The gaming industry once again will be going on the defensive from both media research groups, as well as the government.?In the case of the former, the National Institute on Media and the Family had few kind words for gaming in their "10th annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card", giving the industry a D+ grade overall.?Their strongest criticism lies with the ESRB game ratings, and echo popular sentiment these days by claiming they hardly represent game content accurately.?Deeming the ESRB broken "beyond repair", the NIMF will hold its own Ratings Summit next year to determine a new games rating solution.

Meanwhile Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton will propose a new video game regulation bill titled the "Family Entertainment Protection Act" which is largely similiar to the one already passed into law in California recently.?However, GameSpot writes that Senator Clinton's bill will put the industry under even tighter government scrutiny.?Annual reports are the name of the game here.

In addition to fining retailers found guilty of selling "violent" gaming titles to minors, the Family Entertainment Protection Act will also grant the Federal Trade Commission the authority to conduct a yearly, random audit of said retailers and report to Congress just how accessible inappropriate gaming material is to minors.

The Family Entertainment Protection Act also allows private citizens to file complaints with the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) should they find game ratings "misleading or deceptive".?These investigations and reports will in fact be part of an annual analysis of the ESRB game ratings, meaning all this is about their credibility once again.

"...one aspect of the act will undoubtedly send shivers through the industry. Not only will Section III of the bill give the FTC the authority to investigate misleading ratings, it will actually require the body 'to conduct an investigation to determine whether what happened with GTA: San Andreas is a pervasive problem.'

An even more ominous-sounding aspect of Section III is how it will empower the FTC to 'take appropriate action if [Congress] determines that there is a pervasive problem' with the ESRB's rating system. This means new, federal game ratings that could replace the current system if sufficient fault was found by the FTC."

Article Link: GameSpot

[ Remark ] [ Print ] [ Font: Large Standard Small ]

Last News: DRAM prices on the decline Next News: Intel Confirms Fabrication Technology Roadmap