The Political Landscape of Game Ratings

Via GamePolitics, a Washington Post article about the political landscape surrounding game ratings. Author Mike Musgrove touches on Jack Thompson, Senator Brownback, and interviews ESRB ratings board chair Patricia Vance. From the article: Vance, the head of the ratings board, says the group has conducted surveys showing that there is an 83 percent awareness of the game industry's ratings system among consumers. By comparison, the movie ratings system has about 90 percent awareness, she said. Vance said the video game industry is a target largely because it still suffers from a perception that games are for kids, even though the age of today's average gamer is over 30. 'I think a lot of people who propose this sort of legislation have never purchased a game or don't play them,' she said."

Re:Its not about the average age of consumers ...

[thebdj]

I honestly don't think that the political problems surrounding content in videogames has anything to do with the average (or assumed average) age of gamers; the real problem is that (inspite of what we gamers think) videogame playing is really not a mainstream activity.

I believe the average age of the gamers disprove the notion that gaming is not a mainstream activity. Ignore the notion of gaming as arcades and consoles. Think how many people have computers. Now, how many of those people do you think are at Yahoo! Games or the like, playing some flash based game. Or maybe they are playing a Java Game. These are not on the same level, but it is still "gaming". Honestly, simple things like this are almost "gateway" games to more intense gaming. (Though probably not GTA intense.)

Now, consider that the last generation of gamers (which I guess I am part of) is approaching 30. We are now working individuals with money to spend. Now, instead of dropping quarters into machines, we purchase $300+ consoles and $50+ games. The fact is, it is really becoming a mainstream media format, especially with the increase in casual gamers. The true problem is the age of politicians. It is disgusting to think how old some of them are. It is also bad when you realize this generational gap is a big reason why they are so ignorant of technology. (See previous slashdot article from today I believe.)

Interesting

[antizeus]

Nowadays it seems common for legislation that regulates an industry to be written by lobbyists for that industry. That doesn't seem to be the case here. Perhaps the companies that write games aren't making enough campaign contributions. Or maybe cultural artifacts are too valuable as scapegoats for whipping one's base (followers of authoritarian religions, fearful soccer moms, etc) into a frenzy.

Re:Its not about the average age of consumers ...

[__aaclcg7560]

I'm watching videos without ads on my own schedule. I'm not controlled by the boob tube (or even you tube). I enjoy entertainment but I'm not a slave to it. That's a big difference. I remember the days where I had the entire TV guide memorized for the coming week.