@those who take the NIMF seriously
Read this
http://www.d3dgames.com/bbb.html

What gets me is why anyone gets worked up about this. This is so obviously biased as to be meaningless, then tossing in a few politicians ( Lieberman) is just tossing Nuts on the fruitcake. This was not written for consumers as much as it was for Parental Watch Groups who have also proven to be biased and narrow minded and politicians trying to appeal to such groups to gain favor.
Slaming retailers stinks of JBTs "sting" about minors being able to purchase M rated games. The numbers have been shown (and proven) many times that less the 2% of said minors do so but I guess they cannot allows facts to interfere with their report.

Oh well there are holes in this report big enough to drive through. Would not suggest losing any sleep over it.

@ cppCrusader

Well in that case it was endorced by Rockstar. But it still was not a promotion by Nintendo as NIMF is claiming here.

I work at a rental outlet and I can understand the low grading - I'll almost never withhold an M-rated game from a minor. Why? The parent is usually standing right there. Or, if they aren't, they're usually waiting outside in their car or at home, and if they have to come in/receive a call about the item their child is renting they get pissed off for the inconvenience.

Parents either already know about the rating system, etc. and the ability to control what their children rent or purchase by modifying their rental account, or they don't know and don't care to find out because they're ignorant. I'm not going to take responsibility for them or their children. Why the hell should I?

I would really like to see parents step up to the plate one day and take care of their own damn children so that watchdog organizations like these wouldn't have to. It would be great if we could stop scapegoating the ills of the entire world on a new medium or media every couple of decades or so, too.


Oh, and these watchdog organizations and people - while they -are- busy scapegoating my preferred form of entertainment, could they at least do so accurately? They keep making the same uninformed claims about things like "haxored" versions of the game and user-generated content. If it's not the movie industry's fault when someone illegally downloads a film, why is it the game industry's fault if someone illegally downloads a copy of their game to access content not available in the retail version. Or why is it their fault when someone creates a mod? That's ridiculous, and we all know it. I wish the ignorant politicians and watchdog groups with their heads up their asses could try to realize this as well. If you're going to make outlandish claims and blame people for things beyond their control, you might as well go all the way: let's start blaming car manufacturers for automotive accidents. That sounds like it could be fun.

Anyway...

/end rant

*sniff* *eyes water* Argh...*sniff* my allergies towards ignorance *sneezes* are acting up.

@x(wai)x

Actually, the ESRB rerated Manhunt 2 because the offensive content was completely removed. The blurring effect which was added for the stealth kills, from what the ESRB stated, was not necessary for the rerate -- and appears to have been Rockstar possibly trying to ensure that the game will get an M rating and out the door on their Halloween release date.

I just had a thought. Why is that movies are allowed to release unrated versions when video games are effectively banned from the market with an AO rating? What justifies the huge discrepancy?

Oh please, the fools at NIMF wouldn't know anything about gaming if the gaming gods zapped em all in the arse with a borrowed bolt of lightening. They're so deep in politics they're completely untrustworthy! It's a sham to even have to listen to such bull.

I love this:

Some game makers also found creative new ways to market adult games on kids, a disgustingly familiar practice over the years. Too few game makers disclose when illegal versions of their games are stolen from their facilities and leaked on the Internet.

I guess they consider Rockstar and the whole Manhunt 2 fiasco to be reflective of the consolidated views and practices of the video game industry. Although, even with all the fuss, it was never once advertised on children's programming, websites, print media or any other children's product yet it was succefully marketed to children?

Yknow, there's a version of the Punch-Out! rom floating around the web where all the fighters have had their boxers removed. I don't believe Nintendo's ever commented on that particular hack. Obviously, we have to take the big N to task for refusing to go public with the precise details of emulation, since any kid with an Etch-A-Sketch can turn the ending of Super Mario Bros. into an 8-bit pixelated sex scene!

