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Politicians do 180, decide to work with ESRB

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Trasher

Posted: Dec 9 2006, 02:08 AM

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Clinton, Lieberman join ESRB in TV ad campaign

QUOTE (Ars Technica)

The Entertainment Software Rating Board will begin airing public service announcements on the television and radio to educate parents about the video game ratings system and encouraging them to use it in family purchasing decisions. The PSA campaign got underway yesterday, with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) joining ESRB president Patricia Vance at the Capitol to kick it off.

There are six 30-second television commercials and two Spanish- and English-language radio spots that come in 30- and 60-second versions. The commercials have been distributed to 800 stations in the US, which will begin airing them during the holiday season.

Sen. Clinton and Sen. Lieberman's backing for the ad campaign is significant. Both of them sponsored last year's Family Entertainment Protection Act, which would have established federally coordinated oversight of the ESRB's game rating system. Retailers selling M-rated games to minors would have also faced penalties under the legislation while the FTC would have been put in charge of tracking complaints about the ratings system.

When she announced the new legislation in the wake of the National Institute on Media and Family's poor report card on the video game industry last year, Sen. Clinton said, "This is about protecting children."

Senator Lieberman added, "There is a growing body of evidence that points to a link between violent videos and aggressive behavior in children. We are not interested in censoring videos meant for adult entertainment but we do want to ensure that these videos are not purchased by minors."

This time around, Sen. Clinton and Sen. Lieberman—likely aware of the failure of every state law designed to regulate the sale of violent video games—are much more upbeat about the current ratings system. "I continue to be concerned about the impact on minors of playing violent video games intended for older players," Sen. Lieberman said yesterday. "Thus, I am very pleased that the ESRB and the retailers are taking these positive steps to reach out to parents to educate them about the rating system."

...

What a difference a year makes. Last year, the ESRB was still reeling from the aftermath of the Hot Coffee scandal and was the target of widespread criticism from politicians, especially after the aforementioned bad report card from the NIMF. The ESRB has devoted much of its energy to improving its image and more importantly, get the message out about the video game ratings system. That includes encouraging retailers to not sell AO- and M-rated games to minors, an effort acknowledged by the NIMF in this year's report card.

It's too early to call the video game backlash over, but the climate surrounding the gaming industry has definitely changed. It looks as though ESRB's efforts are paying off nicely. Now we can go back to complaining about the quality of the video games instead of the ratings system.

Interesting stuff, considering that Clinton and Lieberman were severely pissed off by the Hot Coffee thing, and Lieberman's been gunning against violent games since Mortal Kombat came out.

Wonder how a certain fellow who's name rhymes with "Lack" will react to this...

MikeL	Posted: Dec 9 2006, 04:32 AM
expert Group: Members Posts: 11327 Member No.: 267 Joined: 28-January 04 Status: (0d)	Hahaha.

Hatman	Posted: Dec 9 2006, 07:53 AM
The astro craaag Group: Members Posts: 10223 Member No.: 2510 Joined: 16-August 06 Status: (0d)	Quite the turn around!

AppleQueso	Posted: Dec 9 2006, 11:18 AM
This is Metal. Group: Members Posts: 5124 Member No.: 2370 Joined: 22-July 06 Status: (0d)	I'm all for promoting ratings. -------------------- NO Body sprite ref *GONIN-ISH > ANYTHING*

Nicholas Ainsworth	Posted: Dec 9 2006, 11:24 AM
cue fanfare Group: Global Moderators Posts: 25399 Member No.: 621 Joined: 27-September 04 Status: (0d)	Okay, I just recovered a small bit of all respect I lost for Lieberman. Hillary was safe, however, because she was married to Bill. -------------------- Currently seeking talented and dedicated Python users for assistance with an important project. PM me for details.

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