Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) November 23, 2004
The National Institute on Media and the Family, the nationÂs leading resource on the effects of video games on children, released its Ninth Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card today in Washington, D.C. This yearÂs MediaWise Video Game Report Card highlights the mixed messages the video game industry sends to parents. To help parents get the right message about video games, the Institute is launching a new public service announcement that encourages parents to ÂWatch What their Kids Watch.Â
David Walsh, Ph.D., president and founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family, presented the Ninth Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card with Senator Joe Lieberman, Senator Herb Kohl, and Congresswoman Betty McCollum. Nationally syndicated columnist Steven Kent also spoke on the report cardÂs significance.
ÂThe double messages sent to parents about video games are double trouble, said Dr. Walsh. ÂFor instance, the video game industry says parents should use the ratings, but denies violent video games affect children. The result is parents are lead to believe the ratings donÂt really matter.Â
ÂThat is a big problem for parents when you consider this yearÂs crop of games, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Leisure Suit Larry, are games that children have access to, and that drastically push the envelope on sex and violence.Â
Dr. Walsh also called attention to the results of this yearÂs secret shopper survey. Last year, the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association announced that, by this shopping season, they would enforce policies restricting youth access to M-rated video games without parental permission. However, the InstituteÂs secret shopper survey found that boys as young as seven were able to buy M-rated games 50 percent of the time, whereas girls were only able to purchase games 8 percent of the time.
ÂThe double message to parents of young children from video game retailers is we will enforce the ratings, but only for your daughters, not your sons, said Dr. Walsh.
Other areas of special concern in the Ninth Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card include: adolescent brain development; video games and the childhood obesity epidemic; and the need for the ESRB to improve its ÂOK to Play education campaign. Similar to previous years, the Annual MediaWise Video Game Report Card also provides parents a list of recommended video games and games to avoid.
The Institute has also released its first public service announcement, which was produced by Martin Williams and is available at http://www.mediawise.org.
MediaWise Video Game Report Card:
ESRB Ratings Accuracy B-
Ratings Education C-
Retailers Policy and Employee Training B
Retailers Enforcement D
Screen time related to overweight F
Game Lists:
Parent Alert! Games to avoid for your children and teens
1. Doom 3 M
2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas M
3. Half Life 2 M
4. Halo 2 M
5. Resident Evil: Outbreak M
6. Psi Ops: the Mindgate Conspiracy M
7. The Guy Game M
8. Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude M
9. Mortal Kombat Deception M
10. Rumble Roses M
MediaWise Recommended Games for children and teens
1. ESPN NFL 2 K5 E
2. Pikmin 2 E
3. Sly 2: Band of Thieves E
4. Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 E
5. Madden NFL 2005 E
6. Jak 3 T
7. Prince of Persia T
8. Myst IV: Revelation T
9. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 E
10. SimCity 4 E
The National Institute on Media and the Family is an independent, non-partisan, non-sectarian, nonprofit organization. The InstituteÂs mission is to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm mass media have on children through research and education. For more information, visit http://www.mediafamily.org on the Web or call 1-888-672-5437.
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