From Chron - Violence in video games skewered again

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/headline/tech/1709465

Dec. 19, 2002, 3:51PM

Violence in video games skewered again
Reuters News Service
LOS ANGELES - Warning of an "epidemic" of violence in video games, an industry watchdog today blasted some of the biggest titles of the year for treating women as sex objects and rewarding violence against them.

The National Institute on Media and the Family released its seventh annual report card on the video game industry at the Washington offices of Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, a long-time advocate of restrictions on violent games.

"Video game violence is now an epidemic, and violence against women has become a black mark on the entire industry," the report's author and the institute's founder, David Walsh, said in a statement.

Lieberman called for hearings on the retail industry and their policies for restricting access by minors to violent video games.

"This relatively small but highly popular minority is not just pushing the envelope - they are shooting, torturing and napalming it beyond all recognition, and beyond all decency," Lieberman said.

But at the same time, the Democratic senator, who is weighing a bid for president in 2004, admonished parents to take responsibility for their children's access to violent games. "Remember, you are your child's first -- and last -- line of defense," he said.

The video game industry, which has been singled out in the past for its efforts to establish an effective rating system, reacted sharply to the report.

"My reaction to that is (this) it's grotesquely unfair," Doug Lowenstein, the president of the Interactive Digital Software Association, told Reuters. "What we have here is a group with an ideological agenda."

The hottest new game of 2002, Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," took the brunt of the institute's criticism in its report.

"'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City' is receiving rave reviews for its technical excellence. However, its portrayal and mistreatment of women is disturbing," the report said. "The brutal murder of women as entertainment should be cause for great concern."

"Vice City" sold nearly 3 million copies in its first month on the market, according to analyst estimates, and is on track to be the best-selling game of 2002 and, possibly, one of the top sellers of all time. Take Two had no immediate comment.

The report also singled out Acclaim Entertainment Inc.'s , which features semi-naked strippers, saying it and games like it "degrade women and reinforce dangerous stereotypes by treating them as sexual objects." An Acclaim spokesman said the game was rated appropriately and that the game was never meant for or marketed towards children.

Overall, the institute gave the game industry an "F" grade, the first time it has done so.

"This year's grade reflects the dramatic increase in violent games and, in particular, games rewarding violence against women," the report's authors said.

The report also lauded the Entertainment Software Rating Board, an industry panel that rates games, for working to review its rating system to ensure that game ratings are age-appropriate.

"The industry has made important steps in the last few years to accurately rate all games," the report said. "However, it is disturbing to see that some of the most popular games with adult themes are inappropriately deemed suitable for younger audiences."

A review of the ESRB database shows that of 672 titles rated for the three leading consoles -- Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s GameCube -- 80 carry the board's 17-and-over "Mature" rating, or about 12 percent of the total.

In the previous generation of consoles -- primarily Sony's PlayStation, Nintendo's N64 and Sega Corp.'s Dreamcast -- there were 193 "M"-rated titles out of 2,196 rated games, or about 9 percent in total.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has in past praised the ESRB as more proactive and effective than ratings systems in the movie, music and television industries.

"We've got the great ratings system, we're doing great on self-regulation," Lowenstein said. "I don't think this is a real honest and objective effort to assess the industry's performance."


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Just imagine the outcry when the Playboy game comes out.