inappropriate for their age level. "Really robust actions that drive the messages out there, that put tools and information into parents' hands are great ways to educate, empower and ensure that the games kids are playing are the right ones... the activities that we're talking about don't waste taxpayer money, don't waste state resources, and don't waste legislators' time," he said.

Yee's press release then reminds parents with some questionable wording that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was "found" to have "graphic scenes of oral sex, nudity, and simulated intercourse" and paints a dire picture of ratings enforcement.

In related news, I issued my own warning to parents, urging them to, you know, look at the four guns on the cover and the girl fellating a lollipop and think for a second if their kids should be playing that. And that the answer was no, moron. Only Senator Yee's press release is after the jump, though.

Senator Yee Urges Parents to Avoid Latest Ultra-Violent Video Game Thursday, April 24, 2008

Latest Grand Theft Auto Video Game to be Released Tuesday

SACRAMENTO - Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), the author of California's law attempting to prohibit the sale of extremely violent video games to minors, today urged parents to avoid purchasing the latest graphically violent video game - Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV - scheduled for release on Tuesday, April 29. GTA IV, the newest in the ultra-violent video game series, is expected to be the year's most popular game despite its rating of M (Mature) for adult audiences.

"It is imperative that parents avoid purchasing this game for their children and always review the video games their children are playing," said Yee, who is also a child psychologist. "Unfortunately, the makers of Grand Theft Auto have a history of deceiving the ratings board and the public on the true content of their games. Parents beware: this game undoubtedly glorifies violence, is extremely realistic and designed for adults only."

In June 2005, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and GTA's creator Rockstar, were involved in a multi-million dollar scandal called "Hot Coffee," in which Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a game originally rated M by the ESRB, was found to have hidden animations allowing players to watch graphic scenes of oral sex, nudity, and simulated intercourse. The scandal resulted in the game being pulled from most store shelves, a $2.75 million class-action settlement, and the stocks of the Rockstar's parent company (Take Two Interactive) losing nearly half their value.

The ESRB rates a game based solely on a short video clip and information supplied by the game's maker and does not actually play or review the full content of the game. While M-rated games are designed for adults, there is no prohibition to selling such games to children. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission reports that 42 percent of unaccompanied children 13 to 16 years of age can successfully purchase M-rated games.

In addition, a recent report by the National Institute on Media & the Family found complacency among retailers, parents and the gaming industry regarding video game rating awareness, enforcement and usage. Among the report's highlights was a retailer grade of C-, with national retailers receiving a D and rental stores collecting a failing (F) grade. The game industry as a whole received a C and the ESRB received a C+.

Yee's 2005 law to prohibit the sale of extremely violent video games to minors in California is currently being litigated in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A bill authored by Yee in 2004, which has gone into effect, requires video game retailers to post signs informing consumers of the video game rating system.

Parents can learn more about GTA IV by visiting various online parental resources including www.whattheyplay.com, www.commonsensemedia.com, and www.parentstv.org.

ESRB president Patricia Vance, PTA president Jan Harpe Domini, and Andrew Bub of GamerDad.com spared nothing in an accessible, deliberate explanation not only of the ratings system, but in clarifying for parents how to open a dialogue on media exposure with their kids.

Vance reminded the webcast's audience, comprised in large part of parents and PTA members, that the average age of gamers is actually 33 years old — just as with books and movies, she said, there are games for all ages. It was noted that, despite M-rated games receiving the largest share of attention in the media, only about six percent of titles on the market receive that rating. The largest portion of available titles fall under the "E for Everyone 10+" umbrella.

In addition to checking the ratings, Vance noted that parents can reference content descriptors on a game's package to learn what elements earned the game its rating, and encouraged them to check other parts of a game's package, like its title or display screenshots, to inform themselves.

"We want parents to understand the important role they play in their children's video game activity, and it's their responsibility to ensure they have every opportunity to seek out every help they can get to make sure their child's safe and secure in what they're doing, and that they know what they're doing," said Harpe Domini.

Added Vance, "It's never been easier to get control over what your kids are playing... it's just a very easy thing with ratings and parental controls... there's really no excuse for a parent not to be informed and not to be involved."

