Rhode Island Attorney General Partners with ESRB in Ad Campaign

August 10, 2007 -

Another state attorney general has expressed support for the video game industry's rating system.

Rhode Island's Patrick Lynch (D, left) announced yesterday that he would participate in a public service announcement (PSA) campaign designed to raise parental awareness of video game content issues. The campaign, which begins this month, will feature radio and TV spots. Lynch, who will appear along with his daughter, 12, and son, 11, said:

Before children and teenagers grab the controls to play a video game, we’re asking parents to control the types of games their kids play by checking the game’s rating. Most parents routinely check the ratings of movies before taking or allowing their children to see films, and I’m honored to join with ESRB to ask parents to use that same level of vigilance concerning video games. It’s up to us, as parents, to take every measure possible to increase protections for our children. Using the excellent ESRB rating system is an extremely important and positive step.

ESRB president Patricia Vance, who joined Lynch for the announcement, said:

We are very proud to have the support of Attorney General Lynch in reaching out to Rhode Island’s parents to raise awareness of the ratings and urge parents to use them when buying or renting games.

In 2006 the ESRB worked out similar arrangement with the attorneys general of Utah (Mark Shurtleff) and Georgia (Thurbert Baker). Pennsylvania A.G. Tom Corbett has also expressed support for the ESRB as well as for built-in parental controls in game consoles.

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Comments

Re: Rhode Island Attorney General Partners with ESRB in Ad ...

Submitted by tmaximus89 on Mon, 04/06/2009 - 21:33.

The ESRB is unwilling to listen to consumer demands where as legislation wouldn't really have a choice and would pretty much HAVE to listen to consumers. Thats how.

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Submitted by GamersRyno (not verified) on Sat, 08/11/2007 - 21:31.

THIS is what politics should be! Indivualism, government is there to educate and not restrict, and fundamental appreciation for parental rights!

Submitted by terrible tom (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 16:28.

Many of us realize the significance and implications of the ESRB and the ratings they have in place, however, some individuals wish for those ratings to not only reflect the opinions of parents but the the opinions of all gamers. Some people just don't like organizations that serve parents to have so much power over how the entertainment they purchased is rated. But I digress.

Overall this is a good step in the right direction. The industry does need this badly. This needs to continue and then there are a couple other issues that the industry needs to take care of for the consumers. Issues such as those surrounding Consoles, Retailers and the ESRB. To me those issues are what really matter and this just makes me say thats nice and move on.

Submitted by DragonBomber (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 14:15.

Bravo for the balls to actually educate rather than push for wasteful legislation. We can dispute the motives of the ESRB all we want, but government working within the system of ratings to educate parents on game content is what the industry needs right now. The ESRB is what allows us to have games without laws telling us what we may choose. It just would be nice if more people took the effort to be aware of the implications and significance of the organization and its ratings.

Submitted by Terrible Tom (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 13:05.

would = should. I need to start screening my posts before I press the enter key. Sorry.

Submitted by Terrible Tom (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 13:04.

I think the ESRB plays into the "protect the children" garbage we hear so often. Sure its slightly better than legislation but only by so much. The ESRB is unwilling to listen to consumer demands where as legislation wouldn't really have a choice and would pretty much HAVE to listen to consumers. But regardless of that fact the ESRB is still better than legislation. I hope for the day the ESRB wakes up and starts serving all video game consumers rather than just the ones with children. Also for the day people to understand why they would be serving all video game consumers instead of just children. Wake up.

Submitted by Zigs (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 09:30.

I dunno, personally I think the ESRB is horribly flawed. I don't really see this as a good thing. Yes, it beats legislation, but he's not really taking an anti legislation stance either.

Submitted by jonc2006 (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 08:34.

nothing against him but this whole "protect the children" thing is really starting to make my ears bleed.

Submitted by rdeegvainl (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 08:37.

It seems as though it the legislative branch that wants to legislate, ignorantly might i add, while the judicial branch is seeming pretty competent on this issue. hope they keep judiciating correctly in the future.

Submitted by upgray3dd (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 08:15.

Now that's what I like to see. Bravo, Lynch :)

Submitted by kurisu7885 (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 07:03.

@hayabusa75

I didn't consider that, but looking it is quite possible.

Submitted by Chibi Sylphe (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 08:00.

I like the fact that he's actually trying to set the example as a parent. Kudos to you, Mr. Lynch.

Submitted by BmK (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 07:33.

This is good. Another politician who believes education rather then legislation is the answer.

Submitted by E. Zachary Knight (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 06:50.

I really need to contact my state's attorney general and convince him to do this. This would so help to get rid of the stigma here. I'm Oklahoma by the way. We currently have one law in court and the other may never get voted on. But such a step for the AG would help a lot.

