14 DAY TRIAL // In mid-January 2009 Microsoft announced an initiative designed to educate families on how to manage media use and digital gaming in the household. At that time, the company announced that it would focus part of the efforts of the Get Game Smart campaign on putting together a consumer panel of gaming ambassadors. On June 8th, the software giant announced that it had selected no less than 10 teams of parents and teens to work as the consumer panel. The purpose of the ambassadors is to lead through example, and to contribute to educating families on how to keep interactive entertainment at home safe.
“As a parent myself, I understand we tend to turn to other parents for advice on the suitability of video games or other digital entertainment for our children,” revealed Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment & Devices Division at Microsoft. “By working hand in hand with this group of parents and teens, we hope to inspire a more productive dialog with families, communities, the media and the industry around healthy and balanced media use.”
In order to become Microsoft gaming ambassadors, pairs of children and parents had to participate in the Get Game Smart campaign, which involved submitting a video illustrative of the balance they managed to strike in their own house when it came down to video gaming and media use. The ambassadors would have the Get Game Smart website and blog at their disposal to spread messages related to safer entertainment in the home.
“As parents, we teach our kids the importance of wearing a bike helmet and buckling their seatbelt, but for some reason we’ve missed the boat on teaching our kids similar precautions for online and video game use,” added Get Game Smart Ambassador Jason Richardson from Brentwood, Tenn. “My stepson and I both love to play video games, so we jumped at the chance to get involved in creating fun, safer experiences for gamers of all ages. With so many tools available, there’s no reason for video gaming to be scary for parents.”