The partnership between the ESRB and the PTA has produced a comprehensive booklet for parents of school-aged children, which features in-depth explanation of games ratings, content descriptors, online play and tips on discussion topics through which parents can engage their children, Vance explained.

Harpe Domini, Bub and Vance also explained parental controls on current consoles - in particular, how the Xbox 360's Family Timer feature can help parents restrict what types of content can play on the console and for how long. The booklet offered through the initiative explains step-by-step how to set up such controls. They also discussed why online interaction cannot be rated by the ESRB - "It's user-generated content," Vance summarized - and recommended that parents supervise their children's friends list and maintain awareness of who they are playing with online, while at the same time noting positives: online play can be a good way for family members to stay in touch.

Harpe Domini had a refreshingly realistic assessment of the value of online play to some kids. "Players have built a social reality in the online world," she explained - and urged parents to watch for signs of cyber-bullying the same way they would observe signs of face-to-face bullying in their children.

A more sophisticated element of parental involvement beyond just glancing at ratings was the theme of the webcast. "Most parents understand that it's their job to teach their children the ABCs, how to tie shoes or ride a bike. But it's just as much parents' responsibility to make sure that their children are consuming media that is appropriate based on their age and maturity level," said Harpe Domini.

"Every family is different; we don't make assumptions about what's appropriate for you," Vance added.

According to the ESRB, research indicates that 9 out of 10 parents are aware of the ratings and 3/4ths regularly use them. But, Vance conceded, "there's always more we can do" about that 25 percent of parents who don't pay attention to the ratings of the games their children play. She added that she hopes the initiative with the PTA will knock out those last few from the statistics.

During the webcast, audience members could answer poll questions that popped up. Only 51 percent of the audience responded that they always check game ratings; 10 percent said they never check. When it comes to parental controls, 50 percent responded that they had never set any up. 44 percent of parents monitor their kids' online play, 44 percent claim their kids do not play any games online, and 10 percent don't monitor at all.

Altogether, the team webcast went quite a bit beyond the usual degree of information and encouragement available from the already-forthcoming ESRB. Numerous times, the panelists stressed open communication and participatory dialogue between parents and children.

Harpe Domini added that, despite the priority of safety, "Parents should make sure kids aren't scared about these kinds of conversations. We don't want children to be frightened of different types of media." Parents should talk to kids, she urged, listen to their concerns and leave communication lines open on any topic.

In other words, concluded host Alex Goldfayn, "Parenting video games is exactly the same as parenting everything else."

ESRB AND PTA LAUNCH NEW NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO EDUCATE PARENTS ABOUT GAME RATINGS, PARENTAL CONTROLS AND ONLINE VIDEO GAME SAFETY

Booklets Distributed to PTAs and Available Online; Free Educational Webcast Scheduled for April 23

NEW YORK - Furthering their shared commitment to informing parents, Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and Parent Teacher Association (PTA) have launched a nationwide education campaign through which a new booklet, "A Parents Guide to Video Games, Parental Controls and Online Safety ," is being distributed to all 26,000 PTAs. The campaign enables and encourages PTAs to educate their community's parents about the ESRB rating system and parental control technology available on the various game systems, as well as the concerns that exist when games are played over an Internet connection and what parents can do to mitigate those concerns. The booklets, which offer a step-by-step guide to setting up parental controls as well as an article about online safety from Andrew S. Bub of GamerDad.com , are available for free download in English and Spanish through both the PTA and ESRB websites.

In addition to the booklet, a free webcast featuring PTA national president Jan Harp Domene, ESRB president Patricia Vance, and Andrew S. Bub will take place at 7:00 PM EDT on April 23, 2008. The webcast will explain the ESRB rating system, offer information on setting up parental controls for the Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PS3 and PSP, and Windows Vista, and include a discussion about online video game safety. It will conclude with a live text Q&A session with the experts.

"Video games continue to be a popular source of learning and entertainment for children, but today's games provide players with new abilities to interact with one another via online play. Just as with the Internet, that kind of interaction carries with it some risks," said Domene. "Using the ESRB ratings and setting up parental controls are important, proactive steps that parents can take to make sure their kids are playing games they deem appropriate. And being aware of the risks posed by online-enabled games and what can be done to keep their kids safe when playing online is crucial information for parents. We're very pleased to be offering them this guidance with the help of ESRB."