(Actually, I would go along with forcing Nintendo to divulge their programming secrets if it would help the various Japanese translation groups in their efforts. My unmitigated desire for an English patch of Mother 3 trumps my sense of free speech for violent gaming. Where's the "half winking, half serious" smiley when I need it? ;| Yeah, that'll do.)

Some software makers made great games that pushed the edge of the envelope in creativity and storytelling. Others, once again, dredged the well of poor taste, with titles like Rockstar’s Manhunt 2 and Eidos Interactive’s Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

Hey, NIMF, here's a hint: There will always be someone that makes something that is in poor taste. Movies, books, TV shows, games, etc.

That doesn't mean that everyone else should get blamed for it.

Some game makers also found creative new ways to market adult games on kids, a disgustingly familiar practice over the years. Too few game makers disclose when illegal versions of their games are stolen from their facilities and leaked on the Internet.

So, translation, Rockstar did their usual controversy sells thing, and you consider that marketing to children? Or do you consider someone pirating early versions of the game to be marketing to children instead/as well? As for not disclosed, please, quit lying through your teeth. Any game that gets leaked to the internet pre-release is going to get reported on. Game makers aren't the first ones to report it, because guess what? They don't know that someone's got a copy they're going to put on the internet until after it's happened.

The Manhunt 2 rating debacle shows that the ESRB needs to change its procedures to close a gaping loophole that some game publishers are all too eager to slip though. The ESRB rating should be based on all of a game’s content and code, locked or unlocked, blurred or unblurred. A game’s rating will be meaningless unless serious steps are taken to prevent games from being unlocked.

That's not a gaping loophole. First of all Manhunt 2 was rated on all content, locked or unlocked, blurred or unblurred. The problem your fragile little minds are having trouble with is that it gets an M rating with or without the blur due to the stuff they already cut out. Second, by that logic Starcraft should receive an AO rating as I could make a mod for it that turned all units into gyrating penises, and replace all FMV cinematics with porn. Third spend some freaking time around some game mod communities. You'll learn in real short order how many people have fun taking apart games to see what makes them tick, and how difficult it is to stop people from doing so.

Libraries, schools, churches and other pubic institutions should follow the game’s rating and only allow games appropriate for the age of the youth. By promoting M-rated games, they are undercutting the ESRB’s rating system and undermining parental credibility and authority.

Or they could continue to do what they're doing, and trust the maturity of older teens, and trust their parents to know what their kids can handle.

Yeesh, as always, their "Report Card" is a bunch of completely arbitrary crap.

That woman is not fit to bear the name Amy.

Ooh! Ooh!

More fun from the survey section:

This YouthQuerySM was conducted online

First mistake.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and
adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

What I read was, "This survey is just as or more unreliable as all surveys."

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. 8-18 year old population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no
estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

So you had to be selected and invited. What is your selection criteria?

This Harris Poll® was conducted online within the United States between September 11 and 18, 2007 among 2,392 adults (aged 18 and over) of whom 690 have a child in their household.

If you are surveying parents why aren't more parents included?

Alright that is the end of the whole thing. I hope that my boredom has not bothered any of you.

This stuff is so full of shit, I think I've figured out how they do it.

First, the write down a bunch of excuses and throw them into a hat, and pull out a few one by one. Then the do the same thing with letters. And done!

And since it's the Internet, they go look up porn after XD

@Nekowolf

Except.. We already knew about that. It's how almost every Watchdog Group, Agency and Charity work.

See, the keyword was "almost".

Good lord, these people can be morons. Publishers should let people know that cracked versions are available? Why on earth would NIMF want publishers to enhance the public's knowledge when a crack is available? How would they propose publishers enforce this without also enhancing children's knowledge about the hack's existance?

"Too few game makers disclose when illegal versions of their games are stolen from their facilities and leaked on the Internet."

Gee. I wonder why. If someone stole my latest creation and leaked it onto the internet, I'd certainly want to make sure everyone knew where to get it. Beyond that though, they *do* make it known. Big stinks are thrown up when a major game is leaked. Is he getting confused with simple zero-day piracy of PC titles? That's so rampant that it's hard to find a piece of software that *isn't* available online.

