14 DAY TRIAL // The Entertainment Software Ratings Board and the Parent Teacher Association have reached an agreement on the development of a new initiative that aims to teach kids, parents, teachers and anyone interested videogame ratings, parental controls and possible dangers of gaming. The initiative will result in a booklet, called "A Parents Guide to Video Games, Parental Controls and Online Safety", which will be distributed to all the PTA branches in America and in a webcast discussing the aforementioned issues which will take place on April 23.
The webcast speakers will be Jan Harp Domene, the president of the PTA, Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB and Andrew S. Bub of GamerDad. The initiative was devised by these three personalities after seeing how much the media talks about games without getting its facts right and how little parents and teachers actually know about the rating system for games and the way parental control can be set on many gaming platforms, from PCs to consoles.
The president of the PTA declared, "Using the ESRB ratings and setting up parental controls are important, proactive steps that parents can take to make sure their kids are playing games they deem appropriate. And being aware of the risks posed by online-enabled games and what can be done to keep their kids safe when playing online is crucial information for parents. We're very pleased to be offering them this guidance with the help of ESRB".
It' certainly a good sign that such an influential organization as the Parent Teacher Association is pairing up with the main regulatory body to inform, rather than try and ban videogames, as some suggest should be done. Providing accurate and up to date information regarding videogames is much more important than simply trying to make them as difficult to get for kids as alcohol or cigarettes. Talking about violence and sex in games might actually lead to some progress and understanding between the games industry and the various lobby groups that oppose it.
Instead of lobbying to get violent videogames banned or their sales limited, more organizations should aim to teach about videogames and the rating they get so as parents and kids can make their own calls based on clear evidence and well delivered information.