Those two great tastes that taste great together, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and the Parent Teacher Association are gearing up for a big push towards educating parents about gaming ratings, parental controls, and video game safety in general. They're going to assault the epidemic of ignorant parents with a barrage of educational pamphlets, available both online and off, covering such topics as setting up parental controls, making sure your child isn't being solicited by perverts, and of course, the ratings themselves. Along with the pamphlets, there will be a free webcast on the 23rd of this month at 7 PM Eastern featuring ESRB president Patricia Vance and PTA president Jan Harp Domene, and GamerDad Andrew S. Bub covering all these topics and ending with a Q&A session with the trio. Hit the jump for the full press release, which includes information on where to get your hands on those lovely pamphlets and how to participate in the webcast, the audience of which will most likely be 99% gaming press, ourselves included.
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Riding the recent wave of video-games-are-good-for-you comes a new study that says there is a strong relationship between gaming skills and a surgeon's ability to perform laparoscopic surgery. As CNN explains, laparoscopy involves manipulating instruments through a small incision. The surgeon's movements are then followed on a television screen. The study stated that doctors who game at least three hours per week made 37 percent fewer errors, performed 27 percent faster and scored 42 percent better in a surgical test than doctors who never game. Says the study's author Dr. James Rosser:
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This "Livewire" program from Nickelodeon dates from the early 1980s and was hosted by Fred Newman. PTA Council President Ronnie Lamm talks about "proliferation" of arcade cabinets turning up in the pizza parlors, the bowling alleys, and *gasp* the stationary stores. Her demands? Keep children from being bombarded by this form of entertainment. And she's dead serious. Just check out that flannel-shirt kid's expression when she talks of owning store owners forty bucks at the end of the month! Brian AshcraftMore »
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