"A game’s rating will be meaningless unless serious steps are taken to prevent games from being unlocked."

Simply cannot be done.

@ Conejo

It was a fan mod that was given away on Joystiq and other blogs. The unit was never an official endorcement from Nintendo nor from Rockstar/Taketwo.

By promoting M-rated games, they are undercutting the ESRB’s rating system and undermining parental credibility and authority.

Even though they make parents aware that M rated games are played and require parental permission to attend? How exactly is this "undercutting" the ratings?

Figures. That is the only nextgen system I do not own. Nor to be honest intend to buy, being an RPG fan which the Wii is lacking. I did not know that the Wii offered that much freedom for mods and such though.

Odd that these PWGs and their ilk bash games, going sofar (which is really pushing things) to say that even blurred images should not be allowed or should be judged (by the ESRB) as being clearly visable and hense an AO rating. I also find it odd that they seem to want to push for the AO... could it be that they are aware that the nextgen system block those. Ironic isn't it? AO rating means killing the title.

Yet these (self rightous) people seldom seem to go over the people making the mods that push the edges obscenity.
Might it have something to do with the fact that the modders do not have the money that these "fair judges" always want to seek for "damages"?

@ Icehawk

When I say "mod" I mean that it was a paint job. Nothing was changed with the hardware.

@ Old People

We know you don't like us. We don't care.

We don't like you either, trust me.

Fuck off.

- Young People

"Whatever happenned to personal responsibility?"

Nobody believes in that anymore, much easier to put the blame on someone or something else.

Best line of all: "Too few game makers disclose when illegal versions of their games are stolen from their facilities and leaked on the Internet."

What Game Studio would be retarded enough to TRY TO MAKE IT PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE that pirated copies game was available for free online?

Maybe I'm just living in an idealized world within my mind, but it seems to me that none of these "watchdog" groups has done the one thing that might actually benefit parents: Point out the game rating limiter built into all three next-gen (well, I guess they're current-gen now) consoles.

Maybe the NIMF and others realize that if parents could automatically prevent little Tommy from playing 'Kane & Lynch,' there would be no use (and/or publicity/money) for year-end reports like this.

[...] Every year the National Institute of Media and Family (NIMF) produces the “Annual Video Game Report Card”.  This report is often cited each year by political candidates in the issue of violence in video games and how we are protecting our children.  The 27-page document was released today at an event attended by Senators Joseph Lieberman and Amy Klobuchar.  To cut to the chase, the overall rating given was a “C”.  It seems odd that they would get a “C”, given that last year’s report seemed to be pretty positive (though no overall grade was given last year).  Granted, this has been a year of controversy.  Whereas last year’s ESRB reaction to the Hot Cofee mod in GTA was applauded by the industry, this year’s Manhunt 2 controversy clearly set a different tone for this year’s reaction.  David Walsh, who penned the report, firmly states And, at the same time, while the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has continued to educate the public about its video game rating system, several shocking incidents have inadvertently revealed dangerous loopholes in the ratings process. Simply put, some of the hard-won progress seen in previous years has been lost, and now, too many children are spending too much time playing inappropriate video games that can harm their health and development. [...]

Awwwww... it's really cute when the NIMF tries to pretend they're a relevant organization.

God I'm suprised Dennis hasn't made an article about Jack Thompson's "Video games caused 9/11" comment.

@Saint13: Two cookies to you. One for finding that spectacular example of a dangling modifier, and one for simply having the intestinal fortitude to wade through all 26 pages of their crap report.

@Saint13

NIMF has the same editor, as Jack Thompson.

I'm baffled that games like "Kayne & Lynch" as well as "Manhunt 2" (both of which have been reviewed poorly and for which sales have been poor) seem to have held more weight in this report card than Guitar Hero, and Rock Band and the numerous other great products that were released this year.

