RETAILERS CRITICIZED AS FAILING VIDEOGAME REPORT CARD
Videogame industry received “F” from media and family group Thurs., prompting Sen. Lieberman (D-Conn.) to say congressional hearings might be warranted. National Institute on Media & the Family (NIMF) highlighted violence against women in games when giving its first overall failing score on its annual MediaWise Videogame Report Card. Retailers were criticized in report for failing to restrict children from purchasing mature-rated games. Rating system was criticized as too lax.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Congressional hearing might be needed to raise awareness of issues, Lieberman said, and any hearing was likely to include scrutiny of retailers who sold games. Lieberman, potential Presidential candidate and upcoming ranking member of Govt. Affairs Committee, said increasing adult play of videogames was leading to content that was unsuitable for children. Games rated “M” for mature never should be sold to children, he said.
Lieberman said more pressure should be put on retailers and more controls could be placed in hardware to help parents. “But none of that matters if parents don’t pay attention,” he told reporters. Sen. Kohl (D-Wis.) said retailers’ failure to restrict sales of some games was undoing progress made over last 7 years to educate parents, consumers and industry about videogame content. “The unwillingness of the retail community to come together and commit to simple sales and education guidelines raises concerns that retailers place a higher priority on making money than on making their stores safe for children and families,” Kohl said.
Rep. McCollum (D-Minn.) highlighted Target and Best Buy as chains that she would “work with” to help toughen standards. She said Target had identified some problems that emerged in holiday season, when temporary help and other personnel issues often forced marginally trained cashiers to work in games department. Zany Brainy recently decided not to sell videogames, saying many were violent and few met educational standards of store, she said, and Sears had done good job of restricting sales.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and BMX XXX were particularly criticized for their content, which included violence against women and nudity. David Walsh, NIMF pres. and founder, said no games ever had received AO (adults only) rating, despite fact that BMX XXX included footage of topless women. Walsh criticized Vice City for rewarding points to players for kicking prostitute to death. “Videogame violence is now an epidemic, and violence against women has become a black mark on the entire industry,” he said. Interactive Digital Software Assn. (IDSA) didn’t provide comments by our deadline.