Amid the considerable buzz over Microsoft's Xbox, few have taken notice of the announcement that Microsoft will solder a V-chip-style control inside the video game console. Details about the device are not known yet, but it will probably allow parents to prevent their kids from playing games rated for violent or sexual content.
Indeed, according to the Interactive Digital Software Association, 58 percent of console game consumers are over 18 years old. Nevertheless, under pressure from critics like Senators Joseph Lieberman and John McCain, developers have adopted their own self-regulatory measures, including the ESRB, which puts detailed labels and advisories on games and in advertising. Since 1994, the ESRB's team of 100 raters '” which includes housewives and retired schoolteachers '” evaluates all of the console games and about three-fourths of the PC games released each year. |
And to the consternation of kids everywhere, the ratings given to video games tend to be stricter than those given to movies. For example, an R-rated movie might feature drug use and sexual situations. If the same material appeared in a game, it would be rated AO (Adults Only) '” the gaming equivalent of NC-17. To help educate parents, the ESRB plans to begin the second in a series of broadcast public-service announcements, featuring such squeaky-clean celebrities as Tiger Woods.
Source: MSNBC
