Activision Partners With Doctor For Parental Information Videos

Activision recently announced a partnership with co-director for the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Cheryl Olson, who's know in the industry for co-authoring Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games. The two parties will work together on the "Ratings Are Not a Game" initiative which will educate parents on the ESRB's rating system.

"Activision is committed to providing consumers with guidelines and information to help them determine which video games are most appropriate for their families," said Mike Griffith, president and CEO of Activision Publishing. "We are proud to partner with Dr. Olson and believe that these videos will be informative and useful tools for families."

Activision has produced seven videos with Dr. Olson to help parents understand how their children relate to games and how games can grow the parent-child bond. The first two videos can be watched now at activision.com/RatingsAreNotAGame.

"I'm pleased to partner with Activision on this initiative, and applaud their consideration for parents' concerns," said Olson. "As a parent myself, I know there are so many things to worry about and not enough time, especially during the holiday season. These videos give practical research-based advice on how to help your kids--and your family--get more out of video games, and how to watch for and limit electronic game play."

Ultimately, these sorts of initiatives are key to reaching a demographic of parents (and particularly mothers) that might disapprove or misunderstand games, so we're glad to see Activision taking a pro-active approach to matters.