"Three in four parents use the ESRB ratings regularly when selecting games for their children, and the parental control features available in all the newest game systems give parents more control over the games their children play than ever before," said Vance. "But it's important for parents to fully appreciate what the experience of playing games today encompasses. Many online-enabled games allow players to interact in new ways, including online competitions or chatting with one another via text, audio or video. Parents should understand what type of content their child might be exposed to when playing games online, and what steps they can take to shield their children from content they deem inappropriate."

"Online-enabled games have opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Playing games online with others, whether they be friends or strangers, allows players to compete or cooperate with one another in new and exciting ways, and that enriches their experience with those games," said Bub, also known as GamerDad. "But with that ability to interact comes the ability to introduce content into a game that might not be appropriate for all players. Making sure parents are aware of the tools they can use to protect their kids is a central part of the GamerDad mission, and I'm delighted to have been able to take part in this initiative to arm parents with this information."

The ESRB engages in several ratings education initiatives that involve print, television and radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs) among other vehicles. Most recently, the ESRB launched a new ratings search "widget," which allows parents to search for ESRB ratings from a portable mini application that can be placed on their desktops, embedded in social networking pages or other web sites, and even shared with friends via email. It is available for free download at www.esrb.org/widget .

While many of ESRB's initiatives focus primarily on raising awareness and use of the ratings, the partnership with PTA also provides parents with valuable guidance and resources about computer and video games, parental controls and online safety, and is among the most extensive to date in terms of ground level support for communities nationwide.

PTAs nationwide will begin receiving the booklets in the coming days, and are encouraged to share them with PTA member parents through their PTA unit programs and events. The booklet is also be available online to all concerned parents through PTA.org.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village
"...A 10 year-old boy is traveling the countryside with an old professor he has no relation to? By all the ESRB's guidelines this is an E-Rated game with no objectionable content..."

Baby Pals
"...Though young girls may play out taking care of babies with their dolls, the thought of wiping a baby's ass on a DS's touch screen is counter to everything that is good and pure..."

High Rollers Casinos
"Huh, what? Hanging out in a casino and gambling is E-Rated?"

Since majority of the video game players of the world are over 18, putting in some sex or just random nudity shouldn't be a problem. Don't we have a fully robust ESRB system where games are clearly marked as Mature or Adult only? I can see people just coming out of the woodworks to complain that there is nudity...but again isn't that why games are rated? What other purpose do the small letters in the corner of games boxes serve?

How great would it have been if in Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, the counter terrorist units storm a strip club? Just picture yourself peeking around a corner and having a huge pair of breasts running your way!

Or walking into the club and putting your thermal goggles on and seeing a guy catching a BJ in the back room while searching for terrorists.

My guess as to why there's not more nudity in games, aside from the negative aspects of a potential controversy, is that rendered nudity still doesn't look all the attractive.

Lack of Nudity in Video Games [Loot Ninja via N4G][image]

The widget hunts through the more than 14,000 games indexed at the ESRB and spits out the answer without ever leaving the site.

"Our single most important message to consumers, particularly to parents, is that they should always check a game's ESRB rating when considering a purchase or rental for their children," said ESRB president Patricia Vance. "Parents are hungry for this information, and research shows that three-quarters of parents regularly check ESRB ratings when making purchase or rental decisions about which games to bring home. Our ratings search widget makes checking the rating that much more convenient. We're very excited to be offering this widget with the help of Clearspring."

The widget can even be customized by visiting the ESRB site so you can try and match it to your site's colors. You can even enter color codes in Hex to match stranger site colors like, say, deep red and baby poo green.

NEW YORK, NY - The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and Clearspring Technologies, a leading provider of widget syndication services, today announced the launch of a new ESRB ratings search widget that is available for free use and download by consumers. The widget allows users to search for ESRB ratings for more than 14,000 computer and video game titles in a portable application that can be placed directly onto their desktop, as well as imported onto their personal and social networking web pages. Several consumer and parenting websites also will begin offering the widget.

"Our single most important message to consumers, particularly to parents, is that they should always check a game's ESRB rating when considering a purchase or rental for their children," said ESRB president Patricia Vance. "Parents are hungry for this information, and research shows that three-quarters of parents regularly check ESRB ratings when making purchase or rental decisions about which games to bring home. Our ratings search widget makes checking the rating that much more convenient. We're very excited to be offering this widget with the help of Clearspring."

