Carroll, Jill. "Like Pong, it's back and forth on vid-violence link." Hollywood Reporter 360.32 (Nov 24, 1999): 5. Student Resource Center - Gold. Thomson Gale. Centennial High School (MD). 20 Dec. 2006 .
Doug Lowenstein (the president of the Interative Digital Software Assn.) believes that there is no connection what so ever between video games and violence.
Lieberman, industry rep argue the issue WASHINGTON -- While announcing an annual report card on video games Tuesday, an industry representative disputed a lawmaker's claim that video games cause violence. "We believe the academic research in no way establishes a causal link between violent games and aggressive behavior," said Doug Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital Software Assn.
Lowenstein says that other media has the same affect on people as games do, just exposure to violence in general.
Lowenstein pointed out that juvenile crime rates have declined during recent years amid growing sales of video games. But Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., a critic of media violence, said that while crime rates are dropping, recent "explosions of violence" show that part of the population can be influenced by exposure to violence.
They are saying that the ratings on the games are so they can prevent children from buying games that are too mature for that age group.
The report card, compiled by the National Institute on Media and the Family, gave an "A" to the industry for the number of games with ratings and a "C" to retailers for enforcing the ratings. Internet game sites flunked for not having warnings or ratings. Lieberman noted that retailers need do more to enforce ratings aimed at preventing children from buying certain video games. But Lowenstein said that would greatly burden retailers, especially during the holiday season, when checkout lines are long. Plus, he added, there is nothing illegal about video games. There's nothing illegal about alcohol either, Lieberman responded, but it is still a controlled substance, and alcohol retailers aren't going out of business because they have to check IDs.
Lowenstein is trying to inform parents about the different ratings and what they mean. He says that he would try find support to order the industry of games better, if the violence in them gets worse.
Lowenstein touted the video game rating system introduced in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, a video game industry regulatory board. The problem does not lie in changing video games, Lowenstein said, but educating parents about the ratings system to make sure video games intended for adults aren't given to children. Lieberman said he is not pursuing legislation to regulate the industry, but he might support an effort to do so if violence in games worsens.
About 97% of computer game buyers are adults. Adults also comprise 90% of video games purchasers, according to the IDSA. Most of those playing video games are also adults, about 70%. About 26% of all computer and video games are violent or objectionable enough to be rated as only appropriate for adults, according to the IDSA. The National Institute on Media and the Family estimates that this holiday season, revenue from the sale and rental of electronic games will exceed that of the film industry. Jill Carroll is a reporter for States News Service.
Questions:
1. What would happen without the video game ratings?
2. How will Lowenstein inform parents about the video game ratings?
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