Existing video game classification scheme could serve as provincial model: CIDSA

Provincial justice ministers have called for a new video game classification system to combat what they perceive as excessive violence, even though an existing system has been in place since November 1994. The North American-wide video games rating system was developed by the U.S.-based Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), in collaboration with the Canadian Interactive Digital Software Association (CIDSA). Harvey Nightingale, executive director of CIDSA, says his group has already been contacted by the BC Attorney General’s office to participate in discussions about video game violence and a potential new rating system. Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children70% of "M" rated games have been marketed to children under 17. 51% of game titles had at least one plan expressly including children in the target audience. Marketing documents for 23 other "M" rated games used magazines or TV shows with substantial under-17 viewership, suggesting they were a target audience. 91% of companies contacted had developed at least one marketing document targeting children under 17 for violent games.Federal Trade Commission; September 2000At a meeting earlier this month of provincial justice ministers, BC took the lead in garnering agreement for a four-point plan to address the effects of video game violence on children and youth. The ministers agreed to: Research to identify the sources of offensive violence in child- and youth-oriented media; Develop a public awareness campaign to help parents, teachers and youth take appropriate action to reduce the impact of violent media images on kids; Cooperate to explore the development of an interprovincial/territorial approach to video game classification; and Examine issues relating to the exposure of children and youth to media violence through the Internet and other convergent media. While the four action items are vague, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office told Canadian NEW MEDIA that each of the ministers is now in discussion with their colleagues in preparation for a meeting at an unspecified later date. British Columbia was the first province to restrict sales of a video game – Raven Software’s Soldier of Fortune – due to what it described as "gory violence that results in the horror of evisceration, decapitation, dismemberment and victims burning to death.". Nightingale says if provincial governments want to institute a classification system, they would do well to adopt the ESRB. The ESRB is an independent rating board funded by each of the main video game manufacturers including console games and those for the personal computer. New games are submitted to the board before release, and raters are given the task of assigning ratings based on criteria about the level of violence or other mature content. When the ratings are consistent, the game will carry that rating on the box, and the final release is re-checked to ensure the game is the same as that first rated. If companies want a different rating, he says, they have to change the content. A peek at Raven Software’s site indicates that Soldier of Fortune carries an "M" (mature) rating from the ESRB, and that it has parental controls to "scale down" the violence. Nightingale says it’s his understanding that a meeting with provincial officials could take place as early as October. While a ratings system is unlikely to hurt video game sales overall, Nightingale says it might change the sales channels for them. Violent games are overwhelmingly bought by adults, and sales through the Internet to customers with credit cards could be a practical alternative to restricted physical retail sales, he says. Several online retailers won’t carry "M" rated games, but countless alternatives exist for buyers who want the product. The move to institute a ratings system for games follows days in the wake of a new U.S. Federal Trade Commission report on marketing violent entertainment to children, and a BC discussion paper titled Violence, the Media and our Children. The BC paper notes that in 1998, of the 33 most popular video games, 80 per cent were violent and 21 per cent portrayed violence towards women. "We know that parents are the best mediators of their children’s viewing," says the report. "Parents can judge their child’s maturity level and discuss with them any disturbing images portrayed in the media. However, as children become more and more technologically savvy, they will make choices without their parent’s knowledge or consent. The BC Government’s intent is to implement a classification system for all video games that allows parents and youth to make informed choices." In the U.S., the FTC found that only 45 per cent of parents were aware of the electronic games rating system, though satisfaction among those who used it was very high. The FTC also found that "nearly all of the game companies contacted have marketed violent M-rated games to children in violation of the IDSA’s anti-targeting provision."

Existing video game classification scheme could serve as provincial model: CIDSA

News | 09/20/2000 4:00 am EDT

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