The ESRB ratings search widget, which is customizable by color, size and language (English, Spanish and French), can be grabbed using Clearspring's sharing menu. It can be easily embedded on blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace or shared with friends via email. The widget can also be downloaded onto desktops using Microsoft Vista and Macs running OSX, as well as Windows XP machines using Yahoo! Widgets. Additionally, the widget is being made available on various web sites and widget galleries, including Google and Yahoo!, where users can grab and place the widget onto their personalized homepages.

"We're very pleased to be teaming up with ESRB to make this tool available to consumers," said Clearspring vice president of sales and client services, Steve Touhill. "The most successful widgets provide access to functionality that users genuinely need or want in an easy-to-use application. Offering a way to quickly get to ratings information for the video games they're considering buying has real value for consumers."
"Last year, the ratings search feature of our website was incredibly popular, with more than four million ratings searches having been conducted," added Vance. "There's clearly a huge appetite among consumers for ratings information, and providing this widget will make it that much easier for them to make informed purchase or rental decisions."

Since its inception in 1994, the ESRB ratings have become a trusted resource for parents when buying or renting computer and video games. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report last April which found that nine in ten parents of children who play video games are aware of the ESRB ratings, 87% expressed satisfaction, and nearly three- quarters use them regularly when choosing games for their children. ESRB ratings are also featured in the parental control settings of some of the latest game console hardware (i.e., Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360), and supported by all leading game retailers in the U.S. and Canada.

A complete list of ratings, content descriptors and their definitions can be found on the ESRB website at www.esrb.org .

ESRB Software Ratings

One might also suspect that, when the game is finally release, opportunistic, fear mongering elected officials, clueless mainstream media and glory seeking attorneys may find extra content not listed, including Virtual Rape, Cop Killing, Overt Racism, Gerbil Abuse, Being On Someone's Lawn and Buggery. We're looking forward to a fun ride.

ESRB Game Ratings

Well, good news, PS3 owners! It's one step closer to arriving on the Kutaragi console-child, with the ESRB issuing a rating for Fatal Inertia EX this week. That EX means that it's getting the standard late PS3 port with (presumably) extra features that will probably then show up as downloadable content for the Xbox 360. Who's pumped for this whole dance again?! Whooo!

ESRB Game Ratings

Hit the jump and I'll show you what all that means when compared to the actual amount M-rated games were released in 2007.

What we see here is that while Mature games don't dominate the marketplace's overall selection, they are certainly doing their part in dictating what we buy. Note: the ESRB numbers include more than just console titles, so this comparison should NOT be taken as scientific. With that in mind, see that Mature's 6% of games sold 21% of overall game revenue. Hit the link for the whole story as told by Next Gen.

By the Numbers: M-Rated Games Rake It In [Next Generation]

In Europe we are quite used to see many forms of sexual expression in fine art, books, films and even on television. The games are not seen much differently then. In order to see sexual references or various forms of sexual acts (although softer ones) we never had to cross over into pay-per-view TV or head off to the seedy part of town.

If we stay within the limits of good taste, without being explicit, we had always known that whatever we showed in The Witcher would be acceptable for our target, mature audience without banning us to some kind of 'porn' games ghetto... We just want to let mature gamers — the audience we created the game for - play the game they want to play. At 18 years of age, you can walk into a store in the US and buy movies, magazines, etc. that have much more objectionable content than what you can see in The Witcher.

The raters were viewed as more of an electoral college, and our ratings were not always the final ones issued. Sometimes, we'd see a full letter rating change (a game we gave an M would be lowered to a T, for example, or a T raised to an M).

We highly value our raters' recommendations, and their opinions are always the principal determining factor when assigning a rating. But they cannot be the sole criteria on which a rating is based. To avoid confusing parents, consistency in how age ratings or content descriptors are assigned for similar content must be part of the process.

For more of the story, hit the links. Or better still, pick up an issue of this month's EGM.

