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Monitoring this compliance is the responsibility of the ESRB’s Advertising Review Council (ARC), established to ensure that ratings are displayed properly, advertising is truthful, and marketing is not targeting audiences for whom products are not appropriate.
“We have someone who monitors all advertising outlets,” Vance says, “and we have testers who play games all day to look for undisclosed content.” She cites the recent scandal involving the PC version of the M-rated game, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas”, in which a hacker from the Netherlands created and posted online a program that unlocked inappropriate material in the game. ESRB responded by giving the game’s publisher two options. “They could either take back all their product and re-release it without the undesirable content,” she explains, “or they could re-sticker the product with an AO rating, which is what they did.
“The fact is,” she continues, “lots of games, especially PC versions, have modifications that parents aren’t aware of. This incident shows that our enforcement system is working, and that we took swift action.”
Vance reassures parents that regardless of the increasing number of M-rated games on the market, using ESRB’s rating system, they should not feel overwhelmed. “Even if you don’t play games or know them, you can rely on the ratings or read a review,” she says. ESRB’s website, www.esrb.org, includes a searchable database of all rated games.
ESRB’s research indicates that 70 percent of parents use its rating system when purchasing games for their children. “Kids always want the latest, greatest games, but parents shouldn’t feel pressured to buy them, and they shouldn’t feel guilty saying no,” says Vance. Besides, she adds, “There are lots of great products this season for all ages. Despite what parents may hear, the vast majority of games are appropriate for kids.”
As for her own kids, whom she describes as “not avid game players,” they’re impressed with Mom’s job. “I can talk the talk with their friends,” Vance says. “They think what I do is pretty cool.”
SIDEBAR: ESRB’s Tips for Parents: Choosing the Right Games ·Learn about a game’s content before making a purchase decision. Parents will find that game reviews in newspapers and magazines, and on the Internet are excellent sources of information.
·Check the rating and content descriptors before you head out to the store by searching at www.esrb.org, where you can search games by title, rating, content descriptor, publisher and platform. ·Talk about games with other parents, older children, and video game store clerks, who are often gamers themselves. This is a good way to learn about computer and video games.
·Play computer and video games with your children, watch what they are playing, and talk with them about games as often as possible.
Consider your child’s unique personality and abilities when selecting computer and video games.