I can't help but feel that NIMF's "Report Cards" are nothing more than a place where you can see the results of Jack Thompsons little "sting operations" and sensationalized media headlines about a game that no one bought (Manhunt 2).

The fact that the "Report Cards" simply list grades instead of going to in depth detail of how they got their information. To me makes their "Report Cards" as meaningless as recieving a "You just won $10,000,000.00" letter from the publishers clearing house.

Did they send kids into stores to buy M rated games across the country?, Did they poll kids to find out if they were more intrested in playing manhunt 2 vs rock band?, did they ask kids if they knew what the ESRB ratings on box's were? Did they ask employees if they knew what ESRB ratings were? (and did those employees say "No" simply so they wouldn't get fired for not enforcing company policy?)

As car as I can tell NIMF's "Report Card" is nothing more than their opinion on how well the industry did, and from what I can garner it's based on nothing more than internet blog headlines and stories that made the papers as well as news.

@Jabrwock

[By promoting M-rated games, they are undercutting the ESRB’s rating system and undermining parental credibility and authority.]

"Even though they make parents aware that M rated games are played and require parental permission to attend? How exactly is this “undercutting” the ratings?"

well it's just like how r-rated movies undercut the MPAA's rating system because R isn't a rating that is safe for children and that means it's bad because all the children go to R-rated movies because they're not supposed to and that's bad because we didn't think of the children, which is bad.

So the National Institute on Media and “The Family” has given the gaming industry a failing grade. What with this being finals season, I doubt we’ll see have the regular chance to retake the test. And it’s almost like they didn’t even read over the essay portion, just assumed it would be bad. Here’s a few points of interest:

1. They claim that being able to hack the source code for the PSP Manhunt 2 makes the AO version of the game playable. True except for the fact that under the terms of use AND under the DMCA, this is a crime. Giving the ESRB a C because of this is unfair. It is not the ESRB’s job to hack the source code of games to see what’s in there.

2. The report card also claims that M-rated games are made “easily available” to kids under 17. Oh how I wish this was the case. I am nearly 21, 5?9? and I got carded for both Gears of War AND for Unreal Tournament 3, both M-Rated games. It’s almost insulting.

3. Grammar errors run rampant throughout their report. I hardly read things on the internet because of bad grammar. Heck, I myself have forgotten a comma here and misspelled a word there. But didn’t these people graduate high school?

Families also received some good news in 2007. In February, GameStop, one of the nation’s largest specialty retailers of video games, clamped down on the sale of M-rated (Mature) video games to minors by terminating sales clerks and store managers who sell these games to minors. The Target Corporation took a bold step in pulling Manhunt 2 from its shelves after it was revealed that AO (Adults-Only) content was viewable, on the Mrated game for Sony’s PSP and PS2, by changing the game’s code.

Look, it is VERY simple. In a paragraph, you choose in which tense you desire to write. You do NOT jump from one to the other. And that is just the third paragraph of the report. Also, may I point out that their lack of knowledge in the industry comes off on the cover of the report, where there is a group of kids playing games using original Dual Shock controllers, the second iteration of controllers for the PS1, which would make them about 20-24 years of age now.

Also, NEVER jump between numbers spelled out and in numerical format, such as “seven out of 10.” It’s REALLY bad grammar and is very irritating. Pick one.

3. Most importantly, I refuse to have my industry judged by an institute whose website does not even exist. For the last twenty minutes that I have been writing this blog, their site, MediaWise.org, has given me nothing but a blank white page. Obviously these people have not kept up with the times since that photo of the kids playing their Playstation was taken.

At the same time, we have people warning of games not to buy for your kids this Christmas season, which include GTA, 50 Cent Bulletproof, and… Killer 7? Wow. Hey, 2005 called. They want their video games back. And seriously, if anybody can FIND Killer 7 on a store shelf, BUY IT. It’s a rarity. Granted, not as impressive as finding a copy of REZ (which my friend and I managed to do once), but still pretty good.