Ex-Game Rater Dishes the Dirt... ESRB Boss Fires Back [GamePolitics via Gamasutra][image]

ESRB Game Ratings

There is a handy website that allows you to search the bible for content. Using this we find that the King James version has "harlot" in it 48 times, "sodomite" 5 times, "fornicator" 5 times, "smite" 133 times, "kill" 208 times and "maim" 7 times. This is shocking, you have to wonder what any right minded parent is doing exposing their children to this stuff.

The Bible Vs video games [BruceOnGames via GamePolitics]

More neat stats from the ESRB in 2007:

•94% of games were rated for children 13 and younger
•The 'E' (6+) category saw the biggest growth of all
•60% of ratings were 'E'

So it would seem that parents opposed to headshots can find plenty of alternative content for their children in today's video game market. So unless anyone feels like content has been mislabeled, it pretty much negates the bitchfest in my mind.

ESRB Newsletter Winter 2008 [ESRB via GoNintendo]

When contacted for comment, Capcom reps simply replied "Stay Tuned." Well, to be perfectly precise, they replied "stay_tuned.jpg." With GDC and a Capcom Gamers Day coming soon, we won't be surprised when Capcom announces something about Colonies.

ESRB Game Ratings

ESRB Game Ratings

While we've heard whispers that a new Factor 5 developed Turrican game may be in the works, it would seem that Julian Eggebrecht and crew are waiting for something to light a fire under them. What's it gonna take, guys?

ESRB Game Ratings [ESRB]

Recently Common Sense Media, a non-partisan organization "dedicated to improving the media lives of children and families", sent out a questionnaire about kids and the media to the current roster of presidential candidates.

In it they only ask one specific question about video games, the candidates take on legislating violent video games sales. Only Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, Senator Barack Obama, Former Governor Mitt Romney and Governor Bill Richardson answered the questions in time for the deadline. The answers, I believe, give readers a sense on the candidate's take on video games and the first amendment.

In his answer Edwards points to the ESRB as a good example of industry responsibility. Barack seems to be calling for the feds to get involved, if only to once more study the impact of video games on "children's cognitive development." Richardson calls for the parents to be educated about the inappropriate content of "many video games." Citing the need to protect children from a "societal cesspool of filth, pornography, violence, sex and perversion", Romney says that the government needs to "get serious" against retailers that sell adult games to children.

Both Edwards and Barack also sort of talk a bit about gaming when answering a question about managing their childrens' media use. Hit the jump to read their answers to that question and all four candidates full take on video game censorship.

Question: How Do You Manage Your Kids' Media Use?

Senator John Edwards of North Carolina
My wife Elizabeth and I spend as much time with our children - Jack, who's 7; Emma Claire, who's 9; and Cate, who's 25 — as possible, on and off the campaign trail. We try to limit the time our younger children spend watching TV and playing video games by providing them with a lot of other activities. Our youngest children both play community sports, and Elizabeth especially does a lot of arts-and-crafts projects with them. Beyond UNC games, watching television isn't a favorite pastime in our home.

Elizabeth likes to say that we've had children in the '70s, the '80s, the '90s and our youngest just in 2000, so we've faced a wide range of parenting challenges and joys, including changes in media and popular culture. We've always encouraged our kids to think critically about the things they see on television and in movies in light of the values we've tried to instill in them.

Senator Barack Obama
As a general matter, we try to limit the amount of television our children watch. Children watch an average of three hours a day of TV — for African American children, it's four. It's too much, and all parents should turn off the TV and read to their children more often. But when our children do watch television, we try to watch it with them. This means finding programming that we can watch as a family and being there to answer any questions it may raise with our kids.

Obviously, this gets harder when I am on the campaign trail. But Michelle and I make every effort to read with our kids as much as possible. Rather than just sitting them in front of the television, we try to get them to read the latest Harry Potter.

Question: To date, nearly 10 states have considered legislation to keep violent video games out of kids' hands. Would you support this type of legislation at the federal level? What other strategies would you support to keep the video game industry and other media companies from marketing and selling inappropriate content to children?

Answers:
John Edwards, D-NC: While parents must ultimately decide what video games their children play, a lot of the responsibility for restricting marketing should be placed on software manufacturers. The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a good example of industry responsibility, and I support its ratings program, guidelines for responsible advertising practices, and outreach to game manufacturers and retailers. I also support leading video console manufacturers' use of parental controls.

