Congresswoman Urges Game Publishers to Take Video Game Report Card Recommendations to Heart

December 8, 2007

A Minnesota Congresswoman has thrown her support behind the Annual Video Game Report Card issued this week by Dr. David Walsh and the National Institute on Media and the Family.

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) stood with Walsh on Tuesday while the NIMF executive director introduced this year's Report Card to the media. Also on hand were Senators Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Betty Klobuchar (D-MN).

Speaking of the NIMF effort, McCollum said:

The gaming industry has clearly failed to learn its lesson here: The pattern of inappropriate content hidden in Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt is a violation of parents’ and families’ trust.

The first step to controlling inappropriate content is for the industry to earn that trust back.

To convince us they’re serious about protecting our kids from age-inappropriate content, the gaming industry should quickly embrace this Report Card’s recommendations to adopt a clearer, more universal ratings system, to always disclose content unsuitable for children, and to never market clearly adult games to younger audiences – either overtly or through hidden content revealed in convenient online "leaks."

McCollum, who parried with ESRB president Patricia Vance at NIMF's 2006 Video Game Summit, also announced this week that she will co-sponsor the Video Game Violence and Sexual Content Act of 2007. That bill, introduced by Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) in July, would require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to report to Congress on the effectiveness of the ESRB content rating system.

Rep. McCollum's full remarks here.

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Comments

Submitted by Baramos (not verified) on Mon, 12/10/2007 - 13:53.

What was the hidden content in Manhunt 2?

Submitted by Nick (not verified) on Mon, 12/10/2007 - 18:34.

Stupid politicians are far more harmful to our children's development than any violent videogame ever will be. Too bad there are too damned many of them (stupid politicians).

Submitted by bubbles (not verified) on Sun, 12/16/2007 - 16:18.

no one want's to read all of this. Dah

Submitted by GamerDad on NIMF Video Game Report Card (not verified) on Tue, 01/08/2008 - 19:34.

[...] While some politicians such as Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum have thrown their support behind NIMF’s conclusions, the sentiment is definitely not shared by all. Not only has the ESRB and the Entertainment Merchants Association taken issue with the report, some in the know parents aren’t too thrilled with it either. [...]

Submitted by qusmrtzc wnofaqkuz (not verified) on Tue, 02/26/2008 - 11:21.

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Submitted by yzqho jxwda (not verified) on Tue, 02/26/2008 - 11:22.

xiybvcnu revk xlunzkb kmarcquw sdamgzpq vudlzykie cfra http://www.zudny.levpkwb.com

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DorthLous: Anybody tried Hiversaire? Thoughts?05/22/2013 - 5:48pm

E. Zachary Knight: New Humble Bundle Weekly Sale. Alan Wake: https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly No Linux or Mac support. :(05/22/2013 - 1:46pm

E. Zachary Knight: Microsoft talks about the lack of backward compatability. You're backwards. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/192801/If_youre_backwards_compatible_youre_really_backwards.php05/22/2013 - 1:39pm

E. Zachary Knight: That is absolutely nuts there. As bad an experience XBox Indie Games was, the problems weren't with the self published side of things. Forcing a publisher onto independent studios is not going to help.05/22/2013 - 10:43am

MaskedPixelante: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-05-22-microsoft-wont-let-indies-self-publish-on-xbox-one And the hits just keep on coming.05/22/2013 - 9:20am

E. Zachary Knight: AE: You beat me to it. That's what I get for taking the night off.05/22/2013 - 7:40am

E. Zachary Knight: To continue the confused and convoluted messaging system present in EA, They are making Wii U games: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/192753/EA_is_working_on_Wii_U_games_after_all.php05/22/2013 - 7:33am

Imautobot: I gotta admit, I seriously believed Microsoft was going to "Bring It" with this new console. But they failed, and I think that failure might be Epic.05/22/2013 - 7:27am

Andrew Eisen: Well, the Xbox One reveal certainly had an interesting affect on the big 3's stock prices. https://twitter.com/AndrewEisen/status/33705126448977100805/21/2013 - 10:45pm

PHX Corp: http://kotaku.com/so-the-xbox-one-reveal-screwed-up-a-lot-of-peoples-kin-509179256 So The Xbox One Reveal Screwed With Some People's Kinects05/21/2013 - 10:36pm

Zen: On a funny side note...both of my boys have already voted NOT to get the Xbox One as soon as they found out Minecraft won't transfer lol. Some people have priorities damnit! ;)05/21/2013 - 9:27pm

Andrew Eisen: Here's the full quote on EA making Wii U games according to Neogaf: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56112105/21/2013 - 8:19pm

Andrew Eisen: Xbox One may not be always on but that doesn't mean you can use it without an internet connection. http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-does-require-internet-connection-cant-play-o-50916410905/21/2013 - 7:39pm

Andrew Eisen: Polygon says EA's CFO says it is developing games for Wii U but doesn't provide that quote. http://www.polygon.com/2013/5/21/4351844/ea-developing-wii-u-games05/21/2013 - 7:11pm

Andrew Eisen: Well, I was right. Both Sony and Microsoft's consoles will be out by the year's end and both will be significantly more powerful than the current gen.05/21/2013 - 5:06pm

james_fudge: thnx05/21/2013 - 4:47pm

Zen: Just to let ya know...you called it the "Xbox 260" in the backwards compatibility article lol.05/21/2013 - 4:26pm

Zen: @PHX Awesome, I will hit those up after class tonight. Going back to college finally! :) My kids have had a blast telling ME to do my homework now lol.05/21/2013 - 4:19pm

PHX Corp: @Zen I sent you a friend request on both PSN and XBL, just a heads up05/21/2013 - 4:16pm

Zen: I noticed it with the football players when EA showed off Madden as well.05/21/2013 - 4:11pm

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