Correspondent and frequent commenter Louis A. Nick III writes us:
On a different front, HR 5912 IH, aka “Truth in Video Game Rating Act” introduced by Congressman Cliff Stearns (R-FL) (with co-sponsors Jim Matheson (D-UT) and Mike McIntyre (D-NC)), will require the Entertainment Software Ratings Board to play the entire game through in before rating it, rather than the short sampling they apparently use as the basis for ratings. The developers/publishers can’t hold anything back from the ESRB as far as content that is released on the disc but not included in the game (such as the “Hot Coffee” content). Furthermore, it appears the bill, if passed, would force the GAO into looking into the effectiveness of the ESRB system.
Gamer-based webcomic Penny-Arcade covers this bill’s problems adequately (see also their comic on the bill). The gentlemen who create Penny Arcade are longtime foes of Jack Thompson (and in fact once donated $10,000 to a charity when Thompson reneged on his promise to do the same) and are, to a degree, allies of the ESRB– the artist of the pair has drawn a lot of art for their current ESRB awareness campaign. But PA notes that, quite simply, the problems that people have had with games not meeting their ratings would not appear in a thorough playthrough. The “Hot Coffee” was content hidden on the disc, unlocked by user-created programming. Another game, “Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,” was re-rated by the ESRB because of a user-created patch that drew breasts on the female characters. Since so many games rely on user-generated content to stay popular and to develop an affinity group for the games, it’s impossible for the board to rate every permutation of the game, and stifling the Mod[ification] communities of various games could genuinely destroy a large element of the PC-game market.
Like it says on the box and load screen of a game I play, Battlefield 2, the rating is T for Teen, qualified with “Game experience may change during online play.” In short, some 10- or 50-year-old will start calling you vulgar names and using foul language. Or a bunch of smart 20-somethings will cook up a Mod based in a popular sci-fi universe where, when hit, characters spurt blood and qualify for an M-for-Mature rating. Mods like this spend so long in an unfinished state, and despite that they release beta versions, such that rating them would be prohibitive for the ESRB and chilling to the Mod communities of every game.
3 Comments
Is it just my imagination, or is Congress focusing on window dressing legislation rather than working on the important issues of the day? I want my elected officials dealing with REAL issues; for example, I’d like to see the “Death Tax” repealed. I’d like to see some real work done on securing our ports against terrorist attacks. I’d like to see some work done on jobs being moved outside the U.S. How about some research into tort reform? How about some legislation to keep medical malpractice premiums to a level where we won’t lose our neurosurgeons and OBGYNs? How about some protection for companies that create vaccines? Nope, let’s focus on violent video games! There’s a morality issue here! Great! Perfect! We get our names in the papers and we can accuse anyone who opposes us of being pro-violence and pro-porn! Wheee!
Our elected officials need to remember that THEIR ONLY RESPONSIBILITY IS TO PUSH LEGISLATION THAT COINCIDES WITH THE WILL OF THE MAJORITY OF THEIR CONSTITUENTS. It is not “The people of the government, for the government, and by the government.” Enough already! Hey up there on Capitol Hill! How about working on the problems of the country, rather than vapor issues that affect .000000001% of the population?
“Is it just my imagination, or is Congress focusing on window dressing legislation rather than working on the important issues of the day?”
That’s so normal that anything ELSE would be worth comment.
I mentioned above the $10,000 promise to charity, above. This Wikipedia article has an excellent summary of the events.