But we have more work to do. An investigation by the Federal Trade Commission found that, since 2000, the likelihood of a child under age 17 being able to purchase an M-rated game (intended for people 17 or older) has been cut in half, falling from 85 percent to 42 percent. That number is much too high, and the FTC has also reported continued problems with the marketing of these games, especially on the Internet. If the industry does not continue to make progress in keeping video games with intense violence and adult content away from children, we will need to consider further steps to ensure that parents' decisions about their children's exposure to these games are not being undermined by retailers, advertisers and manufacturers.

Barack Obama, D-IL: We need to give parents the tools and information they need to make choices about what programs their children are watching or what video games they are playing. As we move towards a digital environment, there is a golden opportunity for the industry to do this on their own—to use the latest in technology to give parents more information and more choice. For example, this technology could make it possible for parents to create their own family tier just by programming their television to block certain channels, block certain genres of programming like dramas, or block television at certain times of the day. The same can be said of video games, especially as we're moving into an era when they can be downloaded as easily as today's movies and television shows.

I would call upon the video game industry to give parents better information about programs and video games by improving the voluntary rating system we currently have. Broadcasters and video game producers should take it upon themselves to improve this system to include easier to find and easier to understand descriptions of exactly what kind of content is included. But if the industry fails to act, then my administration would.

And even if the industry does do some responsible self-policing, there's still a role for the federal government to play. We need to understand the impact of these new media better. That's why I supported federal funding to study the impact of video games on children's cognitive development.

Bill Richardson, D-NM: I would consider this legislation, but I truly believe that we should make sure parents are educated about the inappropriate content of many video games. We have to get parents — all parents — more involved in the education of our nation's students. Legislation and teachers cannot do it alone, no matter how good they are. Parental involvement is more important to a child's success than any test or book.

As president, I will issue an executive order that provides all federal employees with eight hours per year of paid, one-to-one time with their children. And I will encourage businesses and the rest of the public sector to do the same.

Mitt Romney, R-MA: I want to restore values so children are protected from a societal cesspool of filth, pornography, violence, sex, and perversion. I've proposed that we enforce our obscenity laws again and that we get serious against those retailers that sell adult video games that are filled with violence and that we go after those retailers.

Presidential Questions [Common Sense Media]

"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.

The National Institute on Media and the Family officially released their Video Game Report Card today, the one we leaked yesterday. No surprises there, but today Patricia Vance, head of the Entertainment Software Rating Board, responded to their not so wonderful "grade" in the report.

In a nutshell she says that the NIMF folks totally misunderstood the whole Manhunt 2 fiasco and that their "study" on parental awareness of video game ratings contradicts what the Federal Trade Commission found earlier this year.

Bottom line, the ESRB rating system is an effective and reliable resource for parents. We will continue to provide ratings that, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation , are considered by parents to be the most useful among media rating systems for movies, music, TV and games.

Full release after the jump.

"The ESRB and NIMF share the common goal of providing parents and caregivers with reliable information so they can make informed decisions when it comes to the games they choose for their families. We appreciate their praise of the effectiveness of ESRB ratings as a tool for parents as well as our ongoing efforts to educate consumers about the ratings. However, in many significant ways, this year's NIMF Report Card contradicts recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) findings related to parents' awareness, use and satisfaction with ESRB ratings, as well as retailer support of the ratings. 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.

The FTC's report to Congress earlier this year called the ESRB rating system "a useful and informative tool that parents increasingly use to help them make informed decisions about games for their children." Its nationwide survey of over 1,300 parents showed that nearly nine in ten parents with children that play video games are satisfied with the ESRB rating system, three in four use it regularly, 94% find the ratings easy to understand, and 59% never let their children play Mature-rated games. The most recent FTC mystery shopper research concluded that "substantial" progress continues to be made by retailers to enforce their store policies regarding the sale or rental of M-rated games to those under 17, matching that of theatres' restrictions of admittance to R-rated films and far exceeding that for the sale of R-rated DVDs.

Bottom line, the ESRB rating system is an effective and reliable resource for parents. We will continue to provide ratings that, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation , are considered by parents to be the most useful among media rating systems for movies, music, TV and games."

