Where Politics And Video Games Collide

[...] 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. [...]