Lieberman, Klobuchar Release 12th Annual Video Game Report Card

Press Release

Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today joined Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Dr. David Walsh of the National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF) to unveil their twelfth annual "Video Game Report Card." This year's report suggested that complacency among parents, retailers and the video game industry has created a decline in ratings awareness and enforcement and caused an increase in the relative ease with which minors can still purchase M-rated games.

"Our children are born into a high tech media world," Lieberman said. "They live and breathe it. And, in many ways, it enhances their lives and ours. But, we must all do everything we can to make it a positive experience, and not a harmful one. And I commend Dr. Walsh and the National Institute on Media and the Family, for their role in working towards this goal."

Klobuchar stressed the role of parents and the importance of solid independent ratings stating, "During this holiday shopping season, I would urge parents to be aware of video game ratings and the resources available to them to monitor their child's game choices and screen time. Preparing our children to live in a digital world requires utilizing and developing technologies to help parents, and a commitment to teach children the difference between what is right and what is wrong."

This year was another big year for video games as popular games like Halo and Guitar Hero released sequels that shattered previous records and Microsoft introduced a screen time timer for the Xbox 360. But 2007 also saw controversy with Rockstar's Manhunt 2 initially receiving an AO rating (Adults-Only) and its later version being hacked to show explicitly violent content.

The report card comes days after the release of a study from the Entertainment Software Association that showed the U.S. entertainment software industry's economic impact on the U.S. economy was $3.8 billion.

The 12th Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card found that the progress of the previous years had reversed with respect to parental awareness and retail enforcement. The report also found parents and their children, especially those 8-12 years old, have repeated arguments over when and how much time kids can play video games. But, the report did have some positive findings, including the fact that all new consoles are being produced with parental controls, that the ESRB had embarked on an education campaign, including creating and distributing public service announcements, and that some large retailers, such as K-Mart, Hollywood Video and EB Games, were 100 percent successful in preventing minors from purchasing Mature-rated games.

In their report card, NIMF also found the following:

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72% of parents still know little or nothing about the video game ratings system.
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Nearly 50% of minors were able to purchase M-rated games - up from 30% last year - during "secret shopper" surveys.
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79% of young teens admit to playing M-rated video games.

Based on these findings, NIMF makes the following recommendations:

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Increased education efforts;
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Parental awareness regarding their children's media activities;
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Retail enforcement of the rating system.

NIMF is an independent non-partisan, non-sectarian, nonprofit organization. The Institute's mission is to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm of media on the health and development of children and families.

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