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Because we all know games will harm our kids.

Its great to see the ESRB and the PTA out there educating parents on the rating systems and steps they can take to learn more about gaming as a whole. The addition of GamerDad is icing on the cake.

Better than advocating bans.

I'm fine with this as long as they don't jam their views on what games other people's kids should be playing down everyone's throats.

This is a great move. The biggest thing here is that the ESRB is speaking directly to parents and teachers. This is what we have needed for a long time.

I am glad to see this.

I am also glad to see that the ESRB is recognizing Andrew and his work on Gamer Dad. I do hope they use him more often in the future.

Hey thanks!
I am 100% recovered and more full of it than ever ("it" being energy to defend parents). You haven't seen me here because I've turned GamerDad into a blog after selling my review archive to someone yet-to-named who can better use it.

But yeah, I'm honored the PTA and ESRB chose me for this. Oh, and to answer some questions, the webcast on Wednesday is for PTAs - I gather a lot of them are having meetings and are going to show it. As far as the teachers go . . . I imagine that games are all kids talk about. They could use some knowledge too.

But yeah, parents are the target. That's why the booklet I helped write/edit is key. That's going to every school in the United States that has a PTA. I remember seeing last year's pamphlet (they upgraded) in libraries and day cares too.

GamerDad.com is five years old.
I've never been given an opportunity to reach parents this "on target" before. It feels good.

Once of the biggest arguments about baning games is parents not understanding the ESRB rating system. But I just find it strange how parents don't notice "Mature 17+" on the front of the box. Once you see that, it doesn't need to be explained.

*joyous cheer* proactive step to dispel ignorance on the part of the ESRB and great parents (like GamerDad) is always welcomed. Heres hoping it goes well especially if it helps promote more mergers of this kind which will hopefully stop all the damned "ban" laws and let some tax payers keep a few bucks at the end of the week...or ya know start getting rid of that 4...5 trillion debt?

As both a high school teacher and former Best Buy drone, I applaud this as long as it remains apolitical. (For those who've been in the retail trenches more recently than 2002, do parents still come in asking for non-existent things like E-rated pro wrestling games, not understanding that the level of violence in a wrestling match makes an E rating impossible? That always amazed me.)

I think is very good news - at least for the US. Teachers ansd parents and gamerdad working together to educate and inform people, students and the public about this.

I just wish we had some sort of gamerdad here in the Europe.

I mean it looks like the weird stuff finally is sort of coming our way too, now:

http://politiken.dk/tjek/digitalt/spil/article498720.ece

The text is in Danish but it says something like 'violent games to scrutiny from the EU' in the headline. Then the manchet, (the little text before the article) says that 'the Eu-commision has analyzed the laws about violence in computergames and the conclusion is that the business needs to tighten up and the point in doing so is in preventing school massacres' - like the one that's happened in Finland some while ago. (Sorry, if this should have been a news submission, I just thought it went very well along with the theme of this thread)

The article then goes on to say that the gaming industry needs to make the buyers more ware of the PEGI-ratings. It then continues to say that the EU-commisions recommendation is that this also should be done online i.e. on the internet where much of the sale goes on today.

And then I just think :'gee, it would be really nice, if we had a European gamerdad or the like' since the EU-commission doesn't seem to understand (still) that video and computergames aren't just for children anymore. And that if a child under the age of 18 gets say Mass Effect or Crysis or one of the GTA games, there must be something totally wrong, since buying online means having a credit card. And you can't get a credit card unless you're 18+ anyway (at least in most European states).

And Vivianne Reading does not seem to understand that PEGI like the ESRB is an independent organization that can't take orders from politicians as to what rating a certain game should get.

Again, I'm so sorry for this near highjacking of the thread, but I just fear that we are going to have the same arguments as the US have had for the past 5-10 years without having a gamerdad like Andrew to help us, the gaming public, inform the public about games and families that play games. And what good it will do for a family that play games.

That's why I just wish we had something like that in Europe - and in Denmark as well.

Finally, let me say that I'm glad to see the ESRB and the PTA getting behind GamerDad as well.