I think the gaming industry needs to stand up and write our own report about how we have been treated in this last year, about the misinformation and lies spread about us, and give A-F grades. Here’s my final judgment, Dr. Walsh.

2007

Public Involvement: C
I am yet to hear the American public speak up about this issue. Video games were left out of the Republican National Debate. It is an issue that is being ignored, despite the fact that many candidates have a position on it. However, I am grateful to the ESA, the ESRB, and GamePolitics for helping bring these issues to light.

Ratings Education: A
The ESRB has done an amazing job bringing their ratings to light. The PSA’s are informative, their are giant posters in every store, and there are free fliers that anyone can take. What more do you want?

Retailers’ Policies: D
This rating is for anyone who sells games, small or national. Obviously if Johnny 12-Year-Old is trying to buy Manhunt 2 without parental/guardian supervision, he shouldn’t be sold to him. But even 12 year olds can get into R-Rated movies with parental/guardian supervision. I have never been carded for a movie, and just now I have begun being carded for games, despite the fact that I am obviously over 17. Either the retailers need to readjust their policies to, “No sale to persons under 17 without proper ID or Parental Supervision” or they should put on glasses to see who’s actually buying the game.

Game Specialty Stores: F
This is just for my general hatred of GameStop employees who nothing about where they’re working or what’s going on in the industry, i.e. which games come out when, whether or not they have a game in stock, where their store is located, or if they have any of their pot left.

Video Game Industry: A
The video game industry has made some amazing moves this year to attempt to counter the AGA’s harsh words and ignorance. Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB, began the campaign to educate the general public on the ratings system, and has intelligently defended the ESRB’s position on many ratings. Hal Halpin, president of the ESA, had the difficult job of filling Doug Lowenstein’s shoes, and has done a fine job at doing just that, hiring those already familiar with similar ratings systems, and urging the gaming community at large to get involved in the controversy by submit questions to the presidential candidates. I would say the industry has done a fine job of defending itself this year.

Anti-Game Activists: F
Would you expect me to give them anything else? Unfortuantely for the AGA’s, they really have no clue what they are talking about. They encourage education on the subject of games, yet refuse to learn anything themselves. They are still referencing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a game that came out almost three years ago. They reference studies of violent behavior in youth without knowing they were proven incorrect (see: the Jack Thompson vs. Lorne “Money Hat” Lanning debate), and apparently can’t write reports on their findings without dozens of grammatical mistakes.

Presidential Candidates: D
The 2008 Presidential Candidates are walking on thin ice, especially since I don’t believe in +’s or -’s anymore since attending SCAD. The problem is not that some of them refer to video games like the curse of the 21st century and must be banned forever, but that many refer to them as time-wasters. Haven’t we gone through this enough with music, comic books, movies, and television in the last 100 years? Let’s not forget that so far none of the GOP candidates have taken time to point out bills submitted in the senate by certain other candidates which blatantly disregard the first amendment of the United States Constitution.

Please remember that this is just one man’s opinion, as is the 26-page rant printed by NIMF. And may I also point out that NIMF sounds exactly like nymph. Just sayin’.

@Xlorep DarkHelm - "So… the NIMF’s assessment isn’t necessarily too far off (on this one point)…. if you account for these things."

Only if you're willing to take their word for it, because parents weren't asked in the polls (as published in the report) if *their* parents had played games with them.

In fact, parents don't even appear to have been asked if they play games with their kids. The kids were asked how often their mother and father played games with them, but there is no similar question to the parents.

You'll also notice that the question identifiers (Q926, Q766, and so on) are not sequential (a lot of numbers are skipped) and that isn't explained (unless we're meant to assume that it was part of their "weighting" it towards the 8 - 18 year old gaming population).

Are the missing question numbers available somewhere? Or is this the way Harris numbered their poll for some arcane reason?

crud I meant to say that the bbfc shows a bias against games not for games.

Anyway E. Zachary Knight how do you quote the passages like that, I've never figured out how to do it.

