IEMA Issues Statement on Video Game Report Card
Those, like me, who were ?lucky? enough to witness the NIMF hearing on video games, should come away without any surprises. Once again, video games are the victims of a witch-hunt, spearheaded by a group of people looking out for the ?moral character? of the Nation. Following the report card, Hal Halpin, IEMA president, issued the following statement:
?It is our belief that it is premature to judge the effectiveness of new and not yet fully-implemented industry self-regulation due to the timing of the research in question. The industry?s leading retailers of computer and video games made a substantial and tangible commitment last December (2003) to begin or otherwise re-double their individual and collective efforts in inhibiting the sale of Mature-rated games to minors by this coming December (2004). Performing ?sting operations? earlier than that date is divisive, intentionally contrarian, and ultimately renders the data statistically-irrelevant. Questioning the retailer?s commitment to programs which are just being rolled-out is fruitless in that they haven?t been given a fair opportunity to implement these policies. It is important to mention that IEMA members chose December in which to have all of their new or newly-improved policies and procedures in place because it is December and January in which children have the necessary discretionary income with which to make these $50 per item purchases. While it is true that the ?holiday buying season? starts earlier than December, it is not children who are out buying themselves Christmas presents in October and then waiting until December 25th to enjoy them, it is their parents. These retailers are in locations which require adult transportation and the amount of money needed to make the purchase is more significant than is readily-available to a child before the holidays.
As we pointed out last year, the IEMA carding announcement was made in the spirit of cooperation and because our members believe that they have a social responsibility to work with our consumers and parents. Retailers have made significant investments in educating parents and their own staffs about the ratings system, and have, through this commitment changed the very nature of the business and the way in which people purchase one of the fastest-growing forms of entertainment. We stated that it would take twelve months to change policies and procedures in thousands of stores and educate many times that clerks, staff, and managers - all which too is an incredible voluntary investment in time and money. It is our belief that it is quite simply too early to assign a grade to the retailer?s enforcement policies, but that if a grade need be assigned out of habitual ritual nothing less than an ?A? is worthy of their collective efforts over the past eleven months.?
While there is much that retailers can still do to keep certain games from younger kids, once again the finger of blame has been directed at the wrong culprit. Retailers aren?t completely out of the woods and can do a lot to help stem the problem, but parents play just as big a role in this problem as retailers. Next time you purchase a game, take a moment to look at the game?s rating. Don?t just glance at it, but really look at it and understand what it?s telling you. Similar to the rating system used by movie companies, these ratings tell you what games are appropriate for certain ages. You wouldn?t let your 8-year-old see an R rated movie, so why would you allow that same child to play an M rated game? I completely understand that parenting is a hard job, but placing the blame on someone else doesn?t make the problem go away. Unfortunately, this is a disturbing trend appearing in our society. The video game industry is growing up and isn?t just kids' stuff anymore. Educate yourselves on what games are appropriate, and learn the ESRB ratings as well as you know movie ratings. The industry already has a working system in place to help keep mature games out of kids' hands, but that system can?t work if it?s ignored.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Related Links: ESRB Ratings Explained IEMA
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