Submitted by CyberSkull (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 06:21.

Now if we could only get lawmakers to endorse it.

Submitted by hayabusa75 (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 05:29.

@kurisu7885:

More than his name, I think it's noteworthy how young he appears to be. Maybe he's a gamer himself?

Submitted by Shoehorn O'Plenty (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 04:41.

"Before children and teenagers grab the controls to play a video game, we’re asking parents to control the types of games their kids play by checking the game’s rating."

It's an unfortunate thing that they have to ask the parents to do this, when they should be doing it already.

Submitted by kurisu7885 (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 03:59.

And another note, does anyone find the name Lynch ironic for someone who is trying to help? It seems to be the word for what some try to do to the industry :P

Submitted by kurisu7885 (not verified) on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 03:50.

sweet, chalk up another one for the good guys.

Submitted by Harlan Townsend (not verified) on Tue, 10/09/2007 - 17:36.

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Shout box

Goth_Skunk: Heh. Yes, they do. Last I checked.02/03/2015 - 6:10am

ZippyDSMlee: PETA must hate furries too.....02/03/2015 - 5:35am

Andrew Eisen: PETA has a ton of gems but my personal favorite is "by wearing the skin of an animal [it's refering to the Tanooki Suit], Mario is sending the message that it's OK to wear fur." http://gamepolitics.com/2011/11/14/peta-targets-mario-latest-campaign02/03/2015 - 3:39am

Goth_Skunk: I was drawing a blank for examples of animal abuse portrayed in games and that one was the first that game to mind, due to how ridiculous it was.02/03/2015 - 3:32am

Andrew Eisen: And if anyone's wondering about the "stabbing a rat" thing, that was PETA on a sequence in Battlefield 3. http://gamepolitics.com/2011/11/07/peta-upset-over-battlefield-3-rat-backstab02/03/2015 - 3:05am

Andrew Eisen: Just to be clear, no one is suggesting games need to follow some inclusivity checklist, no one is asking for games to be forced to conform to any particular standards, and Sarkeesian and her ilk also want more from games, not less.02/03/2015 - 3:04am

Goth_Skunk: I am all for getting games to explore more issues as they get larger in scope, but I am *not* in favour of them being forced to conform to standards of political correctness. I want *more* from my games, not *less.*02/03/2015 - 3:01am

Goth_Skunk: But nitpicking about things like Damsel tropes, or meeting a non-white, non-hetero character quota, or stabbing a rat to crawl through a pipe is a ridiculous waste of time, in this member's opinion.02/03/2015 - 2:56am

Goth_Skunk: Games *do* have messages and meaning. And not all of them are comfortable, either. And they do so while keeping the experience enjoyable, meaningful.02/03/2015 - 2:50am

Andrew Eisen: That's enough, folks.02/03/2015 - 2:11am

MechaCrash: You know what else is uncalled for? Your whiny tone policing.02/03/2015 - 1:54am

Sora-Chan: @MechCrash my complaint is more direct at how you reacted. When someone is leaving you do not run up behind them and kick them in the ass out the door. Hense, what you said, was uncalled for. It doesn't matter who it is.02/03/2015 - 1:40am

Andrew Eisen: Plus (and I know you didn't say otherwise, I just feel it's important to point out) there's nothing wrong with discussing the elements of games that you take issue with or find problematic.02/03/2015 - 1:34am

Andrew Eisen: Matthew - That's one way to handle it but you'd potentially be missing out on a ton of great games. After all, just because a game has elements that may rub some the wrong way doesn't mean they aren't worth playing.02/03/2015 - 1:33am

MechaCrash: Save your crocodile tears. I'm glad to be rid of the people who complain when games get treated as a form which can have messages and meanings and demand they be relegated to simplistic toys, to be played with and discarded.02/03/2015 - 1:12am

Sora-Chan: @MechCrash Simpley put: Uncalled for.02/03/2015 - 1:03am

MechaCrash: Thank you for confirming you want games to remain the playthings of children and not art of any kind, Wonderkarp, and good riddance.02/03/2015 - 12:23am

Goth_Skunk: The tropes that bother me the most don't appear in video games: Dumb/Jerk Jock trope, Narcissitic Psycopath (when male), and Dad Is A Homophobe But Unaware Child is Homosexual.02/02/2015 - 10:22pm

prh99: They can make zombie games all they want, I just wish they mix it up a bit. My use vampires etc or some Lovecraftian horrors.02/02/2015 - 10:09pm

Matthew Wilson: I tend to be on the side of free markets. if you do not like a trope, do not buy a game that uses that trope.02/02/2015 - 9:59pm

All shouts

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