@Xlorep DarkHelm

Oops I had forgotten the Coleco vision~~>Atari 2600 days. Of course that is akin to comparing a safety match to a flamethrower but you are right (and I stand corrected).

the NIMF is an organzation concsisting of sensationalists who don't know anything about the game industry, let alone have someone inside the industry tell them anything, they get their "information" from Jack Thompson.

I will put a plus infront of the ones I have played and don't belong here.

Parent Alert! Games to Avoid for your Children and Teens
Game Rating
+Assassin’s Creed M
+Call to Duty 4 M
Conan M
+The Darkness M
+Jericho M still sucks
Kane & Lynch: Dead Men M
Manhunt 2 M
+Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles M
Stranglehold M
+Time Shift M

@Saint13

I don't dispute anything you said about the NIMF's "questionare" practice/methodologies. I said that when it came to one specific point, which Icehawk commented on, I quoted, and then responded to, they aren't completely off-base. That one point being related to the notion that parents today didn't play video games with their parents. Icehawk said that today's parents were kids predating video games, which isn't entirely true -- sure, there are some which grew up predating video games, but there are also a number which grew up with video games.

About Harris' numbering scheme. The Harris Group's question numbers are somewhat confusing. My own company builds and runs reporting for surveys. When a survey is built, the numbers originally are in sort of a chronological order. However, sometimes a question is re-done, and can't simply be altered, but a new question needs to be added. Other times, the question order is changed around, what is 'Q05' in the database, and jumps to 'Q06', it might become that 'Q06' instead skips to 'Q05'. Some questions are removed, reworded, or replaced. It happens during the construction of the survey. Depending on how nit-picky the customer is, we can have very unobvious question numbers. Typically, when a survey is "launched", the questions don't change places any more, but even then, that isn't true.

Harris happens to be one of my company's competitors, for the record.

"Some software makers made great games that pushed the edge of the envelope in creativity and storytelling. Others, once again, dredged the well of poor taste, with titles like Rockstar’s Manhunt 2 and Eidos Interactive’s Kane & Lynch: Dead Men."

So because of two mediocre games no one wants to play the entire industry's creative power takes a hit? I wonder if they'd grade the movie industry the same way.

The Manhunt 2 rating debacle shows that the ESRB needs to change its procedures to close a gaping loophole that some game publishers are all too eager to slip though. The ESRB rating should be based on all of a game’s content and code, locked or unlocked, blurred or unblurred. A game’s rating will be meaningless unless serious steps are taken to prevent games from being unlocked.

While I don't necessarily agree with this, I have to say it's pretty inconsistent of the ESRB to re-rate Manhunt 2 to an M on the basis of content being "locked out" when the Hot Coffee debacle earned GTA:SA a rerate to AO despite it being "locked out."

[i]"too many children are spending too much time playing inappropriate video games that can harm their health and development"[/i]
Since when was this ever proven? Sure, spending all your time on the couch is a bad idea from a physical standpoint, but the content of the study implies psychological impacts, especially with their focus on "ultra-violent" video games.

[i]"allowing 13- and 14- year old teenagers to play games that are rated for players over the age of 17 is irresponsible"[/i]
I tend to agree with this statement. Though there are some disparities between what a parent thinks is ok and what the ESRB thinks is ok for children. But since this report is addressing churches playing Halo, I will stick to that. I have seen/been to such Halo parties, even ones in a church. All of these required written parental consent, letting them know that Halo, an M-rated game, was being played. However, I am on the report's side for those churches that do not have permission forms for those under 17.

[i]"All of us care about children, and thanks to years of study and
practice, we know how to maximize the benefits. But right now, families and retailers have put too much faith in the current ratings system; the ESRB has put too much trust in the gaming industry; and some in the gaming industry have not done enough to monitor themselves."[/i]
If I could say what I want to say without being booted off this website, I would. But I'll leave it to shameless self-aggrandizement, self-importance, and self-appointed authority. This line in the study makes me sick. So I will leave it at that and keep swearing to myself.
As for the second sentence, I agree with the family part, and to the smallest extent the retailers part. The root of this "problem" is that parents are refusing to take responsibility for raising their own kids. No senator in his/her right mind would ever say that Americans aren't raising their kids good enough. It's political suicide. Better to shift the blame on to the stores and the makers of these games. The effort that many parents put into the lives of their children is pathetic.

