Video game industry asked to improve games ratings for parents

WASHINGTON - Multiple studies have been conducted about content in video games related to violence, sexual themes and profanity that goes unlabeled on the games' packaging, even for games intended for the youngest users.

The latest such study has prompted a Catholic congressman, Rep. Joe Baca, D-Calif., to call on the video-game industry to improve its ratings systems and give parents "clear, accurate information that they can understand" so they know what video games are appropriate for their children. Meanwhile, a video game on making peace won a prize during a huge video-game exposition in Los Angeles. Results of a new study released by the Harvard School of Public Health's Kids Risk Project found that 81 percent of video games rated "M" for mature contained sex, profanity, violence or other objectionable content not labeled on the game box. "Parents and physicians should recognize that popular M-rated video games contain a wide range of unlabeled content and may expose children and adolescents to messages that may negatively influence their perceptions, attitudes and behaviors," the study concluded. A previous study of games rated "T" for teens found nearly half of the games in a random sample contained unlabeled content and those rated "E" for everyone also had a considerable amount of violent content. Baca, a leading critic of the video-game industry for its marketing of violent and sexually explicit material to children, decried the study's findings at an April 28 press conference in Washington. "Violent and sexually explicit video games are not merely a modern form of entertainment; they have profoundly harmful impacts on children who use them," said Baca. "Because the consequences are so serious, we must make sure parents have accurate information about video games." Baca and Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Neb., both of whom co-chair the Congressional Sex and Violence in the Media Caucus, wrote a letter with Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., to the Entertainment Software Review Board, the video-game industry's self-governing body, asking the board to meet with caucus members and fix the rating system. Baca is a founder of the caucus. Elizabeth Carll, chair of the American Psychological Association's interactive media committee, said at the press conference, "Video games may increase learning more than films and TV because the player is an active participant who identifies with a violent character, the violent acts can be repeated many times, and the violent behavior is often rewarded with the winner being the person who kills and destroys the most." In Los Angeles, in a contest organized by the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy, a cross-cultural game about the Israel-Palestine conflict called "Peacemaker," and designed by graduate students from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, won an award May 8. It was presented at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, the annual trade show for the $30 billion industry. According to the Reuters news agency, the contest challenged designers to modify popular games or create one of their own to include messages of global peace and friendship. In "Peacemaker" players are Israelis and Palestinians who negotiate dangerous situations. Other finalists included "Exchanging Cultures," in which diplomats explore new countries, and "Hydro Hijinks," a quiz game about international water issues and conflicts over water rights.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops