The gaming industry is consistently under fire for some of its more mature titles, with some in the mainstream ignoring the good work done by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Certain pundits may not recognize the efforts of the ESRB, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has in a report they released today to congress, where they said that gaming "outpaces" other entertainment media in restricting mature content to children.
"The Commission commends the ESRB for its new online ratings summaries, which provide a more detailed explanation of the content that factored into a game's rating,” said the FTC. “This tool should enhance parental understanding of the ratings and the ratings process."
"The computer and video game industry leads all others in ensuring its products are marketed appropriately and is the gold standard for others to follow," said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA. "Today's FTC report is a strong acknowledgement and validation that industry-led self-regulation efforts are the best way to provide parents and retailers with the resources and support they need to keep our kids' entertainment experiences suitable."
The research by the FTC claims that 80 percent of attempted M-rated games purchases by minors are stopped. The Commission also found that the industry avoided marketing M-rated titles on TV programs or web sites targeted to youths.
1 Comments
December 3, 2009
The industry will continue to be under fire until such time as the general public stops equating "games" with "products for kids". Given the growth in social gaming, casual gaming, and other markets, this appears much more likely than it did in the past.
It continues to be important for publishers to label their products appropriately, and make it very clear to potential buyers what they are (and are not) getting. One of the side effects in the expansion of the gaming market to include females and more casual gamers is a reduction in the crude marketing attempts to appeal to 13-year-old boys of all ages.
The interesting thing will be to see when game ratings affect the design of the game, as we see in movies. Will designers begin adding in scenes just to get a nastier rating, if games with that rating sell better?