[i]"We know how to keep adult games out of the hands of kids, but ignificant changes are needed in the ratings system."[/i]
Again, the fundamental crux here is that parents aren't taking responsibility.

[i]"Video games are causing family friction"[/i]
Everything causes family friction.

[i]"only 30 percent of local retailers have any
system of educating the public about the ESRB ratings"[/i]
There are more that naught hole-in-the-wall specialty shops that cater to regular gamers, who understand the rating systems and/or are older than 18 anyway. Also, the atmosphere that I've found in most of these places isn't very conducive to a child-friendly environment anyways. Let the young ones go to nice and shiny EB games or Toys'rUS

[i]"As in past years, the National Institute on Media and the Family conducted a “sting” operation to determine the extent to which retailers enforce their ratings policies with 58 sting operations performed across the country."[/i]
Somebody needs to be educated about the magic of statistical analysis, and what sample size is needed to have a reliable distribution of values. Not to mention the human error that riddles such things.

[i]"Another dimension is the lack of education sales clerks receive from their employer."[/i]
Although the employer may not have specifically explained the rating system to their employees, I know that, for at least Gamestop, their clerks are required to be able to speak intelligently about every game in stock. This speaks volumes more than a rating system, and provides better insight for their customers that is, in my opinion, superior to the ESRB system.

[i]"Although certain violent depictions were removed entirely from the game’s disc, others were simply blurred the code using a special effects filter incorporated into the game’s code."[/i]
Please learn to speak intelligently about the fundamentals of.... well.... computers in general before trying to criticize it. From a programmer's standpoint, I am slapping myself in the face.... Or perhaps the study just needs to be proof-read.

[i]"such barriers are quickly compromised by gamers who love to explore a game’s every possibility."[/i]
So what of games that release their dev kits to the public? Is Valve suddenly evil because they release source along with Half Life 2? Is Bethesda to blame as well because of releasing their Construction Kit along with Oblivion (and Morrowind)? This is, of course, absurd.

[i]"In September, two months before retail release, an unauthorized AO-rated version of Manhunt 2 was leaked on the Internet. This allowed hackers the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the game’s basic code so that once the retail M-rated versions were released; they could find ways to remove the blurring effect on certain adult content that was still on the discs. The hackers then released the instructions on the Internet on how to remove the blurred content so that others could view certain graphically violent scenes that had originally garnered Manhunt 2 its original AO rating."[/i]
"Hackers" would have found a way to remove the blurring effect whether or not a leaker version was available. This whole thing is based upon speculation and nothing more. More so, a third party removing protections from a game has no basis for outrage. I doubt many 12 year olds would be able to even follow the instructions given online. If they can, I actually congratulate the parents for raising such a smart child.

[i]"Sadly, the problem of hidden or blurred content which is inappropriate for kids is not a new issue and undermines the ESRB rating. The Manhunt 2 controversy was reminiscent of the infamous “Hot Coffee” incident involving graphic sexual content in a Grand Theft Auto game. Manhunt 2 is the latest example of what is becoming a disturbing pattern."[/i]
So... two titles from the same company is indicative of a disturbing trend that plagues the entire video game industry? That logic is laughable at best.

[i]"Rather than admit that its current procedures fail to prohibit children and youth from accessing adult content"[/i]
IT'S CALLED AN "M" RATING FOR A REASON!!!!!! I FAIL TO SEE THE JUMP FROM WHERE THE RETAILERS DID WRONG TO WHERE THE ESRB DID WRONG!

