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Thursday, April 06, 2006

'M' for 'Missing info'?

When buying videogames, parents "may be getting more than [they] paid for," reports ABC News, citing a study by the Harvard School of Public Health as finding - "more sex, violence and obscene language, that is." The study, which looked just at games rated M (Mature/17+), found that 81% of the games "were mislabeled and had missing content descriptors" (e.g., the M descriptor on the back of game boxes: "content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older. Titles in this category may contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong language"). On p. 3 of its report, ABC explains how the Entertainment Software Rating Board's rating process works. The ESRB did have a practical response concerning how much info can fit on game packaging. It "argued that the researchers in this study want to see game packages littered with descriptors." A parent who's a gamer himself told ABC parents shouldn't rely too much on any rating system: "He suggested parents spend time researching the games they buy their kids — and themselves.

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