I have now, sitting on my laptop, a leaked copy of the National Institute on Media and the Family's annual Media Wise Video Game Report Card, set to be officially released tomorrow.

The annual report card is becoming increasingly out-dated and unnecessary, something that probably explains the desperate tone of this year's report. In his executive summary for the report, David Walsh tries to drum up a little fear, a little attention by first admitting that things have actually gotten quite good when it comes to ratings awareness and enforcement, but then hints at an "ominous backslide on multiple fronts."

What's interesting is that the summary cites very specific examples for the positive, such as Target removing Manhunt 2 from shelves after finding AO content was viewable with a hack, or that GameStop has started firing people for selling M-rated games to minors, but doesn't really do the same for the negative. Instead Walsh writes that "Complacency, especially on the part of retailers and parents, appears to have caused a backslide in ratings awareness and enforcement."

Walsh continues:

And, at the same time, while the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has continued to educate the public about its video game rating system, several shocking incidents have inadvertently revealed dangerous loopholes in the ratings process. Simply put, some of the hard-won progress seen in previous years has been lost, and now, too many children are spending too much time playing inappropriate video games that can harm their health and development.

His only example, the fact that a few churches were using Halo as a way to attract young gamers back to the church.

It is in from this morass of self-doubt and shaky evidence that NIMF launches their detailed "report card" on gaming this year.

This year's report card is broken into five parts: The MediaWise Video Game Report Card, the Buying Guide, the ESRB Rating System and Ratings Education Efforts, the Retailer Ratings Education and Enforcement Surveys and a new poll they conducted of kids and parents with Harris Interactive.

Here's the quick summary for each.

The MediaWise Video Game Report Card
Parental Involvement: Grade: C
ESRB Ratings Education: Grade: B
Retailer Policies: Grade: C
Retailer Ratings Enforcement
National Retailers: Grade: D
Specialty Stores: Grade: B
Rental Stores: Grade: F
The Gaming Industry: Grade: C

The Buying Guide
Parent Alert! Games to Avoid for your Children and Teens
Assassin's Creed M
Call to Duty 4 M
Conan M
The Darkness M
Jericho M
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men M
Manhunt 2 M
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles M
Stranglehold M
Time Shift M

MediaWise Recommended Games for Children and Teens
Game Rating
FIFA Soccer 08 E
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock T
Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour E
Madden NFL 08 E
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games E
Need for Speed Pro Street E+10
The Sims 2: Castaway T
Super Mario Bros. 3 E
Super Mario Galaxy E
Viva Pinta E

ESRB Rating System and Ratings Education Efforts
I was surprised to find myself agreeing with some of what NIMF had to say about the ESRB. It's not excusable that Manhunt 2 content remained in the game, and just blurred. I still don't see why the result was so different than with what happened with the Hot Coffee incident.

As the report says, something needs to be done about the evaluation of video games by the ESRB. If they can't monitor everything in a game, or find a way to deal with stuff that gets slipped in, than there's a problem.

The Retailer Ratings Education and Enforcement Surveys
As they do each year NIMF sent kids into 58 stores across the country to try and buy M-rated titles. They end result? Kids were able to buy M-rated games 45 percent of the time. The break down shows that gaming stores were the best at enforcing the rules (80 percent compliance) and rental stores were the worst (17 percent compliance.)

Annual MediaWise-Harris Interactive Poll
While NIMF seems to be trying to use this new poll they conducted to prove that television ratings are used more often the video game ratings by parents, I don't think that's really true. If you skip their summary and dig into the raw numbers you find that 27 percent of parents never use tv ratings to decide if their kids should watch a show and 23 percent of parents never use video game rating to decide if their kids should play a game. Seems pretty neck and neck to me.

• Top Hunter (Neo Geo)
• Puyo Puyo 2 (Sega Genesis)
• The King of Fighters '94 (Neo Geo)
• Baseball Stars 2 (Neo Geo)
• Bases Loaded (NES)
• The Dynastic Hero (TurboGrafx-16)
• Power Golf (Neo Geo)

Also worth noting is a rating for Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, which sports an E10+ rating. A bit surprising, considering the darker nature of the Nintendo DS sequel and Nintendo's own expectations of a T rating.

ESRB Game Ratings