[i]"M-rated games, officially sanctioned for 17-year-olds and widely available to much younger children,"[/i]
So a failure is enforcement is pushed back on to the ESBR? What kind of backward world do we live in? Video games need a good public figure to rally behind.

[i]"the ESRB fails to discourage hackers"[/i]
This is not the ESRB's job. If anything, it's up the the game makers.

[i]"Parents are still largely ignorant of the ratings."[/i]
Their own fault.

[i]"Retailers still treat the ratings’ importance as optional."[/i]
Um.... they [b]are[/b] optional.

[i]"In one instance, an M-rated game, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, was promoted on MySpace.com with a contest to win attendance at a Playboy photo shoot."[/i]
Need to be over 18 to enter the contest...

[i]"Any parent who is paying attention cannot help but question the credibility of a ratings system employed by an industry that seems more than eager to circumvent it."[/i]
No many parents do.

[i]"Console manufacturers, for the most part, seem to understand the importance of making games safe for kids."[/i]
Easy for them. They don't make any games.

[i]"On the other hand, Nintendo Wii offered a blood-spattered special edition with a Manhunt 2 promotion."[/i]
This was not sanctioned by Nintendo. Please get your facts straight.

I find it interesting that this report would recommend viva pinata. I myself think that game is kind of twisted...
The recommendations offered by this study does not strive to solve any problems. Instead it just points fingers at the ESRB and retail stores. Some more concrete suggestions would be nice at least, but instead we get the same vague scolding the industry has always gotten.

"Assessing the performance of the gaming industry this year is a difficult task"

I know, It must have been excrutiating to decide between "Evil ubber dubber vidja games" and "Worse than heroine, meth weed, cocaine, rape, and murder combined" to describe their products.

@GoodRobotUs:

It isn't PHP-based vs. not PHP-based. Most Forum systems use what is called "BBCodes", which were made to prevent improper HTML tags from screwing up the formatting of a page. Blogs, like WordPress don't typically do that (but can with plug-ins/modules). WordPress is a PHP-based application, it just doesn't use BBCodes, instead, it restricts HTML tags to a specific pre-defined set of allowed tags.

What this means is, rather than using the BBCodes, just use the standard HTML tags (there are innumerable sites that provide in-dept listings of HTML tags). but basically, (greater than) and (less than) symbols in place of the open and close brackets of BBCodes will work for most things, if you are familiar with BBCodes. i (or em) for italics (or emphasized), b (or strong) for bold or (strongly typed), u for underline>, s for strikethrough, and for quotes, use the blockquote tag:

which gets an effect like this.

It appears that lists don't work. use the a (for anchor) tag to make links like a href="gamepolitics.com".

Ok, maybe underline doesn't ;)

I've said before that I have far more respect for Daivd Walsh than I do the likes of JT. Walsh at least is a reasonable man; willing to engage in dialogue, respectful of those who disagree with him and even does point out that there are plenty of good that games do.

That having been said, however, this report card reeks of poltical flip-flopping and seems highly biased. And while good games like Guitar Hero and Halo do get mentioned in a genreally positive context, Manhunt 2 is mentioned many, many times whereas the other games got mentioned maybe once or twice (BioShock one of those games that would have been considered as having "pushed the edge of the envelope in creativity and storytelling" didn't even get mentioned at all!)

A cursory glance of the report would give the impression that just because of one out of the hundreds that got released this year, it gives the NIMF enough reason to downgrade their assessment of the entire industry as the game gets held up as an example of all that is wrong with the ESRB when by and large they've done a decent job with everything else. It just makes them look like they give a bad rating when it becomes politically convenient to them and does undercut their credibility...what little there is of it.

I really had to laugh at that one bit about video games causing family friction. That's been happening since I was 13 years old and our family had an Atari 2600 in the house. And it took them how long to realize this? As our old nemesis would say, "Duh." Move along, nothing to see here.

@ Xlorep DarkHelm

Completely of topic here, but how do you turn plain words into a link? eg getting "click here" to link to a reference?